Geodetic network for study of crustal movements across the Jordan-dead sea rift

Abstract

Since estimates of ongoing slip along the Dead Sea Rift transform differ widely, a geodetic monitoring network, 2.5 × 4 km area, was established at Kefar Hanassi, north of Lake Tiberias. It includes 12 deep-anchored micropile benchmarks, six on each side of the main rift fault. Network geometry is such that repeated measurements will detect displacements not only on the main fault but also on the oblique subsidiary faults. The accuracies attained in the first set of surveys (Tellurometer MA100 and Geodimeter AGA114, triangulation and precise levelling) suggest that a consistent tectonic slip at the rate of a few mm/a should emerge from the range of operational noise within a decade. To improve the resolution, and to extend the network to the rift margins, higher quality EDM and GPS measurement systems are now deployed.