Earthquake imprints on a lacustrine deltaic system: The Kurk Delta along the East Anatolian Fault (Turkey)

Date

2017-08-01

Author

Hubert-Ferrari, Aurelia
El-Ouahabi, Meriam
Garcia-Moreno, David
Avşar, Ulaş
Altinok, Sevgi
Schmidt, Sabine
Fagel, Nathalie
Cagatay, M. Namik

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Deltas contain sedimentary records that are not only indicative of water-level changes, but also particularly sensitive to earthquake shaking typically resulting in soft-sediment-deformation structures. The Kurk lacustrine delta lies at the south-western extremity of Lake Hazar in eastern Turkey and is adjacent to the seismogenic East Anatolian Fault, which has generated earthquakes of magnitude 7. This study re-evaluates water-level changes and earthquake shaking that have affected the Kurk Delta, combining geophysical data (seismic-reflection profiles and side-scan sonar), remote sensing images, historical data, onland outcrops and offshore coring. The history of water-level changes provides a temporal framework for the depositional record. In addition to the common soft-sediment deformation documented previously, onland outcrops reveal a record of deformation (fracturing, tilt and clastic dykes) linked to large earthquake-induced liquefactions and lateral spreading. The recurrent liquefaction structures can be used to obtain a palaeoseismological record. Five event horizons were identified that could be linked to historical earthquakes occurring in the last 1000 years along the East Anatolian Fault. Sedimentary cores sampling the most recent subaqueous sedimentation revealed the occurrence of another type of earthquake indicator. Based on radionuclide dating (Cs-137 and Pb-210), two major sedimentary events were attributed to the AD 1874 to 1875 East Anatolian Fault earthquake sequence. Their sedimentological characteristics were determined by X-ray imagery, X-ray diffraction, loss-on-ignition, grain-size distribution and geophysical measurements. The events are interpreted to be hyperpycnal deposits linked to post-seismic sediment reworking of earthquake-triggered landslides.

Subject Keywords

Deltaic sediments, East Anatolian Fault, Hyperpycnal flow, Lateral spreads, Liquefaction and lateral spread, Palaeoseismicity, Post-seismic remobilization, Seismites

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11511/40216

Journal

SEDIMENTOLOGY

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1111/sed.12355

Collections

Department of Geological Engineering, Article

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Earthquake imprints on a lacustrine deltaic system: Example of the Kürk Delta along the East Anatolian Fault (Turkey) Hubert-ferrari, Aurelia; El Ouahabi, Meriam; Garcia Moreno, David; Avşar, Ulaş; Altınok, Sevgi; Fagel, Nathalie; Çağatay, Namık (null; 2017-04-23) Delta contains a sedimentary record primarily indicative of water level changes, but particularly sensitive to earthquake shaking, which results generally in soft-sediment-deformation structures. The Kürk Delta adjacent to a major strike-slip fault displays this type of deformation (Hempton and Dewey, 1983) as well as other types of earthquake fingerprints that are specifically investigated. This lacustrine delta stands at the southwestern extremity of the Hazar Lake and is bound by the East Anatolian Fault...
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Citation Formats

A. Hubert-Ferrari et al., “Earthquake imprints on a lacustrine deltaic system: The Kurk Delta along the East Anatolian Fault (Turkey),” SEDIMENTOLOGY, pp. 1322–1353, 2017, Accessed: 00, 2020. [Online]. Available: https://hdl.handle.net/11511/40216.