Are U‐Th Dates Correlated With Historical Records of Earthquakes? Constraints From Coseismic Carbonate Veins Within the North Anatolian Fault Zone

Abstract

U‐Th dating of carbonate veins in connection with active tectonics has recently been used as an attractive tool for constraining the absolute timing of late Quaternary crustal deformations. In this study, for the first time we correlate U‐Th ages of travertine deposits in coseismic fissures along the North Anatolian Fault Zone with records of paleoseismological studies supported by historical earthquake catalogued data. U‐Th ages are assessed in relation to the recurrence interval and the size and epicenter distance of major Holocene earthquakes. Our statistical evaluations on age correlations indicate that the carbonate vein precipitation is concentrated in eight different periods along the North Anatolian Fault Zone. The periods are well correlated with historical earthquake records and with previous dating results of the nearby trench studies. At least six of the periods correspond to the earthquakes reported in the historical catalogues. The age correlations of carbonate precipitation intervals for the last millennium show a recurrence along the eastern North Anatolian Fault Zone with a mode at 130–330 years that is consistent with a previously proposed paleoseismic recurrence interval of the fault. Recorded events in carbonate veins indicate a close‐epicenter (d < 200 km) and high‐intensity (I > VI) paleoearthquakes. Our results suggest that coseismic carbonate veins could be used to determine paleoseismic records as a supplementary tool to augment paleoseismological techniques. This tool has advantages over traditional paleoseismological methods for the understanding of long‐term earthquake behavior, particularly for prehistoric late Pleistocene events which cannot be dated easily by traditional paleoseismological methods.

Kuzey Anadolu Fay Zonu’nda Traverten Çökeliminde Sıcak Su Kaynağı Olarak Görev Yapan Bir Açılma çatlağı: Reşadiye Çatlak Sırtı

“…The results are summarized in Table 1. The ages obtained in this study are older than those obtained by Karabacak et al (2019).…”

“…Residents of this region also noted that hot water and steam gushed out during the 1939 Erzincan earthquake (M=7.9) where travertines are exposed in the Katmerkaya area to the west of Reşadiye (Gürsoy et al, 2013). Studies conducted in Bolu (Demirtaş, 2000;Temiz et al, 2013) and Reşadiye (Tokat) (Karabacak et al, 2019) on the NAFZ have contributed new ages using the U/Th method. However, defining the general geometry and understanding the mechanisms responsible for structures formed during travertine deposition is required for wider interpretation of the stress fields around the NAFZ.…”

Fissure Ridges: A Reappraisal of Faulting and Travertine Deposition (Travitonics)

“…Among the other causes (climate influencing the water table, CO 2 pressure fluctuations within the reservoir) [15,64], tectonic pulses, often accompanied by seismic shocks and ground shaking, are the main factors triggering the activation or reactivation of thermal springs in a fissure ridge [1,65]. In fact, earthquakes have a major role in renewing permeability by opening (or re-opening) fractures in rock masses.…”

“…Banded veins within the fissure ridges, such as the Çukurbag fissure ridge [11] and the Ziga fissure ridge [82] in Turkey, are thinner, up to 4-6 m, and resemble well-laminated calcareous sinter as defined by Koban and Schweigert [83] and Flügel [84]. Banded Ca-carbonate veins crossing the fissure ridges have been described by several authors from different geothermal areas [11,13,23,25,65,82,[85][86][87][88][89]. These veins have a microlaminated fabric (Figure 15) that, coupled with the syntaxial growth mechanism, indicates they are the consequence of repeated crack-and-seal events [90], thus implying iterate cycles of fracture opening followed by periods of carbonate deposition.…”

Emerging Actions And Energy Strategies For Sustainable Development Of Sakarya City, Turkey: A SWOT Analysis

“…Sakarya city lies down on the North Anatolian Fault System. Many earthquakes occurred in the last two millennia along the city and surrounding area (Karabacak, v. et al 2019). Therefore, the priority of all buildings in the region is to withstand earthquakes (Özmen, C et al 2007).…”