Geometry and subsidence history of the Dead Sea basin: A case for fluid‐induced mid‐crustal shear zone?

Brink, Uri S. ten; Flores, C. H.

doi:10.1029/2011jb008711

Cited by 39 publications

(89 citation statements)

References 108 publications

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“…Fluids which are not consumed by retrograde metamorphism reactions continue to rise and eventually mix with ground water systems at surface. Ten Brink & Flores (2012) also proposed such a Muscovite-rich layer in the middle crust beneath the DSB to explain rapid subsidence rates. The conductivity distribution of our 2-D inversion model for the DSB supports such a scenario.…”

Section: Discussion O F T H E 2 -D E L E C T R I C a L C O Nmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Bruhn et al (1990) argued that the strength of a Muscovite-rich rocks is substantially lower than the strengths for wet and dry granite or quartz. Muscovite-rich rocks form over time, a semi-permeable layer for fluids at midcrustal levels (see Ten Brink & Flores 2012;Etheridge et al 1983, and references therein). Fluids which are not consumed by retrograde metamorphism reactions continue to rise and eventually mix with ground water systems at surface.…”

Section: Discussion O F T H E 2 -D E L E C T R I C a L C O Nmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…More recently, Schaeffer & Sass (2014) investigated thermal water samples from the eastern side of the Dead Sea valley and suggested that the high geothermal gradient could be best explained if water of deep origin invaded the hydrothermal system of the DSB. Sources of fluids for this particular tectonic setting at middle to lower crustal levels could in general include: (i) fluid influx from the surrounding Precambrian crust due to large negative vertical stress beneath the less dense sedimentary basin material (Ten Brink & Flores 2012), (ii) dehydration of upper-mantle material within the shear zone, (iii) low-to highgrade metamorphic processes (Etheridge et al 1983;Bruhn et al 1990), (iv) generation of hydrous minerals by retrograde metamorphism (Etheridge et al 1983) and (v) some combination of these processes. Fig.…”

Section: Discussion O F T H E 2 -D E L E C T R I C a L C O Nmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The largest negative gravity anomaly is associated with the Al-Lisan Peninsula. The gravity low was interpreted as the region of maximum sedimentary fill in excess of 18 km (Ten Brink et al 1993). Other density modelling studies carried out in the framework of DESIRE project suggest a smaller volume of sedimentary basin infill.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Density models derived from gravity data (Ten Brink et al 1993) suggest a sedimentary infill of approximately 9 km for the northern part of the DSB. The largest negative gravity anomaly is associated with the Al-Lisan Peninsula.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Crustal metamorphic fluid flux beneath the Dead Sea Basin: constraints from 2-D and 3-D magnetotelluric modelling

et al. 2016

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S U M M A R YWe report on a study to explore the deep electrical conductivity structure of the Dead Sea Basin (DSB) using magnetotelluric (MT) data collected along a transect across the DSB where the left lateral strike-slip Dead Sea transform (DST) fault splits into two fault strands forming one of the largest pull-apart basins of the world. A very pronounced feature of our 2-D inversion model is a deep, subvertical conductive zone beneath the DSB. The conductor extends through the entire crust and is sandwiched between highly resistive structures associated with Precambrian rocks of the basin flanks. The high electrical conductivity could be attributed to fluids released by dehydration of the uppermost mantle beneath the DSB, possibly in combination with fluids released by mid-to low-grade metamorphism in the lower crust and generation of hydrous minerals in the middle crust through retrograde metamorphism. Similar high conductivity zones associated with fluids have been reported from other large fault systems. The presence of fluids and hydrous minerals in the middle and lower crust could explain the required low friction coefficient of the DST along the eastern boundary of the DSB and the high subsidence rate of basin sediments. 3-D inversion models confirm the existence of a subvertical high conductivity structure underneath the DSB but its expression is far less pronounced. Instead, the 3-D inversion model suggests a deepening of the conductive DSB sediments off-profile towards the south, reaching a maximum depth of approximately 12 km, which is consistent with other geophysical observations. At shallower levels, the 3-D inversion model reveals salt diapirism as an upwelling of highly resistive structures, localized underneath the Al-Lisan Peninsula. The 3-D model furthermore contains an E-W elongated conductive structure to the northeast of the DSB. More MT data with better spatial coverage are required, however, to fully constrain the robustness of the above-mentioned off-profile features.

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Section: Discussion O F T H E 2 -D E L E C T R I C a L C O Nmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussion O F T H E 2 -D E L E C T R I C a L C O Nmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussion O F T H E 2 -D E L E C T R I C a L C O Nmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Crustal metamorphic fluid flux beneath the Dead Sea Basin: constraints from 2-D and 3-D magnetotelluric modelling

et al. 2016

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The association of micro‐earthquake clusters with mapped faults in the Dead Sea basin

2014

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About 1100 micro-earthquakes that occurred along the Dead Sea basin during the past 25 years express ongoing seismic activity along mostly obscured fault segments. We apply seismological and statistical methods in order to associate seismic activity with geological and geophysical data and to locate and characterize active fault segments in the basin; three regional 1-D velocity models and the double-difference method were used for the relocation of seismic events. Geostatistical analysis shows that in first order the micro-earthquakes reflect faulting along segments of the main longitudinal fault while seismic quiescence along historically active zones indicates locked segments and stress concentration. Based on waveform similarity, spatial and temporal proximity, we define earthquake clusters that comprise about 30% of the relocated seismicity and two thirds of the total seismic moment. About 80% of the clusters are associated with N-S trending faults. In two cases the clusters indicate a migration of the seismicity in time and space, one of which preceded the largest earthquake in our catalog (M5.2). In addition to the associated longitudinal activity, several clusters appear to represent faulting in east-west orientation which is interpreted here as a secondary fault system.

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Teleseismic traveltimes residuals across the Dead Sea basin

Hofstetter

Dorbath²

2014

JGR Solid Earth

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New findings of the structure of the Dead Sea sedimentary basin and its eastern and western bordering regions are obtained by P and PKP wave relative traveltime residuals of 644 teleseisms, as recorded by the Dead Sea Integrated Research portable seismic network in the Dead Sea basin and its neighboring regions. The Lisan Peninsula is characterized by relatively small teleseismic traveltime residuals of about 0.14 s, in the latitude range of 31.22°-31.37°and at the longitude of 35.50°, slowly decreasing toward the west. The largest teleseismic traveltime residuals are in the southern Dead Sea basin, south of the Lisan Peninsula in the latitude range of 31.05°-31.15°and along longitude 35.45°and continuing southward toward the Amaziahu Fault, reaching values of 0.4-0.5 s. There is a small positive residual at the Amaziahu Fault and a small negative residual south of it probably marking the southern end of the Dead Sea basin. East and west of the Dead Sea basin the mean teleseismic traveltime residuals are negative with overall averages of À0.35 s and À0.45 s, respectively. Using the teleseismic residuals, we estimate the horizontal dimensions of the Lisan salt diapir to be 23 km × 13 km at its widest and a maximal thickness of about 7.2 km. The thickness of the Mount Sodom salt diapir is estimated as 6.2 km.

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Geometry and subsidence history of the Dead Sea basin: A case for fluid‐induced mid‐crustal shear zone?

Cited by 39 publications

References 108 publications

Crustal metamorphic fluid flux beneath the Dead Sea Basin: constraints from 2-D and 3-D magnetotelluric modelling

Crustal metamorphic fluid flux beneath the Dead Sea Basin: constraints from 2-D and 3-D magnetotelluric modelling

The association of micro‐earthquake clusters with mapped faults in the Dead Sea basin

Teleseismic traveltimes residuals across the Dead Sea basin

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