New geologic paleoseismological observations along the Acipayam−Serinhisar Fault zone, SW Anatolia

An earthquake of M = 5.6 occurred on the 20 March 2019 in Acipayam, Denizli has caused extensive damages of infrastructures, located in a seismically active area at the southwest Anatolian fault system, in Türkiye. The causative fault (Acipayam-Serinhisar fault zone) has not shown on the active fault map of Türkiye and it has been discovered first time by this study. Identification of active faults is vital for understanding the tectonic setting of the region, and to develop the safe urban planning. The earthquake occurred on the Acipayam segment of this fault zone, which is divided into two separate segments. Three trenches were excavated for paleoseismological studies on this segment. The charcoal samples collected from the trenched exposures were dated by radiocarbon method. The data proposed three seismic events, which caused a surface rupture, at BC 235 − 95, AD 1227 − 1263 and AD 1471 − 1738. Considering the last two seismic events, this fault segment produced two surface rupture earthquakes of magnitude 6.0 and 6.5, 350 years apart.