The active Dead Sea Rift fault zone: a seismic wave-guide

Abstract

The analysis of several types of earthquake- induced failure features in the Dead Sea Rift (DSR) region reveals peculiarities that depart from habitual damage dis- tribution patterns observed elsewhere. These observations, together with a series of unusual seismic characteristics, sug- gest that the structure of the DSR influences the dissipation of seismic energy and acts as a wave-guide. First, this paper describes both a series of ancient failure features that were seismically triggered as well as the behav- ior of several recent earthquakes. The paper then reviews the large-scale tectonic structure of the DSR through geophysi- cal surveys in order to predict its potential effect on seismic energy dissipation. Finally the wave-guide work hypothesis is verified based on the results of recent seismological in- vestigations carried out independently around the DSR fault zone. The conclusion of this work discusses some of the im- plications of this special filtering effect for seismic hazard assessment and suggests directions for further research.