Kinematic analysis of the Tuz Gölü fault zone (Tgfz) with gnss and insar techniques

TGFZ, is one of the most important active tectonic elements of Central Anatolia. Recent studies on the Tuz Gölü Fault Zone show that the zone has a potential to produce earthquakes near Aksaray, which may reach a magnitude of 6.8. This situation indicates that destructive damages and loss of life may occur in the vicinity of the province, which is founded largely on a alluvial soils especially in Aksaray city center. Within the scope of this thesis, it is aimed to determine the deformation of the south part of TGFZ with high sensitivity by using geodetic measurements. In order to obtain accurate information about TGFZ deformation, 24 reference points and 2 Continuously Operating Reference Stations were constructed on the south of TGFZ. Between the years of 2018-2020, GNSS measurements were made on this network. The data of Turkish National Fundamental GPS Network (TUTGA) and Continuously Operating Reference Stations-Turkey (CORS-TR) points around the study area were also included in the study and GNSS measurements were evaluated with the GAMIT / GLOBK software and recent velocity fields of the region was determined. In addition to that, strain fields of the study area were calculated using the GeodSuit software and block model studies were carried out. Also, 35 Sentinel-1 SAR images of the region between 2014 and 2020 were evaluated in the GMT5SAR software according to the SBAS technique and displacements in the line of site of the study area were obtained. For the first time with this study slip rates provided by the geodetic network established directly on the Tuz Gölü Fault Zone segments, filling a significant deficiency in the literature, contribute to the tectonics of the country and the region and provides an important dataset in understanding the degree of seismic activity of the fault zone. The slip rates obtained within the scope of this study approximately 3.2 mm/year horizontally and 1.5 mm/year vertical, indicate that the active deformation in the zone is actually higher than expressed, compared to the sliding values calculated by different geological studies so far.