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Relief Inversion in the Avrona Playa as Evidence of Large-Magnitude Historical Earthquakes, Southern Arava Valley, Dead Sea Rift

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Rivka Amit ,
Ezra Zilberman ,
Naomi Porat  and
Yehouda Enzel
Rivka Amit
Affiliation:
Geological Survey of Israel, 30 Malkhe Israel Street, Jerusalem, Israel, 95501
Ezra Zilberman
Affiliation:
Geological Survey of Israel, 30 Malkhe Israel Street, Jerusalem, Israel, 95501
Naomi Porat
Affiliation:
Geological Survey of Israel, 30 Malkhe Israel Street, Jerusalem, Israel, 95501
Yehouda Enzel
Affiliation:
Institute of Earth Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel, 91904
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Abstract

The Arava Valley section of the Dead Sea Transform (DST) in southern Israel is characterized by the absence of seismic activity in recent times. However, paleoseismic analysis of sediments in the Avrona Playa, a pull-apart basin along the DST, reveals that at least six M > 6 tectonic events have affected the Avrona playa in the last 14,000 yr. The recurrence interval of the events is approximately 2000 yr. Trenched normal faults and push-up ridges in the playa show that the upper 2 m of the deformed sedimentary sequence consists of playa deposits with uniform soil development. The deformed sediments and the soil are typical of basins with an endoreic fluvial system. Based on the limiting age of the sequence and the extent of soil development, faulting in the playa, followed by compression and uplift, occurred in the last 1000 yr. This most recent tectonic event displaced the surface by at least 1 m, consistent with a M > 6.5 earthquake. This earthquake changed the morphology of the Avrona Playa from a closed system with internal drainage to an open basin, resulting in relief inversion. The seismic quiescence in the Arava may indicate a seismic gap in this segment of the DST.

Keywords

Holocene faultingneotectonicsDead Sea RiftIsraelearthquakesplayaalluvial fans
Type
Research Article
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 52 , Issue 1 , July 1999 , pp. 76 - 91
Copyright
University of Washington

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