Resolving the Structure of a Slowly Slipping Plate Boundary: Insights from the Dead Sea Fault
Shaked Engelberg, & Zachary E. RossSubmitted August 30, 2026, SCEC Contribution #15350, 2026 SCEC Annual Meeting Poster #TBD
Low seismicity rates along slowly slipping plate boundaries limit the resolution at which active fault structures can be imaged using earthquake catalogs. Here, we present a framework to overcome this limitation at the Dead Sea Fault. We generate a new microseismic catalog spanning 2021-2025 using a dense (~5 km spacing) strong-motion network, machine-learning phase picking, and precise earthquake relocation. Rather than interpreting individual microearthquake clusters, we stack clusters distributed over tens of kilometers of the fault and infer the fault geometry that maximizes their spatial concentration. This approach reveals an east dipping staircase-like structure extending westward from the main fault trace for approximately 100 km at the northern part of the fault. Within the Dead Sea Basin, the stacked seismicity also defines an east-dipping structure, suggesting a preferred large-scale fault geometry across the Dead Sea Fault system. Because the deep clusters in these areas align with the mapped trace of the main Fault, before diverging westward toward shallower depths, we interpret these east-dipping structures as secondary faults that accommodate deformation not released on the main fault, that is mainly locked. Our catalog also constrains cross-fault structures along the southern segment of the Dead Sea Fault, including a prominent, broad zone of seismicity that originates at depth and curves upward, narrowing toward the surface. This geometry may reflect a complex fault architecture associated with the tectonic evolution of the southern basin.
Citation
Engelberg, S., & Ross, Z. E. (2026, 08). Resolving the Structure of a Slowly Slipping Plate Boundary: Insights from the Dead Sea Fault. Poster Presentation at 2026 SCEC Annual Meeting.
Related Projects & Working Groups
Seismology
