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SUMMARYThe Dead Sea Transform (DST) was formed in the mid-Cenozoic, about 18 Myr ago, as a result of the breakaway of the Arabian plate from the African plate. Higher resolution information about the sub-Moho structure is still sparse in this region. Here, we study seismic discontinuities in the mantle lithosphere in the region of the DST using a modified version of the P- and S-receiver function methods. We use open data from permanent and temporary seismic stations. The results are displayed in a number of depth profiles through the study area. The Moho is observed on both sides of the transform at nearly 40 km depth by S-to-p and in P-to-s converted signals. The lithosphere–asthenosphere boundary (LAB) on the eastern side of the DST is observed near 180–200 km depth, which is according to our knowledge the first LAB observation at that depth in this region. This observation could lead to the conclusion that the thickness of the Arabian lithosphere east of the DST is likely cratonic. In addition, we observe in the entire area a negative velocity gradient at 60–80 km depth, which was previously interpreted as LAB.

In this chapter we report on the deep structure of the Dead Sea Transform (DST) as derived from geophysical observations and numerical modelling, calibrated by geological and geodynamic evidence.

In this study three new maps of Moho depths beneath the Arabian plate and margins are presented. The first map is based on the combined gravity model, EIGEN 06C, which includes data from satellite missions and ground-based studies, and thus covers the whole region between 31°E and 60°E and between 12°N and 36°N. The second map is based on seismological and ground-based gravity data while the third map is based only on seismological data. Both these maps show gaps due to lack of data coverage especially in the interior of the Arabian plate. Beneath the interior of the Arabian plate the Moho lies between 32 and 45 km depth below sea level. There is a tendency for higher Pn and Sn velocities beneath the northeastern parts of the plate interior with respect to the southwestern parts of the plate interior. Across the northern, destructive margin with the Eurasian plate, the Moho depths increase to over 50 km beneath the Zagros mountains. Across the conservative western margin, the Dead Sea Transform (DST), Moho depths decrease from almost 40 km beneath the highlands east of the DST to about 21–23 km under the southeastern Mediterranean Sea. This decrease seems to be modulated by a slight depression in the Moho beneath the southern DST. The constructive southwestern and southeastern margins of the Arabian plate also show the Moho shallowing from the plate interior towards the plate boundaries. A comparison of the abruptness of the Moho shallowing between the margins of the Arabian plate, the conjugate African margin at 26°N and several Atlantic margins shows a complex picture and suggests that the abruptness of the Moho shallowing may reflect fundamental differences in the original structure of the margins.

The Dead Sea Rift Transect (DESERT 2000) is a multinational and interdisciplinary study of the Dead Sea Rift. The project began fieldwork in February 2000 and the first experiments were successfully completed in May. The seismic, seismological, and magnetotelluric experiments presented here, along with the future electromagnetic, gravity, magnetic, geodynamic, and geological studies, will provide the basic geophysical and geodynamic frame for further geoscientific research. DESERT 2000 should also help address a fundamental question of plate tectonics: How do shear zones work and what controls them?