Miocene to Quaternary geodynamic evolution of the southern section of the Burdur-Fethiye Shear Zone and its offshore continuation, eastern Mediterranean

Abstract

The main interrelated structures of the eastern Mediterranean are shaped by the complex tectonic regimes including active subduction, uplift, and progressive counterclockwise rotation. The Hellenic Arc, the Anaximander Mountains, the Western Taurides, the extensional western Anatolian graben, the Burdur-Fethiye Shear Zone and the Rhodes Basin are these structures located in one of the most tectonically active regions. The Burdur-Fethiye Shear Zone is a 75- to 90- km wide and 300-km-long transtensional left-lateral shear zone developed during the formation of the Aegean back-arc extensional system and the thrusting of Western Taurides. In this study, fault kinematic analysis, and DEM and earthquake data characterize the tectonic controls of the southern section of the Burdur-Fethiye Shear Zone. The high-quality multibeam bathymetry data, their processing and interpretation with the onshore structures and an integrated interpretation with multichannel seismic profiles allowed the geodynamic evolution of the Burdur-Fethiye Shear Zone, Rhodes Basin and environs to be evaluated. Despite the heated debates regarding the presence of the zone, the latest offshore data reveals again that the continuation of the subduction transform edge propagator (STEP) fault between the Hellenic and Cyprus arcs comes into play as the Burdur-Fethiye Shear Zone on land.