Quaternary tectonic activity in NW Jordan: Insights for a new model of transpression–transtension along the southern Dead Sea Transform Fault

Abstract

The Dead Sea Transform Fault (DSTF) constitutes the transform plate boundary between the African and Arabian plates. The southern part of this fault has been traditionally divided into two main segments, the Wadi Araba Fault (WAF) and the Jordan Valley Fault (JVF), connected through the Dead Sea continental pull-apart basin. Active tectonic studies in NW Jordan have traditionally focused on these DSTF structures and have neglected other prominent structures in the region, such as the Amman Hallabat Structure (AHS) and Shueib Structure (SHS) fault systems, which have been considered inactive since the Cretaceous. However, some recent studies have suggested a possible local reactivation of the southern parts of these structures. In this work, we carried out a detailed geological study of the NE Dead Sea Basin to analyze the Quaternary activity of the AHS and SHS based on field observations and structural analyses. Our findings have revealed that the AHS and SHS structures present clear Quaternary activity and accommodate a small part of the deformation of the southern DSTF. In the Quaternary, the southwestern part of the AHS has acted as the northernmost continuation of the WAF, whereas the SHS has acted as a transfer fault associated with NW–SE normal faults with low to moderate throws (meters to decameters) that connect this structure to the JVF. These NW–SE normal faults constitute the northeastern border of the Dead Sea depression (Jericho Valley). They produce a topographic front and separate the sediments of the Jordan Valley in the hanging wall from the Mesozoic sedimentary sequence located in the footwall.