The Dead Sea Rift as a natural laboratory for earthquake behavior: prehistorical, historical and recent seismicity

The DSW 2009 - Field Trip & Workshop "The Dead Sea Rift as natural laboratory for earthquake behaviour: prehistorical, historical and recent seismicity", held in Israel on 16th-23rd February, 2009, was organized by the Geological Survey of Israel and INQUA Focus Group on Paleoseismology and Active Tectonics, in collaboration with UNESCO (IGCP project 567 “Earthquake Archaeology”). This event was aimed at improving our understanding of Paleoseismology and Seismic Hazard Assessment, at a global level and specifically in the Eastern Mediterranean Region, with an emphasis on the study of the environmental effects of earthquakes and on the application of the ESI 2007 intensity scale. The region of the Dead Sea Rift is in fact the object of large engineering projects, such as the Dead Sea - Red Sea water conduit project, and existing and planned nuclear facilities in Israel and Jordan. A six days long field trip along the Dead Sea fault from Hula Valley at the border with Lebanon, to the Red Sea and Aqaba in Jordan, was organized by the Geological Survey of Israel in collaboration with the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Tel Aviv University and Ben- Gurion University, Beer Sheva, Israel. This volume is the comprehensive Field Trip Guide for the DSW 2009. The field trip spanned 4 seasons, from the snowy Mt Hermon, to the rainy Sea of Galilee region, and to the hot arid desert -- Dead Sea, Arava valley and to the Red Sea, the Aqaba/Eilat area, allowing to examine a wide variety of climatic and geomorphic settings. The “fil rouge” of the trip was of course the trace of the Dead Sea Tranform, which was followed for more than 300 km, with about 35 stops. The participants examined unique field exposures presented by expertise of each site and discussed, among others, A) seismically-induced landslide hazards near the Sea of Galilee and South of the Dead Sea, B) evidence of archaeoseismicity at a variety of location along the Jordan River Valley, Dead Sea Rift and at Aqaba/Petra, C) paleoseismic surface faulting exposed along trench walls in the Arava Valley, and damaged and offsett archaeological remains at Qala'at Al-Subeiba Namrod fortress, Vadum Jacob, Susita, Petra, and Ayla (Aqaba) in Jordan:, D) paleoliquefaction features preserved in the Lisan Formation around the Dead Sea, E) long paleoseismic record from deformed speleothemes in the Soreq Cave near Jerusalem.