Tectonics in a very slowly deforming region in an orogenic belt

Abstract

We use GPS and InSAR data to examine the present-day kinematics of the Tuz Gölü Fault Zone with a view to documenting an ‘intra-plate-like’ behaviour within a highly active plate boundary zone. In order to generate the strain rate field of the region, we utilize two different approaches. Both of the approaches reveal that the area has a shear-dominated deformation. Furthermore, we design a simple block model to understand better especially the slip on the Tuz Gölü Fault. The results indicate that the fault behaviour can be explained by right-lateral strike-slip motion. This is in contradiction with the previous interpretations of it displaying normal fault behaviour based on geomorphological observations of limited spatial extent. On the other hand, the present-day kinematics of the fault is not an agreement with the thrust features that are observed around it. We think that the propagation of the rupture of the North Anatolian Fault Zone may have put an end to the thrust regime along the Tuz Gölü Fault at the end of Pliocene. We think that this study may provide guidelines for understanding the origin and behaviour of slowly deforming ‘germanotype’ structures within zones of rapidly deforming ‘alpinotype’ regions.