This is an ongoing research project to understand the role of tectonic and climate on landslide dynamics in the Northern Margin of Anatolian Plateau. High Anatolian orographic margins have large variations in terms of topographic relief, precipitation and uplift rate. These variations lead to the dynamics of mass movements and surface runoff, which are the dominant geomorphological processes in ice-free mountain landscapes. This study presents results from a regional-scale inventory of 1290 large bedrock landslides (>1 km2) that allow the characterization of spatial distribution and landslide-dominated landscapes in the northern margins of the Anatolian Plateau.
Figure. Regional distribution of 1290 large bedrock landslides, and macro landforms of Turkey. (A) Macro landforms of Turkey. Macro landforms: Plains (1), Low (2) Mid-altitude plains (3), Lowlands (4), Rugged lowlands (5), Platforms (6), Low (7) and mid-alitude plateaus (8), High (9) and very high plateaus (10), Hills (11), Low (12) and mid-altitude mountains (13), High (14) and very high mountains (15).
(B) Landslide density map of the study area. The yellow and white line denotes CAP and EAP margins, respectively. (C) Relationship between mean local relief and landslide area (red diamonds with 1σ bars). Blue curve is sum of cumulative distributions of relief in northern margins of the plateau.
Highlights
- Nearly 80% of large bedrock landslides have occurred in a terrain with a mean hillslope relief of >1000 m in those three landslide-dominated landscapes.
- In addition to hillslope relief and steepness, lithotectonic differences largely control the abundance of landslides.
- The presence of these large landslides and the derived deposits in this dynamic terrain provide a unique opportunity for deciphering the past climatic and seismic events.
Publications related to this research:
Görüm, T. (2018). Tectonic, topographic and rock-type influences on large landslides at the northern margin of the Anatolian Plateau. Landslides. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10346-018-1097-7
Abstracts and presentations related to this research:
Görüm, T. (2018). The Interplay of Tectonic, Climate and Landslide Dynamics in the Northern Margin of Anatolian Plateau. TURQUA-2018.
Gorum, T. (2017, April). Large bedrock landslides clusters and geomorphological impacts along the northern margin of the Anatolian Plateau. In EGU General Assembly Conference Abstracts (Vol. 19, p. 3550).