Geomorphic Assessment of Activity Levels of the Three Strands of North Anatolian Fault Zone in NW Turkey

Abstract:

The North Anatolian Fault Zone is a narrow zone along a length of ~900 km and width of 10 km between the Karlıova to the east and Dokurcun Valley to the west. The fault zone splays into three strands around the Dokurcun Valley and forms a wide zone with a length of 400 km and width of 100 km. From the Dokurcun Valley, while the northern strand follows a route along the Lake Sapanca, Izmit Gulf, Marmara Sea and Saroz Gulf and connects to the North Aegean Trough, the middle strand tracks Lake Iznik, Gemlik and Bandırma Bays and southern coasts of the Marmara Sea. Although there is not a consensus on where it branches from the main strand, it is generally accepted that it trails a definite route along the Yenişehir, Bursa, Manyas-Karacabey and Yenice basins, and continues towards the Edremit Gulf in the west. Given the slip rates and seismic activities of the last century, the ranking between these three strands show a decrease from north to south. Among these three strands, the northern one offers significant differences with high values compared to the middle and southern strands. The aim of this study is to compare the differences represented by slip rate and seismicity data with morphometric features of the three strands of North Anatolian Fault Zone that controlled by their activities during the Quaternary period. We have calculated the morphometric values for each of the fault strands in the Marmara Region according to geomorphic indices. Our study presents the middle strand, which has represented the lower activity during the instrumental period, has an important sense of activity.