TECTONICS, VOL. 9, NO.
6, PAGES 1369-1386, DECEMBER 1990
CRUSTAL SHORTENING IN THE
PALMYRIDE FOLD BELT, SYRIA, AND
IMPLICATIONS FOR MOVEMENT ALONG
THE DEAD SEA FAULT SYSTEM
Thomas A. Chaimov and Muawia Barazangi
Institute for the Study of the Continentsand
Department of Geological Sciences,Cornell
University, Ithaca, New York
Damen A1-Saad, Tarif Sawaf, and Ali Gebran
Syrian PetroleumCompany,Ministry of Petroleum
and Mineral Resources, Damascus
Abstract. The Palmyride fold belt is a
northeast-trending, 400 by 100 km transpressive
belt in central Syria embeddedin the northern
Arabian platform, boundedto the north by the
Aleppo plateauand to the southby the Rutbah
uplift. Palinspasticallyrestoredcrosssections
from three transectsacrossthe Palmyridefold belt
demonstratea minimum NW-SE shorteningof
about 20% or 20 km across the southwestern
segmentof the belt, diminishingto 1-2 km in the
northeast, close to the Euphrates graben system.
The cross sections are based on the 1:200,000
scalegeologicmap of Syria andpreviously
unavailable seismic reflection and well data, all
providedby the Syrian PetroleumCompany.
These resultsdiffer significantlyfrom those
predictedby kinematicmodelsof Middle East
plate motions. In western Syria and eastern
Lebanon the Palmyrides obliquely intersect (at
about 45) the roughly north-trendingDead Sea
transformfault system. The Dead Sea fault
systemshowswell-documentedevidenceof 105
km of left-lateral displacementsincemid-Tertiary
time south of its intersectionwith the Palmyrides,
yet only about 25 km of motionhas been
documentednorth of thatjuncturein Lebanonand
westernSyria. Thus, kinematicmodelsof Middle
East plate motionspredict 80 km of shorteningin
Syria, most of which shouldbe accommodatedin
the Palmyride fold belt. Severalpossibilitiesexist
Copyright 1990
by the AmericanGeophysicalUnion
Papernumber90TC01071.
0278-7407/90/90TC-01071 $10.00
to explain the discrepancybetweenthe 80 km of
predictedshorteningand the only 20 km of
shorteningmeasuredfrom restoredcross
sections. Restoredcross sectionsoffer only
minimum shorteningestimates,so the calculated
20 km may underestimateshortening. Second,
evidenceof strike-slipdisplacementrecognizedin
minimum shorteningestimates,so the calculated
20 km may underestimateshortening. Second,
evidenceof strike-slipdisplacementrecognizedin
the field and reportedin the literature,and
indicatedby new focal mechanismsolutionsof two
recent earthquakesin the Palmyfides,indicates
that some of the still "missing"displacementmay
be distributedthroughoutcentral and northern
Syria as strike-slipmotion oblique to the relative
northwardconvergenceof the Arabian plate on the
Eurasian plate. Alternatively, previous estimates
of slip along the northernsegmentof the Dead
Sea transformfault systemmay be only minimum
estimates. A final possibility is that the Dead
Sea transformfault in northwesternSyria has
beenactivefor only the past5-6 m.y. or so,
implying that it was either nonexistentor moved
only slightlybeforethe Pliocene. This would
suggestthat thereis a total of only 45 km of N-S
convergenceto be found in centraland northern
Syria, about 25 km on the Dead Sea fault system
and about 20 km in the Palmyfides. This last
possibilityrequiresthat the northernand southern
segmentsof the Dead Sea fault systemdeveloped
independentlyduringmost of the past 15-20 m.y.
In light of the documentedbut unquantifiedstrike-
slip motion in the Palmyfides,it seemsreasonable
that strike-slipmotion does accommodatea
significantportion of the convergencebetweenthe
1370 Chaimov et al.' Palmyride shorteningand Dead Sea Fault Movement

Arabian and Eurasianplates. It is likely, McBride et al., 1990]. Tertiary deformation

however, that one or more of the other proposed
mechanismsalso accountsfor a componentof the
expected80 km of shortening.
INTRODUCTION
Complex tectonicbelts surroundthe Syria
region (Figure la). To the northof Syria lies the
B itlis suture and the East Anatolian fault of
southernTurkey, to the eastthe Zagrosfold belt
of Iran and Iraq. In Lebanonand westernSyria
lies the left-lateral Dead Sea transform fault
system. These interrelatedtectonicelementsall
place constraintson Palmyrideevolution.
Therefore,any tectonichistoryof the Palmyfide
belt must fit in with the tectonic framework of the
whole region.
The Palmyfidefold belt in centralSyria trends
northeastand is boundedto the north by the more
stableAleppo plateau and to the southby the
Rutbahuplift, the northernmarginof the stable
Arabian platform (Figure lb). Thickened
Paleozoicand Mesozoic stratain the uplifted
blocksof the Palmyfidesindicatean inverted
Upper Paleozoicand Mesozoicbasin,perhapsan
aulaogen [Ponikerov,1966; Beydoun,1981;
includesboth north and southvergentoblique
reverse and thrust faults, reactivated normal
faults, broad as well as tight folds, and even Jura-
type box folds. The Palmyridescan be subdivided
into at least three distinctregionsor blocks,two
to the north of a major E-W trendingstrike-slip
fault, the Jharfault, and one more intenselyfolded
block to the southof the fault (seeFigure lb).
The broadfolds are observedprimarilyin the Bilas
and Bishri blocks to the north of the Jhar fault,
giving thoseregionsa more gently deformed
appearancethan the southwesternpart. McBride
et al. [ 1990] provide a thoroughoverviewof the
geologicand tectoniccharacterof the belt and
surroundingregions.
Palmyfide tectonicsare importantfor
understandingthe diffuse plate boundarybetween
Asia and Arabia that extends for 300 km from the
Palmyfidesto the Bitlis suture. Many scientists
have studiedMiddle East tectonics,especiallythe
Dead Sea transformfault system,the Red Sea,
and the Afar region [e.g., Quennell, 1958; Freund
et al., 1970; Le Pichon and Francheteau, 1978;
Hempton, 1987], but as yet little attentionhas
beenfocusedon the detailedtectonicsof Syria. A
few authors have, however, included the

o 38 4o 42 44 4 E

B..i'TLISSUTURE

7k sYR
IA

Faults
Seismic
/'"'Reflection
'*.-DEAD SEA / Transects
FAULTYSTEM 0 km 200 N
! I

Fig. l a. Generalizedgeographicand tectonicsettingof Syria showinglocationsof

transectsA, B, and C (see Plate 1 and Figures2 and 3) in the Palmyridefold belt.
Enlargementof boxedarea is shownin Figure lb.
Chaimovet al.' Palmyrideshorteningand Dead Sea Fault Movement 1371

Palmyridebelt in their studiesof the region[e.g. mountainbelt. Not only do balancedcross

Beydoun,1981;Lovelock,1984;Walley, 1988].
The SyrianPetroleumCompanyhas made
availableto Cornell University seismicreflection
and well data from Syria. Thesedata have
facilitated a concerted effort to understand the
tectonicsof Syria and their relationto surrounding
tectonic features. The present study concentrates
on datafrom thePalmyfideintracratonicfold belt
in central Syria.
Most balanced cross section studies are
conductedin fold and thrust belts near the margins
of continents in belts that formed as a direct result
of platecollision. In thePalmyfidecasewe apply
the methodof restoringbalancedcrosssectionsto
estimateshorteningin an intracontinentalfold
belt. The Palmyfides,wheregeologicaland
geophysical dataareplentiful,providea unique
opportunityto examinein detailthe subsurface
structureand tectonichistoryof an intracratonic
sectionsprovidea basisfrom whichshortening in
the Palmyfidescan be estimated,but the estimate
itselfmay helpexplainan enigmaof Middle East
platetectonics,the discrepancy betweenleft-
lateral offsetsalong the northernversusthe
southernsegmentsof the Dead Sea transform
fault system.
DEAD SEA TRANSFORM FAULT SYSTEM
A questionthat pervadesthe geologic
literatureof the Middle East region concernsthe
magnitudeof left-lateralmotionobservedacross
the southernversusthe northern segmentsof the
Dead Sea transformfault system. The Dead Sea
fault system,which strikesNNE-SSW in Lebanon
and N-S in westernmostSyria, displays-105 km
offset on its southernsegment[Quennell,1958;
Freund et al., 1970], south of Lebanon. This

37 E 380E 39 o E

1987BISH

35
N BILAS
BLOCKi SOUKHNE

..
,c
OUTH ........
Fig.5:%OUBAYAT

_,I.CHERRIFE ; Cretaceous
PALMYRA
Fig.
BLOCK
:""--"
Outcrop
7....Seismic
Faults
B '"Reflection
34
Transects
N
0 km 40
I I I

Fig. lb. Map viewlocationsof thethreecrosssections

A, B, andC andwellsusedin
the study. Cretaceous
outcropis shadedandreflectstheoccurrenceof structural
highs.Detailedlithologiccontactsareshownon thecrosssectionsin Plate1 and
Figures2 and3. Starsrepresent epicenters
of earthquakes
discussedin text,and
focal mechanismsof thesetwo eventsare shownon lower hemisphereprojections
with compressional
quadrantsshaded.
1372 Chaimovet al.: Palmyrideshorteningand Dead Sea Fault Movement
amountof offset is generallyaccepted[Courtillot
et al., 1987]. As yet, however,no one has
unequivocally documented morethan20-30 km of
left-lateral offset on the northern segment
[Quennell,1958; Trifonov et al., 1983; Vladimir
Trifonov,personalcommunication, 1989]. The
questionarises,then, as to what hasbecomeof
the missing80 km of displacement.
The little-studiedPalmyfide belt in central
Syria (Figure 1) strikesobliquely(about30-45)
to the Dead Sea transformfault system,and its
intersection with the Dead Sea transform fault
systemdivides that systeminto its
aforementionednorthern and southernsegments.
It may hold the answerto the problemof
discrepantoffsetsacrossthe northernversusthe
southernsegmentsof the transformfault system.
If the Palmyfidesalone accommodatedthe
missing80 km solelyby thrustingand foldingone
would expectto find evidencefor largescale
shorteningin crosssectionsconstructedacross
the belt. If, however,considerablestrike-slip
motion is invoked to accommodate some of the
shorteningone would expect to observeless
thrustingandfolding. Basedon his kinematic
model of the northeastern Mediterranean
Quennell [1958] assertedthat if the northern
Dead Sea transformfault systemmoved
independentlyof the southernsegment,an
importantassumptionon which he elaborates
little, then 45 km of shorteningshouldbe apparent
in the southwesternPalmyfides,diminishingto
zero 400 km along strike to the northeast.Recent
acceleratedactivity in explorationfor
hydrocarbons in Syria hasresultedin the
collectionof much seismicand well data. Newly
availableseismicdata in the regionprovidea
medium for new structuralinterpretationsand
facilitate an estimateof shortening,thereby
providinga quantitativetestof Quennell's
hypothesis.
DATA AND METHOD OF ANALYSIS
Seismic,well, and otherrelevantgeologic
informationwas providedfor this studyby the
SyrianPetroleumCompany. From nearly 1000km
of seismicdata at Cornell University, three
transectsthroughthe Palmyride belt were
selectedfor this study. The seismicdata were
collectedandprocessedby a variety of oil
companiesover many years,so their quality
varies. For the most part, however,the four to
five secondseismicprofiles,nearly all processed
papercopies,imagewell the thick Mesozoicand
Cenozoicsedimentarysectionof centralSyria.
Data acquisitionand/orprocessingproblemswere
commonlyencounteredover unusuallyrugged
terrainwhich often coincideswith exposuresof
resistant Cretaceous carbonate rocks. Other
seismicdata problemsare few and minor.
Explorationwells in Syria rangein depthfrom
very shallowto over 4 km. Well informationfrom
the three wells usedin this study, the locationsof
which appearin Figures1-3, consistsprimarily of
formationtopspickedby Syrian Petroleum
Companygeologistsas well as sparse
geophysicalwell logs. The interpretivecross
sectionspresented,however, are basedprimarily
on the seismicreflection sections. Integral to the
interpretationof the seismicsectionsand for
geologicextrapolationwhere seismicdata were
not available was Ponikerov's [1963] 1:200,000
scalegeologicmap of Syria.
Three -50 km long northwest-southeast
transectswhich crossmost of the Palmyfide belt
normal to strike were constructed from the
seismicreflectionprofiles (seeFigure lb). The
mostly high quality (to-3 sec) seismicsections
were correlatedwith surfacegeologyand well
information. Several stratigraphicsequenceson
each time sectionwere convened to depth using
stackingvelocitiesand formationtopsfrom nearby
wells. These units are, in ascendingorder,
Paleozoic, Jurassic and Triassic, Cretaceous,
Paleogene,and Neogene. The resultantcross
sections were area balanced in order to maximize
their "chanceof beingfight" [Dahlstrom,1969]
and simultaneouslyrestoredto an undeformed
state to estimate the shorteningaccommodated
by thrustfaultingandfolding.
At times, in areasof complexstructurewhere
stratigraphiccontrolwas minimal, several
differentinterpretationsof the seismicdata
seemedplausible,but only one interpretation
balanceduponrestoration.For example,over the
northwesternmost SW vergent anticline of
transectA (see Plate 1) the Cretaceoussectionis
continuous.This placesstrictlimits on the
amountof shorteninginterpretedin the poorly
reflective Jurassic and Triassic section. Where an
unbalancedduplexstructuremight appearto fit
geometrically,the simpleramp/flat shownin Plate
1 balances.
The cross sectionswere balancedonly as far
north as the Jhar fault, north of which
compressional structuresare lesspronounced.
North of the steep,E-W strikingJharfault strike-
slipduplexing[Woodcock,1986] is probablythe
dominantmodeof uplift, wherelarge,relatively
undeformedupliftedcrustalblocksareboundedby
steepfaultsthat evincenegligibleshortening.
This separationof deformationstylesis similarto
the strainpartitioningdiscussedby Mount and
Suppe[1987] andZobacket al. [1987] for the San
Andreas system.

Chaimovet al.: Palmyrideshorteningand Dead Sea Fault Movement
RESULTS
These new resultsenrich our understandingof
Middle East tectonics,in particularthe tectonics
of Syria. Theyprovideimportantinformation on
thetimingof deformation in Syriaandthe
magnitude of shortening
in thePalmyridefold belt.
These data and interpretationsalso contrastthe
very differentdeformational styleswithinthebelt,
the southwesternthin-skinnedstyle of
deformationwhere a low-angle detachmentis
observed versus the northeastern thicker-skinned
style where no detachmentis apparent.
Timingof PalmyrideDeformation
A generalstatementaboutthe timingof
compressional deformationin thePalmyfidescan
be madebasedon the datapresentedin this
study.While it is difficultto determinefrom this
data setthe exactage of the onsetof compression
in the Palmyfides,it is accurateto saythat most
Palmyrideshorteningtook placeafter the late
Oligocene.This conclusionstemsfrom the
observationthat the thick Paleogene(Paleocene
throughOligocene)sectionthroughout the
Palmyridesvariesvery graduallyin thicknessin
any givendip section(seefor example,Figure2),
and it furthermore shows little evidence of internal
onlap,suggesting relativelyquiescenttectonics
duringdeposition.In contrast,all of the numerous
smallNeogene(MioceneandPliocene)basinsin
the regionexhibitmarkedonlap,and someeven
downlap,suggesting activeNeogenetectonism.
Shortening
Palinspasticreconstructions
of crosssections
based on seismic reflection data tied with well
informationand constrainedby surfacegeology
yieldminimumcrustalshortening valuesmuch
lower thanthe expected80 km. An estimateof
minimum total shorteningfor the three sections
yieldedfrom southwest to northeast 20 km, 3 km,
and about 1 km, respectively. Plate 1 and Figures
2 and 3 showthe threecompositeline drawings
and their respectivedepth-convertedcross
sections in the deformed and undeformed states.
Their locationsare shownin Figure lb.
Stratigraphic
picks on the crosssectionsare
basedon seismiccharacterand only limited well
data and so are only approximate.
The presenceand absence of a detachment in
Triassic (?) strata,possiblylocatedalong an
evaporitebed, likely controlsthe vastlydifferent
deformationalstylespresentin the southwestern
1373
versusthe northeasternPalmyrides. The
southwestern,most intensely folded region
exhibitstypical fold and thrustbelt structures,
with a low-angled6collementsurfaceprobablyin
the lower (basal?)Triassic. Clear evidenceof a
low-angledetachmentat this stratigraphiclevel is
seenon the seismicreflection data only from the
southwestern region. It is this detachmentthat is
interpretedto correspondto an evaporiticlayer.
Figure4 showsthe bestseismicexampleof the
d6collement in the southwest.
The strataof probablePaleozoicage below the
d6collementappearslightlycurved. This
phenomenon hasbeensimplymodeledas velocity
pull up of a very gentlydippingflat layer. A
simplemodelbasedon a few majorreflections
was constructedusing the Sierra Geophysics
three dimensionalseismicmodelingpackage. The
relativelyundeformedPaleozoicstratacan be
modeledas a flat layer or, with a slight
perturbationin seismicvelocitiesas a very gently
dippinghorizon. Velocitiesusedin themodeling
were approximatedue to the poorlyconstrained
stackingvelocitiesof the seismicsectionand the
dearthof sonicwell log information. Nonetheless,
preliminaryseismicmodelingdoesindicate
relatively undeformedsub-d6collement strata. In
the future a detailedstudyof the overlying
deformed Mesozoic and Cenozoic seismic
sequences will yield betterconstraints
on the
timingof deformationin thePalmyrides.
In the northeasternPalmyfides,where
shortening is aboutan orderof magnitudeless,a
basalTriassicevaporiteis absentor not well
developed.Figure5 showsan examplefrom the
northeast of an anticline whose deformation
involves almost the entire Phanerozoic column.
The Doubayat-2well penetratesto a total depth
of 3614 m (about 2.0 secondson the seismic
sectionin Figure5) not far from the top of
Precambrian basement and records no faults in the
section. Any detachmentlevel in the northeastern
regionmustlie deeperthanthe Doubayatwell,
which bottoms in the Ordovician.
In the southwestthe presenceof a d6collement
surfacein the lower Triassic has important
implicationsfor hydrocarbon
explorationin the
Palmyfides.If a lowerTriassicevaporitehorizon
decouples the overlyingMesozoicandCenozoic
sediments from the Paleozoic section where
hydrocarbon
potentialis good[Ponikerovet al.,
1967], structuresin the Paleozoicneednot mimic
those in the Mesozoic and Cenozoic. Hence,
particularcareshouldbe givento the processing
of deeper(Paleozoic)seismicdata,especiallyin
the southwesternPalmyfideswhere a detachment
clearlyexistsand Paleozoicstrataare decoupled
from overlyingMesozoicand Cenozoicstrata.
 Depth (km)
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Chaimov et al.' Palmyride shorteningand Dead Sea Fault Movement 1377

Depth (km)
o

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1378 Chaimov et al.: Palmyride shorteningand Dead Sea Fault Movement

NW $

Fig. 4. An exampleof Lower Triassic(?) d6collementin the southwestern Palmyrides

decouplingrelatively undeformedPaleozoicrocksfrom overlyingMesozoicstrata. The
locationof this excerptfrom crosssectionA is shownin Figure lb. The seismic
manifestationof the Jharfault occupiesthe left-mostpart of the section.

Another importantimplicationof the DISCUSSION

interpretationof a detachmentis the necessityto
continuethe d6collementnorthwardbeyondthe
northern end of the cross section, that is, noah of
the Jharfault. The interpretationas presentedin
crosssectionA (Plate lb) requiresthis northward
extension of the d6collement. It is unknown
whether the dcollement continues at the same
stratigraphiclevel for hundredsof kilometersinto
southernTurkey where it meets the Bitlis suture,
whetherit rampsdown deeperand eventually
soles into the middle or lower crust, or whether it
rampsup to the north, essentiallydecapitatingthe
Aleppo plateau.
Most of the Palmyfide shorteningis
accommodated in this southwesternregion. 20
km of NW-SE shorteningin southwestern central
Syria (near Damascus)is clearly documentedin
the new crosssections. But the magnitudeof
shorteningpredictedby kinematicmodelswas
about 80 km. There still remain 60 km of crustal
shorteningunaccounted
for.
A variety of possibilitiesexiststo explainthe
obviousdiscrepancy betweenthe expected(80
km) and observed(20 km) shorteningvaluesin
the Palmyridebelt. First, and leastlikely of the
possibilities,is that the interpretivesections
introducedin this studymay not reflect actual
shorteningin Syria. It is well known that
balancedand restoredcrosssectionsyield
conservativeestimatesof shortening[e.g.,
Hossack,1979]. It shouldbe kept in mind that
shorteningestimatesbasedon this data set, a
smallportion of that which existsin the region,
are minimum estimates. Second,strike-slipfaults
in the Aleppo plateauand in the Palmyridesmust
accommodate at leastsomeof the "missing"60
km of expectedcrustalshortening,although,the
apparentstability(lack of seismicity,subdued
topography,and monotonousPaleogeneoutcrop)
of the Aleppo plateauimpliesonly minor
tectonismthere. A third possibilityis that the
Chaimov et al.' Palmyride shorteningand Dead Sea Fault Movement 1379

NW SE

0.0

z - Top Pz
o 1.0

Doubayat-2well 2 KM

Fig. 5. An examplefrom the northeastern

Palmyfidesshowingno evidenceof a
d6collement surface. Paleozoic strata are involved in the deformation. The location of
this excerpt,part of crosssectionC, is shownin Figure lb.

estimatesof 25 km of slip alongthe northern implicit in constructingany balancedcrosssection

segmentof the Dead Sea transformfault system
are too low. The elaboratemappingof the area
arguesstrongly against such an assertion.
Finally, the original apparent80 km discrepancy
between northern and southern Dead Sea fault
systemoffsets may be false. It is possiblethat
duringthe first 10-15 m.y. of motionon the Dead
Sea transformfault (about 60 km of strike-slip
motion), the fault itself did not extend into what is
now centralLebanonand northwesternSyria. In
effect, this would mean that there really is no
discrepancy,and that the 20-25 km of motionon
the northernextensionof the Dead Sea fault plus
the 20-25 km shorteningin the Palmyfidesis all
that existsin northernSyria. Each of these
possibilitieswill now be examinedin detail.
Limitations of Balanced Sections
Dahlstrom [1969] and others[e.g., Elliot, 1983;
De Paor, 1988] detail the many assumptions
acrossa fold and thrustbelt, amongthem the
assumptions of a regionald6collementhorizon,
two-dimensional deformation, and constant bed
thickness.Many "rules"of classicfold and thrust
belts are violated by the Palmyfide belt. First, no
obviousregionaldetachmentsurfaceimagedby
the seismic underlies the entire belt. In the Atlas
mountainsof Tunisia, a possiblehomologto the
Palmyfides,Snokeet al. [1988] also see no
regionaldetachment,but ratherreactivatednormal
faults. If this were the casein the Palmyfides,
estimatesof shorteningbasedon balancedcross
sections would be even lower than 20 km because
steepreactivatednormal faults cannot
accommodate much shortening.Seismicdata
provethe existenceof a detachmentsurfaceonly
in the southwesternPalmyrides.
Furthermore,both surfacemappingand
earthquakefocal mechanismsdocumentstrike slip
in the mountainbelt. The mostprominentmapped
fault in the Palmyfides,and the northernlimit of all
1380 Chaimovet al.: Palmyrideshorteningand Dead Sea Fault Movement
three crosssectionspresentedin this study,is
the Jharfault, a 170 km long steepfault that
strikesroughly E-W and separatesthe
southwestern Palmyfideblock from the Bilas and
Bishriblocks. Judgingfrom its linearcontinuity
and steepdip, the Jharlikely has beena strike-
slip fault. Actual magnitudeof lateral offsets
acrossthe Jharfault, however,are extremely
difficult to quantify. Associatedwith otherfaults,
two recentmb-4.8 earthquakes, oneon October5,
1970 andoneon May 20, 1987,providedataon
the presentday senseof motionin the
Palmyfides. Focal mechanismsfrom both events
showthat strikeandreverseslip are still activein
the Palmyfides. The focal mechanismsare based
on all availableup-m-datedataincludingthat
reportedin the InternationalSeismologicalCenter
andPreliminaryDeterminationof Epicenters
bulletins.Additionalfirst motionpolarityreadings
were obtained from World Wide Standardized
Seismic Network records. A focal mechanism of
the 1970 eventwaspublishedin 1976 [Ben-
Menahem et al., 1976], but was basedon
relativelylimited observations
from only a few
seismic stations. Our new focal mechanisms
indicatemoderatelysteep(N70) SSE-dipping
fault planeswith an obliquesenseof motionabout
equallydividedbetweenreverseand fight-lateral
strike-slip. The locationsof the earthquakesand
their associatedfault plane solutionsare shownin
Figure lb.
Surfacemappingat a scaleof 1:200,000shows
little if any evidenceof strikeslipin the study
area, so strike-slipmotion, while it is a factorin
Palmyfidedeformation, is notof majorconcernin
this study. The sectionspresented in thispaper
were constructedassumingtwo-dimensional
deformation.Three parallelcrosssectionswere
constructed alongstriketo allay concernsabout
this assumption.Sincethe three sectionsgive
mutuallyconsistentresults,that is, they do not
show that shorteningvaries in a randommanner
alongstrike,then the assumption of two-
dimensionaldeformationheremay not be a bad
one. Furthermore,if NE-SW strike slip were the
majorcontrolof the foldsin the Palmyfides,one
might expectto seeunevenlythickenedand
thinnedbedsin a givensection. No stretched
strata have been observed.
Finally, deformationin the sedimentarysection
extendsbeyondthe southernpaleobasinmargin
as definedby the rapidthinningof Mesozoic
strata,therebyfurthercomplicating the balancing
process.For example,in crosssectionC (Figure
3b) where the Jurassicand Triassic section thins
markedlyto the southindicatingthemarginof the
Mesozoic basin, at least three small folds occur
still farther south.
With all thesecomplicationsin mind,the cross
sectionswere balancedto the degreepossibleand
restored. Strictly, the term retrodeformableis, in
reference to these cross sections,more accurate
than balanced[Suppe, 1985]. While balanced
crosssectionsin thrustbelts by definitionrestore
to a minimumpossibleundeformed length
[Hossack,1979] it is difficultto imaginethatthe
calculated20 km shortening in the moststrongly
deformedsouthwestern regionof the Palmyfides
is a factorof fourlowerthanactualshortening.If
the Palmyfideswere truly shortened by the
expected80 km, then this impliesthat the now
100 km wide fold belt was once 180 km wide, and
surelyalmost50% shorteningwould give rise to a
very prominentmountainbelt. But the Palmyfides
have on the averageonly a few hundredmetersof
relief. Becausegravitymodelingshowsthe crust
beneaththe Palmyfidesto be of typicalcontinental
thickness,about40 km [Bestet al., 1990], simple
volumeffic calculations indicate that the crust
wouldhaveto havebeenonly24 km thickpriorto
thepostulated 80 km of shortening.Continental
crustthis thin wouldalmostcertainlybe
associated with shallow if not surface volcanics as
are seen,for example,in the BasinandRange
Province of the western United States where the
crustis thin. With exposureof Jurassic
through
Holocenerocks,the conspicuous paucityof
volcanicsin the Palmyfidesprecludessuch
markedshortening.Minor occurrences of volcanic
rockshave,however,beenreportedfrom a few
wells.
Theselinesof evidence,the mutualconsistency
of the threecrosssections,the goodassumption
of two-dimensional deformation in the study
region,andtheimprobability of onceverythin
crust,all lendcredenceto the 20 km shortening
estimate.
SidewaysEscapeof Northern Syria
Assumingthat the shorteningestimatedhere
is correct suggeststhat someother mechanismis
responsiblefor accommodating the expected80
km of shortening.Strike-slipmotionobliqueto the
crosssectionsmay accommodatethe remainderof
the shortening,or at leasta portionof it. Both
mappedfaults,the Jharfault, for example,and
earthquakefocal mechanismssupportthis
assertion.
Jacksonand McKenzie [1988] review two end
member ways in which the deformationbetween
two convergingplatestakesplace (seeFigure6).
Oneendmemberis simplefoldingandthrusting in
the directionof convergenceas in the caseof
someregionsin western North America. The
othermodeinvolvesthe sidewayswedgingout or
squirtingout of a relativelyrigid continentalblock
as summarizedby Burke and SengOr[1986], for
example,in the westernTurkey case. This
secondmoderequiresstrike-slipmotionobliqueto
Chaimov et al.: Palmyride shorteningand Dead Sea Fault Movement
a)EuAstA
I
AABIA
b)EURA
SIA
ARABIA
Fig. 6. Map views showingtwo end
memberways in which the zone between
the Arabian and Eurasianplatescould
respondto convergence:(a) thrustingand
foldingparallelto convergence;(b) strike
slip obliqueto convergence
[modifiedfrom
Courtillot et al., 1987].
the directionof maximum shorteningas well as
essentiallya free surface,for example,an
oceanic/continental plate boundary,throughwhich
the continentalblock can escape. The northeast-
trendingPalmyridebelt strikesapproximately45
to the northward encroachment of the Arabian
plate. An eastwardescapemodel at first looks
deskablein the north Syrian setting,with left-
lateral motion along the Dead Sea and East
Anatolian fault systemson the west and north,
respectively,and possiblefight-lateralmotion in
the Palmyrides[Quennell, 1984], but northern
Syria has no free surfaceto the east through
which it can escapeas westernTurkey does.
Indentationof the Euphratesgraben
northeastwardalong strike from the Palmyfides
(see Figure la) is also not observed,so eastward
escapeof northernSyria as a singleblock from
Arabia is not likely. Furthermore,a N-S
componentof 60 km of shorteningwould be
manifestas over 80 km of strike slip in the NE-
trendingPalmyfides. There is no obvious
evidencefor this amountof strike slip on any one
fault in the Palmyrides,although,considerable
1381
strike slip may be subtlydistributedthroughout
the belt. While numerousvertical (probably
strike-slip)faults dissectthe Aleppo plateauto
the north (Figure 7), the magnitudeof
displacementacrossthem is unknown. While
recentfault slip data indicatea fight-lateral
componentin the Palmyfides,Walley [1988]
offers a scenariowherebyfaults in the Palmyfides
comprisea left-lateral braidedstrike-slipsystem
that distributesthe excessshorteningthroughout
centraland northernSyria (seeFigure 8). Strike-
slip motionplays at leasta small role in shaping
the Palmyfidebelt, and may accountfor over 30
km of northwardArabianmotionin northernSyria
[Walley, 1988]. The net senseand magnitudeof
strike-slipmotion in the Palmyfideshave yet to be
well determined,and a thoroughinvestigationof
strike-slipmotion in Syria is warranted.
Uncharted Offsets on the Dead Sea Fault
System
Another viable possibility is that the estimates
of about25 km of left-lateral slip on the northern
segmentof the Dead Sea transformfault system
are too low. Based on his kinematic model of
Cenozoic easternMediterraneanplate motions
Quennell[ 1984] reported30 km of displacement
alongone of the two major strandsof the northern
Dead Sea transformfault. Similarly Trifonov et al.
[ 1983] and V. Trifonov (personalcommunication,
1989) documentonly 20-25 km of slip on the
northern Dead Sea faults, based on offset mid-
Miocene and youngervolcanicsand on a 0.5-0.6
cm/yr slip rate calculatedfrom carbon-dated
Quaternaryalluvium offsets. In particular,V.
Trifonov (personalcommunication,1989) cites
offset of 5-6 m.y. old basalts. At a constantpost-
Miocene (post-6m.y.) rate of 0.5 cm/yr this is in
goodagreementwith the total 25 km offset.
However, mostof the recognized105 km of left-
lateral motion on the southernsegmentof the
Dead Sea transformfault occurredduring the past
20 m.y. [Quennell, 1958 and many others].
Hypothesizinga minimumpre-Pliocene(pre-6
m.y.) slip rate of 0.5 cm/yr in the north,only 12
m.y. are requiredto accountfor the missing60 km
on the northernpart. In other words,if the
northernDead Sea fault systemhad been active
for the entire 20 m.y. that the southernsegment
has, then large unrecognizedoffsetsexist. Such
offsetswouldprobablybe difficult to map along
the northernDead Sea faults where young
volcanicsand sedimentsobscuregeologic
structure[Quennell, 1984] and where the Dead
Sea systembifurcatesand becomescomplex.
Miocene and youngeroffsetson the southern
Dead Sea faults are seen in Precambrian, Triassic,
and Jurassicrocks [Courtillot et al., 1987] that
strikeobliquelyto the fault. Theseoffsetsare
1382 Chaimov et al.' Palmyride shorteningand Dead Sea Fault Movement

NW SE

.0

t-
O
0

.0

.0

2 km

Fig. 7. An examplefrom the northernAleppoplateaushowinginterpretation of a

typical flower structuresuchas commonlyresultsfrom strike-slipmotion. The
locationof this excerptis shownin Figure la.
Chaimovet al.: Palmyfideshorteningand Dead Sea Fault Movement 1383

thusinherentlyeasierto map than would be Pre-PlioceneIndependenceof Northernand

offsetson the northernsegmentwhere strata
strikeat a muchlower angleto the N-S trending
faults. Acceptinga maximumof 25 km of
recognizeddisplacement,a further60 km of
displacementon the northernsegmentof the Dead
Sea fault systemmay still remain uncharted.
Fig. 8. A possiblemodel that invokes
distributedstrikeslip to accommodate
excessshortening[modifiedfrom Walley,
1988]. This modelrequiresa totalof about
80 km of NE-SW strike-slipmotion.
SouthernDead Sea Fault Segments
The final remainingmodelthatcan accountfor
the missing60 km is depictedin Figure9. Figure
9 showsa scenarioin which slip alongthe
northernDead Sea fault systemwas not initiated
before6 Ma. This implies that thereare indeed
only 45 km of convergence to accountfor in
northernSyria, 20-25 km in the Palmyfidesand
the acknowledged20-25 km on the northern
segmentof the Dead Sea transformfault. In this
last case,the northernand southernsegmentsof
the Dead Sea fault systemfunctioned
independently until the Early Pliocene(5-6 Ma.).
The Roum fault in southernLebanon, the seaward
splayoff the southernDead Seafault in Figure9,
may representthe extinct northward extensionof
the Miocene Dead Sea transform fault.
Paleomagneticdata from the Levant [Van
Dongenet al., 1967; Zijderveldand Van der Voo,
1973] bearout this tectonicmodel. Sparse
volcanicsamplesfrom thisregionindicateas much
as a 28 counterclockwise rotation of the Levant
relative to Africa since the Lower Cretaceous.
Sincethat time the Arabianplatformhasrotated
in the samesenseonly 7 relativeto Africa. The
excessrotation of the Levant, most of which can
be takenas post-Cretaceous basedon the timing
of the majorregionaltectonism,may be
attributableto a poor statisticalsamplingof rocks
[Van Dongenet al., 1967] or it may in part
representa real counterclockwiserotation of

Fig. 9. Onepossiblekinematicmodelto explainthe apparent discrepancybetween

left-lateraloffsetsobservedon the segmentsof the northernversusthe southern
Dead Sea fault system. The Roumfault may have beenthe main northward
continuationof the Dead Sea systemduringthe Miocene.
1384 Chaimov et al.: Palmyride shorteningand Dead Sea Fault Movement
northernLebanon and northwesternSyria as
depictedin Figure 9. Certainlymorein-depth
palcomagneticstudiesneed to be completed
beforegreatconfidencecan be placedin sucha
model;however,the simplicityof sucha model
holdsconsiderableappeal.
Summary
In view of the four very differentandin some
casesmutually exclusivemodelsproposed,some
discussionof the viability of eachis required.
After examiningcloselyall the models,only two of
the four possibilitiesremain viable, that strike-slip
faults accommodatesomeshorteningor that the
apparent80 km of expectedshorteningis illusive,
and the northernand southernsegmentsof the
Dead Sea systemdevelopedindependently.
First, the improbablemodelsmust be
discounted.Clearly the first possibility,that this
balancedcrosssectionstudyis wrong, is
undesirable. For reasonsalready discussed,
includingmutually consistentresultsthroughout
the 400 km-long belt, and confidencein the
assumptionof two-dimensionaldeformation,this
possibilityis unlikely. Equallyunlikelyis the
possibilitythat the reliable scientistswho for
years scrutinizedthe northernDead Sea fault
systemin aerial and satelliteimagesand in the
field [Ponikerov et al., 1963; Trifonov et al., 1983;
Quennell, 1984;] missed tens of kilometers of left-
lateral offset. Discountingthesetwo scenarios
leavesonly two viable modelsto explain the
shorteningmeasurements which are seemingly
inconsistentwith other observationsin the region.
Strike slip surelyplaysa role in accommodating
shorteningin the Palmyridesand northernSyria,
but to what extent is unknown. Evidence of
strike-slipfaulting is readily observedin the field,
but so is thrustfaulting. The magnitudeof strike
slip in the Palmyrides,while significant,remains
to be quantified. Strike slip mustexplainat least
someof the observedenigma.
The only otherviable modelof thoseproposed
is that the main left-lateral movement on the
northernsegmentof the Dead Sea fault system
was initiatedonly after the southernsegment,
includingthe Roum fault, hadaccruedabout60 km
of pre-Plioceneoffset. While palcomagneticdata
supportthis model, thesedataunfortunatelyare
few and so perhapsnot per se convincing.
Nevertheless,this model is intriguingand is
attractivein its simplicity.
CONCLUSIONS
This studypresentsa quantitativemeasureof
the magnitudeof shortening in the Palmyfidefold
belt in Syria,basedprimarilyon newly available
seismicreflectiondata. The studyalsopresents
severalmodelsthat accountfor the apparent
discrepancyin observedleft-lateral offsetsacross
the northern versus the southern Dead Sea
transformfault systemas well as an examination
of theviability of eachmodel.
The Dead Sea systemshowsevidenceof over
105 km of left-lateral displacementon its southern
segmentyet only 25 km on its northernsegment,
leavingan apparent80 km of crustalmovement
unaccountedfor. Palinspasticallyrestoredcross
sectionsthroughthe Palmyfidefold belt in Syria
showthat at least20 km of the "missing"80 km is
accommodated by thrustingandfoldingin the
southwesternPalmyrides. At least four
possibilitiescan explain the still elusive60 km of
crustalshorteningin northernArabia. The 20 km
predictedby the retrodeformablecrosssections
may be almosta factorof four lower than actual
shorteningin the Palmyfides,but, becausewe
estimatea present-dayN40 km thick crust,this
would necessitatethe existenceof unreasonably
thin crustprior to shortening.The very rare
then three possibilitiesremain. (1) Distributed
strikeslip in northernSyria accountsfor 80
kilometersof NE-SW strike-slipmotion,which
has not been observed. New focal mechanisms
supportobservationsof strike slip in the field, so
someas yet undeterminedamountof strike slip
must exist in the Palmyfides. (2) There remain
60 kilometersof unchartedleft-lateral slip on the
northernsegmentof the Dead Sea transform,a
very unlikely possibility. (3) The northernand
southernsegmentsof the Dead Sea fault system
moved,at least duringMiocene time,
independently,as Quennell[1958] suggested.In
other words, the northernsegmentof the Dead
Sea transformfault systemis much youngerthan
the southernpart, and thereare only 45
kilometersof crustalconvergenceexpressedin
northernSyria.
Documentedstrike-slipmotion in the
Palmyfidesimmediatelylendssupportto the
hypothesisthat strike-slipmotion accommodates
at least someof the remainingdisplacement.In
addition,an intriguingpossibilityintroduced
by
Quennell[1958] is that the northernsegmentof
the Dead Sea fault systemwas not coupledto the
southernsegmentprior to the Pliocene. This
would meanthe 80 km of "missing"displacement
is illusive, and that there really has been a total of
only 45 km of N-S shortening in Syria. The truth
likely lies in somecombinationof thesetwo
models.
Acknowledgments.,Partial fundingfor this
researchwas providedby Amoco, ARCO, Exxon,
Marathon,and Unocal oil companies.Thanksare
due Bob Litak, Art Barnes,and especiallyJohn
Chaimov et al.: Palmyride shorteningand Dead Sea Fault Movement
Best for their thought provoking discussions,and
R. Allmendinger,D. E. Karig, C. De Paor, and one
anonymousreviewer for their critical reviewsof
the manuscript. Our appreciationis extendedalso
to Robin Adams for providingimportant
seismologicaldata. Institute for the Study of the
Continentsat Cornell University contribution125.
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(ReceivedJanuary16, 1990;
revised May 9, 1990;
acceptedMay 10, 1990.)