Abstract In the major zones of crustal deformation within the Arabia-Sinai-Nubia plates, the interactions between the Sinai-Negev Shear Zone (SNSZ) and the Dead Sea Fault system (DSF) shed light on the interplay between neighboring, large-scale fault systems.The SNSZ is composed of several ~E-W to ENE–WSW trending, mainly normal and dextral, strike-slip faults that are tens to hundreds of kilometers long. These faults form a ~ 120 km wide shear zone in the Sinai sub-plate. On reaching the plate-bounding Dead Sea Fault system (DSF), individual lineaments of the SNSZ are observed in the Arabian plate offset left-laterally by 105 km, which is the total estimated offset of the DSF. In this contribution, we review the geologic setting of the SNSZ and its complex relations with the DSF in light of newly obtained age-strain analyses. For this we use in-situ U Pb geochronology in conjunction with twin analysis of syn-faulting calcite from both systems. The results indicate that the deformation along the SNSZ initiated in the Campanian-Maastrichtian or earlier, as the oldest dates are 73–71 Ma. The main phase of fault activity began in the late Oligocene – early Miocene (27–22 Ma) as documented by numerous dates that were obtained along several lineaments of the SNSZ. The activity continued until ~10 Ma, after which no direct ages have been obtained. The dominant phase of activity along the SNSZ at 27–22 Ma preceded the timing of initiation of lateral faulting along the DSF at ~20–18 Ma by a few Myr. For the overlapping period of activity between 20 and 12 Ma, episodes of fault activity along the SNSZ followed by episodes of fault activity along the DSF. Moreover, dominant episodes of activity along one fault system were associated with a decrease in activity along the other system. The temporal relations between the SNSZ and DSF highlight the possibility that these fault systems are mechanically interrelated, but the exact mechanism for this fault interaction needs further study. We consider the paleo-strain (or paleo-stress) that control the evolution and style of the SNSZ and assess them at the central Sinai-Negev region during the Cenozoic. We show that the formation of new plate boundaries at the region, i.e., the Red Sea - Suez rift and the DSF, affected the strain field within the SNSZ. The proximity of the two systems indicates that the DSF-related stress originated within the SNSZ and possibly caused structural and style changes in the latter system. Syn-faulting calcite-twins analyses within the SNSZ show pronounced spatial and temporal variations of the principal strain directions between and along individual faults. This observation demonstrates that the imposed stress within the central Sinai-Negev were not uniform over time. The high angle (>70o) between the traces of the SNSZ and the direction of the DSF-related maximum shortening likely suppressed the dextral motion along the SNSZ post-20 Ma. Field evidence, U Pb dates, and recent seismicity shows that the current SNSZ is a long-lived structure that has been active during the Miocene alongside the dominantly DSF and may still be sporadically active today.

中文翻译：

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大规模断层系统之间的时空关系：来自西奈-内盖夫剪切带和死海断层的证据

摘要 在阿拉伯-西奈-努比亚板块内的主要地壳变形带中，西奈-内盖夫剪切带 (SNSZ) 与死海断层系统 (DSF) 之间的相互作用揭示了相邻大型断层之间的相互作用。 SNSZ 由几条~EW 到ENE-WSW 走向的断层组成，主要是正常和右旋的走滑断层，长几十到几百公里。这些断层在西奈亚板块形成了约 120 公里宽的剪切带。在到达板块边界死海断层系统 (DSF) 时，在向左偏移 105 公里的阿拉伯板块中观察到 SNSZ 的各个线条，这是 DSF 的总估计偏移量。在这篇文章中，我们根据新获得的年龄-应变分析回顾了 SNSZ 的地质环境及其与 DSF 的复杂关系。为此，我们将原位 U Pb 年代学与来自两个系统的同断层方解石的孪生分析结合使用。结果表明，沿 SNSZ 的变形始于坎帕阶-马斯特里赫特阶或更早，因为最早的日期是 73-71 Ma。断层活动的主要阶段开始于渐新世晚期 - 中新世早期（27-22 Ma），如沿 SNSZ 的几条线获得的大量日期所记载。活动一直持续到~10 Ma，之后没有获得直接年龄。27-22 Ma 沿 SNSZ 的活动的主导阶段比沿 DSF 的横向断层开始时间早了几个 Myr，时间约为 20-18 Ma。对于 20 到 12 Ma 之间的重叠活动期，沿 SNSZ 的断层活动事件随后是沿 DSF 的断层活动事件。而且，沿着一个断层系统的主要活动事件与沿着另一个系统的活动减少有关。SNSZ 和 DSF 之间的时间关系突出了这些断层系统在机械上相互关联的可能性，但这种断层相互作用的确切机制需要进一步研究。我们考虑控制 SNSZ 演化和样式的古应变（或古应力），并在新生代期间在西奈 - 内盖夫中部地区对其进行评估。我们表明，该地区新板块边界的形成，即红海-苏伊士裂谷和 DSF，影响了 SNSZ 内的应变场。两个系统的接近表明与 DSF 相关的应力起源于 SNSZ 并可能导致后一个系统的结构和风格变化。SNSZ 内的同断层方解石孪晶分析表明，各个断层之间和沿各个断层的主要应变方向存在明显的空间和时间变化。这一观察结果表明，西奈-内盖夫中部施加的应力随着时间的推移并不均匀。SNSZ 轨迹与 DSF 相关最大缩短方向之间的大角度 (>70o) 可能抑制了 20 Ma 后沿 SNSZ 的右旋运动。现场证据、U Pb 日期和最近的地震活动表明，当前的 SNSZ 是一个长期存在的结构，在中新世期间与占主导地位的 DSF 一起活跃，并且今天可能仍然偶尔活跃。这一观察结果表明，西奈-内盖夫中部施加的应力随着时间的推移并不均匀。SNSZ 轨迹与 DSF 相关最大缩短方向之间的大角度 (>70o) 可能抑制了 20 Ma 后沿 SNSZ 的右旋运动。现场证据、U Pb 日期和最近的地震活动表明，当前的 SNSZ 是一个长期存在的结构，在中新世期间与占主导地位的 DSF 一起活跃，并且今天可能仍然偶尔活跃。这一观察结果表明，西奈-内盖夫中部施加的应力随着时间的推移并不均匀。SNSZ 轨迹与 DSF 相关最大缩短方向之间的大角度 (>70o) 可能抑制了 20 Ma 后沿 SNSZ 的右旋运动。现场证据、U Pb 日期和最近的地震活动表明，当前的 SNSZ 是一个长期存在的结构，在中新世期间与占主导地位的 DSF 一起活跃，并且今天可能仍然偶尔活跃。