InSAR velocity field across the North Anatolian Fault (eastern Turkey): Implications for the loading and release of interseismic strain accumulation

International audienceWe use the Persistent Scatterer Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (PS-InSAR) technique with the European Space Agency's Envisat and ERS SAR data acquired on three neighboring descending tracks (T350, T078, and T307) to map the interseismic strain accumulation along a ~225 km long, NW-SE trending section of the North Anatolian Fault that ruptured during the 1939, 1942, and 1943 earthquakes in eastern Turkey. We derive a line-of-sight velocity map of the region with a high spatial resolution and accuracy which, together with the maps of earthquake surface ruptures, shed light on the style of continental deformation and the relationships between the loading and release of interseismic strain along segmented continental strike-slip faults. In contrast with the geometric complexities at the ground surface that appear to control rupture propagation of the 1939 event, modeling of the high-resolution PS-InSAR velocity field reveals a fairly linear and narrow throughgoing shear zone with an overall 20 ± 3 mm/yr slip rate above an unexpectedly shallow 7 ± 2 km locking depth. Such a shallow locking depth may result from the postseismic effects following recent earthquakes or from a simplified model that assumes a uniform degree of locking with depth on the fault. A narrow throughgoing shear zone supports the thick lithosphere model in which continental strike-slip faults are thought to extend as discrete shear zones through the entire crust. Fault segmentation previously reported from coseismic surface ruptures is thus likely inherited from heterogeneities in the upper crust that either preexist and/or develop during coseismic rupture propagation. The geometrical complexities that apparently persist for long periods may guide the dynamic rupture propagation surviving thousands of earthquake cycles

Slip distribution of the 2017 M(w)6.6 Bodrum-Kos earthquake: resolving the ambiguity of fault geometry

SUMMARY The 2017 July 20, Mw6.6 Bodrum–Kos earthquake occurred in the Gulf of Gökova in the SE Aegean, a region characterized by N–S extension in the backarc of the easternmost Hellenic Trench. The dip direction of the fault that ruptured during the earthquake has been a matter of controversy where both north- and south-dipping fault planes were used to model the coseismic slip in previous studies. Here, we use seismic (seismicity, main shock modelling, aftershock relocations and aftershock mechanisms using regional body and surface waves), geodetic (GPS, InSAR) and structural observations to estimate the location, and the dip direction of the fault that ruptured during the 2017 earthquake, and the relationship of this event to regional tectonics. We consider both dip directions and systematically search for the best-fitting locations for the north- and south-dipping fault planes. Comparing the best-fitting planes for both dip directions in terms of their misfit to the geodetic data, proximity to the hypocenter location and Coulomb stress changes at the aftershock locations, we conclude that the 2017 earthquake ruptured a north-dipping fault. We find that the earthquake occurred on a 20–25 km long, ∼E–W striking, 40° north-dipping, pure normal fault with slip primarily confined between 3 and 15 km depth, and the largest slip exceeding 2 m between depths of 4 and 10 km. The coseismic fault, not mapped previously, projects to the surface within the western Gulf, and partly serves both to widen the Gulf and separate Kos Island from the Bodrum Peninsula of SW Anatolia. The coseismic fault may be an extension of a mapped, north-dipping normal fault along the south side of the Gulf of Gökova. While all of the larger aftershocks are consistent with N–S extension, their spatially dispersed pattern attests to the high degree of crustal fracturing within the basin, due to rapid trenchward extension and anticlockwise rotation within the southeastern Aegean

Post-Glacial Terraces of The Marmara Sea and Water Exchange Periods

Semi enclosed Marmara Sea is a passage between the Aegean Sea (Northeastern Mediterranean Sea) and the Black Sea. The Marmara Sea is connected to the Black Sea and Aegean Sea through the Istanbul Strait (Bosphorus) and Canakkale Strait (Dardanelles), respectively. Despite the fact that the late Pleistocene-Holocene connections between the seas have been explored by many scientists, there are still uncertainties about the nature and timing of the connections. Within the scope of this study, a new approach has been displayed for post-glacial connections between the Black Sea, Marmara Sea and Aegean Sea. This study is based on 80 shallow seismic reflection lines, multibeam bathymetric data and 15 short gravity cores collected from the northeastern shelf of the Marmara Sea (between Silivri and Golden Horn). The sea bottom and sub-bottom morphology have a highly chaotic structure at the exit of the Buyukcekmece/Kucukcekmece lagoons and further east near the Marmara-Istanbul Strait junction. This chaotic bottom and sub-bottom surface morphologies are mainly controlled by the structure of the basin, current regime of the shelf, coastal drainage systems and by the sea/lake water level changes controlled by climate and the sill depths of the two straits, which in turn determined the water exchange between the seas. The sedimentological interpretation of the seismic reflection profiles and core sediments have allowed us to distinguish five stratigraphic units (S1-S5) and four sedimentary layers (A-D) over the acoustic basement. The lower stratigraphic unit and sedimentary layer are separated from the overlying acoustic basement by a chaotic to parallel and by a high amplitude seismic reflector. Seaward dipping units of the acoustic basement are inferred to be the seaward continuation of the Oligocene-Upper Miocene units widely exposed on land. The presence of three different marine terraces distinguished (T1-T3) along the northeastern shelf of the Marmara Sea have been associated with the six different curves of the post-glacial sea-level changes. From statistical point of view, the most significant terraces occur from -78 m to -80 m (T1), -58 m to -62 m (T2) and -28 m to -32 m at (T3). Considering the global sea level curves, these terraces can be dated 9.25, 12.25 and 13.75 Cal kyr BP, respectively

Secondary Fault Activity of the North Anatolian Fault near Avcilar, Southwest of Istanbul: Evidence from SAR Interferometry Observations

Strike-slip faults may be traced along thousands of kilometers, e.g., the San Andreas Fault (USA) or the North Anatolian Fault (Turkey). A closer look at such continental-scale strike faults reveals localized complexities in fault geometry, associated with fault segmentation, secondary faults and a change of related hazards. The North Anatolian Fault displays such complexities nearby the mega city Istanbul, which is a place where earthquake risks are high, but secondary processes are not well understood. In this paper, long-term persistent scatterer interferometry (PSI) analysis of synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data time series was used to precisely identify the surface deformation pattern associated with the faulting complexity at the prominent bend of the North Anatolian Fault near Istanbul city. We elaborate the relevance of local faulting activity and estimate the fault status (slip rate and locking depth) for the first time using satellite SAR interferometry (InSAR) technology. The studied NW-SE-oriented fault on land is subject to strike-slip movement at a mean slip rate of ~5.0 mm/year and a shallow locking depth of <1.0 km and thought to be directly interacting with the main fault branch, with important implications for tectonic coupling. Our results provide the first geodetic evidence on the segmentation of a major crustal fault with a structural complexity and associated multi-hazards near the inhabited regions of Istanbul, with similarities also to other major strike-slip faults that display changes in fault traces and mechanisms

Estimates of Seismic Potential in the Marmara Sea Region from Block Models of Secular Deformation Constrained by Global Positioning System Measurements

We model the geodetically observed secular velocity field in northwestern Turkey with a block model that accounts for recoverable elastic-strain accumulation. The block model allows us to estimate internally consistent fault slip rates and locking depths. The northern strand of the North Anatolian fault zone (NAFZ) carries approximately four times as much right-lateral motion (∼24 mm/yr) as does the southern strand. In the Marmara Sea region, the data show strain accumulation to be highly localized. We find that a straight fault geometry with a shallow locking depth of 6-7 km fits the observed Global Positioning System velocities better than does a stepped fault geometry that follows the northern and eastern edges of the sea. This shallow locking depth suggests that the moment release associated with an earthquake on these faults should be smaller, by a factor of 2.3, than previously inferred assuming a locking depth of 15 km.Earth and Planetary Science

Interseismic strain build-up on the submarine North Anatolian Fault offshore Istanbul

Using offshore geodetic observations, we show that a segment of the North Anatolian Fault in the central Sea of Marmara is locked and therefore accumulating strain. The strain accumulation along this fault segment was previously extrapolated from onshore observations or inferred from the absence of seismicity, but both methods could not distinguish between fully locked or fully creeping fault behavior. A network of acoustic transponders measured crustal deformation with mm-precision on the seafloor for 2.5 years and did not detect any significant fault displacement. Absence of deformation together with sparse seismicity monitored by ocean bottom seismometers indicates complete fault locking to at least 3 km depth and presumably into the crystalline basement. The slip-deficit of at least 4m since the last known rupture in 1766 is equivalent to an earthquake of magnitude 7.1 to 7.4 in the Sea of Marmara offshore metropolitan Istanbul