A recently shared tweet depicting volcanic activity on Kuşkayası mountain in the Göksun district of Kahramanmaraş caused excitement and raised many questions. It seems that after a pair of devastating 7.7 and 7.6 magnitude earthquakes hit southern Türkiye, unusual geological activities have been observed in the country.
One of the instances was at Balıklıgöl, popularly known as the "Pool of the Prophet Abraham." The popular tourist spot in Şanlıurfa mysteriously changed color after the deadly quakes. Also, a few meters of movement along the fault lines moved Anatolia by 3 meters (10 feet), and now the curious natural phenomenon on Kuşkayası mountain. The volcanic activity claims on the mountain have not only disturbed the public but also created a wave of tension.
To investigate the disturbing claim, geoscientists from Dokuz Eylul University (DEU), including Earthquake Research and Application Center (DAUM) director and Geological Engineering Department lecturer Hasan Sözbilir; Afyon Kocatepe University Earthquake Application and Research Center director Çağlar Özkaymak; DEÜ-DAUM lecturer Özkan Cevdet Özdağ and Eskişehir Osmangazi University faculty member Volkan Karabacak paid a visit to the region. The geoscientist delegation and Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD) teams reached the area via military helicopter and carried out investigations.
Regarding the disturbing images, Ercan said: "There is a thick crust of about 41 kilometers (25 miles) here at the junction of the eastern belt. This particular instance is the result of back-to-back quakes that hit the East Anatolian Fault with magnitudes of 7.7. and 7.6."
"Approximately, 41 kilometers below the surface, a stone slurry of nearly 2,200 degrees Celsius (3,992 degrees Fahrenheit) erupted with a force and pressure of 250 kilobars via an opening and turned into ash. Pushing the mud in front of it, it started to flow from the foot of the mountain at a speed of about 40-60 kph. That heat, mud, black stone and basalt are what we refer to as lava and volcano ash. After rising to the surface, the lava-basalt solidified in the opening and blocked that particular fissure. This activity will not reoccur," he explained.
"Such small eruptions can be seen at other locations. They are often results of the discharge of energy with the formation of cracks," he added, also noting that the occurrence could have killed many if it were close to settlements.
"There is no volcanic activity in the region," Özkaymak affirmed.
Sözbilir said, "Right after the earthquake, limestone fell down the hill, causing a minor landslide."
Confirming his companions' conclusions, earthquake specialist Naci Görür also added that the assumptions were untrue and said, "The geology of the region is not compatible with volcanic activity, and it may have been a landslide-related complication."
