Present-day Kinematics and Dynamics of the Eastern Mediterranean and Caucasus

Massachusetts Institute Of Technology, Cambridge MA

Investigators

Abstract

Present-day Kinematics and Dynamics of the Eastern Mediterranean and Caucasus We are using continuous and survey-mode GPS and other relevant geological and geophysical information to clarify active deformation and the forces driving this deformation in the E. Mediterranean/Caucasus/Middle East zone where the African, Arabian, and Eurasian plates interact. Our previous studies now provide an accurate (~ 1mm/yr) description of regional deformation that is helping to define the basic principles that control continental deformation in this region. We have modeled regional deformation using a relatively small number of elastic plates and blocks that interact along their boundaries. These models provide constraints on the underlying forces driving deformation, and the mechanical behavior (i.e., rheology) of the lithospheric. The regional deformation patterns provide the framework for the more detailed studies we are now pursuing. This includes (1) characterizing deformation (strain accumulation) along a number of the major faults that control the large majority of deformation in this region (i.e., block boundaries), (2) constraining better deformation in the S.E. Aegean (Greece and Turkey) that has thus far alluded simple block-like descriptions and may be better characterized by distributed deformation, and (3) quantifying deformation around unstable, continental triple junctions. More specifically, this includes developing a clearer picture of the character of present-day strain accumulation on a number of segments of the North Anatolian, East Anatolian, and Greater Caucasus thrust faults, and the Hellenic subduction zone. For the North Anatolian fault we are determining the spatial character of strain accumulation as a function of the time in the earthquake. The new GPS measurements around the East Anatolian fault are helping to characterize present-day deformation around the Dead Sea fault - East Anatolian fault - Cyprus arc triple junction and the influence of Arabia plate interaction with Anatolia. For the Greater Caucasus thrust fault and the Hellenic subduction zone, we are constraining fault locking depths and evaluating the implications for continental dynamics and earthquake hazards. In summary, the GPS results are being integrated with new seismic, paleoseismic, neotectonic, geologic, and other relevant geophysical information to constrain kinematic and dynamic models for regional deformation and the earthquake cycle in this continental collision zone.