Researchers have deciphered the origins of the prehistoric Eurasian earthquake

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A team led by the University of Minnesota Twin Cities has succeeded in determining the age and formation process of the East Anatolian Rift, a large fault line in Turkey. This fault played a role in the formation of the Anatolian tectonic plate and was responsible for two devastating earthquakes in February 2023.

While this study does not provide insights into predicting future earthquakes, it does provide valuable information about the history of seismic activity in the region. By understanding the length of time a region has been prone to earthquakes and how these powerful events have shaped the landscape over time, geologists can make informed decisions regarding infrastructure and residential development.

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Explanation of Anatolia’s mistake

(Illustration: Shutterstock)

The paper was published in Geology, a peer-reviewed journal focused on the study of terrestrial geosciences, published by the Geological Society of America.

Frankly speaking, when the huge tectonic plates that make up the Earth’s surface move, they create cracks known as rifts. As these plates shift, pressure builds up, and when that pressure is released, it results in the earthquakes that we feel on Earth’s surface.

“There are a lot of plate tectonics in the world,” explained Donna Whitney, lead author of the paper and McKnight Distinguished Professor in the NH Winchell College of Earth and Environmental Sciences at the University of Minnesota.

She said, “They changed their shape, size, and location over time, but we rarely see a single shape. The Anatolian Plate formed recently in the geological sense, so the processes that formed are easier for us to deduce from the study of geology. There has been a lot of controversy about the age of the Anatolian Plate and the East Rift Anatolia, but we were able to show with our data that it likely formed five million years ago.”

Whitney and her team began examining the Anatolian Plate in 2011 when they noticed that the middle part of the plate, which is not normally active, was showing signs of deformation, similar to what happens at plate edges. Then, about five million years ago, there was a major shift. From that point on, most of the plate’s motion was concentrated in two major faults that cause powerful earthquakes: the North Anatolian Rift and the East Anatolian Rift.

“Knowing the seismic history of this region is really important for anticipating disasters related to the way people interact with the landscape,” said Whitney. “We can’t predict when an ‘X’ earthquake will happen on this fault at a particular time, but we can get a sense of past fault activity, how massive the events were, and how much the fault movement affected the landscape. We need to understand these structures because people live near them, and there infrastructure nearby.

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