Long‐term slip rate estimation for Erciş Fault in East Anatolian Compressive Tectonic Block from geologic and geomorphologic field evidence

Abstract

The Erciş Fault, which bounds the northern part of the Lake Van Basin, is approximately 50 km long with right‐lateral strike‐slip movement in a N30‐50°W direction. The Erciş Fault starts in the northwest, south of Girekol Volcano, and extends to the Turkey‐Iran border, and together with the Çaldıran Fault forms the tectonic boundary between the Turkey‐Iran Block and Lesser Caucasus‐Talesh Block. Offset riverbeds, fault‐controlled drainage systems, deformed alluvial fans along the faults, Plio‐Quaternary volcanics, and volcanic structures are geomorphic and tectonic features that show that the Erciş Fault is active in the region. This fault has played an active role in the deformation of the Eastern Anatolian Plateau, which developed as a result of collision of the Arabian and Eurasian plates. In this study, the role of the Erciş Fault in the tectonic evolution of the region was investigated using geologic, geomorphologic, and remote sensing analysis methods. According to the morphometric indices used in the study, values of 1 < Smf < 2.1, 0.2 < Vf < 3.29, 0.3 < HI < 0.5, 25 < SL < 850 and 100 < Ksn < 600 were obtained. Results show that the area has an extremely young topography and is actively uplifting. It has been determined that the uplift rate in the region has increased in the northwest and south‐east compared to other areas and is more than 0.5 mm yr−1. According to the remote sensing and field studies, an approximately 850 m right‐lateral offset is observed in the Deliçay River, which is cut by the Erciş Fault, and that the long‐term slip rate of the Erciş Fault is 2.02 ± 0.12 mm yr−1.

Tectonic geomorphology of Bozdoğan and Karacasu grabens, western Anatolia

“…"Normalized" steepness index (Ksn) method is used for river reaches with fixed "reference" concavity (Wobus et al, 2006) which has been used in morphometric studies (e.g. Camafort et al, 2020;Ferrater et al, 2015;Kirby and Whipple, 2012;Sağlam-Selçuk and Kul, 2021;Whipple et al, 2013;Wobus et al, 2006). Thus, the θ value is taken as 0.5 during the calculations on TecDEM toolbox analysis (Table 1).…”

Van Gölü’nün (Doğu Anadolu) Holosen kıyı şeridi gelişimi üzerindeki doğal ve insan kaynaklı itici güçler: Jeomorfolojik bir yaklaşım

“…The NW-SE-trending Erciş Fault passes through the northern part of Lake Van, which is a dextral strike-slip fault with a normal fault component (Üner, 2019;Üner et al, 2019;Sağlam Selçuk and Kul, 2021). It deforms the Quaternary basalts originated from Etrüsk Volcanoe and lacustrine deposits of Lake Van.…”