Event E6
In the Qatar Trench, oriented perpendicular to the
Arava Fault
within the Yotvata Playa and just south of the
Yotvata extensional step,
Klinger et al. (2015)
identify Event E6 as a clearly expressed rupture in
the middle part of the trench sequence, younger than
E7 and older than E5. Evidence is present in both the
west and east fault zones and is defined by a
group of faults that terminate within unit G. These
faults are especially well exposed at
MM1,
MM6–
MM7,
and
MM17.
The upward terminations of E6 faults do not all end
at exactly the same level, especially near
MM7
in the main fault zone. Klinger et al. interpret this
variation as the combined result of lateral change in
the thickness of unit G, prior
subsidence of the eastern compartment during E7,
and the effects of
horizontal slip during E6 itself.
Because of this complexity, they place the E6 event
horizon at the contact between G and F,
while noting that the true horizon might locally lie
slightly lower in the section.
Structurally, E6 appears as a crack- and fault-
dominated event rather than one accompanied by the
large tilting and probable
accommodation space creation seen in E8 or the
major vertical deformation documented for E4.
According to
Klinger et al. (2015), this
indicates that it is likely that E7 was created by a fault rupture that terminated at the
Yotvata extensional step.
Still, because E6 is visible in both fault zones, it likely
represents a substantial rupture at the trench site.
Chronologically, E6 is less tightly constrained than
E7 because unit F contained no preserved organic
material suitable for dating.
Klinger et al. (2015)
place the event between 9 BCE and 492 CE on
the basis of a
Bayesian model
of
radiocarbon dates
derived from
detrital charcoal
from adjacent units.
