TY - JOUR
T1 - A note on the correlation between geophysical observations and seismicity in the Arava/(Araba) Valley at the southern part of the Dead Sea fault
AU - Rybakov, Michael
AU - Shapira, Avi
AU - Al-Zoubi, Abdallah
AU - ten Brink, Uri
AU - Hofstetter, Rami
AU - Kraeva, Nadezda
AU - Feldman, Lea
PY - 2006
Y1 - 2006
N2 - The spatial distribution of the earthquakes in the Arava Valley, a 150-km section of the Dead Sea Transform, is compared for the first time with the local subsurface geological features derived from geophysical and geological data. Gravity data suggested that the Gharandal, Timna, and Elat basins were filled by low-density young sediments. These features were confirmed by seismic reflection profiles and high-resolution aeromagnetic (HRAM) survey. The HRAM survey delineated the trace of the Dead Sea Transform (DST), which separates magnetic anomalies in the eastern and western parts of the valley, and revealed the occurrence of the unknown deep magmatics. Overall, the earthquake activity appears to be strongly related to the Dead Sea Transform. However, on a local scale, there is no apparent correlation between the seismicity and the mapped fault segments comprising the DST fault system. Absence of the correlation may be a result of insufficient accuracy of the earthquake localization and/or the inclined fault plane. However, in spite of such inaccuracy, it is clearly observed that the large clusters of the low-magnitude earthquakes coincide well with the sedimentary basins. Two pronounced clusters appear to coincide with the subsurface magmatics. We assume that the subsurface geology predetermines areas of stress accumulation and earthquakes. These areas can be the end of faults, or fault jogs, which sometimes create basins. Magmatism can also be affected by the stress field and predetermine the stress and earthquakes' allocation.
AB - The spatial distribution of the earthquakes in the Arava Valley, a 150-km section of the Dead Sea Transform, is compared for the first time with the local subsurface geological features derived from geophysical and geological data. Gravity data suggested that the Gharandal, Timna, and Elat basins were filled by low-density young sediments. These features were confirmed by seismic reflection profiles and high-resolution aeromagnetic (HRAM) survey. The HRAM survey delineated the trace of the Dead Sea Transform (DST), which separates magnetic anomalies in the eastern and western parts of the valley, and revealed the occurrence of the unknown deep magmatics. Overall, the earthquake activity appears to be strongly related to the Dead Sea Transform. However, on a local scale, there is no apparent correlation between the seismicity and the mapped fault segments comprising the DST fault system. Absence of the correlation may be a result of insufficient accuracy of the earthquake localization and/or the inclined fault plane. However, in spite of such inaccuracy, it is clearly observed that the large clusters of the low-magnitude earthquakes coincide well with the sedimentary basins. Two pronounced clusters appear to coincide with the subsurface magmatics. We assume that the subsurface geology predetermines areas of stress accumulation and earthquakes. These areas can be the end of faults, or fault jogs, which sometimes create basins. Magmatism can also be affected by the stress field and predetermine the stress and earthquakes' allocation.
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=36549024893&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1560/IJES_55_3_173
DO - 10.1560/IJES_55_3_173
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:36549024893
SN - 0021-2164
VL - 55
SP - 173
EP - 183
JO - Israel Journal of Earth Sciences
JF - Israel Journal of Earth Sciences
IS - 3
ER -