DIFFERENT STYLES OF FAULTING DEFORMATION ALONG THE DEAD SEA TRANSFORM AND POSSIBLE CONSEQUENCES FOR THE RECURRENCE OF MAJOR EARTHQUAKES

Abstract

We compare fault-related deformation of three segments of the major transform plate boundary between Africa and the Arabian plate, the Dead Sea Transform (DST), namely the Arava/Araba fault (Jordan/Israel), the Serghaya fault and the Ghab fault (both Syria). These segments show both similarities and marked differences in faulting deformation and fluid–rock interactions. In the case of the Arava fault, fault damage occurs across a zone up to 300 m wide. A fault core/gouge zone is not exhibited. Along the Serghaya fault, the typical fault zone architecture with a main gouge zone and a damage zone of up to 100 m thickness is exposed. Effects of faulting in the Ghab segment are shown by subsidiary faults and the formation of fault breccias. As in the Arava fault segment, a fault core is not exposed.