Unravelling the Pleistocene to Holocene earthquake chronology of the Seferihisar Fault, western Turkey: A comprehensive analysis using optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating and palaeoseismology

This study represents an inaugural comprehensive palaeoseismic investigation conducted on the Seferihisar Fault (SF), acknowledged as one of the foremost seismic sources exhibiting right-lateral strike-slip characteristics within the İzmir Province. Two palaeoseismological trenches were excavated to comprehend the Holocene seismotectonic dynamics of the SF. Subsequently, eight earthquake-related samples were obtained from the trench walls to ascertain the timing of past earthquakes utilizing luminescence dating, and earthquake recurrence intervals were interpreted using Bayesian statistics. The results of the proposed model indicate that the SF produced at least four significant surface-rupturing earthquakes in the last ∼46 kyr: E1: 46.26±15.39, E2: 16.20±5.21, E3: 5.95±1.17 and E4: 4.10±0.61 kyr. Compared with historical earthquakes, these events can be ascribed to late Pleistocene–Holocene seismic occurrences predating the recorded history. In addition, the results provide a recurrence interval for an earthquake along the SF between 4.5 and 23.5 kyr. These findings indicate that the time elapsed since the most recent surface faulting earthquake on the SF (with a minimum age of 4.10±0.61 kyr) is comparable to the theoretical recurrence interval of earthquakes, albeit requiring further investigation for refinement.