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Quantifying Earthquake Effects on Ancient Arches, Example: The Kalat Nimrod Fortress, Dead Sea Fault Zone
Abstract
Deformed arches are often key elements of archaeoseismic studies; arches have been in use for more than three millennia and damage, particularly moved keystones, are clear indications of a seismogenic cause. We introduce a damage evaluation scheme that allows a straightforward determination of the degree of damage to an arch based on laser scan models and digital images. The scheme is applied to 90 arches of the Nimrod Castle, which is neighboring the Dead Sea fault and which was heavily damaged during the 1759 Lebanon earthquake. The analysis shows that the a priori assumption of a correlation between arch orientation and damage degree does not hold for the entire building. An exception is a large tower including a secret passage in which voussoirs have dropped along a more than 20 m long section.
... Ronnie Ellenblum, in his manuscript "Who Built Qal'at al-Subayba?" proposed that the fortress was established in the post-Crusader era between A.D 1220 and 1230 by the Ayyubic ruler of Banias, Al-Malik Al-Aziz 'Uthman [3]. The Ayyubic theory gained wide popularity and is currently accepted by most scholars [6][7][8][9]. However, it is based on an interpretation of historical texts, rather than on firsthand observations or archaeological findings [7]. ...
... As masonry and architecture styles are oftentimes linked to a specific historical era and/or ruler [10], these observations suggest that construction was carried out by different masons during different historical times and under different rulers. The fortress compound bears clear and distinctive earthquake footprints [9]. These footprints were attributed to a single earthquake, that of A.D 1762 [3,6]. ...
... Notwithstanding its immense size and durability, the Massive masonry sustained earthquake damage on a catastrophic scale, as most of the tower's western face, as well as internal sections utterly, collapsed [9]. The (Fig. 3c) and the southern (Fig. 3d) faces were better preserved, indicating that the horizontal earth motion was south-west. ...
Qal’at al-Subayba (Nimrod Fortress), one of the largest medieval fortresses in the Middle East, is strategically located above the city of Banias on the ancient highway from Tyre to Damascus. Scholars have attributed the founding of the fortress to different rulers and periods. Current theory attributes the fortress founding to the Ayyubids. Although the Ayyubic theory is widely accepted, it relies primarily upon alternative interpretation of historical sources rather than firsthand observations. The fortress was constructed using distinctively different masonry styles. The primary styles, Massive, Crusader, Ayyubic, and Mamluk, are characterized here. Some of these masonries carry earthquake footprints and findings show that the damage is correlated with the specific masonry rather than geographical or other constraints. The Massive masonry sustained the greatest damage. The Crusader masonry was damaged to a lesser extent and the Ayyubic and Mamluk were spared. Based on these findings, it is concluded that the fortress was hit by two powerful earthquakes, the one of A.D 749 and the one of A.D 1202. The earthquake of A.D 749 devastated the Massive masonry, prior to later constructions. As this masonry has Hellenistic characteristics, it is suggested that the fortress was founded by the Greco-Syrians.
... Ronnie Ellenblum, in his manuscript "Who Built Qal'at al-Subayba?" proposed that the fortress was established in the post-Crusader era between A.D 1220 and 1230 by the Ayyubic ruler of Banias, Al-Malik Al-Aziz 'Uthman [3]. The Ayyubic theory gained wide popularity and is currently accepted by most scholars [6][7][8][9]. However, it is based on an interpretation of historical texts, rather than on firsthand observations or archaeological findings [7]. ...
... As masonry and architecture styles are oftentimes linked to a specific historical era and/or ruler [10], these observations suggest that construction was carried out by different masons during different historical times and under different rulers. The fortress compound bears clear and distinctive earthquake footprints [9]. These footprints were attributed to a single earthquake, that of A.D 1762 [3,6]. ...
... Notwithstanding its immense size and durability, the Massive masonry sustained earthquake damage on a catastrophic scale, as most of the tower's western face, as well as internal sections utterly, collapsed [9]. The (Fig. 3c) and the southern (Fig. 3d) faces were better preserved, indicating that the horizontal earth motion was south-west. ...
Qal’at al-Subayba (Nimrod Fortress), one of the largest medieval fortresses in the Middle East, is strategically located above the city of Banias on the ancient highway from Tyre to Damascus. Scholars have attributed the founding of the fortress to different rulers and periods. Current theory attributes the fortress founding to the Ayyubids. Although the Ayyubic theory is widely accepted, it relies primarily upon alternative interpretation of historical sources rather than firsthand observations. The fortress was constructed using distinctively different masonry styles. The primary styles, Massive, Crusader, Ayyubic, and Mamluk, are characterized here. Some of these masonries carry earthquake footprints and findings show that the damage is correlated with the specific masonry rather than geographical or other constraints. The Massive masonry sustained the greatest damage. The Crusader masonry was damaged to a lesser extent and the Ayyubic and Mamluk were spared. Based on these findings, it is concluded that the fortress was hit by two powerful earthquakes, the one of A.D 749 and the one of A.D 1202. The earthquake of A.D 749 devastated the Massive masonry, prior to later constructions. As this masonry has Hellenistic characteristics, it is suggested that the fortress was founded by the Greco-Syrians.
... Such earthquake damage can be used to complete historical seismic catalogs and give information about earthquake parameters (e. g., Gasperini et al., 1999;Korjenkov and Mazor, 1999;Nur and Cline, 2000;Marco et al., 2003;Galadini et al., 2006;Marco, 2008;Reicherter et al., 2009;Sintubin et al., 2010;Rodriguez-Pascua et al., 2011;Hinzen et al., 2011). The orientation of the earthquake damage (e.g., fallen columns, toppled walls, conjugate fracture sets in walls, or dropped keystones in arches) in architectonic elements suffered due to an earthquake can be regarded as a structural seismoscope of the ground motion pulse (Mallet, 1862;Mazor, 1999, 2013;Hinzen et al., 2016). For example, the generation of a dropped keystone (Fig. 1B, E and F) requires horizontal ground motion (Korjenkov and Mazor, 2003;Hinzen et al., 2016). ...
... The orientation of the earthquake damage (e.g., fallen columns, toppled walls, conjugate fracture sets in walls, or dropped keystones in arches) in architectonic elements suffered due to an earthquake can be regarded as a structural seismoscope of the ground motion pulse (Mallet, 1862;Mazor, 1999, 2013;Hinzen et al., 2016). For example, the generation of a dropped keystone (Fig. 1B, E and F) requires horizontal ground motion (Korjenkov and Mazor, 2003;Hinzen et al., 2016). In addition, from early studies like Mallet's reports in the 19th century, observations of the orientations of fractures in walls and of tilted and collapsed walls were used to infer the epicenters and depths of the earthquakes (Mallet, 1862;Talwani, 2014). ...
... Downward moved keystones of arches, large windows, bridges and doors are common in regions hit by earthquakes (e.g., Mazor, 2003, 2013;Marco, 2008). Hinzen et al. (2016) indicate that arches are architectonic elements essential to archaeoseismological studies because dropped keystones are clear indications of a seismogenic cause and a horizontal ground motion can only cause it. Hinzen et al. (2016) do not relate the dropped keystone to any specific ground motion direction but others (e.g., Rodriguez-Pascua et al., 2011) stablish a relation of < 45°between the arch orientation and the ground motion direction. ...
Studies to provide information concerning seismic parameters and seismic sources of historical and archaeological seismic events are used to better evaluate the seismic hazard of a region. This is of especial interest when no surface rupture is recorded or the seismogenic fault cannot be identified. The orientation pattern of the earthquake damage (ED) (e.g., fallen columns, dropped key stones) that affected architectonic elements of cities after earthquakes has been traditionally used in historical and archaeoseismological studies to infer seismic parameters. However, in the literature depending on the authors, the parameters that can be obtained are contradictory (it has been proposed: the epicenter location, the orientation of the P-waves, the orientation of the compressional strain and the fault kinematics) and authors even question these relations with the earthquake damage. The earthquakes of Lorca in 2011, Christchurch in 2011 and Emilia Romagna in 2012 present an opportunity to measure systematically a large number and wide variety of earthquake damage in historical buildings (the same structures that are used in historical and archaeological studies). The damage pattern orientation has been compared with modern instrumental data, which is not possible in historical and archaeoseismological studies. From measurements and quantification of the orientation patterns in the studied earthquakes, it is observed that there is a systematic pattern of the earthquake damage orientation (EDO) in the proximity of the seismic source (fault trace) (<10 km). The EDO in these earthquakes is normal to the fault trend (±15°). This orientation can be generated by a pulse of motion that in the near fault region has a distinguishable acceleration normal to the fault due to the polarization of the S-waves. Therefore, the earthquake damage orientation could be used to estimate the seismogenic fault trend of historical earthquakes studies where no instrumental data are available.
... There are both positive (Hinzen et al., 2016) and negative (Hinzen, 2009) arguments regarding whether damage and collapse azimuths in buildings carry information on epicentral location or not. Modern earthquakes along the North Anatolian Fault yielded a statistically meaningful number of observations (e.g. ...
... Motosaka and Somer, 2002), which can be applied to past earthquakes. Medieval fortresses and villages in Syria (Kázmér and Major, 2015), Hisham palace (Alfonsi et al., 2013) and Nimrod castle in Palestine on the Golan Heights (Hinzen et al., 2016), each along the sinistral strike-slip Dead Sea Fault in the Levant, yielded clearcut, fault-parallel azimuth data, which still need comprehensive assessment. Thrust and normal faults tend to dominate the main shock field approximately perpendicular to their trend (Ghayamgamian, 2007;Combey et al., 2022). ...
... Nowadays, archaeological excavation-parallel [53,65,69] or non-excavation [48,70,71] three-dimensional (3D) laser scans of damaged archaeological structures accompanied by a quantitative damage analysis allow a fast and accurate identification, classification, quantification and testing of structural damage at a site and can assist archaeological work during or after archaeological excavation. Moreover, the 3D surface meshes derived from the same scan data can become the basis for developing virtual discrete element models of large and small anthropogenic structures of archaeological context such as rooms, aqueducts, wells, walls, terracotta vessels and figures [8,48,53,[69][70][71][72][73]. ...
... Nowadays, archaeological excavation-parallel [53,65,69] or non-excavation [48,70,71] three-dimensional (3D) laser scans of damaged archaeological structures accompanied by a quantitative damage analysis allow a fast and accurate identification, classification, quantification and testing of structural damage at a site and can assist archaeological work during or after archaeological excavation. Moreover, the 3D surface meshes derived from the same scan data can become the basis for developing virtual discrete element models of large and small anthropogenic structures of archaeological context such as rooms, aqueducts, wells, walls, terracotta vessels and figures [8,48,53,[69][70][71][72][73]. The available discrete element models can then be used to test their stability using input ground motion signals (i.e., analytical, simulated earthquakes (assumed or historically documented), instrumental earthquakes, or strong motion records) to see if the structures topple or collapse [74], hence, allowing the determination of maximum upper ground motion bounds. ...
Earthquakes have and continue to, occur worldwide, though some places are affected more than others by earthquake-induced ground shaking and the same earthquake can cause more damage in one area than in nearby locations due to site-specific geological site conditions, also known as local site effects. Depending on the chronology of the earthquakes, various disciplines of seismology include instrumental and historical seismology, archaeoseismology, palaeoseismology and neotectonics, each focusing on using specific sources of information to evaluate recent or ancient earthquakes. Past earthquakes are investigated to expand the pre-instrumental and instrumental earthquake catalog and better evaluate a region’s seismic hazard. Archaeoseismology offers a way to achieve these goals because it links how ancient civilizations and their environment might have interacted and responded to past earthquake-induced ground motion and soil amplification. Hence, archaeoseismology explores pre-instrumental (past) earthquakes that might have affected sites of human occupation and their nearby settings, which have left their co-seismic marks in ancient manufactured constructions exhumed by archaeological excavations. However, archaeoseismological observations are often made on a limited epicentral area, poorly constrained dated earthquakes and occasionally on unclear evidence of earthquake damage. Archaeological excavations or field investigations often underestimate the critical role that an archaeological site’s ancient geological site conditions might have played in causing co-seismic structural damage to ancient anthropogenic structures. Nevertheless, the archaeological community might document and inaccurately diagnose structural damage by ancient earthquake shaking to structures and even estimate the size of past earthquakes giving little or no consideration to the role of geological site effects in addressing the causative earthquake. This mixture of factors frequently leads to imprecise estimates of the size of ancient earthquakes and unlikely earthquake environmental impacts, leaving unexplained the location and the moment magnitude of the causative earthquake. Hence, it is essential not to rely solely on earthquake intensities based on archaeologically documented co-seismic damage without assessing the nature of the observed structural damage and the contribution of the geological site effects. This paper explains the geological site effects concept to archaeologists unfamiliar with the notion. It clarifies its role in assessing ground shaking, soil amplification and earthquake intensity by past earthquakes and how and why the geological site effects can be estimated when a site is thought to have been struck by an earthquake. Hence, the geological site effects must be considered when archaeological excavations describe and interpret destruction layers. Conversely, engineers and seismologists dealing with seismic hazard risk assessment must pay close attention to archaeological investigations assessing earthquake intensities and locations based on field evidence of damage to structures attributed to past earthquakes, because the geological site effects might have been factored in inaccurately or not at all.
... However, the interest in the completeness of the historical catalogs and the possibility of back-calculate ground motion parameters from the ED has been strongly revived (e.g. Mazor 1999, 2013;Guidoboni et al., 2002;Galadini et al., 2006;Ambraseys, 2006;Al-Tarazi and Korjenkov, 2007;Marco, 2008; Hinzen et al., 2016;Schweppe et al., 2017;Martín-González, 2018;Moiseev et al., 2018;Korjenkov et al., 2019). Specifically, the earthquake damage orientation (EDO) is used to infer seismic parameters because they are elements that can act like structural seismoscopes recording the orientation of the ground motion pulse (e.g., Mallet, 1862;Brune, 1996;Mazor, 1999, 2013;Guidoboni et al., 2002;Hinzen et al., 2016;Hinze, 2011;Schweppe et al., 2017;Martin-González, 2018;Fandi, 2018). ...
... Mazor 1999, 2013;Guidoboni et al., 2002;Galadini et al., 2006;Ambraseys, 2006;Al-Tarazi and Korjenkov, 2007;Marco, 2008; Hinzen et al., 2016;Schweppe et al., 2017;Martín-González, 2018;Moiseev et al., 2018;Korjenkov et al., 2019). Specifically, the earthquake damage orientation (EDO) is used to infer seismic parameters because they are elements that can act like structural seismoscopes recording the orientation of the ground motion pulse (e.g., Mallet, 1862;Brune, 1996;Mazor, 1999, 2013;Guidoboni et al., 2002;Hinzen et al., 2016;Hinze, 2011;Schweppe et al., 2017;Martin-González, 2018;Fandi, 2018). This ground motion pulse represents the cumulative effect of the seismic energy when arrives in a single large pulse (Somerville et al., 1997;Sommerville, 2003). ...
The information and seismic parameters gained from pre-instrumental earthquakes are essential to improve the seismic catalogs and hazard studies. The earthquake damage (ED) that affected architectonic elements during earthquakes (e.g. fallen walls, conjugated fractures in walls, dropped keystones in arches), and when this earthquake damage is orientated (EDO), can be used to infer seismic parameters of pre-instrumental earthquakes such as epicenter location, seismogenic source or ground motion. However, there is not a common methodology to measure this orientation damage. For example, tilting and fallen walls are some of the most used elements to infer the horizontal ground motion in non-instrumental earthquakes. Nevertheless, according to the shape of the architectonic element (a wall in this case), it has only two degrees of freedom to fall, and therefore, its azimuth does not necessarily fit with the ground motion pulse orientation. In this work, a review of the earthquake damage (ED) and effects described in pre-instrumental earthquakes is carried out. A method is also proposed, considering not only the frequency of damage orientations but also considering the uncertainty angle of each element to be damage. The ED has been classified into five groups according to the angle of uncertainty to record the pulse orientation. This method has been checked taking advantage of recent earthquakes with a good instrumental record of the ground motion pulse, and also tested modeling different scenarios with different pulse orientations. This method, that takes into account the uncertainty angles, is a reliable method to calculate the EDO and back-calculate the ground motion pulse orientation in pre-instrumental earthquakes in absence of more accurate modern instrumental records. This method can also be useful for seismic risk assessment and restoration and protection of historical heritage.
... It contributes to close gaps in the historical earthquake record (Kázmér and Győri, 2020), enriches the knowledge of the temporal and spatial distribution of earthquake damage (Marco, 2008), and presents data of more than a thousand years into the past (Kázmér and Major, 2015). Within the Middle East, there is a multitude of well-preserved masonry buildings that are ideal for archaeoseismological studies (e.g., Harding, 1959;Segal, 1981;Retzleff, 2003;Kázmér, 2014), along the DST fault (Marco et al., 1997;Ellenblum et al., 1998Ellenblum et al., , 2015Meghraoui et al., 2003;Haynes et al., 2006), and in the vicinity of the DST fault (Korjenkov and Erickson-Gini, 2003;Marco et al., 2003;Al-Tarazi and Korjenkov, 2007;Thomas et al., 2007;Marco, 2008;Wechsler et al., 2009;Kázmér andMajor, 2010, 2015;Al-Azzam, 2012;Alfonsi et al., 2013;Korjenkov and Mazor, 2014;Hinzen et al., 2016;Schweppe et al., 2017;Al-Tawalbeh et al., 2019;Jaradat et al., 2019). These studies indicate a rising interest in archaeoseismology, as a research topic around the DST fault. ...
... Another evidence, for more than one earthquake, is the variation of damage seen within the dropped arch stones. Usually, an arch stone drop occurs when ground motion is parallel to the trend of the arches (Hinzen et al., 2016;Martín-González, 2018) or if it is 45°to their strike (Rodríguez-Pascua et al., 2011). The arches in the theater have different trends, and the fact that their stones were dropped down along these arches (Fig. 5) suggests that Capitolias was hit by more than one earthquake. ...
A Roman theater is recently being excavated at Beit‐Ras/Capitolias in Jordan, which is one of the Decapolis cities, founded before A.D. 97/98. This is an archaeoseismological study that aims to investigate the temporal and intensity impacts of past earthquakes on the theater’s existing structure. A rich set of earthquake archaeological effects were identified, including deformed arches, tilted and collapsed walls, chipped corners of masonry blocks, and extensional gaps, indicating a seismic intensity of VIII–IX. The study identified at least two significant destruction phases that took part in the damage of the theater, which may have contributed to the abandonment of its major use as a theater at different periods. This is based on field observations of construction stratigraphy and damage features, the assessment of the observed destruction, and literature reports. The date of the first phase is bracketed between the establishment of the city (before A.D. 97/98) and the date of an inscription found in the walled‐up orchestra gate (A.D. 261). The most likely candidate earthquake(s) for this immense destruction are the A.D. 233 and/or 245 events. Other moderate and less damaging events may have also occurred within the region but are not mentioned in available catalogs. After a major restoration, another earthquake phase occurred between A.D. 261 and Late Roman–Early Byzantine times, when the scaena wall tilted and collapsed, rendering the building useless and beyond repair. Subsequently, the theater was then filled with debris and was abandoned. The most probable causative earthquake of the second phase of destruction is an event in A.D. 363. The article provides a rich discussion of potential causative earthquakes, based on archaeoseismological, construction stratigraphy observations, and calibrated intensity of historical earthquake‐based attenuation modeling. It identifies the potential phases and types of destruction and reuse.
... It contributes to close gaps in the historical earthquake record (Kázmér and Győri, 2020), enriches the knowledge of the temporal and spatial distribution of earthquake damage (Marco, 2008), and presents data of more than a thousand years into the past (Kázmér and Major, 2015). Within the Middle East, there is a multitude of well-preserved masonry buildings that are ideal for archaeoseismological studies (e.g., Harding, 1959;Segal, 1981;Retzleff, 2003;Kázmér, 2014), along the DST fault (Marco et al., 1997;Ellenblum et al., 1998Ellenblum et al., , 2015Meghraoui et al., 2003;Haynes et al., 2006), and in the vicinity of the DST fault (Korjenkov and Erickson-Gini, 2003;Marco et al., 2003;Al-Tarazi and Korjenkov, 2007;Thomas et al., 2007;Marco, 2008;Wechsler et al., 2009;Kázmér andMajor, 2010, 2015;Al-Azzam, 2012;Alfonsi et al., 2013;Korjenkov and Mazor, 2014;Hinzen et al., 2016;Schweppe et al., 2017;Al-Tawalbeh et al., 2019;Jaradat et al., 2019). These studies indicate a rising interest in archaeoseismology, as a research topic around the DST fault. ...
... Another evidence, for more than one earthquake, is the variation of damage seen within the dropped arch stones. Usually, an arch stone drop occurs when ground motion is parallel to the trend of the arches (Hinzen et al., 2016;Martín-González, 2018) or if it is 45°to their strike (Rodríguez-Pascua et al., 2011). The arches in the theater have different trends, and the fact that their stones were dropped down along these arches (Fig. 5) suggests that Capitolias was hit by more than one earthquake. ...
A Roman theater is recently being excavated at Beit-Ras/Capitolias in Jordan, which is
one of the Decapolis cities, founded before A.D. 97/98. This is an archaeoseismological
study that aims to investigate the temporal and intensity impacts of past earthquakes
on the theater’s existing structure. A rich set of earthquake archaeological effects were
identified, including deformed arches, tilted and collapsed walls, chipped corners of
masonry blocks, and extensional gaps, indicating a seismic intensity of VIII–IX. The study
identified at least two significant destruction phases that took part in the damage of
the theater, which may have contributed to the abandonment of its major use as a theater
at different periods. This is based on field observations of construction stratigraphy
and damage features, the assessment of the observed destruction, and literature
reports. The date of the first phase is bracketed between the establishment of the city
(before A.D. 97/98) and the date of an inscription found in the walled-up orchestra gate
(A.D. 261). The most likely candidate earthquake(s) for this immense destruction are the
A.D. 233 and/or 245 events. Other moderate and less damaging events may have also
occurred within the region but are not mentioned in available catalogs. After a major
restoration, another earthquake phase occurred between A.D. 261 and Late Roman–
Early Byzantine times, when the scaena wall tilted and collapsed, rendering the building
useless and beyond repair. Subsequently, the theater was then filled with debris and
was abandoned. The most probable causative earthquake of the second phase of
destruction is an event in A.D. 363. The article provides a rich discussion of potential
causative earthquakes, based on archaeoseismological, construction stratigraphy observations, and calibrated intensity of historical earthquake-based attenuation modeling. It identifies the potential phases and types of destruction and reuse.
... This assumption, which has only been tested on two instrumental earthquakes Rodríguez-Pascua et al., 2012), is still a matter of debate (e.g., Hinzen, 2009;Hinzen et al., 2016). Due to the complexity of real seismic signals, it is difficult to correlate the isolated behavior of architectural features in a given site to ground motion without taking into account additional factors such as geometry, friction or orientation of the structures, or even soil properties. ...
Devastated by two earthquakes in historical times (1650 and 1950 CE), the Cusco Basin is now characterized by dense and chaotic urbanization that makes it even more vulnerable. Unfortunately, the large recurrence intervals of the local crustal earthquakes, the shortness of the historical record (∼500 yr) and the persistent lack of palaeoseismological studies hamper considerably the seismic hazard assessment. In such context, the outstanding archaeological heritage of the Cusco area turns out to be a relevant marker of past seismic activity.
We carried out a systematic archaeoseismological survey in nine Inca sites close to Cusco and registered almost 3,000 Earthquake Archaeological Effects. Thanks to a semi-quantitative approach, we show a clear anisotropic seismic deformation on the Inca fine stonework, consistent at the regional scale. In Cusco, the architecture exhibits the impact of two different and strong ancient seismic events (M.M. intensity > VII).
By combining these results with the analysis of historical photographs, our work supports, the occurrence of an unreported event during Inca times (∼1400–1533 CE). More broadly, by providing new data on the destructive potential of past earthquakes, this study urges us to conduct further research on the faults near Cusco.
... • Dropped keystones-VII-frequent in radial arches, rare in tangential arches • Dropped arch sectors (Fig. 1a)-VII. This is the highest, 'severe' damage category of arches, as understood by Hinzen et al. (2016). ...
Oil-Pipeline and Oil-Well accidents, and leaky underground storage Oil-tanks can all permanently contaminate massive areas of soil, making them economically useless as well as dangerous to the human health, biological resources, and ecosystems. There are many method of treatment of these contaminated soil by hydrocarbons [1]: stabilization/solidification, bioremediation [2], incineration, soil washing, etc. The present work focuses on the treatment of the contaminated soil by the hydrocarbons with soil washing process using oilfield producedwater (PW). The methodological approach consists of researching the optimum conditions of soil washing based on the optimum of moisture’sparametersbetween PW and contaminated soil such as Liquid/Solid ratio and Liquid/Solid contact time. Another parameter was analysed, it is the successive wash test. The contaminated soil before applying the treatment has 1900 ppm of Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons (TPH). After many washing test, the optimum parameters of test were fixed as follow: The optimum of Liquid/Solid ratio was 100 ml / 100 g and the optimum of Liquid/Solid contact time was 5 minutes.With these optimum conditions and after 4 successive soil washing, we succeeded to reduce the percentage of residual TPH in contaminated soil from 1,9%(1900 ppm) to 0,1% (100 ppm). Keywords:Petroleum industry, Produced Water (PW), Contaminated soil, Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons (TPH), Soil washing.
... • Dropped keystones-VII-frequent in radial arches, rare in tangential arches • Dropped arch sectors (Fig. 1a)-VII. This is the highest, 'severe' damage category of arches, as understood by Hinzen et al. (2016). ...
The recent seismicity of Tunisia is considered sparse and moderate. A number of historical studies are available, but the archaeological evidence has not been properly used. Pilot studies were carried out at three sites in the less seismic middle part of Tunisia: Roman Thysdrus (Arabic El-Jem), and the Islamic medina (old town) of El-Jem, Sousse and Monastir. A selection of earthquake archaeological effects observed is shown (dropped keystones, fractured or extruded masonry blocks, columns displaced from plinth), marking the potential minimum intensity of shaking. To create this level of damage, local intensity IX is hypothesized. This is certainly higher than the 2007 seismic hazard map produced by WHO, where only medium intensities are indicated for the region. It is suggested that a systematic archaeoseismological study of Tunisia will contribute in improving seismic hazard assessment.
... • Dropped keystones-VII-frequent in radial arches, rare in tangential arches • Dropped arch sectors (Fig. 1a)-VII. This is the highest, 'severe' damage category of arches, as understood by Hinzen et al. (2016). ...
Core sections from two wells (M-11 and M-22) from the lower Miocene interval, in the Coastal Swamp Depobelt, Niger Delta Basin, were studied to determine the depositional environments and the impact of bioturbation on the reservoirs. Plots of average porosity and permeability values against the bioturbation intensity (BI), for the upper shoreface (USF) and lower shoreface (LSF) sections in each well, indicate that the burrowed intervals in the USF sections show a decline in porosity values with an increase in bioturbation intensity, reaching a maximum of 12% in M-11 well and 51% in M-22 well. The burrowed LSF section in M-11 well showed an increase in porosity with an increase in bioturbation intensity reaching a maximum of 38%, while the burrowed LSF section in M-22 exhibited a decline in porosity value to 45%. However, the burrowed USF and LSF sections in both M-11 and M-22 cores, showed a general decline in porosity/permeability with an increase in bioturbation intensity. The trends between bioturbation intensity and porosity/permeability in this study suggests that intervals with: (i) Moderate and rare bioturbation (BI: 2–3) have better reservoir quality, probably due to limited impact on the sediment fabrics (ii) Intense bioturbation (BI: 4–5), affected reservoir quality negatively due to the decrease in grain sorting resulting in porosity/permeability loss in the USF. However, in the LSF the reduction of porosity and permeability may be, related to siderite cementation.
... • Dropped keystones-VII-frequent in radial arches, rare in tangential arches • Dropped arch sectors (Fig. 1a)-VII. This is the highest, 'severe' damage category of arches, as understood by Hinzen et al. (2016). ...
In recent years, Africa was hit by several severe earthquakes. Although the seismic monitoring in Africa has been evolving during the last decade, there has been no joint effort to collect, archive, and process the data, in order to publish earthquake bulletins at the continental or world level. Scientific projects (e.g., IGCP-601–659) dedicated to the seismotectonics and seismic hazard assessment of Africa allowed for the compilation of a database at the continental and regional levels. These research projects have exposed conspicuous aspects of the seismic activity, but also uncovered a severe deficiency of seismic and geophysical equipment and limited capacity throughout the continent. The newly established African Seismological Commission (established in 2014; https://www.afsc-web.org.za/) has highlighted the importance of having an African Seismological Data Center (Meghraoui et al., in Episodes 39:9, 2016) in its first General Assembly in Luxor, Egypt, and the second one in Hoceima Morocco. Many scientific, logistic, and financial challenges face this goal. An experiment has been initiated to collect and process data from seismological stations with open access located within Africa and to provide a platform for supplying a generic seismological bulletin using a SeisComp3-based system. The system is a real-time processing server at the Egyptian National Data Center. This system is currently under alpha testing utilizing internal auditing. The second stage will be in the first quarter of 2020 through beta testing after selecting a closed group to test the system’s efficiency and stability to be ready for the validation phase and then commissioning.
... Keystone drop in arches is the most reliable evidence of earthquake excitation. Computer modelling by Kamai and Hatzor (2008) revealed that a single element or a set of elements (a segment) of an arch can drop only under repeated compression and extension, i.e. transient horizontal ground motion (Hinzen et al. 2016). In each extensional step, the voussoir (one of the set of blocks constituting the arch) drops down a fraction of a millimetre. ...
Tunisia is known of sparse and moderate earthquakes. However, there are seismically damaged historical buildings in the eastern Sahel region. The Roman amphitheatre of Thysdrus (modern El-Jem), various Islamic religious and secular buildings in Sousse and Monastir testify to seismic events with intensity up to IX (EMS98 scale). We raise the hypothesis that their destruction was caused by the nearby east-west Cherichira-Abaieh Fault and the north-south Monastir Fault. Simultaneity of the 859 AD Kairouan earthquake and extensive restoration works in Sousse 50 km to the east allow assessing magnitude up to 7.2 based on segment length. The city was hit both by the 859 AD and a post-1575 earthquake. Being nearby two active faults, seismic hazard in Sousse is higher than either in Kairouan or in Monastir.
... 지표변형과 관련된 유적들의 파괴는 이스라엘 (Belitzky and Garfinkel, 2005), 요르단 (Klinger et al., 2000;Niemi et al., 2001;Haynes et al., 2006), 이란 (Ambraseys and Jackson, 1998), 시리아 (Meghraoui et al., 2003), 그리스 (Monaco and Tortorici, 2004), 터키 (Hancock and Altunel, 1997), 중국 (Zhang et al., 1986 (Blasi and Foraboschi, 1994;Sinopoli et al., 1997;Boothby et al., 1998;Bicanic et al., 2003; De et al., 2004). 또한 홍예종석의 하강은 지진과 지진에 의해 발생한 수평적 움직임에 의한 확실한 변형증거 중 하나로 사용되고 있다 Mazor, 2003, 2013;Marco, 2008;Rodríguez-Pascua et al., 2011;Hinzen et al., 2016;Martín-González, 2018 (Marco et al., 2006;Marco, 2008 ...
... Laser scanning has become an established procedure in archaeoseismological studies (e.g., Fleischer et al., 2010;Hinzen et al., 2010Hinzen et al., , 2013Schreiber et al., 2012;Hinzen, Schwellenbach, et al., 2016), and we used this technique to document parts of the cyclopean walls. The wall sections in Tiryns and Midea, which presumably are in their original (not anthropogenically altered) state, do not exhibit any damage that can be exclusively interpreted as coseismic. ...
Observations at Mycenaean archaeological sites of tilted and curved walls, broken pottery, and human skeletons led to the hypothesis that these sites in the Argolid, Peloponnese, Greece, were destroyed in large earthquakes between the late palatial (thirteenth century B.C.E.) and postpalatial (1200–1050 B.C.E.) periods. In particular, the destruction of Mycenaean palaces around 1200/1190 B.C.E. has often been attributed to a devastating earthquake. To test the Mycenaean earthquake hypothesis, this project focuses on the Argive citadels of Tiryns and Midea. With active and passive seismic measurements complemented by a gravimetric survey, we explored seismic site effects at these locations and calculated synthetic seismograms for potential earthquake sources to estimate intensities of ground motions inside and outside the citadels. The field work and results were supplemented by analysis of the individual damage descriptions and observations from the archaeological literature on which the hypothesis is based. Because of poor construction techniques and the associated site effects, the buildings in the Lower Town surrounding the citadel of Tiryns were more vulnerable than the structures within the Cyclopean palace walls, but evidence of an earthquake destruction stratum in the Lower Town has not yet been found. Although some of the observations from the two investigated citadels could be explained by seismic loading, alternative nonseismic causes could equally explain most observed damage. In some cases, the structural damage was clearly not caused by earthquakes. Simulated ground motions show that severe earthquake damage at Tiryns and Midea can be expected from activation of local faults in the Argive basin; however, palaeoseismic studies for such activity in and since the Late Bronze Age (LBA) are lacking. Our results indicate that the hypothesis of a destructive earthquake in Tiryns and Midea, which may have contributed to the end of the LBA Mycenaean palatial period, is unlikely.
The archaeological Tell Ateret (North Israel), constructed on the active Dead Sea Fault, was intermittently settled for over six millennia. Structures on the Tell that have been offset by earthquake ruptures, provide a remarkable record of alternating construction and slip. We excavated the site in order to resolve the geometry and to time the earthquake rupture history back to the earliest settlement. The measurements of faulted archaeological walls are complemented with data from historical documents, numismatic analysis, and geological observations. We report three newly discovered offsets that add to two previously resolved slip events (the 20 May 1202 and 30 October 1759 earthquakes), completing a three-millennia archaeoseismic record. The oldest offset measuring at least ~2 m bisected Iron Age IIA fortifications. The second offset, the largest of all five, reaching ~2.5 m, is dated to circa 142 BCE; the third, whose post-Hellenistic date is not determined, is of ~1.5 m, possibly resulting from multiple earthquakes. We constrain the time of the largest offset by a hoard of 45 coins, the latest of which had been minted 143/142 BCE. Indicative pottery and historic texts support the year 143/142 as terminus post-quem of the rupture at this site. These observations, together with a new kinematic approach, show uneven slip distribution in time and variable amounts of slip along the Jordan Gorge segment of the DSF. We suggest, based on previous palaeomagnetic measurements, that distributed deformation west of Tell Ateret can explain the apparent missing slip of 4.5±3.5 m since the Hellenistic times.
One of the key tasks in archaeoseismolo`gy is to test whether the recorded building damage in ancient cities can be related to ancient earthquakes. Archaeologists often claim abandonment, ruin or war instead of natural causes to explain the recorded damage in archaeological findings. This work proposes a comprehensive classification of Earthquake Archaeological Effects (EAE) based on the seismic deformation of buildings and monuments within urban areas of ancient cities. Accordingly, the proposed EAE classification differentiates the seismic deformation on the structure of buildings in two groups: from transient shaking and from permanent ground deformation. The first type of EAE corresponds to fractured walls and fallen key stones in arches, for example. The second type of EAE are tilted walls and shock breakouts of flagstones due to basement failure. To illustrate the proposed EAE classification, examples of earthquake damage on ancient buildings are described: Baelo Claudia and Tolmo de Minateda cities (Roman and Visigothic Periods, 1st–6th century AD, respectively, South of Spain) and Teotihuacán and Tarascan sites (Early Classic ca. IVth century AD, and Upper Post-Classic Period XIIIth century AD, Central Mexico).
E xamination of the Serghaya fault, a branch of the Dead Sea Fault System in western Syria and eastern Lebanon, documents Late Quaternary and Recent left-lateral fault movements including the probable remnant of a historic coseismic surface rupture. Carbon-14 dating and the presence of fault-scarp free faces in soft, late Pleistocene lake deposits suggest coseismic slip during the past two or three centuries, possibly corresponding with one of the well-documented earthquakes of 1705 or 1759. With an esti-mated Holocene slip rate of 1–2 mm a 1 , the Serghaya Fault accommodates a significant part of the active deformation along the Arabian–African plate boundary. These results suggest that multiple active fault branches are involved in the transfer of strain through the 'Lebanese' restraining bend.
Recent seismic events have caused damage or collapse of invaluable historical buildings, further proving the vulnerability of unreinforced masonry (URM) structures to earthquakes. This study aims to understand failure of masonry arches—typical components of URM historic structures—subjected to horizontal ground acceleration impulses. An analytical model is developed to describe the dynamic behaviour of the arch and is used to predict the combinations of impulse magnitudes and durations which lead to its collapse. The model considers impact of the rigid blocks through several cycles of motion, illustrating that failure can occur at lower ground accelerations than previously believed. The resulting failure domains are of potential use for design and assessment purposes. Predictions of the analytical model are compared with results of numerical modelling by the distinct element method, and the good agreement between results validates the analytical model and at the same time confirms the potential of the distinct element framework as a method of evaluating complex URM structures under dynamic loading. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Early Cretaceous (146–115 Ma) magmatism in the region of Mt. Hermon, Northern Israel, is part of an extensive Mesozoic igneous
province within the Levant associated with the evolution of the Neotethyan passive margin of Gondwana. The initial stages
of activity were characterised by the emplacement of tholeiitic dykes (146–140 Ma) which were uplifted and eroded prior to
the eruption of a sequence of alkali basalts, basanites and more differentiated alkaline lavas and pyroclastics from 127 to
120 Ma. The latest stages of activity (120–115 Ma) were highly explosive, resulting in the emplacement of diatreme breccias.
Trace element and Sr-Nd-Pb isotope data for the most primitive Early Cretaceous mafic igneous rocks sampled suggest that they
were derived by mixing of melts derived by variable degrees of partial melting of both garnet- and spinel-peridotite-facies
mantle sources. Though isotopically heterogeneous, the source of the magmas has many similarities to that of HIMU oceanic
island basalts. Earlier Liassic (200 Ma) transitional basalts and Neogene–Quaternary (15–0 Ma) alkali basalts erupted within
northern Israel also have HIMU affinities. The petrogenesis of the Early Cretaceous and Cenozoic basalts is explained by partial
melting of a lithospheric mantle protolith metasomatically enriched during the Liassic volcanic phase, which may be plume-related.
All of our 20th-century information for the Levant Fracture and Dead Sea transform fault systems is for a qui- escent period in the seismicity. This is apparent when we consider earlier events which show that infi.equent earthquakes have occurred in the past along this system, an important consideration for the assessment of haz- ard and tectonics of the Middle East. One of these events was the earthquake of 1837 which caused heavy damage in Northem Israel and Southem Lebanon. This earthquake was a much larger event than earthquake catalogues indicate. We reckon it was a shallow, probably multiple event of magnitude greater than 7.0.
Stone masonry spires are vulnerable to seismic loading. Computational methods are often used to predict the dynamic linear elastic response of masonry towers and spires, but this approach is only applicable until the first masonry joint begins to open, limiting the ability to predict collapse. In this paper, analytical modeling is used to investigate the uplift, rocking and collapse of stone spires. General equations for static equilibrium of the spire under lateral acceleration are first presented, and provide a reasonable lower bound for predicting collapse. The dynamic response is then considered through elastic modal analysis and rigid body rocking. Together, these methods are used to provide uplift curves and single impulse overturning collapse curves for a complete range of possible spire geometries. Results are used to evaluate the historic collapse of two specific stone spires.
Analytical methods provide a global context from which to understand the dynamics of stone spires, but computational and experimental methods are useful to predict more specific behavior of multiple block structures. In this paper, the spire of St. Mary Magdalene church in Waltham-on-the-Wolds, UK, which was damaged in the 2008 Lincolnshire Earthquake, is used as a case study. Both a physical model and a discrete element computational model of the spire were created and used to investigate collapse under constant horizontal acceleration, impulse base motion, and earthquake ground motion. Results indicate that the global behavior compares well with analytical modeling, but local block displacements evident in DEM and experimental results also reduce the stability of the structure. In this context, the observed damage to St. Mary Magdalene church is evaluated and discussed.
A stratigraphic analysis of Jurassic to Eocene rock units in the Metulla quadrangle provides ample evidence for a left-lateral offset based on the differences between the two sides of the Dead Sea Rift (DSR). The stratigraphic evidence for this offset is as follows: (1) The Jurassic Kidod shales of Mount Hermon face a limestone domain on the west side of the DSR throughout all of the Galilee; (2) the Neocomian volcanic sequence east of the DSR at the base of the Hatira sandstones in Mount Hermon is equivalent to the Tayasir Volcanics to its west in northern Samaria, and is different from the volcanic sequence of the Naftali Mountains and of Gebel Niha, which occur higher in the stratigraphic section; (3) sandstones of the Aptian Hidra Formation exposed in Mount Hermon are correlated with sandstones from the same stratigraphic unit in Samaria, while the Hidra Formation in the Naftali Mountains lacks sandstones; (4) the Albian Mas'ada Formation of Mount Hermon comprises limestone in the lower part and marl above it, while the equivalent Rama Formation in the Naftali Mountains is basically a marl sequence; (5) the Turonian Bina Formation exposed in the Shamir "windows" is divided into three units comparable to the Derorim, Shivta, and Nezer formations in the Gilboa Mountains, 90 km to the south and west of the DSR; (6) the Paleocene Taqiye marls in the Hula 3 borehole, north of Kefar Gil'adi and less than 2 km to the east of the Qiryat Shemona fault (and west of the Tel Hay fault) is about 360 m thick, which is comparable with the 370-m section exposed in Nahal Bezeq 100 km to the south, only several kilometers west of the western fault of the DSR. The Taqiye Formation of the Naftali Mountains is much thinner, and it appears in a marl and chert facies. Based on the last evidence, we suggest that the Qiryat Shemona fault forms the boundary between the African and Arabian plates in northern Israel.
A simple geometrical model shows that the plate margin along the restraining bend segment of the transform plate boundary be deformed in order to accommodate overlap of the crust. This model predicts both the maximum width of the deformed zone and the magnitude of deformation when the general geometry of the plate margin is known as well as the plate slip vector and the amount of cumulative displacement. This idea has been tested along the plate margin of the Yammuneh restraining bend of the Dead Sea transform. The plate margin has been deformed by NNE folding parallel to the restraining bend and by east-west trending, right-lateral strike-slip faults. Paleomagnetic measurements yield counterclockwise rotation of R±ΔR=61.0°±9.6° and F±ΔF=23.4°±17.2°. The paleomagnetic rotational data and fault kinematic suggest that the mechanism which accommodates regional left-lateral shear is simultaneous right-lateral strike-slip faulting on secondary faults and block rotation. The magnitude of deformation is the same as that predicted by the model, which is 100% shortening in a direction parallel to the plate slip vector and negligible deformation in a direction parallel to the transform. The large amount of rotation implies that probably more than one fault set is involved and present day seismic activity is the current manifestation of this crustal deformation process. If this prediction is correct, then the current deformation of the plate margin is accommodated by more favorable newly formed NNW right-lateral strike-slip faults.
Analysis of macroseismic data based on primary sources for large, though infrequent, historical earthquakes (Ms>6.5) that occurred along an approximately 350-km-long segment of the northern part of the Dead Sea fault system primarily in Lebanon and Syria for the period 1100-1988 reveals the following: (1) Ten events occurred in three relatively short periods (tens of years) with repeat times of 200-350 years; (2) the events most probably broke this north segment of the Dead Sea fault system, possibly including the westernmost segment of the East Anatolian fault system near the border between Syria and Turkey; (3) the lack of such large events during the past 100 years should not be interpreted to minimize potential earthquake hazard in this region; and (4) the Ms~7 plus earthquake on November 25, 1759, almost certainly produced surface faulting probably along the Yammouneh fault in the Bekaa valley and caused heavy destruction with great loss of life in numerous villages and towns, including Safad, Damascus, Beirut, and Baalbek. This main event was preceded by a Ms~6 plus foreshock on October 30, 1759, in the southern part of the epicentral area of the main shock near the towns of Safad and Qunaitra, which were almost totally destroyed with considerable loss of life.
Recent advances in the analysis of masonry arch bridges, substantiated by extensive testing programs in the United States and Europe, provide bridge engineers and inspectors with increasing confidence that reasonable estimates can be made of the capacity of these structures. Observations of ultimate strength testing indicate that spandrel walls and fill contribute greatly to the strength and stiffness of these structures, and that loads approaching the plastic collapse load can often be obtained. Observations from service load testing indicate that the development of cracking and non-linearity under service loads can be a significant indicator of the capacity of the structure. Modeling of these structures has shown the importance of restraint of the abutment to the overall resistance of the structure, and has recently shown the importance of transverse effects in diminishing the strength of structures with high spandrel walls or thin arch rings.
Archeological excavations in the Crusader Ateret Fortress near the Jordan River exposed E-W trending walls displaced sinistrally up to 2.1 m by the Dead Sea transform fault. A water duct, probably of Crusader age, is also offset sinistrally across the fault by about 1–2 m, but newer water ducts parallel to the former one show no displacement. The maximum width of the fault zone is about 10 m.Post-Crusader structures show significantly less deformation, and together with the low seismic activity, suggest there has been negligible creep. It is therefore conceivable that in this particular fault segment, stress is occasionally relieved by strong destructive earthquakes associated with surface ruptures. Historical accounts include descriptions of post-Crusader earthquakes in the northern part of Israel in A.D. 1202, 1546, 1759, and 1837. These events caused destruction and casualties over large areas. We conclude that most of the displacement of the Ateret Fortress walls occurred during one of these strong earthquakes, probably that of 1202 A.D., and some additional offset occurred during subsequent events. The associated magnitude is estimated at 6.5–7.1.The Ateret site is extremely valuable for paleoseismic studies in general, and assessment of seismic hazard to nearby population centers in particular, as there is an abundance of well-dated man-made structures and a small number of candidate earthquakes.
This paper presents analytical estimates of the behavior exhibited by curved, archlike structures under radially directed and gravitational line loads. The behavior is shown to range from elementary beam bending at one end to a state of pure compression at the other, and its behavior can be tracked by an arch rise parameter that is a function of the arch's semivertex angle, radius and thickness. The principal results are useful estimates of the dependence of the major displacements and stress resultants on the arch rise parameter. The results also offer some insight into the assumptions underlying Robert Maillart's arch designs.
The Rachaya and Serghaya faults are the easternmost fault branches of the Dead Sea Transform Fault within the Lebanese restraining bend. They lie east of the Yammouneh fault (the main strand of the Dead Sea Transform Fault within the restraining bend), extend along the western and eastern flanks of the Anti-Lebanon range, respectively, and show left-lateral strike-slip movement manifested as offset drainage. We studied both faults through combined field investigations in geomorphology and paleoseismology. Young fault scarps, mole tracks, pressure ridges and offset streams detected along the faults' traces attest to recent coseismic ruptures. Two paleoseismic investigations highlight their seismogenic potential and indicate earthquake recurrence along them: the Rachaya and Serghaya faults are active and the sources of recent historical earthquakes, the last of which might be the 30 October–25 November 1759 (Ms 6.6 and 7.4) earthquake sequence that caused severe damage in the eastern Mediterranean region. Such a possible correlation suggests that the two faults are probably structurally interconnected, as movement on one fault may stimulate movement on the other fault. In addition, both faults may define together an active seismogenic fault system that accommodates some of the regional displacement that takes place within the Lebanese restraining bend. Our results highlight that the seismogenic potential of the Rachaya and Serghaya faults must be included in any seismic hazard assessment of the region.
An innovative approach is presented, in which the discontinuous deformation analysis (DDA) method is used to estimate historic ground motions by back analysis of unique structural failures in archaeological sites. Two archaeological sites in Israel are investigated using this new approach and results are presented in terms of displacement evolution of selected structural elements in the studied masonry structure. The response of the structure is studied up to the point of incipient failure, in a mechanism similar to the one observed in the field. Structural response is found to be very sensitive to dynamic parameters of the loading function such as amplitude and frequency.
Prior to back analysis of case studies, two validations are presented. Both compare the performance of DDA with analytical solutions and present strong agreement between the two.
Using comprehensive sensitivity analyses, the most likely peak ground acceleration (PGA) and frequency that must have driven the observed block displacements are found for the two case studies—the Nabatean city of Mamshit and the medieval fortress of Nimrod in southern and northern Israel, respectively. It is found that horizontal peak ground accelerations (HPGA) of 0.5 g and 1 g were required to generate the observed deformations in Mamshit and Nimrod, respectively. Although these might seem too high, considering structural and topographic amplifications it is concluded that the analyses suggest ground motions of 0.2 g at a frequency of 1.5 Hz for Mamshit and up to 0.4 g at a frequency of 1 Hz for Nimrod. These values provide constraints on the seismic risk associated with these regions as appears in the local building code using a completely independent approach. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Three-dimensional excavations of buried stream channels that have been displaced by the Jordan Fault, the primary strand of the Dead Sea fault zone in northern Israel, demonstrate that late Holocene slip has been primarily strike–slip at a minimum rate of 3 mm/yr. The palaeoseismic study was carried out in the Bet-Zayda Valley, the delta of the Jordan River at the north shore of the Sea of Galilee. The site was chosen where a north-striking scarp with up to 1-m vertical expression crosses the flat valley. One group of trench excavations was located where a small stream crosses the scarp. The active stream, which is incised into the scarp, is not offset by the fault. However we found two palaeo channels about 2 m below the surface offset sinistrally 2.7±0.2 m by the fault and two younger nested channels offset 0.5±0.05 m. Based on radiocarbon dates we attribute the last 0.5 m rupture to the earthquake of October 30, 1759. The older offset of 2.2 m most probably occurred in the earthquakes of May 20, 1202. These two events correlate with the findings at Ateret, about 12 km north of Bet-Zayda, where the 1202 earthquake produced 1.6 m of lateral displacement in E–W-striking defence walls of a Crusader castle, and an Ottoman mosque was offset 0.5 m in the earthquake of 1759. In the second group of trenches some 60 m farther south we found another offset channel. Its northern margin is displaced 15 m sinistrally whereas the southern margin shows only 9 m of sinistral offset. The dip slip component is 1.2 m, west side down. The different amounts of margin offset can be explained by erosion of the southern margin during the first 6 m of displacement. Additional slip of 9 m accrued after the stream had been abandoned and buried by a 2-m-thick lacustrine clay layers. Radiocarbon dates on organic residue provide the age control which indicates that the 15 m of slip has accrued over the past 5 kyr, yielding a short-term slip rate of 3 mm/yr for the late Holocene. It is possible that our study covers only part of the fault zone, hence we regard this mean slip rate to be a minimum for the DST. Based on other palaeoseismic studies the best estimate for Quaternary slip rate is 4±1 mm/yr.
Archaeological structures that exhibit seismogenic damage expand our knowledge of temporal and spatial distribution of earthquakes, afford independent examination of historical accounts, provide information on local earthquake intensities and enable the delineation of macroseismic zones. They also illustrate what might happen in future earthquakes. In order to recover this information, we should be able to distinguish earthquake damage from anthropogenic damage and from other natural processes of wear and tear. The present paper reviews several types of damage that can be attributed with high certainty to earthquakes and discusses associated caveats. In the rare cases, where faults intersect with archaeological sites, offset structures enable precise determination of sense and size of slip, and constrain its time. Among the characteristic off-fault damage types, I consider horizontal shifting of large building blocks, downward sliding of one or several blocks from masonry arches, collapse of heavy, stably-built walls, chipping of corners of building blocks, and aligned falling of walls and columns. Other damage features are less conclusive and require additional evidence, e.g., fractures that cut across several structures, leaning walls and columns, warps and bulges in walls. Circumstantial evidence for catastrophic earthquake-related destruction includes contemporaneous damage in many sites in the same area, absence of weapons or other anthropogenic damage, stratigraphic data on collapse of walls and ceilings onto floors and other living horizons and burial of valuable artifacts, as well as associated geological palaeoseismic phenomena such as liquefaction, land- and rock-slides, and fault ruptures. Additional support may be found in reliable historical accounts. Special care must be taken in order to avoid circular reasoning by maintaining the independence of data acquisition methods.
The Roum fault is the westernmost branch within the Lebanese restraining bend of the Dead Sea Transform Fault. This strike-slip fault extends for about 35 km from north of the Hula basin to the Awali river, and shows left-lateral strike-slip displacements (manifested as offset streams) and vertical movements. Recent seismic records indicate its seismogenic potential as the source of the double shock of 16 March 1956 (Ms 4.8, 5.1) earthquake. We studied the Roum fault using combined field investigations in geomorphology, structural geology, and palaeoseismology. Fresh fault scarps and pressure ridges visible along the fault trace attest to recent coseismic ruptures. A palaeoseismic trench investigation exposed a complex fault zone with several rupture strands and a minimum of four faulting episodes in the last ∼10,000 years, the most recent event being post 84–239 AD. According to historical records, the 1 January 1837 (Ms 7.1) earthquake, which induced severe damage in the region, is the most likely candidate. Our results assign a slip-rate of 0.86–1.05 mm/year along the Roum fault, which shows that it accommodates about 14% of the total predicted strike-slip motion within the Lebanese restraining bend, and it should be considered a potential seismogenic fault for seismic hazard estimates in Lebanon.
The structures along the Dead Sea transform (rift) are related to the motions of the Sinai and Arabia plates which border it, and to the irregularities of their boundaries. The total slip was 105 km left-lateral, but the present structures were formed mainly during the last 40 km of slip, which probably occurred in the Plio-Pleistocene. Along the southern half of the transform the strike-slip motion takes place on en-echelon faults. This produces rhomb-shaped grabens or pull-aparts, which are sometimes composite, and in which there is local crustal separation. Thus, much of the transform is 'leaky'. These structures occur in a morpho-tectonic 'rift-valley' delimited by normal faults, which express a small component of transverse extension. Along a few segments the shape of the transform is such that lateral motion produces local transverse compression. The geometric relations of the structures along the transform define an Eulerian pole of relative plate motions at 32.8N 22.6E +- 0.5 deg. The older mot
Manifestations of Late Quaternary and Holocene faulting were studied in a 500 km long segment of the Dead Sea transform (rift). Most prominent are left-slip faults, whose characteristic physiographic features are recognizable along most of the studied segment. Where these faults bend or are stepped to the left, rhomb-shaped grabens (or pull aparts) are produced, forming depressions. In the reverse situation compressional features such as pressure ridges, domes and folds form positive topographic features. Such structures are combined on a variety of scales ranging from a few hundred meters long to tens of kilometers. Normal faults, sub-parallel to the left slip faults, produce a trough-like valley along much of the Dead Sea transform, but are most prominent along the margins of the large rhomb-grabens, e.g., the Dead Sea trough. They apparently record a small component of transverse extension. Generally, their motion is slow: young slip did not occur along some segments during the last few 104 y. Elsew
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Germany hinzen@uni‑koeln.de i.schwellenbach@uni‑koeln.de g.schweppe@uni‑koeln
- Bergisch Gladbach
51429 Bergisch Gladbach, Germany
hinzen@uni‑koeln.de
i.schwellenbach@uni‑koeln.de
g.schweppe@uni‑koeln.de
Shmuel Marco
Department of Geosciences
Tel Aviv University
Ramat-Aviv
Tel-Aviv 69978, Israel
shmulikm@tau.ac.il
Published Online 2 March 2016
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