Schattner U.and Ben-Avraham Z.
Department of Geophysics and Planetary Sciences, Tel Aviv
University, P.O.B. 39040, Ramat Aviv, 69978,u.schattner@gmail.com,
zviba@post.tau.ac.il
The Levant continental margin, offshore
Israel, Lebanon and Syria, is usually defined as a passive margin that was
formed through rifting processes. During the formation two major continental
fragments are assumed to separate from the northern edge of the Afro-Arabian
plate to form the Levant basin: the Tauride and Eratosthenes blocks. Today
an oceanic crust is present between the Levant margin and Eratosthenes Seamount.
Studies of the continental margin suggested that the southern Levant segment
(south of the Carmel Structure) was formed through continental rifting processes.
In contrast, the northern segment, from the Carmel structure northwards and
offshore southern Lebanon, was hardly studied. This area, which is a key for
understanding the tectonic history of the Eastern Mediterranean, is the focus
of the present study.
Investigation of the northern Levant continental margin was carried out in
two scales: (1) Analysis of the crustal structure of the Continental-oceanic
transition - based on seismic refraction and magnetic data. These data, which
were collected along the Levant margin in previous studies, were analyzed
and compared with 42 other continental margins in the world; and (2) Analysis
of recent tectonic deformations in the upper crust was based on interpretation
of a dense network of multi and single channel seismic reflection profiles
in the northeastern corner of the eastern Mediterranean basin - offshore northern
Israel, Lebanon, Syria, and along the Cyprean arc (5000 km of ship-track).
Re-evaluation of geological data onland was also carried out in order to obtain
a regional perspective.
Our results show structural resemblance between the southern Levant segment
and other rift margins. In contrast, the northern segment shows a strong similarity
to classical transform margins. In view of the new classification of the northern
Levant margin a modified scenario is suggested for: (a) the initial stages
in which the Levant margin was formed; and (b) the present day structural
differences between the two segments of the margin.