Izmir Metropolitan Municipality, which has implemented Turkey's most comprehensive earthquake research and risk reduction projects, is investigating land and sea faults in an area of 100 kilometers radius. Taking samples by drilling 37 points along the İzmir coastline, experts will be able to reveal what kind of earthquake danger İzmir is facing.
Izmir Metropolitan Municipality continues its seismicity research on land and sea after the 30 October 2020 earthquake. The METU Marine Paleoseismology Research team is taking a core sample from the seabed, approximately 2,5 kilometers off Gümüldür, with the METU drilling platform. When the drilling works are completed, information about the earthquakes produced by the faults in the past will be obtained and experts will be able to make sound predictions about the earthquakes that the faults will produce in the future.
All faults on land and sea are being investigated
Banu Dayangaç, Head of Izmir Metropolitan Municipality Earthquake Risk Management and Urban Improvement Department, said that the research is one of the most important projects initiated to make Izmir a safe city and reduce disaster risks, and said, “Seismicity, tsunami and ground research studies continue within the scope of the project. With this project, we identify all disaster risks that may affect our city in the future. All faults on land and in the sea within a radius of 100 kilometers, which include Aydın and Manisa and which may affect İzmir in a possible earthquake, will be investigated. “This project covers a lot of research, from faults to landslides, from tsunamis to medical geology.”
Drilling at 37 points
Emphasizing the importance of drilling at 37 points in İzmir and Kuşadası Bay, Dayangaç said, “When the data to be obtained from the sea and the seismicity data on land are integrated, we will have understood and modeled the seismicity of İzmir in all its dimensions. We will also determine the measures to be taken against the earthquake risk," he said.
The history of the faults is being investigated
From the Marine Paleoseismology study team, Assoc. Dr. Reminding that there are many active faults around İzmir, Ulaş Avşar said, “Severe earthquake tremors leave some traces on the seafloor collapses. We find and date traces along the cores,” he said. Saying that the Avşar faults have the potential to produce earthquakes at certain intervals throughout history, “For example, the Tuzla fault may produce an earthquake every 500-600 years. If it produces an earthquake once in 600 years and its last earthquake was produced 500 years ago, we will make comments such as we can expect an earthquake on the Tuzla fault in the next 100 years or more. This project has many legs. With the results we have obtained, other analyzes, which we call seismic hazard analysis, can also be made much healthier and experts will be able to evaluate in a much healthier way what kind of earthquake danger İzmir is facing in the near future.”
Tsunamis will be dated
Ulaş Avşar, who explained that they will be working in İzmir Bay in the next stage, said: “There are important core locations here. We will try to understand exactly how much and on what dates the center of Izmir was subjected to tremors. Cores will be taken in Tuzla Dalyan and Çakalburnu Dalyan in Izmir Bay. We will try to find the old tsunami dates from these. We will date the tsunamis. The Aegean Sea has a geological structure that is very prone to tsunamis. But we don't have enough historical information. Where historical information is insufficient, we generally try to obtain geological records. When tsunami waves approach the shore, they bring material from the sea to a certain part of the shore. When we core the coastal areas, we can make dates about when ancient tsunamis brought material from the sea. Since tsunamis are also usually associated with faults, there is a regular recurrence interval predisposition. Thus, it will be possible to evaluate both earthquakes and tsunamis together. Our instructors who do seismic hazard analysis will be able to make very healthy comments.”
Completed at 2024
The seismicity study, involving 10 scientists and 43 specialist engineers from 18 universities, is expected to be completed in 2024. A protocol was signed with İzmir Institute of Technology, METU and Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University to conduct seismicity research in İzmir and to develop a soil behavior model.
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