Abstract The origin of Jal Az-Zor escarpment has been equivocal due to limited exposure and subsurface data. The escarpment was assumed to be a result of differential weathering and erosion. Most recently mapping of basement lineaments suggested a deep fault system as a most likely cause. The aim of this article is to use shallow seismic data acquired across various locations along the escarpment to investigate the underlying geology, structural elements and link these features to surface observations. To understand the near subsurface geology, post-stack time processing was applied to 2D seismic data acquired recently in the area. The objective was to focus on the shallow intervals, represented by the Rus, Dammam and Kuwait Formations. The analyses revealed a train of tight concentric folds that increase in stage development towards the escarpment in the Dammam Formation. The shallower Kuwait Formation shows early stages of fault propagation folding as a result of the Kuwait Arch uplift towards the south of the escarpment. We suggest that friction along the Dammam Formation upper contact detachment planes increased towards the south, thus promoting the propagation of the fold reaching the surface, resulting in the Jal Az-Zor escarpment that we see today. Structural kinematic analysis suggests that the Jal Az-Zor escarpment is also a principal displacement zone (PDZ) that is dominated by dextral strike-slip motion and exhibits a series of restraining bends, positive-flower structures, and a horsetail splay. 2D structural restoration and balancing suggest a total shortening magnitude of approximately 6.25 km. Considering the Arabian and Eurasian plates velocity vectors, along with the relatively large amount of shortening, this deformation initiated during the early Pleistocene (Calabrian). The presence of tight concentric and fault propagation folds combined with dextral strike kinematics introduce new complexities into the structural styles and assemblages of the area otherwise thought to follow the overall northern Arabian Peninsula tectonics.

中文翻译：

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Jal Az-Zor 悬崖是复杂的双重折叠和走滑构造的产物；阿拉伯半岛东北部科威特的一项新研究

摘要 由于暴露和地下数据有限，Jal Az-Zor 悬崖的起源一直模棱两可。悬崖被认为是不同风化和侵蚀的结果。最近对基底线条的绘制表明，最可能的原因是深部断层系统。本文的目的是使用在沿悬崖不同位置采集的浅层地震数据来调查潜在的地质、结构元素并将这些特征与地表观测联系起来。为了了解近地下地质，对该地区最近采集的二维地震数据应用了叠后时间处理。目标是关注以 Rus、Dammam 和 Kuwait 地层为代表的浅层段。分析揭示了一系列紧密的同心褶皱，这些褶皱在朝着 Dammam 组的悬崖发展阶段增加。较浅的科威特地层显示了由于科威特拱门向悬崖南部隆起而导致的断层传播折叠的早期阶段。我们认为沿着达曼组上部接触分离面的摩擦力向南增加，从而促进褶皱传播到达地表，导致我们今天看到的 Jal Az-Zor 悬崖。结构运动学分析表明，Jal Az-Zor 悬崖也是一个主位移带（PDZ），以右旋走滑运动为主，呈现出一系列约束弯曲、正花结构和马尾状张开。二维结构修复和平衡表明总缩短幅度约为 6.25 公里。考虑到阿拉伯和欧亚板块的速度矢量，以及相对大量的缩短，这种变形始于早更新世（卡拉布里亚）。紧密同心和断层扩展褶皱的存在与右旋运动学相结合，为该地区的构造样式和组合引入了新的复杂性，否则被认为遵循阿拉伯半岛北部的整体构造。