Crust and upper mantle dynamics of Turkey inferred from passive seismology: implications of segmented slab geometry

2010-10-08
Berk, Biryol
Susan, Beck
George, Zandt
Kaymakcı, Nuretdin
Turkey lies within the Alpine–Himalayan orogenic belt and is shaped by continent-continent collision in the east, slab rollback and back arc extension in the west and westward extrusion of Anatolian plate in between. In this study, passive seismic data are used to analyze the crust and upper mantle structure of the region to test different tectonic models proposed for Turkey and its surrounding. In Eastern Turkey, continent-continent collision resulted in a topographic high, the East Anatolian Plateau which exhibits a widespread Neogene volcanism. The plateau is characterized by lack of subcrustal earthquakes and predominantly strike-slip crustal seismicity suggesting that the collision is accommodated by tectonic escape. Receiver functions indicate thin crust and lithosphere across the plateau that is inconsistent with a simple Airy compensational mechanism and an anomalously high Vp/Vs corridor along the North Anatolian Fault and near the youngest volcanic units supporting the presence of partial melt in the crust. Tomographic images of upper mantle reveal anomalously slow upper mantle velocities where slab-like fast-velocity anomalies only visible at or below mantle transition zone and support the slab detachment and emplacement of the hot asthenosphere. The western limit of this slab window located most likely along the palaeotectonic Inner-Tauride Suture in central Turkey where sharp mantle transitions are visible.
Tectonic Crossroads: Evolving Orogens of Eurasia–Africa–Arabia, Geological Society America, (4 - 08 Ekim 2010)

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Citation Formats
B. Berk, B. Susan, Z. George, and N. Kaymakcı, “Crust and upper mantle dynamics of Turkey inferred from passive seismology: implications of segmented slab geometry,” presented at the Tectonic Crossroads: Evolving Orogens of Eurasia–Africa–Arabia, Geological Society America, (4 - 08 Ekim 2010), Ankara, Türkiye, 2010, Accessed: 00, 2021. [Online]. Available: https://hdl.handle.net/11511/75489.