Scientists Were Wrong. Turkey’s Crust Is Tearing Apart

By studying ancient lava flows that fractured over Turkey’s Tuz Gölü Fault, researchers at Curtin University have uncovered new evidence of how continents slowly tear apart.

Studying ancient lava flows that hardened and later fractured along a vast fault in Turkey has offered scientists new clues about how continents shift over time, enhancing our understanding of potential earthquake hazards.

Researchers from Curtin University discovered that the Tuz Gölü Fault Zone, a geological feature extending more than 200 kilometers and visible from space, is gradually widening. This slow separation provides a rare opportunity to observe the forces that shape the Earth’s crust where tectonic plates meet.

Lead author Professor Axel Schmitt, from Curtin’s John de Laeter Centre and School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, explained that the findings resolve a long-standing question about how the fault moves. The results mark an important advance for both evaluating seismic risks and refining global models that describe how continents deform.

“While Turkey is well known for its earthquake-prone strike-slip faults, this study confirms for the first time that the Tuz Gölü Fault is an extensional fault, meaning the land on either side is moving away from each other, rather than sliding sideways as was previously thought,” Professor Schmitt said.

Reconstructing Ancient Lava Flows

“Several lava flows from Hasandağ volcano flowed over the fault and cooled, and then were broken apart by earthquakes. We were able to reconstruct their original shape and determine their age. This allowed us to track how rocks that were once connected have shifted apart over time.

“Our findings unambiguously reveal the fault is pulling apart at a rate of about one millimeter per year, rather than shifting sideways. Understanding these movements is crucial not just for assessing volcanic and earthquake threats but also for improving global models of continental deformation.”

The research team applied advanced scientific methods, combining remote sensing data with analyses from the John de Laeter Centre’s ion microprobe and helium dating at the Western Australia ThermoChronology Hub (WATCH) Facility. These tools allowed them to determine the exact ages of the lava flows and measure how far they had shifted over thousands of years.

Curtin co-author Associate Professor Martin Danišík, from the John de Laeter Centre, explained that minute zircon crystals within the lava served as natural geological timekeepers. These crystals trapped helium generated by the radioactive decay of trace amounts of uranium and thorium, preserving a record of the lava’s history.

“By measuring uranium, thorium, and helium in zircon, we can accurately determine when the lava flows erupted, spilled across the fault, and subsequently cooled,” Associate Professor Danišík said.

Uncovering Hidden Movements in the Landscape

Curtin co-author and remote sensing expert Janet Harvey, also from the John de Laeter Centre, said that since earthquakes on the Tuz Gölü Fault occur less frequently than those on the fast-moving plate boundary faults in northern and eastern Turkey, landscape deformation studies like this provide data that the modern seismic record alone cannot.

“The fault sits at a key location where the Eurasian, Arabian, and African plates are all interacting,” Ms Harvey said.

“Studying its movements helps us understand how strain is distributed when continents collide – insights that can be applied elsewhere along the Alpine-Himalayan mountain belt and to other continental deformation zones around the world.

“This research highlights the importance of revisiting long-held geological assumptions and using modern techniques to precisely measure how continents respond to the immense pressures of tectonic collisions.”

Reference: “Pure dip-slip along the Tuz Gölü Fault Zone accommodates east-west extension of Central Anatolia” by Gülin Gençoğlu Korkmaz, Janet C. Harvey, Martin Danišík, Lindsay M. Schoenbohm and Axel K. Schmitt, 30 April 2025, Communications Earth & Environment.
DOI: 10.1038/s43247-025-02192-6

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