Determination of neotectonic features of the Karasu Basin (SE Turkey) and their relationship with Quaternary volcanic activity using Landsat ETM+ imagery

Abstract

The junction between the East Anatolian and the Dead Sea fault zones lies close to an unstable F: Transform fault (FFF) triple junction where the African, Eurasian and Arabian plates meet in south-eastern Turkey. The Karasu Basin is an ephemeral rifted structure located close to the junction of these plate boundaries and is expressed by a range of tectono-morphological features. This study uses remote sensing to define tectonic structures and discriminate volcanic rocks linked to rifting within the basin using Landsat Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus (ETM+) imagery. Prior to advanced image processing stages, images were corrected to eliminate atmospheric scattering effects and determine the best band combination for multispectral processing techniques based on statistical methods. Following preprocessing stages, edge detection filters were applied to derive tectonic structures defining the basin. The Brovey transformation, a statistical data merging method, was used to combine reflective multi-spectral bands with the Landsat ETM+ panchromatic band. This method fuses higher spatial data with data of lower spatial value. The western margin of the Karasu Basin is defined by the left-lateral Amanos Fault Zone with a contemporary motion (c. -0.4 mm a -1 ) probably accommodating most of the left-lateral strike-slip motion between Arabian and African plates on the northern continuation of the Dead Sea Fault Zone. The rift zone has been the site of extensive recent volcanism concentrated within the Brunhes Chron (,0.78 Ma) and linked to fault block rotations between the intracontinental master faults. The boundaries of this activity are defined here using a regolith mapping technique.

Age and mantle sources of Quaternary basalts associated with “leaky” transform faults of the migrating Anatolia-Arabia-Africa triple junction

“…2;Dewey and Şengör, 1979;Rojay et al, 2001;Westaway, 2004;Tatar et al, 2004;Duman and Emre, 2013). Here, both transtension and transpression are recorded in a network of smaller faults subparallel to the plate boundaries (e.g., Kavak et al, 2009). Focal mechanisms between fault zones reflect their complex interplay, showing normal, thrust, and mixed compressional and extensional oblique-slip motion over a large range of depths (Ergin et al, 2004).…”

“…The Amik Basin (Fig. 2) approximately coincides with the northern termination of the Dead Sea fault zone, which accommodates ~5 mm yr -1 of left-lateral motion between the Africa and Arabia plates (Reilinger et al, 2006;Mahmoud et al, 2013), and its continuation as the main southern strand of the East Anatolian fault zone (e.g., Arpat and Şaroğlu, 1972;Rojay et al, 2001;Westaway, 2004;Kavak et al, 2009;Duman and Emre, 2013). Where the East Anatolian fault zone transits the Karasu valley (also referred to as rift, trough, basin, or graben), it is characterized by a diffuse network of individual fault segments comprising several restraining and releasing bends (Duman and Emre, 2013).…”

“…The main southern strand of the East Anatolian fault zone extends ~580 km from the so-called Karlıova triple junction in the east, where it joins the North Anatolian fault, to the Amik Basin in the west (Rojay et al, 2001;Westaway, 2004;Kavak et al, 2009;Duman and Emre, 2013). The Amik Basin (Fig.…”

“…Within this dynamic setting, small volumes of Quaternary mafic lava occur locally along transform fault segments and/or between rotating crustal blocks within fault zones ( Fig. 2; e.g., Tatar et al, 2004;Kavak et al, 2009). Because these near-primary basalts are restricted spatially to transform faults of the developing A 3 triple junction, this magmatism provides a rare opportunity to study melt generation within an exposed and actively developing plate boundary.…”

Evolução tectono-sedimentar da porção central emersa da Bacia Paraíba, nordeste do Brasil

“…Diversos produtos de sensoriamento remoto têm sido utilizados na análise de lineamentos morfoestruturais, como os dados adquiridos por sensores ópticos (p.e., LANDSAT, ASTER, SPOT, IRS), historicamente os mais frequentes (p.e., Sabins, 1978;Ferrandini et al, 1993;Arlegui e Soriano, 1998;Singh et al, 2007;Kavak, 2005;Kavak et al, 2009;Ramli et al, 2010). Um volume crescente de publicações tem comparado o potencial de vários produtos ópticos existentes para mapeamento de lineamentos (p.e., Hung et al, 2005;Abdullah et al, 2009;Qari, 2010).…”