Long-term evolution of the North Anatolian fault (Turkey)

The deformation and 40Ar-39Ar dating of recent volcanism that
remarkably sits across the North Anatolian Fault eastern termination in Turkey, together with previous studies, put strong constraints on the long- term evolution of the fault. We argue that after a first phase of 10 Ma, characterized by a slip rate of about 3 mm/yr, and during which most of the trace was established, the slip rate jumped to about 20 mm/yr on average over the last 2.5 Ma, without substantial increase of the fault length. The transition correlates with a change in the geometry at the junction with the East Anatolian Fault that makes the extrusion process more efficient.