Earthquake potential of Quaternary-Holocene faults of Karaburun Peninsula by using geological, geomorphological and remote sensing methods

The Karaburun Peninsula, which contains rock units belonging to Paleotectonic and Neotectonic periods, is a belt that includes the main structural lines indicating that the Paleotethys was closed at the beginning of Triassic and the Neotethys ocean which was opened in the Late Triassic was closed at the end of Eocene. Neogene volcanics and pyroclasts on Karaburun Platform rocks and all contacts between volcanism and volcano-sedimentary sequence representing the terrestrial lacustrine environment are tectonically related. The deposition of Holocene alluvial fans and deltas is controlled by faults. Geomorphometric markers related to active faults in Karaburun Peninsula have been determined and related indices have been calculated. Calculations; It has been concluded that the tectonic activity class in Gülbahçe Basin is very high, the tectonic activity class in Mordoğan Basin is high and it is compatible with the age of activity. All the data obtained show that the Gülbahçe Fault Zone, which borders the Karaburun Peninsula from the east, is related to the Yağcılar Fault and Kenelidağ Fault and they work together. The Yağcılar fault was developed as the synthetic riedel of Gülbahçe fault zone and the Kenelidağ fault as antithetic riedel. The Mordoğan Fault in the north is connected to the Gülbahçe fault zone with the Balıklıova relay ramp. Alaçatı Fault Zone and Çeşme Fault, which were defined and mapped for the first time in this study, were evaluated in the class of Neoectonic period. The Alaçatı Fault Zone and Çeşme Fault, defined for the first time in the neotectonic period linearity class, resulted in the presence of folds indicating the compression tectonics after the Miocene and Gulf formations indicating the opening tectonics in the Çeşme Peninsula. As a result, it can be stated that the faults (Alaçatı Fault Zone and Çesme Fault), Holocene (Gülbahçe Fault Zone and Yağcılar Fault), Quaternary (Mordoğan Fault) and Neotectonic Period lineatures can produce earthquakes of 6 to 6.7 magnitude. Therefore, it is important to perform trench-based paleoseismological studies on these faults as soon as possible.