Abstract
The Dead Sea Fault (DSF) is a transform plate boundary between the Arabian plate and the Sinai sub‐plate. The rate of displacement across the fault has been estimated as 1–10 mm/yr. In this study we present a new estimate of the current displacement across the DSF, which is based on three years of continuous Global Positioning System measurements (July 1996 to July 1999). Our analysis of these data shows that relative northward velocity, which is the fault parallel component, on the baseline between Tel Aviv and Katzerin (Golan Heights) and Katzerin and Elat is 1.4 ± 0.3 mm/yr and −1.0 ± 0.5 mm/yr, respectively, assuming a colored noise (white noise plus flicker noise) model for the daily position estimates. By using a simple locked fault model, we estimate that during the three‐year observation period the relative plate motion across the DSF was 2.6 ± 1.1 mm/yr.
