LIFE: Linking lake-level variations, surface deformation, and seismogenesis in the Dead Sea.

死海是地球上最深的大陆盆地，构成了一个长期沉降和正常断裂的地区。然而，该地区目前没有下沉，而是经历了快速的抬升，同时伴随着湖泊水位的加速下降。这一观测结果表明垂直位移（如均衡反弹）随时间的复杂模式，但气候和构造因素在较长时间尺度（100 - 1000年）上变形积累的相对贡献目前尚不清楚。在其他终端湖泊，如索尔顿海和美国的博纳维尔湖的观测表明，气候控制的湖泊水位振荡可能对地震复发和断层滑动率的模式产生根本影响。知识上的一些空白妨碍了阐明死海湖泊水位变化、地震发生和垂直变形之间的联系。因此，捕获气候和地表变形过程中可能振幅的全谱将有助于减少不同时空尺度观测之间的差距，并有助于理解地震的复发和空间分布。该项目旨在利用死海沿岸突出的化石湖岸线揭示气候和构造过程之间的联系。研究湖岸线的方法得到了试点研究期间的观测结果的支持，并涉及多学科工具包：高分辨率无人机地形、形态计量学分析、U/Th和14C测年以及专门的数值模拟。我们的结果将与以前项目（DESIRE/DESERT， DSDDP）中产生的数据相补充，以扩大我们的分析和解释。该项目将提供有关死海盆地地震构造分割的基本信息，以及气候引起的湖泊水位变化在地震发生和断层活动方面的作用。最后，考虑到最近的基础设施项目和通过从红海供水来提高湖泊水位的尝试，对这些关系进行严格的分析是及时的，因为这种人为影响可能会改变该地区地震活跃断层的活动。此外，由于与全球气候变化相关的潜在地震情景，该项目提供的信息将非常相关，并将有助于充分评估死海地震灾害的时空特征。

The Dead Sea is the deepest continental basin on Earth, and constitutes a region of protracted subsidence and normal faulting. However, instead of subsidence, this area currently experiences rapid uplift accompanied by accelerated lake-level drop. This observation suggests complex patterns of vertical displacements (e.g., isostatic rebound) through time, but the relative contribution of climatic and tectonic factors in the accumulation of deformation at longer timescales (> 1000-yr) are currently unknown. Observations in other terminal lakes such as Salton Sea and Lake Bonneville, in U.S., suggest that climate-controlled lake level oscillations may exert fundamental influence in patterns of earthquake recurrence and fault- slip rates. Several gaps in knowledge have prevented elucidating the link between lake-level changes, seismogenesis, and vertical deformation in the Dead Sea. Thus, an effort to capture the full spectrum of possible amplitudes in climatic and surface deformation processes will help reducing the gaps between observations on different temporal and spatial scales and aid in understanding the recurrence and spatial distribution of earthquakes. This project aims to unravel the link between climatic and tectonic processes using the outstanding exposure of fossil lacustrine shorelines along the coast of the Dead Sea. The methods to study lake-shorelines are supported by observations during a pilot study and involve a multidisciplinary toolkit: high-resolution drone topography, morphometric analysis, U/Th and 14C dating, and dedicated numerical modeling. Our results will be complemented with data produced in previous projects (DESIRE/DESERT, DSDDP) to expand our analysis and interpretations. This project will provide fundamental information regarding the seismotectonic segmentation of the Dead Sea Basin and the role of climate-induced lake-level changes regarding seismogenesis and the activity of faults through time. Finally, considering recent infrastructure projects and attempts to raise lake level by supplying water from the Red Sea, a rigorous analysis of these relationships is timely as such anthropogenic impacts may alter the activity of seismically active faults in this area. Furthermore, the information provided by this project will be extremely relevant in virtue of potential seismic scenarios associated with global climate change and will help to adequately assess the spatiotemporal characteristics of seismic hazards in the Dead Sea.