Tectonic geomorphology and Plio-Quaternary structural evolution of the Tuzgolu fault zone, Turkey: Implications for deformation in the interior of the Central Anatolian Plateau

2020-10-01
Krystopowicz, Neil J.
Schoenbohm, Lindsay M.
Rimando, Jeremy
Brocard, Gilles
Rojay, Fuat Bora
Situated within the interior of the Central Anatolian Plateau (Turkey), the 200-km-long Tuzgolu extensional fault zone offers first-order constraints on the timing and pattern of regional deformation and uplift. In this study, we analyze the morphometrics of catchments along the Tuzgolti range-front fault and the parallel, basinward Hamzali fault using a variety of measured morphometric indicators coupled with regional geomorphic observations and longitudinal profile analysis. In addition, we use field and remote mapping to constrain the geometry of two key marker beds, the Pliocene Kizilkaya ignimbrite and Kisladag limestone, in order to investigate deformation in the footwall of the Tuzgolu fault zone. The marker beds form a broad arch along the footwall of the fault, with greatest cumulative displacement along the central part of the fault zone, suggesting early Pliocene extensional reactivation of the Tuzgolu fault with a typical fault-displacement profile. However, a change in deformation pattern is marked by transient knick-points along river channels; morphometric indicators sensitive to shorter (1-3 Ma) time scales, including river steepness, basin elongation, and mountain front sinuosity, indicate an overall southeastward increase in footwall uplift rate of the Tuzgolu fault zone, which could reflect block rotation or interaction with the Hasan Dag volcano. Basin asymmetry and basin-fault azimuth measurements indicate north-northwest tilting of footwall catchments, which may be linked to regional tilting across the Central Anatolian Plateau interior. Varying patterns of spatial and temporal deformation along the length of the Tuzgolu fault zone are likely due to the interference of crustal- and lithospheric-scale processes, such as rotation of crustal blocks, extrusion of the Anatolian microplate, crustal heating, gravitational collapse associated with plateau uplift, and mantle-driven vertical displacements.
GEOSPHERE

Suggestions

Tectonomagmatic evolution of bimodal plutons in the central Anatolian crystalline complex, Turkey
Kadioglu, Yk; Dilek, Y; Güleç, Nilgün Türkan; Foland, Ka (University of Chicago Press, 2003-11-01)
The NW-trending Agacoren Intrusive Suite (AIS) on the east side of the Salt Lake (Tuz Golu), Turkey, is part of a curvilinear volcanoplutonic complex along the western edge of the central Anatolian crystalline complex (CACC). Granitoids constitute the predominant lithological group within the AIS and range in composition from monzonite through granite to alkali feldspar granite. Gabbroic rocks occur as irregular intrusive bodies with sinusoidal, irregular contacts with the granitoid plutons and vary from di...
Tectonic evolution of the Gediz Graben: field evidence for an episodic, two-stage extension in western Turkey
Bozkurt, Erdin (Cambridge University Press (CUP), 2004-01-01)
Western Turkey is one of the most spectacular regions of widespread active continental extension in the world. The most prominent structures of this region are E-W-trending grabens (e.g. Gediz and Buyuk Menderes grabens) and intervening horsts, exposing the Menderes Massif. This paper documents the result of a recent field campaign (field geological mapping and structural analysis) along the southern margin of the modern Gediz Graben of Pliocene (similar to 5 Ma) age. This work provides field evidence that ...
Structure of the crust and African slab beneath the central Anatolian plateau from receiver functions: New insights on isostatic compensation and slab dynamics
Abgarmi, Bizhan; Delph, Jonathan R.; Özacar, Atilla Arda; Beck, Susan L.; Zandt, George; Sandvol, Eric; TÜRKELLİ, NİYAZİ; Biryol, C. Berk (Geological Society of America, 2017-11-01)
The central Anatolian plateau in Turkey is a region with a long history of subduction, continental collision, accretion of continental fragments, and slab tearing and/or breakoff and tectonic escape. Central Anatolia is currently characterized as a nascent plateau with widespread Neogene volcanism and predominantly transtensional deformation. To elucidate the present-day crustal and upper mantle structure of this region, teleseismic receiver functions were calculated from 500 seismic events recorded on 92 t...
CALCAREOUS NANNOFOSSILS FROM THE LATE JURASSIC EARLY CRETACEOUS OF NORTHWEST ANATOLIA, TURKEY
Altıner, Sevinç (Wiley, 1993-12-01)
Within the framework of an integrated stratigraphy, a detailed biostratigraphic study of Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous (Tithonian-Valanginian) calcareous nannofossils was carried out in north-west Anatolia, Turkey.
Mafic microgranular enclaves and interaction between felsic and mafic magmas in the agacoren intrusive suite: Evidence from petrographic features and mineral chemistry
Kadioglu, Yusuf Kagan; Güleç, Nilgün Türkan (Informa UK Limited, 1996-01-01)
The Agacoren Intrusive Suite is exposed as a large intrusive body over ∼500 km2 east of Lake Tuz in central Anatolia and consists of the Cokumkaya gabbro, the Agacoren granitoid, and young dikes. The Agacoren granitoid is the predominant lithology of the Agacoren Intrusive Suite, and is differentiated into several subunits ranging in composition from monzonite, through granite, to alkali feldspar granite. The Cokumkaya gabbro occurs as stocks enclosed in the Agacoren granitoid; individual bodies range in si...
Citation Formats
N. J. Krystopowicz, L. M. Schoenbohm, J. Rimando, G. Brocard, and F. B. Rojay, “Tectonic geomorphology and Plio-Quaternary structural evolution of the Tuzgolu fault zone, Turkey: Implications for deformation in the interior of the Central Anatolian Plateau,” GEOSPHERE, pp. 1107–1124, 2020, Accessed: 00, 2020. [Online]. Available: https://hdl.handle.net/11511/56228.