Tectonic paleostress fields in the southwestern part of Jordan: New insights from the fault slip data in the southeastern flank of the Dead Sea Fault Zone

Abstract

A new approach for paleostress analysis, using the nine-dimensional space fault slip inversion method, was performed in the southeastern flank of the Jordan-Dead Sea Fault. Five major tectonic episodes with different kinematics were successfully detected from the inversion of a new fault slip data, which thereby caused reactivation of inherited crustal structures and established new ones. These episodes prevailed since Late Cretaceous times, and their chronological constraints were established essentially from the stratigraphic ages of the affected rocks and the crosscutting relationships of successive striae locally observed on the fault planes. During the Late Cretaceous to late Eocene, the area was under a compressional/strike-slip stress regime with a~E-W trending σ 1 . At Oligocene, a strike-slip stress regime with NW-SE striking σ 1 occurred. Both compression regimes correspond to the so-called Syrian Arc Deformation that gave rise to distinctive folds in Jordan and its surrounding areas. An extension with~N-S to NE-SW trending σ 3 followed the late Oligocene compression event and took place during Miocene time, most probably linked to the opening of the Red Sea-Suez Rift. Late Cenozoic tectonics show the occurrence of two successive compressions, NW-SE then both NE-SW and~N-S, which generally reflect a continental collisional setting between the Arabian and Eurasian plates.

Detection and analysis of morphotectonic features utilizing satellite remote sensing and GIS: An example in SW Jordan

“…The southwestern part of Jordan is an interesting place for a such study because it is bordered by the active deformation of the Wadi Araba Fault (WAF), the southernmost segment of the DSFZ, and has excellent outcrops of a wide variety of Precambrian to Pleistocene rocks. In addition, it displays distinct geomorphological features and has a complex geodynamic evolution because its rocks have been subjected to polyphase regional tectonic deformations (Zain-Eldeen et al, 2002;Radaideh and Melichar, 2015).…”

“…The remaining surface of the study area is largely occupied by the Quaternary deposits, which are mostly made up of lacustrine and alluvial sediments, fluviatile sand, gravel, and conglomerate (Bender, 1975). The tectonic setting of the area has a complex pattern of geodynamic evolution because its rocks have been influenced by multiple superimposed tectonic regimes, including the Turonian to Neogene Syrian Arc deformation and early Miocene rifting and opening of the Red Sea (Zain-Eldeen et al, 2002;Radaideh and Melichar, 2015). It is structurally bounded on the west by the active Wadi Araba fault and contains two main tectonic orientations (folds, and both strike-and dipslip faults) as inferred from mapping and field studies (Fig.…”

“…Late Cenozoic tectonic activity of the southwestern part of Jordan was dominated mainly by compressional/strike-slip stress regimes that caused widespread reactivation of inherited crustal structures and established new ones (Radaideh and Melichar, 2015). Correspondingly, present-day stress field can repeatedly reactivate the pre-existing faults and control their upward propagation into younger strata.…”

Quantitative Prediction of Lower Order Faults Based on the Finite Element Method: A Case Study of the M35 Fault Block in the Western Hanliu Fault Zone in the Gaoyou Sag, East China

“…The greater the number of elements, the more accurate the model is to the observed geological body. A 3D finite element numerical simulation of a tectonic stress field and LOF prediction is a system of mathematical, mechanical, and geophysical mutual constraints (Guo et al, ; Liu et al, ; Liu, Ding, Yang, et al, ; Radaideh & Melichar, ; Saintot & Angelier, ; Figure ).…”

Quantitatively deciphering paleostrain from digital outcrops model and its application in the eastern Tian Shan, China

“…Paleostress analysis is a branch of structural geology whose target is characterizing stress systems acting in the past from their record in deformation structures, singularly from faultslip data (Simón, 2019), based on the principle that past tectonic stress should have left traces in the rocks (Hancock, 1985). Since the first introduction of the paleostress inversion methods by Wallace (1951) and Bott (1959), it has been developed worldwide during the last decades (e.g., Angelier, 1979;Angelier et al, 1982;Angelier, 1984Angelier, , 1989Angelier, , 1990Delvaux et al, 1997;Twiss and Unruh, 1998;Kaven et al, 2011;Stipp and Tullis, 2003;Shimizu, 2008), and several thousands of paleostress reconstructions have been carried out in all tectonic settings (e.g., Homberg et al, 1999Homberg et al, , 2002Lacombe et al, 2006;Amrouch et al, 2010Amrouch et al, , 2011Arboit et al, 2015;Radaideh and Melichar, 2015;Riller et al, 2017;Hashimoto et al, 2019;Maestro et al, 2019). In the opinion of Simón (2019), "perhaps no other branch of structural analysis offers such a high number of methods and is submitted to such an intense conceptual discussion".…”