Failure mechanism by wrench faulting in Central Anatolia

Abstract

The study area, where volcanism and tectonism are active at the same time, consists of the Cappadocia Volcanic Complex (CVC) in the middle, Tuzgölü on the west side, and Ecemiş fault systems on the east side. Remote sensing image processing method and derivation to aeromagnetic data were applied to identify the structural lineations that tectonically control the study area within the scope of the study. As a result of the lineation analysis performed in the west of the study area, 167 lineaments in the west, most of which are NW oriented, and 316 lineaments, most of which are NE oriented, were determined in the east. These findings are in agreement with the known fault orientations in the area. It is known that earthquakes greater than M > 4 occurred in these known faults during the neotectonics period, and they also have the potential to produce M > 6 earthquakes. In addition, the Tuzgölü and Ecemiş Faults' shearing effect relative to each other is an indication that a wrench tectonics mechanism has developed in the study area. With the remote sensing study and following the existing surface traces, two fault systems in opposite directions, the Tuzgölü Fault (−30°) dipping counterclockwise and the Ecemiş Fault, clockwise (60°) dipping, were determined. The orientation and locations of the faults could be determined by tilt transformation applied to the magnetic anomaly map of the study area. In particular, the effects of wrenching in the study area can be clearly observed in magnetic anomalies.