36Cl analysis of bedrock fault scarps in central Italy and western Turkey

There are two major aims in my thesis. The first is primarily a methodological focus. Cosmgenic istope dating of bedrock normal fault scarps is being increasingly used to determine slip rates on normal faults. These slip rates often form the basis of geodynamic and seismic hazard models, however it has not been determined that it is a consistent method for measuring slip rate. I aim to test whether it is a robust technique for determining slip rate by cosmogenic isotope; investigating the reproducibility of the method at multiple sites along a single fault. This will provide greater confidence in the method. I have chosen to undertake this study in the central Italian Apennines, because there it has the highest concentration of existing 36Cl fault scarp studies, which I can integrate with my studies. To understand how fault networks behave requires information on their slip rates, and by determining slip rates on faults that are next to each other, I may gain insight into how faults are interacting over millennial timescales. Quaternary slip rates on faults in western Turkey are not constrained in many areas, and it is one of the most rapidly extending regions on earth. I aim to determine slip rates on some of these normal faults using cosmogenic isotope dating of limestone fault scarps, and see what information this can provide on how faults are interacting in the region. I have chosen to work in the Mugla-Yatagan basin because no Quaternary slip rates have been determined on the faults which lie close to a major city, and the close proximity of 3 faults may provide insight into how faults interact over km scales. Finally there are also appropriate sample sites on each of the major faults, allowing the 36Cl fault scarp dating method to be used.