The target fault is particularly suitable for a number of different reasons.
First strike-slip faulting is more suitable than normal or reverse faulting. The latter is mechanically more complex because of a high level of segmentation and heterogeneous arrangements of faults that are thus subject to multiple stress interactions.
Second the rapid deformation rate of the North Anatolian Fault (about 20 mm/yr) favors a relatively short recurrence time between major earthquakes, which is necessary to be able to obtain a record of a significant number of seismic cycles.
Third this plate-boundary has a unique structural simplicity, forming east of 900 km long structure accommodating most of the plate strain.
Finally the fault simple kinematics further favors a straightforward loading history and may explain why strain release on this fault occurred abruptly in clustering
To get deeper insights in the mechanisms at work during the seismic cycle, we propose to establish the seismic history over the last 2000 years of the North Anatolian fault (NAF).