2021–2025 

PI: Oğuz H Göğüş (Istanbul Technical University) | goguso@itu.edu.tr 

Co-PIs: Taylor Schildgen (GFZ Potsdam), Andreas Fichtner (ETH Zürich), 

            Douwe Van Hinsbergen (Utrecht  University)

Objective 

The ANATEC coordinating committee was established under the International Lithosphere  Program (ILP) to synthesise and advance understanding of the tectonic and geodynamic  evolution of the Anatolian region — one of the world's most tectonically active and  geologically complex continental domains. The project brought together an international team  of geodynamic modellers, structural geologists, geophysicists, and geochronologists to  investigate the drivers of surface deformation, topographic change, lithospheric removal, and  seismicity across Anatolia and the broader Eastern Mediterranean, using a combination of  numerical and analogue modelling, seismic tomography, thermochronology, and geological  field observations.

Major Achievements

Over its five-year duration (2021–2025), ANATEC produced more than 10 peer-reviewed  publications in high-impact international journals. Key achievements include: the quantitative  modelling of drip tectonics as a driver of rapid basin subsidence in Central Anatolia (Konya  Basin); the first geodynamic model demonstrating how double-slab subduction controlled the  uplift timing and magnitude of the East Anatolian Plateau; new constraints on the formation of  western Anatolian metamorphic core complexes through crustal flow and low-angle normal  faulting in the Menderes Massif; and new insights into the stress patterns and fault mechanics  of the 2023 Kahramanmaraş earthquake doublet in Eastern Anatolia. 

ANATEC fostered a broad international collaborative network spanning institutions in Turkey,  Switzerland, Germany, the Netherlands, Canada, the United Kingdom, China, and Australia.  The project trained and supported several graduate students and postdoctoral researchers who  presented results at major international meetings including EGU and AGU annually. The ILP  funding (€20,000 total) has been dedicated to supporting early-career researchers in attending  international schools and conferences, with the first disbursement (500 Euro) in 2026  supporting an MSc student at Istanbul Technical University to attend the International School  on Drones and VR for Volcanotectonics in Italy.

Highlight 1: Crustal Flow and Core Complex Exhumation in Western Anatolia

Bodur, Ö., Göğüş, O.H., Brune, S., Uluocak, E.Ş., Glerum, A., Fichtner, A., Sözbilir, H.  (2023). Crustal flow driving twin domes exhumation and low-angle normal faulting in the  Menderes Massif of western Anatolia. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 619, 118309.  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.epsl.2023.118309 [pdf]

This study demonstrated that crustal flow — lateral ductile redistribution of lower-crustal  material — is the primary driver of twin metamorphic core complex (dome) exhumation in the  Menderes Massif of western Anatolia, accompanied by low-angle normal faulting. The work  was carried out in close collaboration with Andreas Fichtner (ETH Zürich), ANATEC co-PI,  whose seismic tomography constraints on crustal structure were integral to the model design  and validation. The results provide a unified geodynamic framework reconciling the structural  geology, thermochronology, and geophysical observations of western Anatolian extension.

Note: Figures from the cited publications to be attached by the PI. Further information and full publication list  available upon request.

Highlight 2: Drip Tectonics and Basin Formation in Central Anatolia

Andersen, J., Göğüş, O.H., Pysklywec, R.N., Şengül Uluocak, E., Santimano, T. (2024).  Multistage lithospheric drips control active basin formation within an uplifting orogenic  plateau. Nature Communications. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-024-52126-7 [pdf]

Using coupled analogue and numerical geodynamic models, this study demonstrated that  secondary lithospheric drip events — gravitational detachment of dense lower lithosphere — can drive rapid localised subsidence within an otherwise uplifting orogenic plateau. Applied to  the Konya Basin of Central Anatolia, the models reproduced the observed subsidence history  and provided a new mechanism for intraplate basin formation that does not require crustal  extension or faulting as the primary driver.

Highlight 3: Double Subduction and East Anatolian Plateau Uplift

Cetiner, U., van Hunen, J., Göğüş, O.H., Allen, M. (2025). How double-slab subduction shaped  the Eastern Anatolian Plateau: Insights from geodynamic models. Geology, v. 53, p. 837–841.  https://doi.org/10.1130/G53134.1 [pdf]

This study provided the first geodynamic model that quantitatively links the double-slab  subduction geometry (simultaneous subduction of the Neo-Tethyan and Arabian slabs) to the  timing and rate of surface uplift of the East Anatolian Plateau. The results reconcile longstanding discrepancies between geological and thermochronological uplift estimates and  demonstrate that slab dynamics — not just crustal thickening — are a primary driver of plateau  growth in collisional settings.