Investigation of vertical mass changes in the south of Izmir (Turkey) by monitoring microgravity and GPS/GNSS methods

The monitoring of gravity changes in a region enables the investigation of regional structural elements depending upon the changes in load compensation. This method, preferred in recent years, has yielded good results from different parts of the world for determination of the deformation at fields. With the addition of GPS/GNSS monitoring to microgravity studies, the mass changes within the crust in vertical directional movements of a region can be estimated. During GPS/GNSS monitoring and microgravity studies, it was found that the behaviour of vertical directions of Izmir and the surrounding areas, indicate an active tectonic regime and high seismic activity, especially since 2000. As a result, regions considered to have a mass change in vertical direction were determined by 3-year measurements and it was found that they were consistently highly seismic.