Crustal Deformation across the Jericho Valley Section of the Dead Sea Fault as Resolved by Detailed Field and Geodetic Observations

Abstract

Detailed field and geodetic observations of crustal deformation across the Jericho Fault section of the Dead Sea Fault are presented. New field observations reveal several slip episodes that rupture the surface, consist with strike slip and extensional deformation along a fault zone width of about 200 m. Using dense Global Positioning System measurements, we obtain the velocities of new stations across the fault. We find that this section is locked for strike‐slip motion with a locking depth of 16.6 ± 7.8 km and a slip rate of 4.8 ± 0.7 mm/year. The Global Positioning System measurements also indicate asymmetrical extension at shallow depths of the Jericho Fault section, between 0.3 and 3 km. Finally, our results suggest the vast majority of the sinistral slip along the Dead Sea Fault in southern Jorden Valley is accommodated by the Jericho Fault section.

Stability Analysis of Fragile Rock Pillars and Insights on Fault Activity in the Negev, Israel

“…Furthermore, in situ pillars experiencing periodic forcing may experience large strains and consequently shatter or overcome their basal attachment and topple. Hall (1996) was the first to address this issue and to show the potential importance of rock pillars as precarious structures that may complement typical PBR studies for improving regional seismic hazard analysis. However, Hall was challenged to explain the survival of the Totem Pole pillar in Chiricahua National Monument, AZ, during a nearby large earthquake, and therefore questioned the applicability of pillar stability analysis.…”

“…This earthquake, which occurred 120 km south of the Chiricahua National Monument (McGaroin, 1987;Suter, 2015) and triggered rockfalls within the park, failed to topple the Totem Pole. Hall (1996) inferred that the fact this pillar survived may suggest that its stability was underestimated.…”

“…The Pitaycachi earthquake may not have produced median ground motions in itself or directivity effects may have produced less ground motion at the Totem Pole site. Furthermore, while Hall (1996) suggested the natural frequency of the pillar is 2 Hz, re-evaluation of its structure (57 m high and 4 m wide) suggests that it is approximately 0.3 Hz (Equation 2). The spectral acceleration induced by the Pitaycachi earthquake at this Deterministic evaluation of maximal PGA based on two data sets (FGFs marked as black dots): top-FGFs that survived over 1,300 years; bottom-FGFs that survived over 7,000 years.…”

“…This 1,000 km long fault system, from the Red Sea in the south to the Taurus‐Zagros collision, consists of several en echelon segments and large pull apart basins such as the Dead Sea and the Gulf of Eilat (Reches & Hoexter, 1981). The Arava Valley is located between these basins where a relatively simple linear segment of the DST is characterized by almost pure strike slip motion with a slip rate of about 4–5 mm/year (Garfunkel, 1981; Hamiel et al, 2018; Klinger, 1999). While the DST is responsible for about 25 M ≥ 7 earthquakes in the last 2,000 years (Ben‐Menahem, 1991; Lefevre et al, 2018), only a few large events were documented along the Arava fault section.…”

Strain Field Associated With a Component of Divergent Motion Along the Southern Dead Sea Fault: Insights From Magnetic Fabrics

“…The topographic depression in this region narrows up to ~4 km and the young sediment fill is relatively thin (ten Brink et al, ). Field observations across the Jericho Fault, ~15 km south to the study area, consist with strike slip and extensional deformation (Hamiel et al, ). Ten to 15 km west to the DSF, the Faria Anticline, which is part of the Syrian Arc fold belt (Mimran, ), exposes Jurassic and Cretaceous rocks.…”