| Anatolian sub-plate | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | Micro |
| Movement1 | South-west |
| Speed1 | 21 mm/year |
| Features | Anatolia |
| 1Relative to theAfrican plate | |
TheAnatolian plate is acontinentaltectonic plate lying under Asiatic part ofTurkey, known asAnatolia. Most of the country of Turkey is located on the Anatolian plate.[1] The plate is separated from theEurasian plate and theArabian plate by theNorth Anatolian Fault and theEast Anatolian Fault respectively. According to theAmerican Museum of Natural History, the Anatolian transform fault system is "probably the most active in the world".[2]
Most significant earthquakes in the region have historically occurred along the northern fault, such as the1939 Erzincan earthquake. The northern edge is atransform boundary with the Eurasian plate, forming the North Anatolian Fault zone (NAFZ). The East Anatolian Fault, a left lateraltransform fault, forms a boundary with the Arabian plate.[3] The devastating2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes occurred along the active East Anatolian Fault at astrike-slip fault where the Arabian plate is sliding past the Anatolian plate horizontally.[4][5]
To the south and southwest is aconvergent boundary with the African plate. This convergence manifests in compressive features within the oceanic crust beneath theMediterranean as well as within thecontinental crust of Anatolia itself, and also by what are generally considered to besubduction zones along theHellenic andCyprus arcs.
In some references, the Anatolian plate is referred to as a "block" or "sub-plate"[6][7] of continental crust still coupled to the Eurasian plate, but studies of the North Anatolian Fault indicate that Anatolia is de-coupled from the Eurasian plate.[8] Studies collecting and interpretingGPS data from this region show that the Arabian plate and Anatolian sub-plate are both being rotated counterclockwise.[9] Additionally, the Anatolian plate's velocity increases towards the Hellenic and Cyprus trenches along the African-Eurasian subduction zone, moving at higher speeds than the Arabian plate. These observations, along with the absence of crustal shortening in the Anatolian plate normal to Arabian plate movement, indicate that suction from the African plate subducting and rolling back beneath the Anatolian plate is primarily responsible for the west/southwest movement of the Anatolian plate and the counterclockwise rotation of the region.[9]
Previously, the crust under theAegean Sea was described as a part of the Anatolian plate, and the different directions of motion were explained as the plate rotating counterclockwise (see above). Further measurements found that motion of the Aegean region differed from the previous model, so the Anatolian andAegean Sea plate are now considered distinct from each other.[10]
The Anatolian tectonic block (sub-plate) is being affected by converging plate movements that occur between the Arabian-African and Eurasian plate. As a result of this collision, the North Anatolian (NAF) and East Anatolian (EAF) transform faults have been formed. The Anatolian sub-plate is bounded to the north and east by these faults. The impingement started to move the sub-plate westward and resulted compression and uplifts near the Karlıova triple junction in the Eastern Anatolia. As a result of anti-clockwise rotational movement of the Anatolian sub-plate in a westward direction four different neotectonic regions have been formed namely: (1) East Anatolian compressional region, (2) North Anatolian region, (3) Central Anatolian 'ova' region and (4) West Anatolian extensional region.
Media related toAnatolian tectonic plate at Wikimedia Commons
