Morphotectonic analysis of the East Anatolian Fault, Turkey
The East Anatolian Fault (EAF) is a morphologically distinct and
seismically active left-lateral strike-slip fault that extends for ~400
km and forms the Arabian/Anatolian plate boundary in southeastern
Turkey. The EAF together with its conjugate fault, the North Anatolian
Fault, help accommodate the westward escape of the Anatolian plate from
the Arabian/Eurasian collision zone. Morphotectonic features along the
EAF provide insights into the nature of landscape development and aid in
understanding variations in tectonic activity and fault evolution.
Several geomorphic indices, namely stream length-gradient index,
mountain-front sinuosity, valley width to valley height ratio, basin
asymmetry factor, and drainage density, and hypsometric analysis were
examined using digital elevation models. The EAF can be divided into
five segments based on its tectonic geomorphology. The stream
length-gradient index values are between 50 and 350 along the five
segments. Mountain-front sinuosity varies from 1.01 to 1.46 on the five
segments. The mean ratio of valley floor width to valley height along
the studied segments ranges from 0.11 to 1.32, which is well correlated
with the mountain-front sinuosity values. Basin asymmetry factors for 18
catchments range from 1.88 to 26.25 along the study fault zone.
Drainage density values for the studied catchments range from 3.5 to
5.6. Finally, the hypsometric analysis index of the 18 catchments
indicates high, intermediate, and low relative tectonic activity. The
results show that all geomorphic indices are remarkably uniform along
the entire length of the fault, thus indicating that fault development
was essentially coeval along its length, which supports the view that
the present-day Arabian/Anatolian plate boundary (delimited by the EAF)
jumped eastwards from the Malatya-Ovacık Fault at ~3 Ma. This is in good
agreement with the nearly uniform geological offsets and the
GPS-determined present-day slip rate of ~10 mm/year along the entire
fault.
___
- Aksoy E, İnceöz M, Koçyiğit A (2007). Lake Hazar Basin: a negative
flower structure on the East Anatolian Fault System (EAFS), SE
Turkey. Turkish J Earth Sci 16: 319-338.
- Aktuğ B, Özener H, Dogru A, Sabuncu A, Turgut B, Halicioglu K,
Yilmaz O, Havazli E (2016). Slip rates and seismic potential
on the East Anatolian Fault System using an improved GPS
velocity field. J Geodynamics 94-95: 1-12.
- Alipoor R, Poorkermani M, Zare M, El Hamdouni R (2011). Active
tectonic assessment around Rudbar Lorestan dam site, High
Zagros Belt (SW of Iran). Geomorphology 128: 1-14.
- Allen CR (1969). Active Faulting in Northern Turkey. Pasadena, CA,
USA: Division of Geological Sciences, California Institute of
Technology.
- Ambraseys NN (1988). Temporary seismic quiescence: SE Turkey.
Geophys J Int 96: 311-331.
- Ambraseys NN, Jackson JA (1998). Faulting associated with historical
and recent earthquakes in the Eastern Mediterranean region.
Geophys J Int 133: 390-406.
- Arger J, Milcheli J, Westaway R (1996). Neogene and Quaternary
Volcanism of Eastern Turkey: Potassium-Argon Dating and
Its Tectonic Implications. Open-file Science Reports. 1996/1.
Newcastle upon Tyne, UK: Technoscience.
- Arpat E, Şaroğlu F (1972). The East Anatolian Fault System: thoughts
on its development. Bulletin of the Mineral Research and
Exploration (MTA) 78: 33-39.
- Arpat E, Şaroğlu F (1975). Recent tectonic activities in Turkey.
Bulletin of the Geological Society of Turkey 18: 91-101 (in
Turkish with English abstract).
- Azañón JM, Pérez-Peña JV, Giaconia F, Booth-Rea1 G, Martínez-
Martínez JM, Rodríguez-Peces MJ (2012). Active tectonics
in the central and eastern Betic Cordillera through
morphotectonic analysis: the case of Sierra Nevada and Sierra
Alhamilla. J Iber Geol 38: 225-238.
- Azor A, Keller EA, Yeats RS (2002). Geomorphic indicators of active
fold growth: South Mountain-Oak Ridge anticline, Ventura
basin, southern California. Geol Soc Am Bull 114: 745-753.
- Barka AA, Kadinsky-Cade K (1988). Strike-slip fault geometry in
Turkey and its influence on earthquake activity. Tectonics 7:
663-684.
- Bull WB (1977). The alluvial fan environment. Prog Phys Geog 1:
22-270.
- Bull WB, McFadden LD (1977). Tectonic geomorphology north
and south of the Garlock fault, California. In: Doehering O,
editor. Geomorphology in Arid Regions. The 8th Annual
Geomorphology Symposium Proceedings. Binghamton, NY,
USA: State University of New York, pp. 115-138.
- Bulut F, Bohnhoff M, Eken T, Janssen C, Kılıç T, Dresen G (2012).
The East Anatolian Fault Zone: Seismotectonic setting and
spatiotemporal characteristics of seismicity based on precise
earthquake locations. J Geophys Res 117: 1-16.
- Castelltort S, Goren L, Willett S, Champagnac J, Herman F, Braun
J (2012). River drainage patterns in the New Zealand Alps
primarily controlled by plate tectonic strain. Nat Geosci 16:
1-5.
- Çetin H, Güneyli H, Mayer L (2003). Paleosismology of the Palu-
Lake Hazar segment of the East Anatolian Fault Zone, Turkey.
Tectonophysics 374: 163-197.
- Dewey JF, Hempton MR, Kidd WSF, Şaroglu F, Şengör AMC (1986).
Shortening of continental lithosphere: the neotectonics of
Eastern Anatolia - a young collision zone. In: Coward MP,
Ries AC, editors. Collision Tectonics. London, UK: Geological
Society of London Special Publications, pp. 3-36.
- Duman TY, Emre Ö (2013). The East Anatolian Fault: geometry
segmentation and jog characteristics. Geol Soc London Spec
Publ 372: 495-529.
- El Hamdouni R, Irigaray C, Fernandez T, Chacón J, Keller EA (2008).
Assessment of relative active tectonics, southwest border of
Sierra Nevada (southern Spain). Geomorphology 96: 150-173.
- Emre Ö, Duman TY, Özalp S, Elmaci H, Olgun Ş, Şaroğlu F (2013).
Active Fault Map of Turkey with an Explanatory Text.
Ankara, Turkey: General Directorate of Mineral Research and
Exploration (MTA).
- Farr TG, Rosen PA, Caro E, Crippen R, Duren R, Hensley S, Kobrick
M, Paller M, Rodrigue ZE, Roth L et al. (2007). The shuttle
radar topography mission. Rev Geophys 45: 1-33.
- Hack JT (1973). Stream profile analysis and stream-gradient index. J
Res US Geol Surv 1: 421-429.
- Hempton MR (1985). Structure and deformation history of Bitlis
suture near Lake Hazar, southeastern Turkey. Bull Geo Soc Am
96: 233-243.
- Hempton MR (1987). Constraints on Arabian plate motion and
extensional history of the Red Sea. Tectonics 6: 687-705.
- Hempton MR, Dewey JF, Şaroğlu F (1981). The East Anatolian
transform fault: along strike variations in geometry and
behavior. EOS T AM Geophys UN 62: 393.
- Herece E (2008). Atlas of the East Anatolian Fault. Ankara, Turkey:
General Directorate of Mineral Research and Exploration
(MTA), Special Publication Series.
- Herece E, Akay E (1992). Karlıova-Çelikhan arasında Doğu Anadolu
Fayı, Turkiye. Petrol Kongresi Bildirileri. In: 9th Petroleum
Congress of Turkey Proceedings, 17–21 February 1992,
Ankara, Turkey, pp. 361-372 (in Turkish).
- Hubert-Ferrari A, King G, Vander Woerd J, Villa I, Altunel E,
Armijo R (2009). Long-term evolution of the North Anatolian
Fault: new constrains from its eastern termination. In: Van
Hinsbergen DJJ, Edwards MA, Govers R, editors. Collision
and Collapse at the Africa-Arabia-Eurasia Subduction
Zone. London, UK: Geological Society of London Special
Publication, pp. 133-154.
- Jackson J, McKenzie DP (1984). Active tectonics of the Alpine-
Himalayan belt between western Turkey and Pakistan.
Geophys J Roy Astr S 77: 185-264.
- Karabacak V, Önder Y, Altunel E, Yalçıner CC, Akyüz HS, Kıyak NG
(2011). Doğu Anadolu Fay Zonunun güney batı uzanımının
paleosismolojisi ve ilk kayma hızı. In: Proceedings of Aktif
Tektonik Araştırma Grubu Onbeşinci Çalıştayı, 19–22 October
2011, Adana, Turkey (in Turkish).
- Kaymakcı N, İnceöz M Ertepınar P (2006). 3D-Architecture and
Neogene evolution of the Malatya Basin: inferences for the
kinematics of the Malatya and Ovacık Fault zones. Turkish J
Earth Sci 15:123-154.
- Keller EA, DeVecchio DE (2013). Tectonic geomorphology of active
folding and development of transverse drainage. In: Shroder
J, Owen LA, editors. Treatise on Geomorphology. 5th ed. San
Diego, CA, USA: Academic Press, pp. 129-147.
- Keller EA, Pinter N, editors (2002). Active Tectonics: Earthquakes,
Uplift and Landscapes. 2nd ed. Upper Saddle River, NJ, USA:
Prentice Hall.
- Khalifa A, Çakır Z, Owen LA, Kaya Ş (2017). Evaluation of the
relative tectonic activity of the Adıyaman Fault in Eastern
Turkey. Conference abstract. In: International Symposium
on GIS Applications in Geography and Geosciences, 18–21
October 2017, Çanakkale, Turkey, p. 293.
- Kiratzi A (1993). A study on the active crustal deformation of the
North and East Anatolian Fault Zones. Tectonophysics 225:
191-203.
- Koçyiğit A, Beyhan A (1998). A new intracontinental transcurrent
structure: the Central Anatolian Fault Zone, Turkey.
Tectonophysics 284: 317-336.
- Langbein WB (1947). Topographic Characteristics of Drainage
Basins. Water Supply Paper 968-C. Washington, DC, USA: US
Geological Survey.
- Mahmoud Y, Masson F, Meghraoui M, Cakir Z, Alchalbi A, Yavasoglu
H, Yönlü Ö, Daoud M, Ergintav S, Inan S (2013). Kinematic
study at the junction of the East Anatolian fault and the Dead
Sea fault from GPS measurements. J Geodyn 67: 30-39.
- Mayer L, editor (1990). Introduction to Quantitative Geomorphology:
An Exercise Manual. Englewood Cliffs, NJ, USA: Prentice Hall.
McKenzie DP (1972). Active tectonics of the Mediterranean region.
Geophys J Int 30: 109-185.
- McKenzie DP (1976). The East Anatolian fault: a major structure in
eastern Turkey. Earth Planet Sc Lett 29: 189-193.
- McKenzie DP (1978). Active tectonics of the Alpine- Himalayan belt:
The Aegean Sea and surrounding regions (tectonic of Aegean
region). Geophys J Roy Astr S 55: 217-254.
- Meghraoui M, Bertrand S, Karabacak V, Ferry M, Çakir Z, Altunel E
(2006). Surface ruptures along the Maras segment of the East
Anatolian Fault (SE Turkey) and kinematic modelling from
Tectonic and GPS data. Geophysical Research Abstracts 8:
10006.
- Melosh B, Keller EA (2013). Effects of active folding and reverse
faulting on stream channel evolution, Santa Barbara Fold Belt,
California. Geomorphology 186: 119-135.
- Michael K, Frank L (2013). Geomorphology of the Tsetseg Nuur basin,
Mongolian Altai-lake development, fluvial sedimentation and
aeolian transport in a semi-arid environment. J Maps 9: 361-
366.
- Moreno DG, Hubert-Ferrari A, Moernaut J, Fraser JG, Boes X, Van
Daele M, Avsar U, Çağatay N, De Batist M (2010). Structure
and recent evolution of the Hazar Basin: a strike-slip basin on
the East Anatolian Fault, Eastern Turkey. Basin Res 23: 191-
207.
- Muehlberger WR, Gordon MB (1987). Observations on the
complexity of the East Anatolian Fault, Turkey. J Struct Geol
9: 899-903.
- Owen LA, Cunningham WD, Brian FW, Badamgarov J, Dorjnamjaa
D (1999). The landscape evolution of Nemegt Uul: a late
Cenozoic transpressional uplift in the Gobi Altai, southern
Mongolia. Geol Soc London Spec Publ 162: 201-218.
- Özkaymak C, Sözbilir H (2012). Tectonic geomorphology of the
Spreader High Ranges, Western Anatolia. Geomorphology.
173-174: 128-140.
- Pike RJ, Wilson SE (1971). Elevation-relief ratio, hypsometric
integral and geomorphic area-altitude analysis. Geol Soc Am
Bull 82: 1079-1084.
- Reilinger R, McClusky S, Vernant P, Lawrence S, Ergintav S, Cakmak
R, Ozener H, Kadirov F, Guliev I, Stepanyan R et al. (2006).
GPS constraints on continental deformation in the Africa-
Arabia–Eurasia continental collision zone and implications for
dynamics of plate interactions. J Geophys Res 111: 1-26.
- Rockwell TK, Keller EA, Johnson DL (1984). Tectonic geomorphology
of alluvial fans and mountain fronts near Ventura, California.
In: Morisawa M, Hack JT, editors. Tectonic Geomorphology.
The 15th Annual Geomorphology Symposium Proceedings.
Boston, MA, USA: Allen and Unwin, pp. 183-207.
- Şaroğlu F, Emre Ö, Kuşçu I (1992a). Active fault map of Turkey.
Ankara, Turkey: General Directorate of Mineral and Research
Exploration of Turkey Publication (MTA).
- Şaroğlu F, Emre Ö, Kuşçu I (1992b). The East Anatolian fault zone of
Turkey. Annales Tectonicae 6: 99-125.
- Selby MJ (1980). A rock strength classification for geomorphic
purposes: with tests from Antarctica and New Zealand. Z
Geomorphol 24: 31-51.
- Selçuk AS (2016). Evaluation of the relative tectonic activity in the
eastern Lake Van basin, East Turkey. Geomorphology 270:
9-21.
- Şengör AMC (1979). The North Anatolian Transform Fault: its age,
offset and tectonic significance. Geol Soc London Spec Publ
136: 269-282.
- Şengör AMC, Görür N, Şaroğlu F (1985). Strike slip faulting and
related basin formation in zones of tectonic escape: Turkey as a
case study. In: Biddle KT, Christie-Blick N, editors. Strike-Slip
Deformation, Basin Formation and Sedimentation. Tulsa, OK,
USA: Society of Economic Paleontologists and Mineralogists,
pp. 227-264.
- Şengör AMC, Grall C, Imren C, Le Pichon X, Görür N, Henery
P, Karabulut H, Siyako S (2014). The geometry of the North
Anatolian transform fault in the Sea of Marmara and its
temporal evolution: implications for the development of
intracontinental transform faults. Can J Earth Sci 51: 222-242.
- Silva PG, Goy JL, Zazo C, Bardaji T (2003). Fault-generated mountain
fronts in southeast Spain: geomorphologic assessment of
tectonic and seismic activity. Geomorphology 50: 203-225.
- Strahler AN (1952). Hypsometric (area-altitude curve) analysis of
erosional topography. Geol Soc Am Bull 63: 1117-1141.
- Tari U, Tüysüz O (2015). The effects of the North Anatolian Fault
on the geomorphology in the Eastern Marmara Region,
Northwestern Turkey. Geodin Acta 28: 139-159.
- Taymaz T, Eyidoğan H, Jackson J (1991). Source parameters of
large earthquakes in the East Anatolian Fault Zone (Turkey).
Geophys J Int 106: 537-50.
- Tepe Ç, Sözbilir H (2017). Tectonic geomorphology of the Kemalpaşa
Basin and surrounding horsts, southwestern part of the Gediz
Graben, Western Anatolia. Geodin Acta 29: 70-90.
- Topal S, Keller E, Bufe A, Koçyiğit A (2016). Tectonic geomorphology
of a large normal fault: Akşehir fault, SW Turkey.
Geomorphology 259: 55-69.
- Ul-Hadi S, Shuhab DK, Owen LA, Khan AS (2013). Geomorphic
response to an active transpressive regime: a case study along
the Chaman strike-slip fault, western Pakistan. Earth Surf Proc
Land 38: 250-264.
- Westaway R (1994). Present-day kinematics of the Middle East and
eastern Mediterranean. J Geophys Res 99: 12071-12090.
- Westaway R, Arger J (1996). The Gölbaşı basin, southeastern Turkey:
a complex discontinuity in a major strike-slip fault zone. Geol
Soc London Spec Publ 153: 729-743.
- Westaway R, Arger J (2001). Kinematics of the Malatya-Ovacık Fault
Zone. Geodin Acta 14: 103-131.
- Westaway R, Demir T, Seyrek A, Beck A (2006). Kinematics of active
left-lateral faulting in SE Turkey from offset Pleistocene river
gorges: improved constraint on the rate and history of relative
motion between the Turkish and Arabian plates. Geol Soc
London Spec Publ 163: 149-164.
- Yalçın MN (1979). Dogu Anadolu yarılımının Türkoğlu-Karaağaç (K.
Maraş) arasındaki kesiminin özellikleri ve bölgedeki yerleşim
alanları. In: Türkiye Jeologi Kurumu Altınlı Simpozyumu, Özel
Sayı, pp. 49-55 (in Turkish).
- Yıldırım C (2014). Relative tectonic activity assessment of the Tuz
Gölü Fault Zone; Central Anatolia, Turkey. Tectonophysics
630: 183-192.
- Yönlü Ö, Altunel E, Karabacak V (2017). Geological and
geomorphological evidence for the southwestern extension
of the East Anatolian Fault Zone, Turkey. Earth Planet Sc Lett
469: 1-14.
- Yönlü Ö, Altunel E, Karabacak V, Serdar Akyüz H (2013). Evolution
of the Gölbaşı basin and its implications for the long-term
offset on the East Anatolian Fault Zone, Turkey. J Geodyn 65:
272-281.
- Yönlü Ö, Karabacak V, Altunel E, Akyüz HS (2012).
Paleoseismological slip rate on the East Anatolian fault zone
around Türkoğlu. Conference abstract. In: International Earth
Science Colloquium on the Aegean Region, 1–5 October 2012,
İzmir, Turkey, p. 104.
- Yürür MT, Chorowicz J (1998). Recent volcanism, tectonics and
plate kinematics near the junction of the African, Arabian
and Anatolian plates in the Eastern Mediterranean. J Volcanol
Geotherm Res 85: 1-15.