The Quaternary landforms of the Büyük Menderes Graben System
We present the first detailed Quaternary landform map of the Büyük Menderes Graben System, located in western Turkey which is one of the most active extensional domains in the world. The main map was produced with a combination of TanDEM-X (12.5 m resolution), Red Relief Image Map, unmanned aerial vehicle, Google Earth images, and multiple fieldworks. The main map is presented at a scale of 1:160,000 although landforms were mapped at a scale of 1:15,000. The ten Quaternary landforms were defined considering their surface morphology and depositional environment. The alluvial fans, river terraces, and floodplains are the most common landforms. The spatial pattern of the alluvial fans and river terraces showed the variable rates of tectonics and surface processes along the strike of the graben system. The distribution of the meander cut-offs and paleo-shorelines imply that Büyük Menderes Graben System is vulnerable to geohazards like flash-flood sedimentation and flood events.
Figure. The examples of (a) the river terraces, (b) alluvial fan surface deformed by high-angle normal faults, (c) landslide, (d) relict alluvial fans, (e) modern alluvial fans and toe-cuts, (f) meander cut-offs and, (g) colluvial fans on the RRIM.
Publications related to this research:
Özpolat, E., Yıldırım, C., Görüm, T., (2020). The Quaternary landforms of the Büyük Menderes Graben System: the southern Menderes Massif, western Anatolia, Turkey. Journal of Maps. Journal of Maps, 16 (2), 405-419. https://doi.org/10.1080/17445647.2020.1764874
Abstracts and presentations related to this research:
Özpolat E., Yıldırım C., Görüm T., Şahiner, E., Özcan, O., (2019) Late Pleistocene slip-rate of the Aydın Fault, Southern Menderes Massif. in 23rd Active Tectonics Research Group Meeting.
Özpolat E., Yıldırım C., Görüm T., ., Şahiner, E., Özcan, O., (2019) Determination of the rock uplift in Central Menderes Massif (Aydın Block), Western Turkey; inferences from OSL dating of fluvial terraces. in INQUA 2019 General Assembly Conference Abstracts
Özpolat E., Yıldırım C., Görüm T., (2019) The mapping of the Quaternary geological and geomorphological units between Aydın Block and Mentese Mountains (Central Menderes Massif) for tectonic implications. in EGU 2019 General Assembly Conference Abstracts (Vol. 21, -16935-3)