TUBITAK, Turkey's leading institution in science and technology on the path to a Fully Independent Turkey with a focus on the National Technology Move, brought together all stakeholders in the field of earthquakes with a program organized at the Presidential Complex.
The earthquake research conducted by TÜBİTAK in partnership with stakeholder organizations was announced to the public at a ceremony attended by the Minister of Industry and Technology Mehmet Fatih Kacır. Deputy Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Abdullah Tancan, Deputy Minister of Interior Münir Karaloğlu, TÜBİTAK President Prof. Dr. Hasan Mandal, AFAD Governor Okay Memiş, MTA General Director Vedat Yanık, TBB President Yücel Yılmaz, university rectors and researchers attended the ceremony.
All relevant stakeholders came together at the presentation and signing ceremony of the Research Platform for Determining the Paleoseismological Characteristics of Turkey's Resilient Faults. In line with the needs of our country, the Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency, General Directorate of Mineral Research and Exploration as the client institutions, and expert researchers from universities joined forces with TÜBİTAK. Union of Municipalities of Turkey (UMT) also took part in the project as a facilitating institution.
"Although it is not possible to prevent an earthquake, we can minimize its destruction with approaches that prioritize science"
Speaking at the ceremony in the Presidential National Library, Minister of Industry and Technology Mehmet Fatih Kacır stated that they are making efforts to heal the wounds of the earthquakes centered in Kahramanmaraş and to return the cities to their old days and said, "Earthquake is a reality of our country, although it is not possible to prevent the earthquake, we can minimize the destruction it creates with approaches that prioritize science."
Kacır said that the different active fault lines that emerged as a result of the compression of Anatolia between the Eurasian plate to the north and the African and Arabian plates to the south made Turkey an important earthquake zone and that the country has experienced many earthquake disasters from the Istanbul earthquake in 1509 to the Kahramanmaraş earthquake on February 6.
Kacır said that after the earthquake centered in Kahramanmaraş, the Ministry took action in coordination with public institutions and organizations, especially AFAD and the Turkish Red Crescent, and industrialists.
Stating that they supported the investments in 65 districts heavily affected by the earthquake with the highest level of investment incentives, Kacır said that they issued incentive certificates for 481 investments worth 84 billion liras, which will create more than 25 thousand jobs.
Kacır stated that they deemed 1222 investment incentive certificates issued before the earthquake, but which could not continue their investments, as completed, and extended the duration of incentive certificates for 5,962 ongoing investments by 3 years without demand.
Stating that they have allocated 1.36 billion liras to 124 projects that will support the recovery of the earthquake region through development agencies and regional development administrations, Kacır gave information about the work in the earthquake region and the support they provide.
He also shared TÜBİTAK supports for earthquake victims after the earthquake: "We supported the R&D projects of our researchers with "BİNBİR ÇABA", we provided scholarships to nearly 2,500 students and researchers with the call "BİÇABA", we supported our companies located in the earthquake zone with "TEKNOÇABA", we alleviated the wounds of more than 50 thousand children with our "Science Everywhere" activities, we reunited our missing children with their relatives with the "DerinGÖRÜ Face Recognition System"."
"We will present earthquake scenarios that will affect residential areas"
Stating that they strive to heal the wounds of the earthquake and return the cities to their old days, Kacır said, "Earthquake is a reality of our country, although it is not possible to prevent earthquake, we can minimize the destruction it creates with approaches that prioritize science."
Stating that they have made significant progress since the 1999 Gölcük earthquake, Kacır said that there were days when the government of the time was helpless to reach Istanbul.
Kacir noted the following:
"Today, we have become a country that takes fast positions and brings the state together with its citizens. TUBITAK is one of our important institutions in achieving this position. With our TÜBİTAK-MAM Earth Sciences Research Group, we have carried out soil class determination and seismic hazard studies in various provinces in the last 20 years. In our work with local governments, we have completed projects to determine earthquake hazard and risk in Kocaeli, Istanbul, Yalova, Bursa, Balıkesir and Gaziantep."
Kacır stated that within the scope of the Post-Earthquake Emergency Observation Research (DEPAR) Project, they observed the seismological characteristics of fault lines after the earthquakes in Bodrum, Izmir, Niğde, Düzce and Kahramanmaraş, and that they will identify active fault lines to minimize the damages to residential areas against possible destructive earthquakes.
Pointing out that with the project, scientists will examine the paleoseismological characteristics of live faults in Turkey, Kacır gave the following information:
"With our scientists, we will present earthquake scenarios that may affect residential areas in the regions where live faults are located. Our scientists will determine the geometries of the faults, the recurrence periods of earthquakes, the dates of the last surface rupture, the slip rates and the average amount of slip in each earthquake. These data are critical in determining the estimated maximum earthquake magnitude that could occur under different scenarios. We expect to complete the analysis of 128 fault segments within 2 years. In the project to be carried out under the coordination of TÜBİTAK MAM, AFAD and MTA are the institutions in need, and the Union of Municipalities of Turkey is the organization that will encourage the implementation of the project results by local governments. 22 universities, including 14 project executors, will contribute to the project, which will consist of 19 work packages. The 115 million lira project will be financed by TÜBİTAK."
Stating that 100 researchers and 90 TÜBİTAK scholarship holders will take part in the project, which will be carried out in public-university cooperation, Kacır said that 40 of the scholarship holders are undergraduate students who are TÜBİTAK STAR scholarship holders.
Kacir made the following statements:
"The project will serve as a school for earthquake research in Turkey. Today, we will witness the results of the 'Project for Determining the Seismicity and Active Tectonic Properties of Faults in Kuşadası Bay with High Resolution Seafloor Measurements'. After the Izmir earthquake, we had the opportunity to make a detailed fault map of Kuşadası Bay with the work we carried out under the coordination of TÜBİTAK MAM. We have reached the geological traces of the earthquakes that have occurred in the region in history. In the light of the data we have obtained in the projects we carry out, we will overcome the earthquakes that may occur in the region with the least damage."
"We need to join forces in a responsible and science-based manner"
Prof. Dr. Hasan Mandal, President of TUBITAK, expressed his pleasure to hold such a meeting on the first day of Turkey's second century.
Pointing out that this meeting has become even more meaningful by reminding that three years have passed since the Izmir earthquake, Mandal said that he experienced the Elazığ Sivrice earthquake during his presidency and that he went to the field after that earthquake: "When I met with the researchers, they noted what kind of difficulties they experienced in the field. They told me that they had to go to the field immediately. Within 24 hours, we created a program that was supported. It was implemented in the Izmir earthquake. Then, after the February 6 earthquakes, 577 researchers went to the field and carried out 125 projects with TÜBİTAK support. Our researchers in the fields of earth sciences, construction, industry, health, history, sociology, social and human sciences mobilized. We organized a virtual conference on March 30, 2023, and we have now sent you a booklet containing the outputs of that conference and project summaries."
Noting that they held discussions on how we can be prepared for an earthquake, Mandal said, "I would like to thank AFAD and MTA for the expansion of our common platform, which was established after the Izmir earthquake. We need to join forces on a science-based basis within that responsibility. All our relevant universities are contributing 22 universities, including 14 executive universities."
"The work we will carry out will be a total exemplary work at the point of being resilient to disasters"
Platformun kurulma sürecini de paylaşan Mandal; “İlgili paydaşlarımız ve üniversitelerde araştırmacılarımızın bir araya geldiği bir platform oluşturma noktasında karar kılındı. Tabii ki Bakanlığımızın çok çok kuvvetli desteği söz konusu. Türkiye Belediyeler Birliği de buradan çıkacak sonuçların uygulayıcısı olacak. Biz araştırmacılarımız için gereğini yapacağız. Toplam 190 kişi yer alacak. TÜBİTAK tarafından yaklaşık 115 Milyon TL ile desteklenen proje bütçesinin %20’si AFAD tarafından eş finansman yoluyla karşılanacak. 128 fay segmentinin 51’i MTA tarafından kendi öz kaynakları ile karşılanacaktır.” diye konuştu.
Prof. Dr. Mandal said, "The work we will carry out will be a total exemplary work at the point of being resilient to disasters. We wish to spread the impact of this in other areas. This is how the Covid-19 platform was formed during the pandemic period. And it is still working. I think this platform will have an impact against disasters."
Paleoseismology-based studies will be conducted on live faults or fault segments
Paleoseismology-based studies will be carried out on prioritized live faults or fault segments, the geometries of live faults will be revealed, and the project aims to determine the recurrence periods, date the last surface rupture, obtain slip rate data, determine the average amount of slip in each earthquake, determine the estimated maximum earthquake magnitude that may occur, and determine the estimated maximum earthquake magnitude that may occur depending on multi-segment rupture scenarios.
Turkey Earthquake Hazard Map to be updated
With the outputs to be obtained as a result of the project, earthquake damages to residential areas against possible destructive earthquakes in regions with high population density will be minimized. This study, which will contribute to the development of databases of institutions, will be an important data source that can be used in updating the Earthquake Hazard Map of Turkey created by AFAD.
The scientific and technical data to be obtained at the end of the project will be an important guide for the relevant institutions in the planning of investment projects and settlement areas in our country, in the location selection of organized industrial zones, and in infrastructure projects such as transportation and energy transmission lines.
TÜBİTAK and AFAD increase cooperation
Another protocol was signed between TÜBİTAK and AFAD to increase the quality of scientific research, development and innovation projects in the field of disaster and emergency management, to contribute to the development of qualified human resources and projects, and to strengthen cooperation between the parties in the field of disaster management.
Unknown facts about Izmir earthquake come to light
The 3-year studies for the Izmir Earthquake were also made public. The project "Determination of the Seismicity and Active Tectonic Properties of Faults in the Gulf of Kuşadası by High Resolution Seafloor Measurements", which started as a TÜBİTAK internally supported project immediately after the earthquake, was completed.
The project, which is the first national marine research project carried out in both national and international waters in the Aegean Sea, was coordinated by TÜBİTAK Marmara Research Center (TÜBİTAK MAM), led by Istanbul Technical University and in partnership with Dokuz Eylül University, Istanbul University, Middle East Technical University and Boğaziçi University. Within the scope of the project, two science expeditions were organized between May and June in 2021 and 2022.
Prof. Dr. Gülsen Uçarkuş, who made the presentation on the subject, said, "With this study, a detailed fault map of Kuşadası Bay was prepared. We have reached the geological traces of earthquakes that have occurred in this region in history. "In the light of the data we have obtained in the projects we have carried out, we have examined the fault mechanisms in more depth and we will create our regional city planning with new information."
TUBITAK, pressing all the buttons with the awareness of Turkey's earthquake reality, has taken another big step towards reaching a solution with the approach of working together and achieving together in the fight against earthquakes.
