Active submarine tectonism and formation of the Gulf of Saros, Northeast Aegean Sea, inferred from multi-channel seismic reflection data

Abstract

Abstract Active submarine tectonism and the formation of the Gulf of Saros, northeast Aegean Sea, were investigated by means of multi-channel seismic reflection data. This area is a key in understanding the development of major structures resulting from the interacting regimes of the Western Anatolia–Aegean Sea and the North Anatolian Fault zone (NAF). The major feature forming the Gulf of Saros is the Ganos fault, which is one of the main segments of the northern strand of the NAF. In this study, a total of 159 km reflection seismic data were collected, processed and interpreted in seven lines in order to map active submarine faults which were used to propose a tectonic model for opening of the Gulf of Saros. Interpretation of the seismic sections and their correlation with the geological, morphological and earthquake data indicate that there are two main fault systems in the gulf: (i) strike-slip faults with normal components which bound the Saros trough in the north and south; and (ii) normal faults located within the trough. We propose that the Saros trough was first formed as a negative flower structure in response to the southward bending of the NAF zone possibly in Plio-Quaternary, then it evolved as a dilated negative flower structure as the Aegean extension intensified in late Pliocene–Quaternary.