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Anatomy of the Dead Sea transform: Does it reflect continuous changes in plate motion?

January 1, 1999

A new gravity map of the southern half of the Dead Sea transform offers the first regional view of the anatomy of this plate boundary. Interpreted together with auxiliary seismic and well data, the map reveals a string of subsurface basins of widely varying size, shape, and depth along the plate boundary and relatively short (25–55 km) and discontinuous fault segments. We argue that this structure is a result of continuous small changes in relative plate motion. However, several segments must have ruptured simultaneously to produce the inferred maximum magnitude of historical earthquakes.

Publication Year 1999
Title Anatomy of the Dead Sea transform: Does it reflect continuous changes in plate motion?
DOI 10.1130/0091-7613(1999)027<0887:AOTDST>2.3.CO;2
Authors Uri S. ten Brink, M. Rybakov, A. S. Al-Zoubi, M. Hassouneh, U. Frieslander, A.T. Batayneh, V. Goldschmidt, M.N. Daoud, Y. Rotstein, J.K. Hall
Publication Type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Series Title Geology
Index ID 70021281
Record Source USGS Publications Warehouse
USGS Organization Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center