Mechanics of plio-quaternary faulting around the Karliova triple junction: implications for the deformation of Eastern part of the Anatolian Scholle

The intersection of the Eurasian and Arabian plates and the smaller Anatolian Scholle created the Karlıova Triple Junction (KTJ) in eastern Turkey. In this study, we present analogue model experiments for this region and compare the results with our field observations and data from remote sensing imagery. Our comparison suggests that the sense of slip along curvilinear faults at the west of the KTJ changes along strike moving away from the principal displacement zones, from strike-slip to oblique normal and then to pure normal slip. Although, the active Prandtl cell model has been proposed to explain the overall regional fault pattern at eastern part of the Anatolian Scholle, the map view orientation of the secondary faults within the Karlıova wedge and performed analogue modelling results suggest that the passive wedge-shaped Prandtl cell model with a normal dip-slip component along slip lines is more appropriate in order to explain not only deformation pattern around the KTJ but also internal deformation of eastern part of the Anatolia. Moreover, these faults accumulate the significant amount of deformation that causes to the irregular earthquake behavior and the relatively lower geologic slip-rates along the main fault branch of boundary faults around the KTJ.

Abbreviations: Strike-slip; Karlıova Triple Junction (KTJ); continental deformation; North Anatolian Fault Zone (NAFZ); East Anatolian Fault Zone (EAFZ);Varto Fault Zone (VFZ)