
Characterizing deformation along the Dead Sea pull-apart basin in light of new geodetic observations
Okasana Piatibratova (1, 2), Yariv Hamiel (1), Amotz Agnon (2)
(1) Geological Survey of Israel, 32 Yesha'ayahu Leibowitz, Jerusalem 9692100, Israel
(2) The Fredy and Nadine Herrmann Institute of Earth Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Israel
The Dead Sea basin is a major pull-apart structure along the Dead Sea Fault (DSF). New geodetic observations are used to characterize present-day deformation of the Dead Sea pull-apart basin, and to provide insights into the partitioning between tectonic and non-tectonic deformation processes. Preliminary results are presented from Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) and Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) observations. The GNSS dataset includes both continuous and campaign measurements taken along 17 years, 2008-2025. GNSS station velocities indicate left-lateral strike-slip motion along the DSF in the order 5 mm/yr, and reveal a locked Jericho Fault segment in the northern Dead Sea basin. The Amazyahu Fault forming the southern boundary of the basin exhibits minor extension and shallow left-lateral creep. The Sedom Fault, the southern strike-slip segment along the western margin of the basin, displays shallow creep in the order of 2.2 mm/yr. This result suggests that up to 2.8 mm/yr of slip rate accumulates on the eastern boundary fault of the basin. Line-Of-Sight (LOS) velocities are derived from analysis of ascending and descending Sentinel-1 satellite tracks data, and include 218 scenes and 1125 interferograms, spanning the years 2014-2025. This analysis reveals significant deformation along the shores of the lake. Subsidence rates along the southern shores of the lake reach ~15–20 cm/yr in the LOS direction and are consistent between different satellite tracks. This suggests ongoing sediment compaction driven by rapid water-level decline. LOS displacement analysis demonstrates agreement with GNSS observations at stations within the basin (e.g., MASI and DSPL). Overall, these geodetic observations capture the combined effect of tectonic and non-tectonic deformation processes in the Dead Sea basin.



