Event XT2 was identified in Trench T2 at Ghor Khabed, a pull-apart system on the Jordan Valley Fault. The trench was excavated across the western fault section of the Ghor Khabed depression, where late Pleistocene Lisan deposits, Damya formation sediments, and Holocene pull-apart deposits are affected by faulting within a broad shear zone approximately 2.5 m wide.
The event evidence consists of two fault splays that affect unit d and terminate at the base of unit c. In addition, the event is associated with a ~40 cm long vertical liquefaction dyke that cuts unit d and derives from the underlying sandy unit f. According to Ferry et al. (2011:52), these features record a distinct episode of faulting and earthquake-induced sediment deformation that predates Events YT2 and ZT2. The presence of the liquefaction dyke indicates that seismic shaking was sufficiently strong to mobilize water-saturated sandy sediment within unit f and inject it upward through the overlying deposits. The combined evidence from fault splays and liquefaction features provides strong support for a seismic origin of the deformation.
The chronology of Event XT2 is poorly constrained. The event postdates deposition of unit d because both the fault splays and the liquefaction dyke affect that unit. It predates deposition of unit c because the ruptures terminate at its base. However, a scarcity of datable material prevents direct age determination of either unit d or unit c. The only available chronological constraint comes from the younger unit b1, which yielded a calibrated date of 560–660 CE. Since Event XT2 lies stratigraphically below the deposits associated with unit b1 and the younger Events YT2 and ZT2, it must predate 560–660 CE. Beyond this upper limit, no additional dating evidence is available to further constrain the age of the earthquake.
- Fig. 3C Location Map of the
Ghor Khabed Site from Ferry et al. (2011)
Geomorphology of the Ghor Kabed site from a high-resolution total station topographic survey. The eastern fault strand shows a linear and continuous geometry with a gentle slope (the steep slope visible to the north is artificial), while the western strand displays a steeper slope and a left-step geometry. Two trenches were excavated at that site: T1 on the central strand north of the depression, and T2 on the eastern strand southeast of the depression (see logs in Fig. 5). Height curve spacing is 0.25 m.
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Ferry et al. (2011)- Fig. 5E Stratigraphic Correlation
between Ghor Khabed and Tell Saidiyeh Trenches from Ferry et al. (2011)
Correlations of stratigraphic sections of trenches. The geological formations of Lisan and Damya are common basement-bottom units for trenches. Erosion processes (tilde lines) have major effects on soft sediments, and Trench T3 shows a significant hiatus of the Damya formation. The correlation between alluvial and lacustrine deposits and the related radiocarbon dating (see also Table 1 and Fig. 7) illustrate the different recent depositional environments at trench sites.
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Ferry et al. (2011)- Table 1 Radiocarbon Table
from Ferry et al. (2011)
Radiocarbon Dating of Samples Collected in Trenches T1 and T2 (Ghor Kabed Site) and T3 and T4 (Tell Saidiyeh Site)
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Ferry et al. (2011)- Fig. 4D Main Shear Zone in
Trench T2, Ghor Kabed from Ferry et al. (2011)
Main shear zone in trench T2 affecting Lisan (massive clay) and Damya (clastic) units. Thin lines are stratigraphic contacts, thick lines are faults, and dashed lines mark the bottom of the trench
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Ferry et al. (2011)Fig. 5b
Trench T2 displays a main fault zone filled with breccia that have been ruptured afterward and documents the most recent event, radiocarbon dated after A.D. 560-660. Combined, these observations suggest two surface-rupturing events occurred at Ghor Kabed between A.D. 560 and A.D. 1800, which may be related to the A.D. 749 and A.D. 1033 events.
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Ferry et al (2011)
