Evidence for active faults in Küçükçekmece Lagoon (Marmara Sea, Turkey), inferred from high-resolution seismic data

Abstract

A total of 42 km of high-resolution seismic reflection and bathymetric data were collected for the first time to document stratigraphic and structural features of the uppermost 5 m of the Holocene sedimentary infill of Kucukcekmece Lagoon along the Marmara Sea coast of Turkey. The lagoon gradually deepens from 1 m off the northern coast to a maximum of 20 m in the southern basin. Stratigraphically, the uppermost seismic unit is characterized by a generally parallel reflection configuration, indicating deposition under low-energy conditions. In the southern basin of the lagoon, the sub-bottom is locally characterized by frequency attenuated and chaotic reflections interpreted as gas-charged sediments. Structurally, the soft sediment of the first 5 m below the lagoon floor is locally deformed by active strike-slip fault zones, here named FZ1, FZ2, and FZ3. These fault zones are NW–SE oriented and follow the long axis of the lagoon, compatible with the geographic alignment of the lagoon, the onland drainage pattern, and the scarps of the surrounding terrain. Moreover, the fault zones in Kucukcekmece Lagoon are well correlated with active offshore faults mapped during previous studies. This suggests that the FZ1, FZ2, and FZ3 fault zones are not merely local fault systems deforming the Kucukcekmece Lagoon bottom, but that they may be part of a regional fault zone extending both north and southward to merge with the northern branch of the North Anatolian Fault Zone (NAFZ) in the Cinarcik Basin. This, however, needs to be confirmed by further structural and seismological studies around Kucukcekmece Lagoon in order to more firmly establish its link with the NAFZ in the Marmara Sea, and to highlight potential seismic risks for the densely populated Istanbul metropolitan area.