Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-rdxmf Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-01T09:17:06.790Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Holocene rockfalls in the southern Negev Desert, Israel and their relation to Dead Sea fault earthquakes

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Yair Rinat ,
Ari Matmon ,
Maurice Arnold ,
Georges Aumaître ,
Didier Bourlès ,
Karim Keddadouche ,
Naomi Porat ,
Efrat Morin  and
Robert C. Finkel
Yair Rinat
Affiliation:
The Fredy and Nadine Herrmann Institute of Earth Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Edmond J. Safra Campus Givat Ram, Jerusalem 91904, Israel
Ari Matmon*
Affiliation:
The Fredy and Nadine Herrmann Institute of Earth Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Edmond J. Safra Campus Givat Ram, Jerusalem 91904, Israel
Maurice Arnold
Affiliation:
CEREGE, UMR 6635 CNRS-Aix-Marseille University, BP 80, 13 545 Aix en Provence Cedex 4, France
Georges Aumaître
Affiliation:
CEREGE, UMR 6635 CNRS-Aix-Marseille University, BP 80, 13 545 Aix en Provence Cedex 4, France
Didier Bourlès
Affiliation:
CEREGE, UMR 6635 CNRS-Aix-Marseille University, BP 80, 13 545 Aix en Provence Cedex 4, France
Karim Keddadouche
Affiliation:
CEREGE, UMR 6635 CNRS-Aix-Marseille University, BP 80, 13 545 Aix en Provence Cedex 4, France
Naomi Porat
Affiliation:
Geological Survey of Israel, 30 Malkhe Israel St., Jerusalem 95501, Israel
Efrat Morin
Affiliation:
Department of Geography, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Mt. Scopus, Jerusalem 91905, Israel
Robert C. Finkel
Affiliation:
Center for Accelerator Mass Spectrometry, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Livermore, CA 94511, USA
*
*Corresponding author at: The Institute of Earth Sciences, The Hebrew University, Edmond J. Safra Campus, Givat Ram, Jerusalem 91904, Israel. Fax: + 972 256 62581. E-mail address:[email protected] (A. Matmon).
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Rockfall ages in tectonically active regions provide information regarding frequency and magnitude of earthquakes. In the hyper-arid environment of the Dead Sea fault (DSF), southern Israel, rockfalls are most probably triggered by earthquakes. We dated rockfalls along the western margin of the DSF using terrestrial cosmogenic nuclides (TCN). At each rockfall site, samples were collected from simultaneously exposed conjugate boulders and cliff surfaces. Such conjugate samples initially had identical pre-fall (“inherited”) TCN concentrations. After boulder detachment, these surfaces were dosed by different production rates due to differences in post-fall shielding and geometry. However, in our study area, pre-rockfall inheritance and post-rockfall production rates of TCN cannot be evaluated. Therefore, we developed a numerical approach and demonstrated a way to overcome the above-mentioned problems. This approach can be applied in other settings where rockfalls cannot be dated by simple exposure dating. Results suggest rockfall ages between 3.6 ± 0.8 and 4.7 ± 0.7 ka. OSL ages of sediment accumulated behind the boulders range between 0.6 ± 0.1 and 3.4 ± 1.4 ka and support the TCN results. Our ages agree with dated earthquakes determined in paleoseismic studies along the entire length of the DSF and support the observation of intensive earthquake activity around 4–5 ka.

Keywords

RockfallsCosmogenic nuclidesExposure age datingDead Sea fault earthquakes
Type
Research Article
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 81 , Issue 2 , March 2014 , pp. 260 - 273
Copyright
University of Washington

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Ahnert, F. Introduction to Geomorphology. (1996). Arnold, London.Google Scholar
Aitken, M.J., and Smith, B.W. Optical dating: recuperation after bleaching. Quaternary Science Reviews 7, (1988). 387–393.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Amit, R., Zilberman, E., Enzel, Y., and Porat, N. Paleoseismic evidence for time dependency of seismic response on a fault system in the southern Arava Valley, Dead Sea rift, Israel. Geological Society of America Bulletin 114, (2002). 192–206.2.0.CO;2>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Avigad, D., Sandler, A., Kolodner, K., Stern, R., Mcwilliams, M., Miller, N., and Beyth, M. Mass-production of Cambro-Ordovician quartz-rich sandstone as a consequence of chemical weathering of Pan-African terranes: environmental implications. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 240, (2005). 818–826.Google Scholar
Baer, G., Funning, G.J., Shamir, G., and Wright, T.J. The 1995 November 22, Mw 7.2 Gulf of Eilat earthquake cycle revisited. Geophysical Journal International 175, 3 (2008). 1040–1054.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Balco, G., Stone, J., Lifton, N., and Dunai, T.J. A complete and easily accessible means of calculating surface exposure ages or erosion rates from 10Be and 26Al measurements. Quaternary Geochronology 3, (2008). 174–195.Google Scholar
Balco, G., Purvance, M.D., and Rood, D.H. Exposure dating of precariously balanced rocks. Quaternary Geochronology 6, (2011). 295–303.Google Scholar
Bartov, Y., Steinitz, G., Eyal, M., and Eyal, Y. Sinistral movement along the Gulf of Aqaba — its age and relation to the opening of the Red Sea. Nature 285, (1980). 220–222.Google Scholar
Bierman, P., and Caffee, M. Slow rates of rock surface erosion and sediment production across the Namib Desert and escarpment, southern Africa. American Journal of Science 301, (2001). 326–358.Google Scholar
Bierman, P., and Turner, J. Evidence for exceptionally low rates of Australian bedrock erosion and the likely existence of pre-Pleistocene landscapes. Quaternary Research 44, (1995). 378–382.Google Scholar
Bierman, P., Gilliespie, A., Caffee, M., and Elmore, D. Estimating erosion rates and exposure ages with 36Cl produced by neutron activation. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 59, (1995). 3779–3798.Google Scholar
Braun, Y., Kagan, E., Bar-Matthews, M., Ayalon, A., and Agnon, A. Dating speleoseismites near the Dead Sea Transform and the Carmel Fault: clues to coupling of a plate boundary and its branch. Israel Journal of Earth Sciences 58, (2010). 257–273.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bull, W.B. Dating San-Andreas faults with lichenometry. Geology 24, (1996). 111–114.Google Scholar
Bull, W.B. Prehistoric earthquakes on the Alpine Fault, New Zealand. Journal of Geophysical Research 101, (1996). 6037–6050.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bull, W.B., and Menges, C.M. Geomorphic evidence for Holocene faulting in the central Mojave Desert, California. Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs 9, (1977). 915 Google Scholar
Bull, W.B., King, J., Kong, F.C., Moutoux, T., and Phillips, W.M. Lichen dating of coseismic landslide hazards in alpine mountains. Geomorphology 10, (1994). 253–264.Google Scholar
Dai, F.C., Xu, C., Yao, X., Xu, L., Tu, X.B., and Gong, Q.M. Spatial distribution of landslides triggered by the 2008 Ms 8.0 Wenchuan earthquake, China. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences 40, (2011). 883–895.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Denby, P., Botterjensen, L., Murray, A., Thomsen, K., and Moska, P. Application of pulsed OSL to the separation of the luminescence components from a mixed quartz/feldspar sample. Radiation Measurements 41, (2006). 774–779.Google Scholar
Desilets, D., and Zreda, M. On scaling cosmogenic nuclide production rates for altitude and latitude using cosmic-ray measurements. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 193, (2001). 213–225.Google Scholar
Desilets, D., and Zreda, M. Spatial and temporal distribution of secondary cosmic ray nucleon intensities and applications to in situ cosmogenic dating. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 206, (2003). 21–42.Google Scholar
Druckman, Y., Weissbrod, T., Garfunkel, Z., (1993). Geological Map of Israel. Scale 1:100,000, Sheets 25, 26, Yotvata and Eliat, Geological Survey of Israel, .Google Scholar
Duller, G.A.T. Luminescence Dating: Guidelines on Using Luminescence Dating in Archaeology. (2008). English Heritage, Swindon.Google Scholar
Dunai, T.J. Scaling factors for production rates of in situ produced cosmogenic nuclides: a critical reevaluation. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 176, (2000). 157–169.Google Scholar
Dunai, T.J. Influence of secular variation of the geomagnetic field on production rates of in situ produced cosmogenic nuclides. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 193, (2001). 197–212.Google Scholar
Dunne, T.J., Elmore, D., and Muzikar, P. Scaling factors for the rates of production of cosmogenic nuclides for geometric shielding and attenuation at depth on sloped surfaces. Geomorphology 27, (1999). 3–11.Google Scholar
Frankel, A. Rupture process of the M 7.9 Denali fault, Alaska, earthquake: subevents, directivity, and scaling of high-frequency ground motions. Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America 94, 6B (2004). S234–S255.Google Scholar
Garfunkel, Z. Internal structure of the Dead Sea leaky transform (rift) in relation to plate kinematics. Tectonophysics 80, (1981). 81–108.Google Scholar
Garfunkel, Z., Zak, I., and Freund, R. Active faulting in the Dead Sea rift. Tectonophysics 80, (1981). 81–108.Google Scholar
Gluck, D. The Landscape Evolution of the Southwestern Dead Sea Basin and the Paleoseismic Record of the Southwestern Marginal Fault of the Dead Sea Basin and of the Carmel Fault During the Late Pleistocene and the Holocene. (M.Sc. thesis) (2001). Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem. (In Hebrew with English abstract) Google Scholar
Goldreich, Y., and Karni, O. Climate and precipitation regime in the Arava Valley, Israel. Israel Journal of Earth Sciences 50, (2001). 53–60.Google Scholar
Gosse, J.C., and Phillips, F.M. Terrestrial in situ cosmogenic nuclides: theory and application. Quaternary Science Reviews 20, (2001). 1475–1560.Google Scholar
Granger, D.E., and Muzikar, P.F. Dating sediment burial with in situ-produced cosmogenic nuclides: theory, techniques, and limitations. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 188, (2001). 269–281.Google Scholar
Granger, D.E., and Smith, A.L. Dating buried sediments using radioactive decay and muogenic production of 26Al and 10Be. Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section B: Beam Interactions with Materials and Atoms 172, (2000). 822–826.Google Scholar
Guido, Z.S., Ward, D.J., and Anderson, R.S. Pacing the post-Last glacial Maximum demise of the Animas Valley glacier and the San Juan Mountain ice cap, Colorado. Geology 35, (2007). 739–742.Google Scholar
Hantz, D., Vengeon, J.M., and Dussauge-Peisser, C. An historical, geomechanical and probabilistic approach to rock-fall hazard assessment. Natural Hazards and Earth System Sciences 3, (2003). 693–701.Google Scholar
Hofstetter, A. Seismic observations of the 22/11/1995 Gulf of Aqaba earthquake sequence. Tectonophysics 369, (2003). 21–36.Google Scholar
Kagan, E.J., Agnon, A., Bar-Matthews, M., and Ayalon, A. Dating large infrequent earthquakes by damaged cave deposits. Geology 33, (2005). 261 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kanari, M. Evolution of Rockfall Hazard to Qiryat Shemona Possible Correlation to Earthquakes. Report GSI/24/2008. (2008). Geological Survey of Israel, Jerusalem.Google Scholar
Karcz, I., Weiler, Y., and Key, C.A. Lithology and environment of deposition of the Amudei Shlomo Sandstone (“NSP”) in Nahal Shani, Elat. Israel Journal of Earth Sciences 20, (1971). 119–124.Google Scholar
Katz, O., Amit, R., Yagoda-Biran, G., Hatzor, Y.H., Porat, N., and Medvedev, B. Quaternary earthquakes and landslides in the Sea of Galilee area, the Dead Sea Transform: paleoseismic analysis and evaluation of current hazard. Israel Journal of Earth Sciences 58, (2010). 265–284.Google Scholar
Keefer, D.K. Landslides caused by earthquakes. Geological Society of America Bulletin 95, (1984). 406–421.Google Scholar
Keefer, D.K. Investigating landslides caused by earthquakes — a historical review. Surveys in Geophysics 23, (2002). 473–510.Google Scholar
Ken-Tor, R., Agnon, A., Enzel, Y., Stein, M., Marco, S., and Negendank, J.F.W. High resolution geological record of historic earthquakes in the Dead Sea basin. Journal of Geophysical Research 106, (2001). 2221–2234.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Korte, M., and Constable, C.G. Continuous geomagnetic field models for the past 7 millennia: 2. CALS7K. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems 6, (2005). 1–18.Google Scholar
Korte, M., Genevey, A., Constable, C.G., Frank, U., and Schnepp, E. Continuous geomagnetic field models for the past 7 millennia: 1. A new global data compilation. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems 6, (2005). 1–32.Google Scholar
Lal, D. Cosmogenic isotopes produced in situ in terrestrial solids. Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section B: Beam Interactions with Materials and Atoms 29, (1987). 238–245.Google Scholar
Lal, D. In situ: produced cosmogenic isotopes in terrestrial rocks. Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences 16, (1988). 355–388.Google Scholar
Lal, D. Cosmic ray labeling of erosion surfaces: in situ nuclide production rates and erosion models. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 104, (1991). 424–439.Google Scholar
Lettis, W., Bachhuber, J., Witter, R., Brankman, C., Randolph, C.E., Barka, A., Page, W.D., and Kaya, A. Influence of releasing step-overs on surface fault rupture and fault segmentation: examples from the 17 August 1999 Izmit earthquake on the North Anatolian fault, Turkey. Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America 92, (2002). 1,19–1,42.Google Scholar
Lifton, N.A., Bieber, J.W., Clem, J.M., Duldig, M.L., Evenson, P., Humble, J.E., and Pyle, R. Addressing solar modulation and long-term uncertainties in scaling secondary cosmic rays for in situ cosmogenic nuclide applications. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 239, (2005). 140–161.Google Scholar
Lifton, N.A., Smart, D.F., and Shea, M.A. Scaling time-integrated in situ cosmogenic nuclide production rates using a continuous geomagnetic model. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 268, (2008). 190–201.Google Scholar
Marco, S., Stein, M., Agnon, A., and Ron, H. Long term earthquake clustering a 50,000 year paleoseismic record in the Dead Sea graben. Journal of Geophysical Research 101, (1996). 6179–6191.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Marco, S., Agnon, A., Finkelstein, I., and Ussishkin, D. Megiddo earthquakes. Finkelstein, I., Ussishkin, D., and Halpern, B. Megiddo IV: The 1998–2002 Seasons. (2006). The Emery and Claire Yass Publications in Archaeology, Tel Aviv. 568–575.Google Scholar
Marzorati, S., Luzi, L., and De Amicis, M. Rock falls induced by earthquakes: a statistical approach. Soil Dynamics and Earthquake Engineering 22, (2002). 565–577.Google Scholar
Masarik, J., and Wieler, R. Production rates of cosmogenic nuclides in boulders. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 216, (2003). 201–208.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Masri, S.F., Bekey, G.A., and Safford, F.B. A global optimization algorithm using adaptive random search. Applied Mathematics and Computation 7, (1980). 353–375.Google Scholar
Matmon, A., Shaked, Y., Porat, N., Enzel, Y., Finkel, R., Lifton, N., Boaretto, E., and Agnon, A. Landscape development in an hyperarid sandstone environment along the margins of the Dead Sea fault: implications from dated. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 240, (2005). 803–817.Google Scholar
Matmon, A., Simhai, O., Amit, R., Haviv, I., Porat, N., McDonald, E., Benedetti, K., and Finkel, R. Desert pavement-coated surfaces in extreme deserts present the longest-lived landforms on Earth. Geological Society of America Bulletin 121, (2009). 688–697.Google Scholar
Matsuoka, N., and Sakai, H. Rockfall activity from an alpine cliff during thawing periods. Geomorphology 28, (1999). 309–328.Google Scholar
Migowski, C., Agnon, A., Bookman (Ken-Tor), R., Negendank, J.F.W., and Stein, M. Recurrence pattern of Holocene earthquakes along the Dead Sea Transform revealed by varve-counting and radiocarbon dating of lacustrine sediments. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 222, (2004). 301–314.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Murray, A.S., and Wintle, A.G. Luminescence dating of quartz using an improved single-aliquot regenerative-dose protocol. Radiation Measurements 32, (2000). 57–73.Google Scholar
Murray, A.S., and Wintle, A.G. The single aliquot regenerative dose protocol: potential for improvements in reliability. Radiation Measurements 37, (2003). 377–381.Google Scholar
Nishiizumi, K., Lal, D., Klein, J., Middleton, R., and Arnold, J. Production of 10Be and 26Al by cosmic rays in terrestrial quartz in situ and implications for erosion rates. Nature 319, (1986). 134–136.Google Scholar
Nishiizumi, K., Winterer, E., Kohl, C., Klein, J., Middleton, R., Lal, D., and Arnold, J. Cosmic ray production rates of 10Be and 26Al in quartz from glacially polished rocks. Journal of Geophysical Research 94, (1989). 17907–17915.Google Scholar
Nishiizumi, K., Klevin, J., Middleton, R., and Craig, H. cosmogenic 10Be, 26Al, and 3He in olivine from Maui lavas. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 98, (1990). 263–266.Google Scholar
Pietsch, T.J., Olley, J.M., and Nanson, G.C. Fluvial transport as a natural luminescence sensitiser of quartz. Quaternary Geochronology 3, (2008). 365–376.Google Scholar
Pigati, J.S., and Lifton, N.A. Geomagnetic effects on time-integrated cosmogenic nuclide production with emphasis on in situ 14C and 10Be. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 226, (2004). 193–205.Google Scholar
Plug, L.J., Gosse, J.C., McIntosh, J.J., and Bigley, R. Attenuation of cosmic ray flux in temperate forest. Journal of Geophysical Research 112, (2007). 1–9.Google Scholar
Porat, N. Analytical Procedures in the Luminescence Dating Laboratory (in Hebrew) TR GSI/08. (2007). Geological Survey of Israel, Google Scholar
Porat, N., Amit, R., Enzel, Y., Zilberman, E., Avni, Y., Ginat, H., and Gluck, D. Abandonment ages of alluvial landforms in the hyperarid Negev determined by luminescence dating. Journal of Arid Environments 74, (2010). 861–869.Google Scholar
Prentice, C.S. San Andreas Fault; the 1906 earthquake and subsequent evolution of ideas. Classic Cordilleran concepts; a view from California. Moores, E.M., Sloan, D., Stout, D.L. Special Paper — Geological Society of America 338, (1999). 79–85.Google Scholar
Schumm, S., and Chorley, R. The fall of threatening rock. American Journal of Science 262, (1964). 1041–1054.Google Scholar
Shaked, Y., Lazar, B., Marco, S., Stein, M., and Agnon, A. Late Holocene events that shaped the shoreline at the northern Gulf of Aqaba as recorded by a buried reef. Israel Journal of Earth Sciences 58, (2011). 343–356.Google Scholar
Siman-Tov, S. The Geomorphic and Mechanical Conditions for Rock-falls: Rama Cliff, Zurim Escarpment (in Hebrew). Report GSI/10/2009. (2009). Geological Survey of Israel, Jerusalem.Google Scholar
Small, E.E., Anderson, R.S., and Hancock, G.S. Estimates of the rate of regolith production using 10Be and 26Al from an alpine hillslope. Geomorphology 27, (1999). 131–150.Google Scholar
Stone, J.O. Air pressure and cosmogenic isotope production. Journal of Geophysical Research 105, (2000). 23753–23759.Google Scholar
Turkington, A.V., and Paradise, T.R. Sandstone weathering: a century of research and innovation. Geomorphology 67, (2005). 229–253.Google Scholar
Vidrih, R., Ribicic, M., and Suhadolc, P. Seismogeological effects on rocks during the 12 April 1998 Upper Socva Territory earthquake (NW Slovenia). Tectonophysics 330, (2001). 153–175.Google Scholar
Ward, D.J., Anderson, R.S., Guido, Z.S., and Briner, J.P. Numerical modeling of cosmogenic deglaciation records, Front Range and San Juan mountains, Colorado. Journal of Geophysical Research 114, (2009). F01026 Google Scholar
Weissbrod, T. The Palaeozoic of Israel and Adjacent Countries (a Lithostratigraphic Study). (Ph.D. thesis) (1980). Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem.Google Scholar
Xu, C., Xu, X., and Yu, G. Landslides triggered by slipping-fault-generated earthquake on a plateau: an example of the 14 April 2010, Ms 7.1, Yushu, China earthquake. Landslides 10, (2013). 421–431.Google Scholar
Zellmer, J.T. The unexpected rockfall hazard. Bulletin of the Association of Engineering Geologists 24, (1987). 281–283.Google Scholar
Zilberman, E., Amit, R., Porat, N., Enzel, Y., and Avner, U. Surface ruptures induced by the devastating 1068 AD earthquake in the southern Arava valley, Dead Sea Rift, Israel. Tectonophysics 408, (2005). 79–99.Google Scholar
Zilberman, E., Greenbaum, N., and Ashqar, L. Tour to tectonic sites along the Carmel and Nesher faults. Field Guide, Geological Society of Israel Annual Meeting, Nazareth, Israel, April 6–8, 2008. (2008). Google Scholar
Supplementary material: PDF

Rinat et al. supplementary material

Supplementary Material

Download Rinat et al. supplementary material(PDF)
PDF 362.8 KB