Geology and structure of the continental margin off northern Israel and the adjacent part of the Levantine Basin

The continental margin off northern Israel and southern Lebanon is characterized by a narrow coastal plain (in places it is absent), a narrow shelf, a narrow slope, which is incised by numerous submarine canyons, and by a complex topography of the adjacent deep-sea Levantine Platform. Detailed seismic reflection surveys have revealed the development of the area since the Late Miocene. During the Messinian, when the level of the Mediterranean Sea dropped, the present continental slope area was exposed, eroded and covered by thinly scattered sediments; in the deep basin evaporite-bearing series accumulated, reaching 1 km in thickness about 60 km offshore. During the Pliocene-Quaternary the area was covered by a fine clastic sequence, up to 1.5 km thick, that forms the present continental margin. Basinward gravitational slumping of these sediments over the Messinian evaporites, which acted as a lubricant, resulted in a complex topography and many shore-parallel rootless growth faults along the base of the continental slope and the adjacent deep sea. Young faults, which are exposed in northern Israel and extend seaward, comprise the most important structural feature of the study area. These faults were active during the Pliocene and Quaternary, possibly also during the Miocene. The major NW-trending young Yagur-Carmel Fault and E-W-trending Rosh-Hanniqra Fault extend to the base of the continental slope, where they converge, enclosing the complex Western Galilee Graben. The relief of the base of the Pliocene-Quaternary sequence was affected by motions of these faults and of smaller faults inside the graben. Farther seaward a horst-like block is developed along the extension of the Carmel Fault. Still farther basinward there is a group of diapiric ridges trending NW to E-W. They were formed by flowage of Messinian evaporites. In some cases these ridges seem to be aligned along underlying faults. This group of diapirs is unique in the area. The diapir ridges are interpreted as expressions of deeply rooted faults.