TECTONIC PROCESSES IN OFFSHORE NORTHERN ISRAEL AND THE EVOLUTION OF THE CARMEL STRUCTURE

The Carmel structure in northern Israel is an elevated tilted block that extends from the land into the continental shelf and divides the Levant continental margin into two distinct provinces. Its axis trends at a high angle to the Levant margin and deflects Mesozoic and Cenozoic sedimentary and basement rocks. The Carmel structure is probably older than the Levant margin itself and has been through several phases of activity. Most of the multichannel seismic profiles in the offshore of northern israel were reprocessed through time migration and then interpreted. The resultant maps, combined with gravimetric, magnetic and bathymetric maps, show a complex tectonic picture of the Carmel structure and its vicinity. Four evolutionary stages can be recognized in this area: (a) Early Mesozoic rifting along the present Levant margin. We speculate that the Carmel was at that time a triple junction. A thick Mesozoic volcanic and carbonatic section of more than 6500 m indicates rapid subsidence, probably accompanied by normal faulting. (b) Folding along the NNE axis. This is probably part of the Syrian Are compressional system, which was active from the late Cretaceous until the Eocene. Normal faults of the previous stage were probably reactivated, becoming reverse faults. (c) Left-lateral strike-slips faulting. This formed a north-west fault system which resulted in a clockwise rotation of segments of the fold axis and was active from the late Miocene to early Pliocene. (d) A tensional tectonic regime prevails since the Pliocene and is probably still active at present. The well pronounced Kishon graben, which extends from land to the continental shelf, was formed during this period. The first two stages are of regional extent, whereas the latter stages are the result of local modification of the regional stress fields.