13.02.2025 13:50
The discovery of a rift extending from southeastern Turkey to northwestern Iran has caused concern. Prof. Dr. Candan Gökçeoğlu, who made a statement on the matter, confirmed the research regarding the rifts formed in the Anatolian plate and stated that this situation is known. Gökçeoğlu said, "The Anatolian plate is moving southwestward at an average rate of about 2-2.5 centimeters."
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German scientists have discovered a massive crack stretching 1,500 kilometers from southeastern Turkey to northwestern Iran. The study's author, Dr. Renas Koshnaw, stated, "This plate continues to pull the region down. The crack spreads from Turkey towards Iraq, like a page torn from a calendar." Professor Jonas Kley from the University of Göttingen remarked, "Understanding what is happening in the Earth's crust is vital for potential earthquakes."
FIRST COMMENT FROM A TURKISH PROFESSOR Professor Dr. Candan Gökçeoğlu, a faculty member of the Department of City and Regional Planning at Cappadocia University, commented on the research regarding the cracks formed in the Anatolian plate, saying, "This is not new information that will affect our daily lives, change our earthquake hazard analyses, and alter our engineering designs."
ATTENTION DRAWN TO THE 1500 KM CRACK IN THE RESEARCH Gökçeoğlu, in a statement to AA, recalled that the research conducted by the University of Göttingen in Germany included findings that the Anatolian plate is separating from the Arabian plate by forming cracks, in the study of the 1,500-kilometer crack formation extending from Turkey to Iran.
Gökçeoğlu stated that he saw the research on social media and in the print media, and later examined the university's study, saying, "This is not new information that will affect our daily lives, change our earthquake hazard analyses, and alter our engineering designs."
"NOT A UNKNOWN THING" Gökçeoğlu pointed out that the fundamental study in this article was conducted on fault zones that have existed since very ancient periods, such as the Miocene era, in the basin in front of the northwestern Zagros. He stated:
"It is an important scientific study that explains and describes its formation in the Miocene period and the reasons for its formation. Of course, does it say something much newer in the context of the movements of the plates, especially in the main fault zones that cause these earthquakes? No. Because currently, the movements of the plates in the world are already being determined with satellite geodetic methods on a millimeter scale. We already know quite precisely how the African plate is moving, how the Arabian plate is moving, and how the Anatolian plate is moving, as well as the amounts and directions of these movements. The current tectonics of Anatolia is not an unknown thing."
"AN IMPORTANT SCIENTIFIC STUDY" Emphasizing that there are 4-5 main elements that constitute the current tectonics of the region, Gökçeoğlu said, "The region where the Arabian plate, which we call the Southeast Anatolia thrust, collides with the Anatolian plate. Again, the East Anatolian fault zone, the North Anatolian fault zone in the north, and our Horst graben systems in the Aegean are quite active and earthquake-producing faults. Therefore, apart from this, it is not new information that will affect our daily lives, change our earthquake hazard analyses, and thus alter our engineering designs or paradigms regarding engineering approaches. However, I should not be unfair; it is an important study from a scientific perspective."
"THE ANATOLIAN PLATE IS MOVING TOWARDS THE SOUTHWEST" Gökçeoğlu noted that geological processes are very long-term, stating:
"As humans, our average lifespan is 80 years, let’s say a maximum of 100-110 years. If you consider that the age of the Earth is 4.5 billion years, you see how small a thing a human is in 4.5 billion years, and when you look back at the universe, you realize how small the Earth is as well."
Gökçeoğlu expressed that such research is conducted through field studies, identifying active and passive geological structures and faults in the region, saying, "You collect samples from the field. You make some measurements in the field. You then combine these and obtain an interpretation from them. You arrive at an interpretation with the available data and say something from there. The thing that constitutes the potential earthquake in the region is already the movement of these plates, that is, the movement of the African plate to the north, the movement of the Arabian plate to the northwest, and the relatively static state of our Eurasian plate in the north, while the Anatolian plate, which is squeezed in between, has an average movement of about 2-2.5 centimeters towards the southwest, although it is variable. As long as these areas continue to move, this earthquake potential will continue." he stated.
THERE IS SERIOUS MAGMA ACTIVITY IN THE AEGEAN Recently addressing the earthquake storm in the Aegean Region, Gökçeoğlu provided the following information:
NACİ GÖRÜR HAD WARNED In Turkey, geologist Prof. Naci Görür had previously warned about this issue.
Görür pointed out the Bitlis-Zagros fault line, stating, "Plate movements can trigger major earthquakes. Cities must become more resilient." He emphasized that an earthquake occurring on the Bitlis-Zagros fault line could lead to a major disaster, especially in Diyarbakır, and that Diyarbakır needs to be made earthquake-resistant.
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