摘要：Linking of normal faults forms at all scales as a relay ramp during growth stages and represents the most efficient way for faults to lengthen during their progressive formation. Here, I study the linking of normal faulting along the active Kırkağaç Fault Zone within the west Anatolian extensional system to reconstruct fault interaction in time and space using both field- and computer-based data. I find that (i) connecting of the relay zone/ramp occurred with two breaching faults of different generations and that (ii) the propagation was facilitated by the presence of pre-existing structures, inherited from the İzmir-Balıkesir transfer zone. Hence, the linkage cannot be compared directly to a simple fault growth model. Therefore, I propose a combined scenario of both hangingwall and footwall fault propagation mechanisms that explain the present-day geometry of the composite fault line. The computer-based analyses show that the approximate slip rate is 0.38 mm/year during the Quaternary, and a NE–SW-directed extension is mainly responsible for the recent faulting along the Kırkağaç Fault Zone. The proposed structural scenario also highlights the active fault termination and should be considered in future seismic hazard assessments for the region that includes densely populated settlements.
关键词：normal fault; relay ramp; paleostress inversion; the Kırkağaç Fault Zone; western Anatolia
