Plio-Quaternary kinematic development and paleostress pattern of the Edremit Basin, western Turkey

The Edremit Basin and Kazdağ High are the most prominent morphological features of the Biga Peninsula in northwest Anatolia. There is still no consensus on the formation of Edremit Basin and debates are on whether the basin evolved through a normal, a right-lateral or a left-lateral strike-slip faulting. In this study, the geometric, structural and kinematic characteristics of the Edremit Basin are investigated to make an analytical approach to this problem. The structural and kinematic features of the faults in the region are described according to field observations. These fault-slip data derived from the fault planes were analyzed to determine the paleostress pattern of faulting in the region. According to the performed analysis, the southern end of the Biga Peninsula is under the influence of the ENE-WSW-trending faults of the region, such as the Yenice-Gönen, the Edremit, the Pazarköy and the Havran-Balıkesir Fault Zones. The right step-over geometry and related extension caused to the development of the Edremit Basin as a transtensional pull-apart basin between the Havran-Balıkesir Fault Zone and the Edremit Fault Zone. Field observations showed that the Plio-Quaternary faults at the Edremit Gulf and adjacent areas are prominently right-lateral strike-slip faults. Our paleostress analyses suggest a dominant NE–SW extension in the study area, as well as NW–SE direction. This pattern indicates the major effects of the North Anatolian Fault System and the component of Aegean Extensional System in the region. However, our kinematic analysis represents the dominant signature of the North Anatolian Fault System in basin bounding faults. The field observations and kinematic findings of this study are also consistent with the regional GPS, paleomagnetic and seismological data. This study concludes that the North Anatolian Fault System is the prominent structure in the current morphotectonic framework of the Edremit Gulf and adjacent areas. •Edremit Basin has been opened due to the right stepover of two right lateral fault zones.•The Edremit Basin has typical geometry of transtensional pull-apart.•We perform fault-slip inversion of heterogeneous fault populations.•Two superposed local stress fields are detected.