Researchers at Haifa University and the Geological Institute found that, contrary to the accepted assumption in science to this day, the Dead Sea replica and the Eastern Anatolian replica in Turkey are not tectonically connected, and therefore the strong earthquakes that were in Turkey in 2023 were not felt in Israel
Contrary to previous assumptions, the Dead Sea rift (the Syrian-African rift), one of the largest rift systems in the world, does not form a complete and continuous structural connection with the Eastern Anatolian rift in southern Turkey, according to a new study conducted at the School of Environmental Sciences at the University of Haifa and the Israel Geological Survey. "In February 2023, there were large earthquakes in Turkey and everyone expected that as a result there would be strong aftershocks in Israel along the Dead Sea transect, but this did not happen. Our research explained the reason. Contrary to the assumptions that have been accepted until now, the Dead Sea transect and the East Anatolian transect in Turkey are not connected Tectonic as is accepted in science, therefore the seismic energy does not pass. It is absorbed in small tremors in the intermediate areas, that is in Syria and Lebanon," said Prof. Uri Shatner from the University of Haifa, one of the authors of the study.
In February 2023, earthquakes occurred in southeastern Turkey that were among the strongest in the history of the Middle East region and caused the death of tens of thousands of people. In the current study recently published in the journal Tectonophysics The researchers asked Prof. Shatner from the School of Environmental Sciences at the University of Haifa, Dr. Amit Segev and Dr. Nadav Wetzler from the Israel Geological Survey to check why the major earthquakes in Turkey did not cause significant shocks along the Dead Sea coast. The researchers performed a seismological analysis of data from the earthquake databases of Israel and Turkey collected over the years from Eilat to Turkey, and throughout the neighboring countries. This analysis was accompanied by a broad review of previous geological studies on earthquakes, tectonics, and volcanic activity during the development of the Dead Sea replica over the past millions of years.
The results of the study show that while the Dead Sea replica extends from the Red Sea in the south to Turkey in the north, the movement along it is not uniform, and in its northern part it does not form a continuous connection with the Turkish replica system. The southern part of the replica (Eilat to Kinneret) concentrates most of the earthquakes near the replica, where a cumulative displacement of about 105 kilometers was measured between buildings on the eastern and western sides of the replica (the east moves north relative to the west). Further north, on the other hand, the copying decreases in the area of Lebanon and Syria to a few kilometers, and in the outskirts of Turkey it is absent. In these parts the earthquakes are spread over wider areas and not only on the copy. These differences reflect the focus of the movement in the south compared to its dispersion in the north. "This finding sharpens our understanding of how seismic energy is released in areas sensitive to earthquakes and can help improve how we should prepare for seismic events. Our findings indicate that the Dead Sea replica is not structurally connected continuously with the Eastern Anatolian replica. This is a critical finding for seismic risk management in our region, and raises new questions regarding the nature of the earthquakes that can occur in the north of the country," he said Dr. Wetzler from the Seismology Division at the Geological Institute.
According to the researchers, the meeting area between the Dead Sea replica and the Eastern Anatolian replica can be seen as a natural laboratory for the study of the processes that accompany and create a connection between the boundaries of tectonic plates, hence its international importance. "A plate boundary like the Dead Sea replica exists in many other places, for example the San Andreas replica in California, as part of a network of boundaries between plates connected at junctions. Our research shows exactly how the intersection of plate boundaries is formed," said Dr. Segev.
"The findings of the research change the basic concept regarding the structure of the Earth's crust in our region and therefore change the starting point for understanding the distribution of earthquakes. A deeper understanding of the geological structure of the Dead Sea region and its relationship to neighboring countries can lead to improved preparedness and emergency plans. The uniqueness of this region can To help the authorities understand the behavior of the seismic risk in a better way", concluded the researchers.
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incitement? shifting!