Crustal Structure of the Eastern Anatolia Region (Turkey) Based on Seismic Tomography
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geosciences Article Crustal Structure of the Eastern Anatolia Region (Turkey) Based on Seismic Tomography Irina Medved 1,2,* , Gulten Polat 3 and Ivan Koulakov 1 1 Trofimuk Institute of Petroleum Geology and Geophysics SB RAS, Prospekt Koptyuga, 3, 630090 Novosibirsk, Russia; [email protected] 2 Sobolev Institute of Geology and Mineralogy SB RAS, Prospekt Koptyuga, 3, 630090 Novosibirsk, Russia 3 Department of Civil Engineering, Yeditepe University, 26 Agustos Yerleskesi, 34755 Istanbul, Turkey; [email protected] * Correspondence: [email protected]; Tel.: +7-952-922-49-67 Abstract: Here, we investigated the crustal structure beneath eastern Anatolia, an area of high seismicity and critical significance for earthquake hazards in Turkey. The study was based on the local tomography method using data from earthquakes that occurred in the study area provided by the Turkiye Cumhuriyeti Ministry of Interior Disaster and Emergency Management Directorate Earthquake Department Directorate of Turkey. The dataset used for tomography included the travel times of 54,713 P-waves and 38,863 S-waves from 6355 seismic events. The distributions of the resulting seismic velocities (Vp, Vs) down to a depth of 60 km demonstrate significant anomalies associated with the major geologic and tectonic features of the region. The Arabian plate was revealed as a high-velocity anomaly, and the low-velocity patterns north of the Bitlis suture are mostly associated with eastern Anatolia. The upper crust of eastern Anatolia was associated with a ~10 km thick high-velocity anomaly; the lower crust is revealed as a wedge-shaped low-velocity anomaly. This kind of seismic structure under eastern Anatolia corresponded to the hypothesized existence of Citation: Medved, I.; Polat, G.; a lithospheric window beneath this collision zone, through which hot material of the asthenosphere Koulakov, I. Crustal Structure of the rises. Thus, the presented results help to clarify the deep structure under eastern Anatolia. Eastern Anatolia Region (Turkey) Based on Seismic Tomography. Keywords: seismic tomography; Eastern Anatolia; Arabian plate; collision zone; crustal structure Geosciences 2021, 11, 91. https:// doi.org/10.3390/geosciences11020091 Academic Editors: Pier Paolo 1. Introduction G. Bruno and Jesus Martinez-Frias Active tectonic forces at the boundaries of lithospheric plates lead to strong seismic Received: 27 January 2021 activity in tectonically active regions that affects the infrastructure and lives of people Accepted: 12 February 2021 Published: 15 February 2021 therein. In many cases, the plate interaction mechanisms, which are important for assessing long-term seismic hazards, are not completely clear. Promptly addressing problems related Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral to collisional processes requires robust information about the main structural elements with regard to jurisdictional claims in in the crust and upper mantle. For this reason, geophysical investigations, particularly published maps and institutional affil- seismic tomography studies, are in high demand for establishing geodynamic scenarios of iations. lithospheric evolution in many regions of the world. We implemented seismic tomography to study the crustal structure beneath eastern Anatolia, including the eastern Anatolian accretionary complex and the surrounding areas. Figure1 shows the main tectonic features of the study region. The East Anatolian Plateau is bounded by two Neo-Tethyan sutures: the Izmir-Ankara-Erzincan˙ suture (IAES, shown Copyright: © 2021 by the authors. in Figure1) in the north and the Bitlis suture in the south [ 1]. Moreover, the IAES separates Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article the Pontides Unit (PU) in the north from the East Anatolian Accretionary Complex (EAAC) distributed under the terms and to the south [2] (Figure1). The eastern part of Turkey is characterized by the junction of conditions of the Creative Commons three large plates: the Anatolian plate in the west, the Arabian plate in the south, and the Attribution (CC BY) license (https:// Iranian plate in the east. This system is divided by tectonic faults, including the North creativecommons.org/licenses/by/ Anatolian fault (NAF) and the East Anatolian fault (EAF), which intersect in the study 4.0/). area and form the Karliova triple junction (KTJ) (Figure1). This system of plates is pushed Geosciences 2021, 11, 91. https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences11020091 https://www.mdpi.com/journal/geosciences Geosciences 2021, 11, x FOR PEER REVIEW 2 of 12 Geosciences 2021, 11, 91 2 of 12 cluding the North Anatolian fault (NAF) and the East Anatolian fault (EAF), which inter- sect in the study area and form the Karliova triple junction (KTJ) (Figure 1). This system ofnorthward plates is pushed by the movementnorthward ofby the the Arabian movement plate of atthe a Arabian rate of ~18 plate mm/year at a rate with of ~18 respect mm/yr to withthe Eurasian respect to plate the Eurasian [3,4]. This plate movement [3,4]. This causes movement westward causes displacement westward ofdisplacement the Anatolian of theblock Anatolian along the block right-lateral along the strike-slipright-lateral NAF strike at- aslip rate NAF of ~24 at a mm/year.rate of ~24 Tomm/year. the south, To the the south,Anatolian the Anatolian plate is bounded plate is bybounded the EAF, by which the EAF, exhibits which left-lateral exhibits left displacement-lateral displacement at a rate of at~9 a mm/yearrate of ~9 mm/yr [4]. To the[4]. westTo the of west the NAFof the is NAF the central is the central Anatolian Anatolian fault zone fault (CAFZ), zone (CAFZ), which whichis a transtensional is a transtensional left-lateral left-lateral strike-slip strike fault-slip zone fault extendingzone extending from centralfrom central Anatolia Anatolia to the toMediterranean the Mediterranean Sea [5 Se]. a [5]. FigureFigure 1. 1. TheThe simplified simplified regional regional tectonic tectonic map map of of Eastern Eastern Turkey Turkey with with topographic topographic relief relief (modified (modified from from [ [66]).]). Pink Pink areas areas areare Neogene Neogene–Quaternary–Quaternary volcanism. volcanism. Arrows Arrows indicate indicate the the direction direction of of plate plate and and fault fault motions. motions. BPM BPM–Bitlis-Poturge–Bitlis-Poturge Massif; Massif; CAFZ–Central Anatolia Fault Zone; EAAC—East Anatolian Accretionary Complex; EAF—East Anatolian Fault; IAES– CAFZ–Central Anatolia Fault Zone; EAAC—East Anatolian Accretionary Complex; EAF—East Anatolian Fault; IAES– Izmir-Ankara-Erzincan Suture; KTJ—Karlova Triple Junction; MOFZ—Malatya-Ovacik Fault Zone; NAF—North Anato- Izmir-Ankara-Erzincan Suture; KTJ—Karlova Triple Junction; MOFZ—Malatya-Ovacik Fault Zone; NAF—North Anatolian lian Fault; PU—Pontide Unit. Fault; PU—Pontide Unit. The region of eastern Anatolia features complex tectonic structures, which formed The region of eastern Anatolia features complex tectonic structures, which formed duringduring its its multistage multistage evolutionary evolutionary history. history. The The general general shortening shortening regime regime of eastern of eastern An- atoliaAnatolia is mostly is mostly controlled controlled by the by Arabian the Arabian-Eurasian-Eurasian collision, collision, which which began began in the in mid the- mid-Mi- oceneMiocene [1,7[–19,7].– 9The]. The continental continental collision collision between between the the Arabian Arabian and and Eurasian Eurasian plates plates began began afterafter the the closure closure of of the the Tethys Tethys Ocean, Ocean, which which separated separated Gondwana Gondwana and and Laurasia. Laurasia. The for- The mationformation of marginal of marginal basins basins and and the the accretion accretion of ofisland island arcs arcs and and other other continental continental fr frag-ag- ments,ments, as as well well as as the the subduction subduction of of intervening intervening portions portions of of the the oceanic oceanic lithosphere, lithosphere, took took placeplace during during the the closure closure of of the the Neo Neo-Tethys.-Tethys. The The East East Anatolian Anatolian Accretionary Accretionary Complex Complex (EAAC(EAAC,, shown shown in in Figure Figure 11)) waswas formedformed duringduring subductionsubduction from the Late CretaceousCretaceous toto thethe earliest earliest Oligocene Oligocene and and included included Neo Neo-Tethyan-Tethyan material. material. The The EAAC, EAAC, having having formed formed on on thethe northward northward-subducting-subducting oceanic oceanic lithosphere, lithosphere, can can be be considered considered as as a a remnant remnant of of a a large large accretionaryaccretionary prism prism situated situated between between the the Pontides Pontides and and the the Bitlis Bitlis-Portuge-Portuge massif. massif. There There is nois nosubducting subducting slab slab beneath beneath the EAAC. the EAAC.;; This Thiscould could be due be to due the to detachment the detachment of the ofplate the underplate underthe collision the collision zone. zone.[10] argues [10] argues that the that slab, the slab,whose whose subduction subduction was wasgenerating generating the the Pontide arc in the north, was not attached to the Arabian plate. Instead, the slab was possibly attached to the Bitlis-Poturge block before the break-off. The Bitlis-Portuge massif (BPM shown in Figure1) consists of medium-to-highly metamorphosed units [11]. Geosciences 2021, 11, 91 3 of 12 Several petrological