Geosciences Dept. Seminar: 220-ka paleoseismic record in the Dead Sea Basin

​Abstract:

The relative motion between tectonic plates occurs during earthquakes. Hence, where the plates move slowly (<10 mm/yr) we expect less earthquakes with longer interseismic intervals. However, the scarcity of long continuous paleoseismic records of large earthquakes hinders the determination of their temporal and spatial distribution. After studying widely exposed slumps at the margins of the Dead Sea we were able to identify seismites (earthquake-triggered deformation) in the 465-m-long Dead Sea drill core. We found that the earthquakes appear in diachronic clusters along the DS Basin with a mean recurrence of ~1300±230 years for large earthquakes (M>7). This interval is shorter than the previously inferred recurrence based on shorter, fragmentary records.

Seminar Organizer: Prof. Eyal Haifetz