Preliminary slip rate estimates for the Düzce segment of the North Anatolian Fault Zone from offset geomorphic markers

Abstract

New estimates on the Quaternary slip rate of the active transform margin of North Anatolia are provided. We investigated the area struck by the 12th November 1999, Mw 7.1 earthquake, that ruptured the Düzce fault segment of the North Anatolian Fault. In order to analyze the spectacular tectonically driven cumulative landforms and the drainage pattern settings, we carried out a 1:25,000-scale geological and geomorphological mapping along the fault trace. We reconstruct and describe, as offset geomorphic markers, right-hand stream deflections and fluvial terraces inset into alluvial fan deposits. Radiocarbon dating indicates that ~100 m stream deflections were built up by the last ~7000 yrs of fault activity. Conversely, two documented and correlated Late Pleistocene fluvial terraces are horizontally offset by ~300 and ~900 m, respectively. These were dated by means of Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) to ~21 ka BP and 60 ka BP. Assuming a constant rate of deformation for the Düzce Fault, ages and related offsets translate to consistent slip-rates that yield an average slip-rate of 15.0 ± 3.2 mm/yr for the last 60 ka. Thus, the Düzce Fault importantly contributes to the North Anatolian margin deformation, suggesting a present-day partitioning of displacement rates with the Mudurnu fault to the south and confirming its important role in the seismic hazard of the area.