Tectonic Geomorphology of the North Anatolian Fault Zone in the Lake Sapanca Basin (eastern Marmara Region, Turkey)

Abstract

In this study the spatial variations of the Plio-Quaternary tectonic activity and deformation of different fault segments of the North Anatolian Fault Zone (NAFZ) in the eastern Marmara region around Lake Sapanca, are assessed using geomorphic, morphometric and bathymetric approaches. Lake Sapanca is an E-W-trending structure located in the zmit-Sapanca Corridor. This region is bounded to the north and to the south by the series of mountain ranges. Geomorphic and morphometric data provide evidence for variations between the two mountain front faults regarding levels of tectonic activity. These studies suggest a relatively high degree of tectonic activity along the Sapanca front in the south, in contrast with a low degree of tectonic activity along the E me front in the north of the study area. This pattern is also consistent with field evidence and seismic data of the study area. Bathymetric profiles of the lake show that the lake basin consists of different fault segments that slipped in the 1999 Kocaeli earthquake. All these data suggest that the zmit-Sapanca Corridor is an asymmetric pull-apart basin associated with displacement along the NAFZ in the Late Pliocene. Lake Sapanca also occurs as a pull-apart basin created by the cross-basin fault of the asymmetric pull-apart basin in the Middle Pleistocene.

Tectonic analysis of the Honaz Fault (western Anatolia) using geomorphic indices and the regional implications

“…The uplifted and subsided blocks produced by normal faults in rift valleys exhibit remarkable geomorphic markers, and the use of quantitative measurements of features such as drainage systems, axial rivers, triangular facets and mountain front sinuosities play a prominent role in revealing tectonic activity in continental extensional provinces (Bull, 1977;Bull & McFadden, 1977;Gürbüz & Gürer, 2008;Keller, 1986;Keller & Pinter, 2002;Özkaymak & Sözbilir, 2012;Pérez-Peña, Azor, Azañón, & Keller, 2010;Ramirez-Herrera, 1998;Silva, Goy, Zazo, & Bardají, 2003;Viveen et al, 2012;Wells et al, 1988). Western Anatolia provides a natural laboratory for graben and horst morphology that has evolved since the early Quaternary (Bozkurt, 2001;Bozkurt & Sözbilir, 2004, 2006Koçyiğit, 2005;Koçyiğit, Yusufoğlu, & Bozkurt, 1999;Paton, 1992;Seyitoğlu, Tekeli, Çemen, Şen, & Işık, 2002;Sözbilir, 2001Sözbilir, , 2002Sözbilir, , 2005.…”

The effects of the North Anatolian Fault on the geomorphology in the Eastern Marmara Region, Northwestern Turkey

“…The landscape evolution in the area east of the Sea of Marmara has mainly resulted from the interaction between post-Miocene tectonics and fluvial processes (Gürbüz & Gürer, 2008;Şengör et al, 2005;Sorichetta et al, 2010). Figure 15 shows serial profiles of the study area.…”

“…Sapanca Lake emplaced within this depression is a pullapart basin developed between two active segments of the NAF (Çağatay et al, 2003;Gürbüz & Gürer, 2008;Leroy, Boyraz, & Gurbuz, 2009;Schwab et al, 2009; Figure 1). Early Pleistocene alluvial fan and flood plain deposits filling the İzmit-Sapanca Trough were mainly derived from the Samanlı Mountains in the south.…”

“…Although many investigations on the NAF, especially after the two devastating earthquakes in 1999, have made valuable contributions to understanding this fault (see Şengör et al, 2005), most studies concentrated on the structural, seismological and palaeoseismological aspects of the fault, but did not discuss the geomorphological evolution of the areas cut by the NAF, except in a few spots (Gürbüz & Gürer, 2008;Sorichetta, Seeber, Taramelli, McHugh, & Cormier, 2010).…”

Gölpazarı Havzası’nın Kuvaterner Gelişimi (KB Türkiye)

“…Havza kuzeydoğusunda yer alan fay sarplıkları ve bu alanda gözlenen karstik yapılar. Söz konusu havzaların oluşum yaşları için Geç Pliyosen yaşı önerilmiştir (Koçyiğit 1988;Gürbüz ve Gürer 2008, Gürbüz, 2010. Çek-ayır havzalarla ilgili literatürdeki çalışmalar, bu ve benzeri havzaların evrimlerinin ilerleyen aşamalarında, havza kesen faylarca biçildikleri zamana dek büyüdüklerini göstermektedir (bkz.…”