Instrumental data on the seismic activity along the Dead Sea Transform

International audienceWe analyzed the catalog of instrumental recordings of seismic activityfrom 1900 to 2010 along the Dead Sea Transform. The seismicity pattern revealssignificant activity confined to 5 main sections of the transform. In all the sectionsof the transform there is a significant amount of seismic activity at depths of9–10 km (lower part of the upper crust). The seismic activity extends to large depthsof 20 km and more, where about 30 % of the seismic activity occurs in the lowercrust, especially in the Dead Sea basin and the Arava Valley. The deep seismicity iscorrelative with previous low heat flow measurements along the transform, and thussuggesting a relatively cold crust. We analyzed more than 4,300 S-wave spectra ofearthquakes in the magnitude range is 0.8 ≤ Md ≤ 6.2, with M0 values ranging from3.1x1011 N · m to 5.4x1018 N · m, and Brune stress drop estimates, Δσ, between0.1 MPa and 15 MPa. The total seismic moment release in the years 1900–2010 inthe Dead Sea Transform due to all the earthquakes, including the earthquake in1927, is only a fraction of the expected seismic moment release