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Earthquake geology of the East Anatolian Fault and its participation in a devastating earthquake

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Abstract

This study revealed that the East Anatolian Fault and all of its fault segments including the Dead Sea transform have emerged as the most vulnerable active faults for a large earthquake. The Anatolian Plate is sandwiched between Afro-Arabian and Eurasian plates characterized by the two major fault systems viz., the North Anatolian Fault system and the East Anatolian Fault system. Historical data revealed that the frequency of occurrence of large earthquakes (magnitude 7–8) in the North Anatolian Fault system is high, while the same in the East Anatolian Fault system is relatively less. However, the earthquake of February 6, 2023 in the East Anatolian Fault system did not occur as surprise rather lack of proper seismic study on the seismogenic character of the East Anatolian Fault system is to be blamed for the devastation caused by the earthquake. The last major earthquake occurred in 1872, not on the main East Anatolian Fault rather on the branch of the East Anatolian Fault system that connects Cyprus trench in the outer non-volcanic arc with the recurrence period of 150 years. It is observed that the fault segment connecting Cyprus trench was the triggering fault while the main East Anatolian Fault was activated through fault reactivations, new rupture and massive ground liquefaction occurred during 1268, 1872, and 2023 earthquakes causing massive devastations around Adana, Kahramanmaras, Gaziantep, and Antakya. Study of the paleo-earthquake records, tectonics, and geodynamics of the East Anatolian Fault revealed that the Dead Sea transform is likely to be the future triggering fault for transmitting seismogenic forces to all the surrounding active faults in the region. The East Anatolian Fault system including the Dead Sea transform has been evaluated as the fault where slow strain build-up for attaining saturation and release is going-on due to the southward propagation of arc-trench system and the subduction roll-back component of the eastern Mediterranean Sea block. Melts of the subduction roll-back slab is the source of the formation of pseudo-mantle plume and triple junction wherein Dead Sea transform is one of the tectonic elements of the triple junction for future seismogenic triggering agent.

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Acknowledgements

There is no formal acknowledgement for this article because the entire academic and financial supports are the sole responsibility of the author. The author thankfully acknowledges Ashraful Moontahab, Research Assistant, for preparing digital elevation map of the orogenic belt of the study area for this article.

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  1. Department of Oceanography and Hydrography, Faculty of Earth and Ocean Science, BSMR Maritime University, Dhaka, 1216, Bangladesh

    Aftab Alam Khan

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Khan, A.A. Earthquake geology of the East Anatolian Fault and its participation in a devastating earthquake. Arab J Geosci 17, 48 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-023-11835-x

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