@article{MohsenAschMechieetal.2011,
  author    = {Mohsen, Amjad and Asch, G{\"u}nter and Mechie, James and Kind, Rainer and Hofstetter, Rami and Weber, Michael H. and Stiller, M. and Abu-Ayyash, Khalil},
  title     = {Crustal structure of the Dead Sea Basin (DSB) from a receiver function analysis},
  series = {Geophysical journal international},
  volume    = {184},
  journal   = {Geophysical journal international},
  number    = {1},
  publisher = {Wiley-Blackwell},
  address   = {Malden},
  issn      = {0956-540X},
  doi       = {10.1111/j.1365-246X.2010.04853.x},
  pages     = {463 -- 476},
  year      = {2011},
  abstract  = {The Dead Sea Transform (DST) is a major left-lateral strike-slip fault that accommodates the relative motion between the African and Arabian plates, connecting a region of extension in the Red Sea to the Taurus collision zone in Turkey over a length of about 1100 km. The Dead Sea Basin (DSB) is one of the largest basins along the DST. The DSB is a morphotectonic depression along the DST, divided into a northern and a southern sub-basin, separated by the Lisan salt diapir. We report on a receiver function study of the crust within the multidisciplinary geophysical project, DEad Sea Integrated REsearch (DESIRE), to study the crustal structure of the DSB. A temporary seismic network was operated on both sides of the DSB between 2006 October and 2008 April. The aperture of the network is approximately 60 km in the E-W direction crossing the DSB on the Lisan peninsula and about 100 km in the N-S direction. Analysis of receiver functions from the DESIRE temporary network indicates that Moho depths vary between 30 and 38 km beneath the area. These Moho depth estimates are consistent with results of near-vertical incidence and wide-angle controlled-source techniques. Receiver functions reveal an additional discontinuity in the lower crust, but only in the DSB and west of it. This leads to the conclusion that the internal crustal structure east and west of the DSB is different at the present-day. However, if the 107 km left-lateral movement along the DST is taken into account, then the region beneath the DESIRE array where no lower crustal discontinuity is observed would have lain about 18 Ma ago immediately adjacent to the region under the previous DESERT array west of the DST where no lower crustal discontinuity is recognized.},
  language  = {en}
}
@article{PaschkeStillerRybergetal.2012,
  author    = {Paschke, Marco and Stiller, Manfred and Ryberg, Trond and Weber, Michael H.},
  title     = {The shallow P-velocity structure of the southern Dead Sea basin derived from near-vertical incidence reflection seismic data in project DESIRE},
  series = {Geophysical journal international},
  volume    = {188},
  journal   = {Geophysical journal international},
  number    = {2},
  publisher = {Wiley-Blackwell},
  address   = {Malden},
  organization    = {DESIRE Grp},
  issn      = {0956-540X},
  doi       = {10.1111/j.1365-246X.2011.05270.x},
  pages     = {524 -- 534},
  year      = {2012},
  abstract  = {As a part of the DEad Sea Integrated REsearch (DESIRE) project a near-vertical incidence reflection (NVR) experiment with a profile length of 122 km was completed in spring 2006. The profile crossed the southern Dead Sea basin (DSB), a pull-apart basin due to the strike-slip motion along the Dead Sea Transform (DST). The DST with a total displacement of 107 km since about 18 Ma is part of a left-lateral fault system which connects the spreading centre in the Red Sea with the Taurus collision zone in Turkey over a distance of about 1100 km. The seismic experiment comprises 972 source locations and 1045 receiver locations. Each source was recorded by similar to 180 active receivers and a field data set with 175 000 traces was created. From this data set, 124 444 P-wave first-break traveltimes have been picked. With these traveltimes a tomographic inversion was carried out, resulting in a 2-D P-wave velocity model with a rms error of 20.9 ms. This model is dominated by a low-velocity region associated with the DSB. Within the DSB, the model shows clearly the position of the Lisan salt diapir, identified by a high-velocity zone. A further feature is an unexpected laterally low-velocity zone with P-velocities of 3 km s1 embedded in regions with 4 km s1 in the shallow part on the west side of the DSB. Another observation is an anticlinal structure west of the DSB interpretated to the related Syrian arc fold belt.},
  language  = {en}
}