THE NORTH ANATOLIAN FAULT: A NEW LOOK

Dedicated to the memory of three pioneers, Ihsan Ketin, Sirri Erinc and Melih Tokay, and a recent student, Aykut Barka, who burnt himself out in pursuit of the mysteries of the North Anatolian Fault. ▪ Abstract The North Anatolian Fault (NAF) is a 1200-km-long dextral strike-slip fault zone that formed by progressive strain localization in a generally westerly widening right-lateral keirogen in northern Turkey mostly along an interface juxtaposing subduction-accretion material to its south and older and stiffer continental basements to its north. The NAF formed approximately 13 to 11 Ma ago in the east and propagated westward. It reached the Sea of Marmara no earlier than 200 ka ago, although shear-related deformation in a broad zone there had already commenced in the late Miocene. The fault zone has a very distinct morphological expression and is seismically active. Since the seventeenth century, it has shown cyclical seismic behavior, with century-long cycles beginning in the east and progressing westwa...

[1]  Demitris Paradissis,et al.  Global Positioning System constraints on plate kinematics and dynamics in the eastern Mediterranean and Caucasus , 2000 .

[2]  J. C. Crowell.  The Tectonics of Ridge Basin, Southern California , 1982 .

[3]  R. Oberhänsli,et al.  Menderes Massif (Western Turkey): structural, metamorphic and magmatic evolution – a synthesis , 2001 .

[4]  James Jackson,et al.  Active tectonics of the Alpine—Himalayan Belt between western Turkey and Pakistan , 1984 .

[5]  M. Bozcu,et al.  When Did the Western Anatolian Grabens Begin to Develop? , 2000, Geological Society, London, Special Publications.

[6]  A. Aksu,et al.  Anatomy of the North Anatolian Fault Zone in the Marmara Sea, Western Turkey: Extensional Basins Above a Continental Transform , 2000 .

[7]  J. Dewey,et al.  Kinematics of the western Mediterranean , 1989, Geological Society, London, Special Publications.

[8]  Aral I. Okay,et al.  An active, deep marine strike‐slip basin along the North Anatolian fault in Turkey , 1999 .

[9]  W. Griffin,et al.  Rb-Sr geochronology of the Bitlis Massif, Avnik (Bingöl) area, S.E. Turkey , 1984, Geological Society, London, Special Publications.

[10]  A. Barka,et al.  The 17 August 1999 Izmit Earthquake , 1999, Science.

[11]  B. K. Holdsworth,et al.  Implications of Jurassic chert identified in the Tokat Complex, northern Turkey , 1997, Geological Magazine.

[12]  O. Tatar,et al.  Palaeomagnetic study of block rotations in the Niksar overlap region of the North Anatolian Fault Zone, central Turkey , 1995 .

[13]  A. Şengör,et al.  A new model for the late Palaeozoic—Mesozoic tectonic evolution of Iran and implications for Oman , 1990, Geological Society, London, Special Publications.

[14]  C. Yaltırak,et al.  Evolution of the middle strand of North Anatolian Fault and shallow seismic investigation of the southeastern Marmara Sea (Gemlik Bay) , 2002 .

[15]  Aral I. Okay,et al.  Active faults and evolving strike-slip basins in the Marmara Sea, northwest Turkey: a multichannel seismic reflection study , 2000 .

[16]  M. Erdik,et al.  Earthquake risk assessment for Istanbul metropolitan area , 2003 .

[17]  A. Barka,et al.  Strike‐slip fault geometry in Turkey and its influence on earthquake activity , 1988 .

[18]  Bertrand Meyer,et al.  The active Main Marmara Fault , 2001 .

[19]  J. Platt,et al.  Why are there no clockwise rotations along the North Anatolian Fault Zone , 1994 .

[20]  T. Lüdmann,et al.  The Sea of Marmara: a plate boundary sea in an escape tectonic regime , 1995 .

[21]  R. Armijo,et al.  Westward propagation of North Anatolian fault into the northern Aegean:Timing and kinematics: Comment and Reply , 2000 .

[22]  M. Aktar,et al.  Regional moment tensor inversion for strong aftershocks of the August 17, 1999 Izmit Earthquake (Mw=7.4) , 2001 .

[23]  Y. Yılmaz.  Allochthonous terranes in the Tethyan Middle East: Anatolia and the surrounding regions , 1990, Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series A, Mathematical and Physical Sciences.

[24]  James H. Dieterich,et al.  Progressive failure on the North Anatolian fault since 1939 by earthquake stress triggering , 1997 .

[25]  Haluk Ozener,et al.  Estimates of Seismic Potential in the Marmara Sea Region from Block Models of Secular Deformation Constrained by Global Positioning System Measurements , 2002 .

[26]  James Jackson,et al.  Active tectonics of the north and central Aegean Sea , 1991 .

[27]  Yücel Yılmaz,et al.  Tethyan evolution of Turkey: A plate tectonic approach , 1981 .

[28]  F. FOUQUÉ,et al.  “Les Tremblements de Terre” , 1889, Nature.

[29]  T. Rockwell,et al.  Paleoseismology of the Gazikoy-Saros segment of the North Anatolia fault, northwestern Turkey: Comparison of the historical and paleoseismic records, implications of regional seismic hazard, and models of earthquake recurrence , 2001 .

[30]  L. Gülen,et al.  Complex evolution of the Erzincan Basin (eastern Turkey) , 1989 .

[31]  J. G. Mitchell,et al.  Petrogenetic evolution of late Cenozoic, post-collision volcanism in western Anatolia, Turkey , 2000 .

[32]  Tuncay Taymaz,et al.  High-resolution seismic profiling in the Sea of Marmara (northwest Turkey): Late Quaternary sedimentation and sea-level changes , 1995 .

[33]  C. Teyssier,et al.  Effects of plate convergence obliquity on timing and mechanisms of exhumation of a mid-crustal terrain, the Central Anatolian Crystalline Complex , 2001 .

[34]  A. Koçyi̇ği̇t,et al.  The June 6, 2000, Orta (Çankırı, Turkey) Earthquake: Sourced from a New Antithetic Sinistral Strike-slip Structure of the North Anatolian Fault System, the Dodurga Fault Zone , 2001 .

[35]  N. N. Ambraseys,et al.  THE SEISMICITY OF THE EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN REGION 550-1 BC: A RE-APPRAISAL , 1997 .

[36]  C. Imren.  The North Anatolian Fault within the Sea of Marmara: a new interpretation based on multi-channel seismic and multi-beam bathymetry data , 2001 .

[37]  D. McKenzie.  Active Tectonics of the Mediterranean Region , 1972 .

[38]  I. Ketin.  Über die tektonisch-mechanischen Folgerungen aus den großen anatolischen Erdbeben des letzten Dezenniums , 1948 .

[39]  Bertrand Meyer,et al.  Asymmetric slip partitioning in the Sea of Marmara pull‐apart: a clue to propagation processes of the North Anatolian Fault? , 2001 .

[40]  K. Dirik.  Geological history of the northward arched segment of the North Anatolian Transform Fault Zone , 1993 .

[41]  Yusuf Tatar.  Kuzey Anadolu Fay Zonunun Erzincan-Refahiye arasındaki bölümü üzerinde tektonik incelemeler , 1978 .

[42]  R. Westaway,et al.  Kinematics of the Malatya–Ovacık Fault Zone , 2001 .

[43]  N. Pavoni.  Die Nordanatolische Horizontalverschiebung , 1962 .

[44]  C. R. Allen.  Active Faulting in Northern Turkey , 1969 .

[45]  A. Koçyi̇ği̇t.  Superimposed Basins and Their Relations to the Recent Strike-Slip Fault Zone: A Case Study of the Refahiye Superimposed Basin Adjacent to the North Anatolian Transform Fault, Northeastern Turkey , 1996 .

[46]  O. Tüysüz.  Tectonic evolution of a part of the Tethyside orogenic collage: The Kargi Massif, northern Turkey , 1990 .

[47]  G. Papadopoulos.  The Athens, Greece, Earthquake (Ms 5.9) of 7 September 1999: An Event Triggered by the İzmit, Turkey, 17 August 1999 Earthquake? , 2002 .

[48]  A. Şengör,et al.  Neotectonics of the Pontides: implications for ‘incompatible’ structures along the North Anatolian fault , 1983 .

[49]  T. Dibblee,et al.  San Andreas, Garlock, and Big Pine Faults, California , 1953 .

[50]  A. Şengör,et al.  Palaeomagnetic evidence for substantial rotation of the Almacik flake within the North Anatolian Fault zone, NW Turkey , 1990 .

[51]  N. Ambraseys,et al.  The saros–marmara earthquake of 9 August 1912 , 1987 .

[52]  L. Kober.  Der Bau der Erde , 1921 .

[53]  H. N. Pamir,et al.  Das Erdbeben in der Türkei vom 27./28. Dezember 1939 , 1940 .

[54]  Y. Ben‐Zion.  Dynamic ruptures in recent models of earthquake faults , 2001 .

[55]  G. Leventakis,et al.  Seismotectonics of the Aegean region , 1986 .

[56]  A. Aksu,et al.  Quaternary paleoclimatic-paleoceanographic and tectonic evolution of the Marmara Sea and environs , 2002 .

[57]  H. Cohen,et al.  Tectonic evolution of the Niksar and Tasova Erbaa pull-apart basins, North Anatolian Fault Zone: their significance for the motion of the Anatolian block , 2000 .

[58]  E. Guidoboni,et al.  Catalogue of ancient earthquakes in the Mediterranean area up to the 10th century , 1994 .

[59]  A. Barka,et al.  Heightened odds of large earthquakes near istanbul: An interaction-based probability calculation , 2000, Science.

[60]  A. Koçyi̇ği̇t,et al.  A new intracontinental transcurrent structure: the Central Anatolian Fault Zone, Turkey , 1998 .

[61]  C. Yaltırak,et al.  Şarköy-Mürefte 1912 Earthquake's Tsunami, extension of the associated faulting in the Marmara Sea, Turkey , 2003 .

[62]  C. Yaltırak,et al.  Origin of the Sea of Marmara as Deduced from Neogene to Quaternary Paleogeographic Evolution of its Frame , 1997 .

[63]  A. Nur,et al.  Evolution of pull‐apart basins and their scale independence , 1982 .

[64]  Claude Rangin,et al.  The North Anatolian Fault in the Sea of Marmara, Turkey: Results of a Deep-towed Seismic and Multi-beam Bathymetric Survey , 2003 .

[65]  Mustafa Aktar,et al.  The seismotectonics of the Marmara region (Turkey): results from a microseismic experiment , 2000 .

[66]  Bertrand Meyer,et al.  Westward propagation of the North Anatolian fault into the northern Aegean: Timing and kinematics , 1999 .

[67]  O. Tatar,et al.  Palaeomagnetic study of crustal deformation across an intracontinental transform: the North Anatolian Fault Zone in Northern Turkey , 1996, Geological Society, London, Special Publications.

[68]  X. Pichon,et al.  Investigation of the tectonics of the Main Marmara Fault by means of deep-towed seismic data , 2003 .

[69]  L. Rivera,et al.  Mechanism of the 1992 Erzincan earthquake and its aftershocks, tectonics of the Erzincan Basin and decoupling on the North Anatolian Fault , 1997 .

[70]  S. Adamia,et al.  Neotectonics of East Anatolian Plateau (Turkey) and Lesser Caucasus: implication for transition from thrusting to strike-slip faulting , 2001 .

[71]  M. Hempton,et al.  Sedimentation in Pull-Apart Basins: Active Examples in Eastern Turkey , 1984, The Journal of Geology.

[72]  James Jackson,et al.  Faulting associated with historical and recent earthquakes in the Eastern Mediterranean region , 1998 .

[73]  J. Weertman,et al.  Unstable slippage across a fault that separates elastic media of different elastic constants , 1980 .

[74]  A. Şengör,et al.  Timing of tectonic events in the Menderes Massif, Western Turkey - Implications for tectonic evolution and evidence for Pan-African basement in Turkey , 1984 .

[75]  A. Aydin,et al.  The Bingöl Earthquake Fault and Its relation to the North Anatolian Fault Zone , 1972 .

[76]  N. N. Ambraseys,et al.  Long‐term seismicity of Istanbul and of the Marmara Sea region , 1991 .

[77]  A. Kiratzi.  A study on the active crustal deformation of the North and East Anatolian Fault Zones , 1993 .

[78]  John M. Logan,et al.  Experimental folding and faulting of rocks under confining pressure Part IX. Wrench faults in limestone layers , 1981 .

[79]  D. J. Andrews,et al.  Properties and implications of dynamic rupture along a material interface , 1998, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America.

[80]  E. Bozkurt,et al.  Tectonics and Magmatism in Turkey and the Surrounding Area , 2000 .

[81]  N. N. Ambraseys,et al.  Some characteristic features of the Anatolian fault zone , 1970 .

[82]  A. Barka,et al.  Slip distribution along the North Anatolian fault associated with the large earthquakes of the period 1939 to 1967 , 1996, Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America.

[83]  E. Bozkurt,et al.  Dating the exhumation of a metamorphic dome: geological evidence for pre-Eocene unroofing of the Niğde Massif (Central Anatolia, Turkey) , 2002, Geological Magazine.

[84]  J. Chorowicz,et al.  La geometrie de la faille nord anatolienne a partir d'images Landsat-MSS , 1990 .

[85]  John L. Gross,et al.  Implications for Earthquake Risk Reduction in the United States From the Kocaeli, Turkey, Earthquake of August 17, 1999 | NIST , 2000 .

[86]  Bertrand Meyer,et al.  Surface Rupture and Slip Distribution of the 12 November 1999 Düzce Earthquake (M 7.1), North Anatolian Fault, Bolu, Turkey , 2002 .

[87]  Anderson,et al.  Active faults in the Sea of Marmara, western Turkey, imaged by seismic reflection profiles , 1999 .

[88]  O. Tatar.  Neotectonic Structures Indicating Extensional and Contractional Strain within Pliocene Deposits Near the NW Margin of the Niksar Pull-Apart Basin, Turkey , 1996 .

[89]  O. Tatar,et al.  Deformational behaviour of continental lithosphere deduced from block rotations across the North Anatolian fault zone in Turkey , 1997 .

[90]  M. Pfannenstiel.  Die diluvialen Entwicklungsstadien und die Urgeschichte von Dardanellen, Marmarameer und Bosporus , 1944 .

[91]  A. Aksu,et al.  Late Pleistocene uplift history along the southwestern Marmara Sea determined from raised coastal deposits and global sea-level variations , 2002 .

[92]  C. Yaltırak,et al.  Kinematics and evolution of the northern branch of the North Anatolian Fault (Ganos Fault) between the Sea of Marmara and the Gulf of Saros , 2002 .

[93]  A. Koçyi̇ği̇t.  An example of an accretionary forearc basin from northern Central Anatolia and its implications for the history of subduction of Neo-Tethys in Turkey , 1991 .

[94]  A. Şengör,et al.  Archean and Proterozoic ancestry in late Precambrian to early Paleozoic crustal elements of southern Turkey as revealed by single-zircon dating , 1990 .

[95]  J. C. Crowell.  Origin of Late Cenozoic Basins in Southern California: ABSTRACT , 1973 .

[96]  James Jackson,et al.  The relationship between strain rates, crustal thickening, palaeomagnetism, finite strain and fault movements within a deforming zone , 1983 .

[97]  A. Okay,et al.  Tectonically induced Quaternary drainage diversion in the northeastern Aegean , 2002, Journal of the Geological Society.

[98]  Mustafa Aktar,et al.  The 1999 İzmit Earthquake Sequence in Turkey: Seismological and Tectonic Aspects , 2002 .

[99]  A. Aytun.  Creep Measurements in the Ismetpaşa Region of the North Anatolian Fault Zone , 1982 .

[100]  C. Yaltırak,et al.  Tectonic evolution of the Marmara Sea and its surroundings , 2002 .

[101]  A. Okay,et al.  Tethyan sutures of northern Turkey , 1999, Geological Society, London, Special Publications.

[102]  Y. Yılmaz,et al.  Geology of the northern side of the Gulf of Edremit and its tectonic significance for the development of the Aegean grabens , 2001 .

[103]  E. Bozkurt,et al.  The Kazova basin: an active negative flower structure on the Almus Fault Zone, a splay fault system of the North Anatolian Fault Zone, Turkey , 1996 .

[104]  H. Bergougnan.  Structure de la Chaine pontique dans le Haut-Kelkit (Nord-Est de l'Anatolie) , 1976 .

[105]  C. R. Allen,et al.  Comparisons Between the North Anatolian Fault of Turkey and the San Andreas Fault of California , 1982 .

[106]  H. N. Pamir,et al.  Das anatolische Erdbeben Ende 1939 , 1941 .

[107]  A. Şengör.  The Tethyside Orogenic System: An Introduction , 1989 .

[108]  N. N. Ambraseys,et al.  The earthquake of 1509 in the Sea of Marmara, Turkey, revisited , 2001 .

[109]  C. Yaltırak,et al.  Palaeogeographical evolution of the Thrace Neogene Basin and the Tethys-Paratethys relations at northwestern Turkey (Thrace) , 1999 .

[110]  Robert W. King,et al.  Global Positioning System measurements of present‐day crustal movements in the Arabia‐Africa‐Eurasia plate collision zone , 1997 .

[111]  M. Erdik,et al.  13 March, 1992 (Ms=6·8) Erzincan earthquake: A preliminary reconnaissance report , 1992 .

[112]  E. Zor,et al.  East Anatolian high plateau as a mantle‐supported, north‐south shortened domal structure , 2003 .

[113]  Yusuf Tatar.  Tectonic Structures Along the North Anatolian Fault Zone, Northeast of Refahiye (Erzincan) , 1975 .

[114]  O. Tatar.  Determination of Extension Directions in Naturally Deformed Limestones within Strike-slip Fault Zones Using Microfractures; Niksar basin (Turkey) as a case Study , 1996 .

[115]  Kuvvet Atakan,et al.  Seismic Hazard in Istanbul following the 17 August 1999 İzmit and 12 November 1999 Düzce Earthquakes , 2002 .

[116]  A. Şengör,et al.  Remnants of a pre–Late Jurassic ocean in northern Turkey: Fragments of Permian-Triassic Paleo-Tethys? , 1980 .

[117]  A. Şengör,et al.  Mid-Mesozoic closure of Permo–Triassic Tethys and its implications , 1979, Nature.

[118]  A. Şengör,et al.  The North Anatolian transform fault: its age, offset and tectonic significance , 1979, Journal of the Geological Society.

[119]  J. Tchalenko.  Similarities between Shear Zones of Different Magnitudes , 1970 .

[120]  Peter J. Clarke,et al.  Crustal strain in central Greece from repeated GPS measurements in the interval 1989–1997 , 1998 .

[121]  O. Bellier,et al.  Recent temporal change in the stress state and modern stress field along the North Anatolian Fault Zone (Turkey) , 1997 .

[122]  O. B. Bøggild.  Alfred Wegener: Die Entstehung der Kontinente und Ozeane. 4-te Auflage. Die Wissenschaft, Bd. 66., (21 cm 14 cm. 231 Sider). Verlag: Friedr. Vieweg & Sohn. Braunschweig 1929. , 1929 .

[123]  J. Dewey,et al.  Aegean and surrounding regions: Complex multiplate and continuum tectonics in a convergent zone , 1979 .

[124]  R. Armijo,et al.  Morphology, displacement, and slip rates along the North Anatolian Fault, Turkey , 2002 .

[125]  N. N. Ambraseys,et al.  The Seismic Activity of the Marmara Sea Region over the Last 2000 Years , 2002 .

[126]  Ross D. Hartleb,et al.  The Surface Rupture and Slip Distribution of the 17 August 1999 İzmit Earthquake (M 7.4), North Anatolian Fault , 2002 .

[127]  N. N. Ambraseys,et al.  The seismicity of Turkey and adjacent areas: A historical review, 1500-1800 , 1995 .

[128]  A. Şengör,et al.  Palaeotectonic evolution of the Tuzgölü basin complex, Central Turkey: sedimentary record of a Neo-Tethyan closure , 1984, Geological Society, London, Special Publications.

[129]  J. Dewey,et al.  Tectonics of the North Anatolian Transform Fault , 1982 .

[130]  A. Koçyi̇ği̇t.  SUSEHRI BASIN - AN ACTIVE FAULT-WEDGE BASIN ON THE NORTH ANATOLIAN FAULT ZONE, TURKEY , 1989 .

[131]  Alfred Wegener.  Die Entstehung der Kontinente und Ozeane , 1923 .