Load Structure Seismites in the Dead Sea Area, Israel: Chronological Benchmarking with 14C Dating

Abstract

The Dead Sea is a terminal lake located in the seismically active zone of the Syro–African Rift Valley. The water level of the Dead Sea has been receding dramatically during the last decades, resulting in significant entrenchment of wadis towards its shores. Exposed sections in fan deltas reveal abruptly changing facies of alluvial fan, beach, and shallow lacustrine environments. Our study focuses on soft sediment deformations of the load–structure type. Though of limited lateral extent, their field characteristics concur with the widely accepted criteria that define seismites. This paper demonstrates the potential of load–structures as seismic–chronological benchmarks through radiocarbon dating. We present the first evidence of 14C correlation between two types of seismites in different locations: load structure and mixed layer.