Investigation of potential sinkhole formation at Yenikent (Aksaray) area

The study area covers Yenikent and its surroundings, located 20 km west of Aksaray. The passing of important natural gas pipelines in the region and the presence of natural gas storage areas in the southwest of the region make the region important. For this reason, it was investigated whether the Cenozoic aged rocks in the region have the potential to form sinkholes. There are Neogene aged İnsuyu and İncesu formations in the region. It is known that there are sinkholes and surface deformations in Sultanhanı and Kızören regions among these formations. The Neogene aged formations are unconformably overlain by the Tuzgölü formation. The presence of salt and sulphate rocks with high dissolved potential in the Tuzgölü formation increases the risk of void formation. In the geochemical analyzes, it was determined that the predominance of carbonate rocks in the region and the interaction of slightly acidic surface and ground waters with these rocks are an important factor increasing the risk of sinkholes. In the research carried out with geophysical methods on a line from Yenikent to the south, cavities and faults in the underground were determined especially in Akhüyük and its south. These gaps were clearly revealed in the sounding made from a point determined by geoscience methods. Unmanned aerial vehicle flights were carried out along and around the measured line and orthophotos were prepared. In the data obtained, no depression area was detected in the region. Sedimentological, structural geological, hydrogeological studies, remote sensing, geophysical studies and drilling studies carried out in the region have been shown to be sufficient methods in sinkhole research, and gaps have been identified at 4 points and the gaps have been analyzed.