This study re-evaluates the ∼20 Myr development of the Dead Sea Fault System (DSFS) and its tectonic definition as a transform plate boundary. The DSFS conveys sinistral displacement between the Arabian-Sinai plates: ∼105 km along its ∼400 km-long southern segment (Gulf of Aqaba-Eilat to the Hula basin); ∼90 km and 4–16 km along the central and northern segments (∼190 km long each, across Lebanon, western Syria, and southern Turkey). A review of previous studies, combined with new seismological data analysis, associates the northward displacement decline with obstacles along the DSFS propagation path. During the Miocene, DSFS propagated up to the NW-trending Irbid rift (1st obstacle) and splayed NW towards the Mediterranean and NE along the Late Cretaceous Palmyra fold-thrust belt (2nd obstacle). Its reactivation uplifted the Hermon and the Anti-Lebanon mountain ranges. Northward DSFS propagation into the cold and rigid Aleppo plateau lithosphere (3rd obstacle) was stalled until the early Pliocene (∼5 Ma), when volcanism and ongoing regional tectonic forcing enabled the DSFS to shift to the Yammouneh fault and rupture through the Missyaf-Ghab branch farther north (central and northern segments, respectively). During the Pleistocene-recent, connection of the DSFS with the ophiolite belt and East Anatolian Fault System (EAFS) along the Bitlis suture zone (4th obstacle) has not yet been established. Seismological data show a clear separation between the EAFS and the DSFS, while seismicity is scattered across the Aleppo plateau and the central and northern DSFS segments. In contrast, seismicity is localized along the southern DSFS segment. Our findings suggest that, at present, the DSFS has still not made a structural, seismologic, and tectonic connection with the EAFS. Hence, we redefine the DSFS as a pre-transform and suggest its interaction with the EAFS is a world-class example of a fault-fault-fault triple junction in the making.

中文翻译：

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死海断层是什么时候变成一种转变的？


本研究重新评估了死海断层系统 （DSFS） 的 ∼20 Myr 发展及其作为转换板块边界的构造定义。DSFS 在阿拉伯-西奈板块之间传递正弦位移：沿其 ∼400 公里长的南段（亚喀巴-埃拉特湾到胡拉盆地）约 105 公里;沿中段和北段 ∼90 公里和 4-16 公里（各长 ∼190 公里，横跨黎巴嫩、叙利亚西部和土耳其南部）。对先前研究的回顾，结合新的地震学数据分析，将向北位移的下降与 DSFS 传播路径上的障碍物联系起来。在中新世，DSFS 向上传播到 NW 走向的 Irbid 裂谷（第 1 个障碍），并沿着晚白垩世巴尔米拉褶皱逆冲带（第 2 个障碍）向西北方向向地中海和东北方向张开。它的重新激活抬高了赫尔蒙山脉和反黎巴嫩山脉。DSFS 向北传播到寒冷而坚硬的阿勒颇高原岩石圈（第 3 个障碍）一直停滞不前，直到上新世早期（∼5 马），当时火山作用和持续的区域构造强迫使 DSFS 转移到 Yammouneh 断层并通过更北的 Missyaf-Ghab 分支破裂（分别为中段和北段）。在更新世，DSFS 与蛇绿岩带和东安纳托利亚断层系统 （EAFS） 沿 Bitlis 缝合带（第 4 个障碍）的联系尚未建立。地震数据显示 EAFS 和 DSFS 之间有明显的区别，而地震活动分散在阿勒颇高原以及 DSFS 中部和北部段。相比之下，地震活动局限于南部 DSFS 段。我们的研究结果表明，目前，DSFS 仍未与 EAFS 建立结构、地震和构造联系。 因此，我们将 DSFS 重新定义为预转换，并建议它与 EAFS 的交互是正在形成的故障-故障-故障三结的世界级示例。