First Evidence on the Age of the Konya Fault Zone and Its Environmental Impacts

Abstract

Konya region is located in the middle of Turkey and within the closed basin of Konya with an area of approximately 42 000 km2 . Konya settlement area is controlled by the Konya fault zone in the west, the Karaömerler Fault Zone in the north, and the Divanlar- Göçü faults in the east. Konya fault zone consist of more than four steps in Miocene and older sediments. The dip-slip faults forming the steps are inclined towards the east. The relative age of the Konya fault zone was obtained by age analysis of the caliche deposits. The Caliche formations in the Konya region are mostly related to the young and / or active faults, and the formation of the thick blocks at the edges of the fault blocks is observed. Especially Hatip location is located in Konya fault zone. As a result of both geochemical and field observations, Hatip formation have been formed by dolocrete and groundwater types of caliches under the influence of groundwater. The age of the dolocrete samples was determined by using ESR method as 292.86 ka. Konya settlement has collapsed about 1200 meters with normal faults within the Konya fault zone and still continues to collapse. Drought due to climate change has caused rapid drop of groundwater in the region. This situation has caused the formation of new fractures on the basin edges. In particular, newly formed surface cracks affect roads, settlements, topography and underground installations.