Active tectonics of western Kosovo: Insights from geomorphic and structural analyses

Year 2024, Volume: 173 Issue: 173, 153 - 173, 26.04.2024

Alper Gürbüz Astrit Shala Shemsi Mustafa Aytekin Erten

https://doi.org/10.19111/bulletinofmre.1186708

Abstract

Kosovo is located in a key position in the central-west part of the Balkans providing an opportunity to understand the far-field effects of distributed intracontinental deformation caused by the Aegean extension in the south and Adriatic compression in the west. It is also situated along the NE-SW trending Shkodër-Pejë transverse zone, where the Dinarides and Albanides-Hellenides orogenic belts are juxtaposed. While the instrumental seismicity of Kosovo indicates the activity of this fault zone and many others, the active faults in the country were not discussed in detail in the current literature. In this study, we analyzed both the geomorphic and structural features of major mountain front faults in western Kosovo (i.e., Pejë, Istog, Krojmir, and Prizren faults) to reveal the relative assessment of their activities and kinematic characters. Geomorphic and morphometric analyses of all the studied four different mountain fronts indicated high activity and tectonic uplift rates of over 0.5 mm/a. On the other hand, according to the collected kinematic data from the observed fault planes, the studied faults are mainly of normal character representing a dominance of NWSE- directed extension in western Kosovo, which is most probably caused by the rollback of the subducting slab in the Hellenic trench.

Keywords

Neotectonics, Extensional Tectonics, Shkodër-Pejë Fault Zone, Balkans, Southeast Europe.

Thanks

The authors are grateful to two reviewers for their constructive criticisms and to Dr. Ercan SANGU for suggestions on the kinematic analysis. The stress analysis results were obtained using Win-Tensor, a software developed by Dr. Damien DELVAUX, Royal Museum for Central Africa, Tervuren, Belgium

References

• Aliaj, Sh. 1988. Neotectonics and seismicity of Albania. Ph.D. Thesis, 265, Archive of Seismological Institute, Albanian.
• Aubouin, J., Blanchet, R., Cadet, J. P., Celet, P., Charvet, J., Chorowicz, J., Cousin, M., Rampnoux, J. P. 1970. Essai sur la géologie des Dinarides. Bulletin de la Société géologique de France 7(6), 1060-1095.
• Baker, C., Hatzfeld, D.L., Lyon-Caen, H., Papadimitriou, E., Rigo, A. 1997. Earthquake mechanisms of the Adriatic Sea and Western Greece: Implications for the oceanic subduction-continental collision transition. Geophysical Journal International 131(3), 556-594.
• Benetatos, C., Kiratzi, A. 2006. Finite-fault slip models for the 15 April 1979 (Mw 7.1) Montenegro earthquake and its strongest aftershock of 24 May 1979 (Mw 6.2). Tectonophysics 421 (1–2),129–143.
• Biermanns, P., Schmitz, B., Ustaszewski, K., Reicherter, K. 2019. Tectonic geomorphology and Quaternary landscape development in the Albania – Montenegro border region: an inventory. Geomorphology 326, 116–131.
• Biermanns, P., Schmitz, B., Mechernich, S., Weismüller, C., Onuzi, K., Ustaszewski, K., Reicherter, K. 2022. Aegean-style extensional deformation in the contractional southern Dinarides: incipient normal fault scarps in Montenegro. Solid Earth 13(6), 957-974.
• Bradley, K. E., Vassilakis, E., Hosa, A., Weiss, B. P. 2013. Segmentation of the Hel-lenides recorded by Pliocene initiation of clockwise block rotation in Central Greece. Earth Planet Science Letters 362, 6–19.
• Bull, W. B., McFadden, L. D. 1977. Tectonic geomorphology north and south of the Garlock Fault, California. Doehering, D. O. (Ed.). Geomorphology of Arid Regions. Binghamton, State University of New York, Proceedings of the 8th Annual Geomorphology Symposium Proceedings, 115- 138.
• Burchfiel, C. B., Nakov, R., Tzankov, T., Royden, L.H. 2000. Cenozoic extension in Bulgaria and northern Greece: the northern part of the Aegean extensional regime. Geological Society of London, Special Publications 173(1), 325-352.
• Burchfiel, B. C., King, R. W., Todosov, A., Kotzev, V., Durmurdzanov, N., Serafimovski, T., Nurce,B. 2006. GPS results for Macedonia and its importance for the tectonics of the Southern Balkan extensional regime. Tectonophysics 413(3-4), 239-248.
• Burchfiel, B. C., King, R. W., Nakov, R., Tzankov, T., Dumurdzanov, N., Todosov, A., Nurce, B. 2008. Patterns of Cenozoic Extensional Tectonism in the South Balkan Extensional System. In Earthquake Monitoring and Seismic Hazard Mitigation in Balkan Countries, Springer, Dordrecht. Cheng, Y., He, C., Rao, G., Yan, B., Lin, A., Hu, J., Yangli, L., Yao, Q. 2018. Geomorphological and structural characterization of the southern Weihe Graben, central China: Implications for fault segmentation. Tectonophysics 722, 11-24.
• Chiba, T., Kaneta, S. I., Suzuki, Y. 2008. Red relief image map: new visualization method for three dimensional data. The International Archives of the Photogrammetry, Remote Sensing and Spatial Information Sciences 37(B2), 1071-1076.
• D’Agostino, N., Avallone, A., Cheloni, D., D’Anastasio, E., Mantenuto, S., Selvaggi, G. 2008. Active tectonics of the Adriatic region from GPS and earthquake slip vectors. Journal of Geophysical Research 113(B12), B0940.
• D'Agostino, N., Métois, M., Koci, R., Duni, L., Kuka, N., Ganas, A., Georgiev, I., Jouanne, F., Kaludjerovic, N., Kandić, R. 2020. Active crustal deformation and rotations in the southwestern Balkans from continuous GPS measurements. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 539, 116246.
• D’Agostino, N., Copley, A., Jackson, J., Koçi, R., Hajrullai, A., Duni, L., Kuka, N. 2022. Active tectonics and fault evolution in the Western Balkans. Geophysical Journal International 231(3), 2102-2126.
• Delvaux, D., Sperner, B. 2003. Stress tensor inversion from fault kinematic indicators and focal mechanism data: the TENSOR program. Nieuwland, D. (Ed.). New Insights into Structural Interpretation and Modelling. Geological Society of London, Special Publications 212, 75-100.
• Dibiase, R. A., Whipple, K. X., Heimsath, A. M., Ouimet, W. B. 2010. Landscape form and millennial erosion rates in the San Gabriel Mountains, CA. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 289(1-2), 134-144.
• Dumurdzanov, N., Serafimovski, T., Burchfiel, B. C. 2005. Cenozoic tectonics of Macedonia and its relation to the South Balkan extensional regime. Geosphere 1(1), 1-22.
• Elezaj, Z. 2002. Seismotectonic characteristics of Kosovo as basis for its seismic zonation. Ph.D. Thesis, Prishtina, Kosovo (in Albanian).
• Elezaj, Z. 2009. Seismotectonic settings of Kosovo. Journal of International Environmental Application and Science 4(2), 167-176.
• Elezaj, Z. 2012. Late and young tectonics (Neotectonics) and seismicity of Kosovo. Journal of International Environmental Application and Science 7(4), 744-749.
• Elezaj, Z., Kodra, A. 2007. Gjeologjia e Kosovës. Univ. i Prishtinës, Fak. i Xehetarisë dhe Metalurgjisë Mitrovicë 293.
• El Hamdouni, R., Irigaray, C., Fernández, T., Chacón, J., Keller, E. A. 2008. Assessment of relative active tectonics, southwest border of the Sierra Nevada (southern Spain). Geomorphology 96(1-2), 150-173.
• Faccenna, C., Jolivet, L., Piromallo, C., Morelli, A. 2003. Subduction and the depth of convection in the Mediterranean mantle. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth 108(B2), 2099.
• Faccenna, C., Piromallo, C., Crespo-Blanc, A., Jolivet, L., Rossetti, F. 2004. Lateral slab deformation and the origin of the western Mediterranean arcs. Tectonics 23(1), TC1012.
• Flint, J. J. 1974. Stream gradient as a function of order, magnitude, and discharge. Water Resources Research, 10(5), 969-973.
• Han, Z., Li, X., Wang, N., Chen, G., Wang, X., Lu, H. 2017. Application of river longitudinal profile morphometrics to reveal the uplift of Lushan Mountain. Acta Geologica Sinica 91(5), 1644–1652.
• Handy, M. R., Ustaszewski, K., Kissling, E. 2015. Reconstructing the Alps–Carpathians–Dinarides as a key to understanding switches in subduction polarity, slab gaps and surface motion. International Journal of Earth Sciences 104(1), 1-26.
• Handy, M. R., Giese, J., Schmid, S. M., Pleuger, J., Spakman, W., Onuzi, K., Ustaszewski, K. 2019. Coupled crust-mantle response to slab tearing, bending, and rollback along the Dinaride-Hellenide orogen. Tectonics 38(8), 2803-2828.
• Hare, P. W., Gardner, T. W. 1985. Geomorphic indicators of vertical neotectonism along converging plate margins, Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica. Tectonic Geomorphology 4, 75-104.
• Harlin, J. M. 1978. Statistical moments of the hypsometric curve and its density function. Journal of the International Association for Mathematical Geology 10(1), 59-72.
• Hollenstein, C., Müller, M.D., Geiger, A., Kahle, H. G. 2008. Crustal motion and deformation in Greece from a decade of GPS measurements, 1993–2003. Tectonophysics 449(1-4), 17-40.
• Jouanne, F., Mugnier, J. L., Koçi. R., Bushati., S., Matev, K., Kuka, N., Shinko, I., Koçiaj, S., Duni, L. 2012. GPS constrains on current tectonics of Albania. Tectonophysics 554-557, 50-62.
• Keller, E. A. 1986. Investigation of active tectonics: use of surficial Earth processes, In Wallace (Ed.). Active Tectonics, Studies in Geophysics, National Academy Press, Washington, DC, 136–147.
• Keller, E. A., Pinter N. 1996. Active Tectonics: Earthquakes, Uplift and Landscapes. Prentice Hall, New Jersey.
• Kirby, E., Whipple, K. X. 2012. Expression of active tectonics in erosional landscapes. Journal of Structural Geology 44, 54–75.
• Kissel, C., Laj, C. 1988. The tertiary geodynamical evolution of the Aegean arc: a paleomagnetic reconstruction. Tectonophysics 146, 183–201.
• Kissel, C., Speranza, F., Milicevic, V. 1995. Paleomagnetism of external southern and central Dinarides and northern Albanides: implications for the Cenozoic activity of the Scutari-Pec transverse zone. Journal of Geophysical Research, Solid Earth (1978–2012)100 (100), 14999–15007.
• Kothyari, G. C., Kotlia, B. S., Talukdar, R., Pant, C .C., Joshi, M. 2020. Evidences of neotectonic activity along Goriganga river, higher central Kumaun Himalaya, India. Geological Journal 55(9), 6123- 6146.
• Kotzev, K., Nakov, R., Georgiev, T., Burchfiel, B., King, R. 2006. Crustal motion and strain accumulation in western Bulgaria. Tectonophysics 413, 127–145.
• KPMM. 2006. Geological map of Kosovo 1:200,000 scale. Komisioni i Pavarur për Miniera dhe Minerale, Prishtinë, Kosovo, 1 sheet.
• Le Pichon, X., Kreemer, C. 2010. The Miocene-to-present kinematic evolution of the Eastern Mediterranean and Middle East and its implications for dynamics. Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences 38, 323–351.
• Louvari, E., Kiratzi, A., Papazachos, B., Hatzidimitriou, P. 2001. Fault-plane solutions determined by waveform modeling confirm tectonic collision in the Eastern Adriatic. Pure Applied Geophysics 158, 1613–1637.
• Mayer, L. 1990. Introduction to Quantitative Geomorphology. Prentice Hall, Englewood, Cliffs, NJ.
• McClusky, S., Balassanian, S., Barka, A., Demir, C., Ergintav, S., Georgiev, I., Gurkan, O., Hamburger, M., Hurst, K., Kahle, H., Kastens, K., Kekelidze, G., King, R., Kotzev, V., Lenk, O., Mahmoud, S., Mishin, A., Nadariya, M., Ouzounis, A., Paradissis, D., Peter, Y., Prilepin, M., Reilinger, R., Sanli, I., Seeger, H., Tealeb, A., Toksöz, M.N., Veis, G. 2000. Global positioning system constraints on plate kinematics and dynamics in the eastern Mediterranean and Caucasus. Journal of Geophysical Research and Solid Earth 105, 5695–5719.
• Métois, M., D’Agostino, N., Avallone, A., Chamot-Rooke, N., Rabaute, A., Duni, L., Kuka, N., Koci, R., Georgiev, I. 2015. Insights on continental collisional processes from GPS data: dynamics of the peri-Adriatic belts. Journal of Geophysical Research and Solid Earth 120, 8701–8719.
• Muço, B. 1998. Catalogue of ML 3,0 earthquakes in Albania from 1976 to 1995 and distribution of 25 seismic energy released. Tectonophysics 292, 311–319.
• Muço, B., Alexiev, G., Aliaj, S., Elezi, Z., Grecu, B., Mandrescu, N., Milutinovic, Z., Radulian, M., Ranguelov, B., Shkupi, D. 2012. Geohazards assessment and mapping of some Balkan countries. Natural Hazards 64(2), 943-981.
• Mustafa, S. 2016. Characteristic of the tectonic, seismicity, active faults and earth crust model, as basis for generation of synthetic accelerograms. PhD Thesis, “Ss. Cyril and Methodius” University in Skopje, Institute of Earthquake Engineering and Engineering Seismology – Skopje Republic of Macedonia, 193 p.
• Mustafa, S., Krelani, V., Beqiri, L., Sinani, B. 2020. Seismic activity and essential seismological characteristics of the Kosovo territory. UBT International Conference 242.
• Nocquet, J. M. 2012. Present-day kinematics of the Mediterranean: a comprehensive overview of GPS results. Tectonophysics 579, 220–242.
• Orana, Xh., Arsovski, M., Mihailov, V. 1985. The seismotectonic features of Kosovo. IZIIS, Skopje (in Macedonian).
• Papa, A., Hyseni, A., Leci, V., Prence J. 1991. Pasqyrini istilit tektonik tè Albanideve tè Jashtne nè molasèn er.rltèsirès pranadtrietike. Bu.l. Sbken. Gjeol. 1, 197-206.
• Papadopoulos, G. A., Agalos, A., Carydis, P., Lekkas, E., Mavroulis, S., Triantafyllou, I. 2020. The 26 November 2019 Mw 6.4 Albania Destructive Earthquake. Seismological Society of America 91(6), 3129-3138.
• Pike, R. J., Wilson, S. E. 1971. Elevation–relief ratio, hypsometric integral, and geomorphic area- altitude analysis. Geological Society of America Bulletin 82, 1079–1084.
• Ramírez-Herrera, M. T. 1998. Geomorphic assessment of active tectonics in the Acambay Graben, Mexican volcanic belt. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms 23(4), 317-332.
• Reilinger, R .E., McClusky, S. C., Oral, M. B., King, R. W., Toksöz, M .N. 1997. Global positioning system measurements of present-day crustal movements in the Arabia–Africa–Eurasia plate collision zone. Journal of Geophysical Research 102, 9983–9999.
• Reilinger, R, McClusky, S., Vernant, P., Lawrence, S., Ergintav, S., Cakmak, R., Özener, H., Kadirov, F.,Guliev, İ., Stepanyan, R., Nadariya, Hahubia, G., Mahmoud, S K. Sakr, ArRajehi, A., Paradissis,D., A. Al-Aydrus, A., Prilepin, M., Guseva, T., Evren, E., Dmitrotsa, A., Filikov, S. V., Gomez, F., Al-Ghazzi,R., Karam, G. 2006. GPS constraints on continental deformation in the Africa-Arabia-Eurasia continental collision zone and implications for the dynamics of plate interactions. Journal of Geophysical Research 111, B05411.
• Rockwell, T. K., Keller, E. A., Johnson, D. L. 1985. Tectonic geomorphology of alluvial fans and mountain fronts near Ventura, California. In: Morisawa, M. (Ed.). Tectonic Geomorphology. Proceedings of the 15th Annual Geomorphology Symposium. Allen and Unwin Publishers, Boston, MA, 183– 207.
• Schmid, S. M., Fügenschuh, B., Kounov, A., Maţenco, L.,Nievergelt, P., Oberhänsli, R., ... van Hinsbergen,D. J. 2020. Tectonic units of the Alpine collision zone between Eastern Alps and western Turkey. Gondwana Research 78, 308-374.
• Schmitz, B., Biermanns, P., Hinsch, R., Ðaković, M., Onuzi, K., Reicherter, K., Ustaszewski, K. 2020. Ongoing shortening in the Dinarides fold-and-thrust belt: A new structural model of the 1979 (Mw 7.1) Montenegro earthquake epicentral region. Journal of Structural Geology 141, 104192.
• Silva, P. G., Goy, J. L., Zazo, C., Bardajı, T. 2003. Fault- generated mountain fronts in southeast Spain: geomorphologic assessment of tectonic and seismic activity. Geomorphology 50(1-3), 203-225.
• Snyder, N. P., Whipple, K. X., Tucker, G. E., Merritts, D.J. 2000. Landscape response to tectonic forcing: DEM analysis of stream profiles in the Mendocino triple junction region, northern California. Geological Society of America Bulletin 112(8), 1250 – 1263.
• Speranza, F., Islami, I., Kissel, C., Hyseni, A. 1995. Paleomagnetic evidence for Ceno-zoic clockwise rotation of the external Albanides. Earth Planet of Science Letters 129, 121–134.
• Strahler, A. N. 1952. Hypsometric (area-altitude) analysis of erosional topography. The Geological Society of America Bulletin 63(11), 1117-1142.
• Sulstarova, E., Aliaj Sh. 2001. Seismic hazard assessment in Albania. In: Muço, B., Fuga, P. (Ed.). Albanian 172 Journal of Natural and Technical Sciences X, 89–101.
• Sukhishvili, L., Forte, A. M., Merebashvili, G., Leonard, J., Whipple, K. X., Javakhishvili, Z., Heimsath, A., Godoladze, T. 2021. Active deformation and Plio- Pleistocene fluvial reorganization of the western Kura fold–thrust belt, Georgia: implications for the evolution of the Greater Caucasus Mountains. Geological Magazine 158(4), 583-597.
• Sun, L., Mann, P. 2021. Along-Strike Rapid Structural and Geomorphic Transition From Transpression to Strike-Slip to Transtension Related to Active Microplate Rotation, Papua New Guinea. Frontiers in Earth Scienc, 9, 652352.
• Taymaz, T., Jackson, J., Westaway, R. 1990. Earthquake mechanisms in the Hellenic Trench near Crete. Geophysical Journal of International 102, 695–731.
• Ulusoy, İ., Diker, C., Şen, E., Aydın, E., Akkaş, E., Gümüş, E., ... Erkut, V., 2020. Surface expressions of morphostructural features at Hasandağ stratovolcano on DEM datasets. Mediterranean Geoscience Reviews, 1-17.
• Wells, D. L., Coppersmith, K. J. 1994. New empirical relationships among magnitude, rupture length, rupture width, rupture area, and surface displacement. Bulletin of the Seismological Society of America 84(4), 974-1002.
• Whipple, K. X. 2004. Bedrock rivers and the geomorphology of active orogens. Annual Revision Earth Planet of Science, 32, 151-185.
• Wobus, C., Whipple, K. X., Kirby, E., Snyder, N., Johnson, J., Spyropolou, K., Crosby, B., Sheehan, D. 2006. Tectonics from topography: Procedures, promise, and pitfalls. In: Willett, S. D., Hovius, N., Brandon, M. T., Fisher, D. M.(Ed.). Tectonics, Climate, and Landscape Evolution, 55–74. Geological Society of America.
• van Hinsbergen, D., Langereis, C., Meulenkamp, J. 2005. Revision of the timing magnitude and distribution of Neogene rotations in the western Aegean region. Tectonophysics 396, 1–34.
• Yao, W., Liu-Zeng, J., Oskin, M. E., Wang, W., Li, Z., Prush, V., ... Klinger, Y. 2019. Reevaluation of the late Pleistocene slip rate of the Haiyuan fault near Songshan, Gansu Province, China. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth 124(5), 5217-5240.
• Yokoyama, R., Shirasawa, M., Pike, R. J. 2002. Visualizing topography by openness: a new application of image processing to digital elevation models. Photogrammetric Engineering and Remote Sensing 68(3), 257-266.