Linking of normal faults forms at all scales as a relay ramp during growth stages and represents the most efficient way for faults to lengthen during their progressive formation. Here, I study the linking of normal faulting along the active Kırkağaç Fault Zone within the west Anatolian extensional system to reconstruct fault interaction in time and space using both field- and computer-based data. I find that (i) connecting of the relay zone/ramp occurred with two breaching faults of different generations and that (ii) the propagation was facilitated by the presence of pre-existing structures, inherited from the İzmir-Balıkesir transfer zone. Hence, the linkage cannot be compared directly to a simple fault growth model. Therefore, I propose a combined scenario of both hangingwall and footwall fault propagation mechanisms that explain the present-day geometry of the composite fault line. The computer-based analyses show that the approximate slip rate is 0.38 mm/year during the Quaternary, and a NE–SW-directed extension is mainly responsible for the recent faulting along the Kırkağaç Fault Zone. The proposed structural scenario also highlights the active fault termination and should be considered in future seismic hazard assessments for the region that includes densely populated settlements.

中文翻译：

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正常断层连接和中继斜坡演化的现场证据：Kırkağaç 断层带，西部安纳托利亚（土耳其）

正常断层的连接在所有尺度上形成为生长阶段的接力斜坡，并且代表了断层在其渐进形成过程中延长的最有效方式。在这里，我研究了沿安纳托利亚西部伸展系统活动的 Kırkağaç 断裂带的正断层的连接，以使用基于现场和计算机的数据重建断层在时间和空间上的相互作用。我发现 (i) 中继区/斜坡的连接发生在不同世代的两个破坏断层上，并且 (ii) 传播是由于从 İzmir-Balıkesir 转移区继承的预先存在的结构的存在而促进的。因此，这种联系不能直接与简单的断层增长模型进行比较。所以，我提出了一种上盘和下盘断层传播机制的组合方案，以解释复合断层线的当今几何形状。基于计算机的分析表明，第四纪的滑动速率大约为 0.38 毫米/年，NE-SW 方向的延伸主要是造成最近沿 Kırkağaç 断裂带断裂的原因。拟议的结构方案还突出了活动断层的终止，并应在未来对包括人口稠密居民点的地区进行地震危险性评估时加以考虑。