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Temporal and spatial variations in uplift from river-profile inversions at the Central Anatolian Plateau southern margin 2
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  • Simone Racano,
  • Taylor F Schildgen,
  • Domenico Cosentino,
  • Scott R Miller
Simone Racano
Helmholtz-Zentrum Potsdam

Corresponding Author:[email protected]

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Taylor F Schildgen
Helmholtz-Zentrum Potsdam
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Domenico Cosentino
Roma Tre University
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Scott R Miller
University of Utah
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Abstract

The Central Anatolian Plateau (CAP) southern margin experienced a strong uplift pulse with max. rates of 3.5 km/Myr during the Quaternary, based on marine sediments dated to the Middle Pleistocene that are now located at 1500 m.a.s.l. In geodynamically active areas, spatio-temporal variations in uplift can provide key insights into the processes responsible for the evolution of topography. Fluvial landscapes record elements that reflect temporal and spatial variations in rock uplift rates, such as the normalized river steepness index, which is affected by rock uplift rates, the erodibility of the underlying rock, and factors such as climate. Following the calibration of river profiles for an erosion coefficient value, which can be done using independent data (in our case, uplifted marine terraces), river profiles can be inverted for the uplift histories that created them. In our study, we demonstrate how it is possible to define the spatio-temporal uplift history of the CAP southern margin by quantitative analysis of multiple river profiles. Our results, which show a wave of rapid uplift propagating from west to east during the Quaternary and subsequent exponential decreases in uplift rates, provide support for Quaternary uplift being driven by tearing and break-off of the Cyprus slab.