Kinematics of Sürgü Fault Zone (Malatya, Turkey): A remote sensing study

Abstract

The Sürgü Fault Zone (SFZ) is located in SE Anatolia extending from Göksun in the west to Çelikhan in the east, where it bifurcates from the East Anatolian Fault Zone. A detailed analysis along the fault using satellite images, digital elevation models (DEMs) and aerial photographs revealed that the SFZ displays characteristic deformation patterns common to dextral strike-slip faults, including pressure ridges, displaced linear valleys, and deflected stream courses. In addition to this, fault slip data collected from 17 sites indicated that the SFZ is a dextral strike-slip fault zone having reverse and normal components in its western and eastern parts, respectively. The type of dip-slip components, orientation of the palaeostress configurations, and related structures along the fault are compatible with along strike variations of a strike-slip fault system that supports the dextral nature of the fault zone. Observed maximum cumulative stream deflections along the fault zone indicate that the dextral offset of the SFZ has been more than 3km since the establishment of the stream network in the region. According to the preferred tectonic model suggested in this study, the present dextral motion along the SFZ occurs within a regional sinistral system related to westwards escape of the Maraş Block, squeezed between Anatolian Block and Arabian Plate in N–S direction.