GPS and geologic estimates of the tectonic activity in the Marmara Sea region, NW Anatolia

A dense network of 52 Global Positioning System (GPS) sites is used to determine the velocity field and strain rate pattern at the western end of the North Anatolian Fault Zone (NAFZ) in the Marmara Sea region, NW Anatolia. Based on four GPS campaigns carried out biannually between 1990 and 1996, the detailed kinematic field of crustal motion is calculated. The southernmost station shows an average rate of 22+/-3 mm/yr oriented westward relative to istanbul (Eurasia). This value is indicative of the dextral strike-slip motion of NW Anatolia relative to the Black Sea. The GPS velocity field reveals that the sites located on the Thrace-Black Sea block show negligible motion relative to istanbul. The GPS-based deformation pattern of three sections crossing the westward prolongation of the NAFZ is compared with neotectonic data. Both the GPS and the neotectonic data give clear evidence that most of the deformation occurs along a relatively narrow E-W oriented zone. This belt extends from the single fault trace of the NAFZ through the Gulf of Izmit, the Marmara Sea, the Sarkoy region, and the Gulf of Saros into the North Aegean Trough (NAT). In addition, the cross sections show the increasing influence of the N-S oriented extension in the Aegean Sea region. From the comparison of the directions and rates of shear and normal strain deduced from GPS data with geologic and seismic observations we conclude that the most active zone of dextral shear follows a line along Mudurnu Valley, the northern Marmara Sea and the Saros Trough where it joins the NAT.