PALEOSEISMIC CHARACTERISTICS OF THE WESTERN MOST SECTION OF THE NORTH ANATOLIAN FAULT: INVESTIGATING THE GANOS FAULT AND THE 9 AUGUST 1912 MÜREFTE EARTHQUAKE

Ersen Askoy

(Instituto Dom Luiz - Universidade de Lisboa)

The North Anatolian Fault Zone is a major continental strike-slip fault system that produced a westward propagating sequence of large seismic events from 1939-1999, that produced ~ 1000 km of co-seismic ruptures. This well-known sequence is unique in the world and offers an invaluable opportunity to understand earthquake characteristics along continental strike slip fault systems.
The Ganos fault, is the westernmost segment of the right-lateral North Anatolian Fault (NAF) located west of the highly populated Istanbul and Marmara region of Turkey. This fault generated a large and destructive earthquake prior to the 1939-1999 sequence in 1912 (Mw=7.4) and plays a significant role in the hazard of the region. The tectono-morphic expression of the fault, preserved surface rupture traces and co-seismic offsets of the 1912 earthquake and the presence of instrumental seismic records enable a combined analysis of geologic and seismologic parameters that allow us a better understanding fault movement and rupture characteristics of a time frame from several thousands of years to seconds.