Seismic, Field, and Remote Sensing Analysis of the 13 February 2024 Çöpler Gold Mine Landslide, Erzincan, Türkiye
A massive landslide (1–1.2 Mm3) struck the Çöpler Gold Mine in Erzincan, Türkiye, on 13 February 2024 (∼11:30:10 UTC), and killed nine buried miners under a heap leach pad. The landslide was recorded at seismic stations up to 400 km away, with two distinct pulses 48 s apart. These pulses were analy...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Seismological Society of America
2025-05-01
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| Series: | The Seismic Record |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1785/0320250007 |
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| author | Pınar Büyükakpınar Angela Cristina Carrillo-Ponce Muhammad Badar Munir Ezgi Karasözen Hakan Tanyas Deniz Ertuncay Athul Palliath Tolga Gorum |
| author_facet | Pınar Büyükakpınar Angela Cristina Carrillo-Ponce Muhammad Badar Munir Ezgi Karasözen Hakan Tanyas Deniz Ertuncay Athul Palliath Tolga Gorum |
| author_sort | Pınar Büyükakpınar |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | A massive landslide (1–1.2 Mm3) struck the Çöpler Gold Mine in Erzincan, Türkiye, on 13 February 2024 (∼11:30:10 UTC), and killed nine buried miners under a heap leach pad. The landslide was recorded at seismic stations up to 400 km away, with two distinct pulses 48 s apart. These pulses were analyzed using a single-force model with Bayesian bootstrap-based probabilistic inversion, providing insight into the complex forces driving the landslide. This landslide consisted of two mass movements: (F1) westward detachment on a steep slope and (F2) north-northeast movement on a gentler slope, with significant impacts consistent with field observations and optical imagery. Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar detected continuous slow deformation over four years at mean rates of up to 60 mm/yr. The cyanide leach pond exhibits critical 85 mm/yr deformation with the risk of environmental contamination because it contains poisonous waste and is located close to the Euphrates River. This study stresses that seismological monitoring and infrastructure resilience are crucial factors in active mining areas. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-280d2d10c79f46e4b765a8097722c34c |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2694-4006 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | Seismological Society of America |
| record_format | Article |
| series | The Seismic Record |
| spelling | doaj-art-280d2d10c79f46e4b765a8097722c34c2025-08-20T02:36:58ZengSeismological Society of AmericaThe Seismic Record2694-40062025-05-015216517410.1785/032025000725007Seismic, Field, and Remote Sensing Analysis of the 13 February 2024 Çöpler Gold Mine Landslide, Erzincan, TürkiyePınar Büyükakpınar0https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8461-674XAngela Cristina Carrillo-Ponce1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9720-7467Muhammad Badar Munir2https://orcid.org/0009-0002-1961-1883Ezgi Karasözen3https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1140-1427Hakan Tanyas4https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0609-2140Deniz Ertuncay5https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1404-4365Athul Palliath6Tolga Gorum7https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9407-7946GFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences, Potsdam, GermanyGFZ Helmholtz Centre for Geosciences, Potsdam, GermanyUniversity of Twente, Enschede, NetherlandsGeophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, Alaska, U.S.A.University of Twente, Enschede, NetherlandsNational Institute of Oceanography and Applied Geophysics - OGS, Trieste, ItalyCSIR National Geophysical Research Institute, Environmental Seismology, Hyderabad, IndiaIstanbul Technical University, Istanbul, TürkiyeA massive landslide (1–1.2 Mm3) struck the Çöpler Gold Mine in Erzincan, Türkiye, on 13 February 2024 (∼11:30:10 UTC), and killed nine buried miners under a heap leach pad. The landslide was recorded at seismic stations up to 400 km away, with two distinct pulses 48 s apart. These pulses were analyzed using a single-force model with Bayesian bootstrap-based probabilistic inversion, providing insight into the complex forces driving the landslide. This landslide consisted of two mass movements: (F1) westward detachment on a steep slope and (F2) north-northeast movement on a gentler slope, with significant impacts consistent with field observations and optical imagery. Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar detected continuous slow deformation over four years at mean rates of up to 60 mm/yr. The cyanide leach pond exhibits critical 85 mm/yr deformation with the risk of environmental contamination because it contains poisonous waste and is located close to the Euphrates River. This study stresses that seismological monitoring and infrastructure resilience are crucial factors in active mining areas.https://doi.org/10.1785/0320250007 |
| spellingShingle | Pınar Büyükakpınar Angela Cristina Carrillo-Ponce Muhammad Badar Munir Ezgi Karasözen Hakan Tanyas Deniz Ertuncay Athul Palliath Tolga Gorum Seismic, Field, and Remote Sensing Analysis of the 13 February 2024 Çöpler Gold Mine Landslide, Erzincan, Türkiye The Seismic Record |
| title | Seismic, Field, and Remote Sensing Analysis of the 13 February 2024 Çöpler Gold Mine Landslide, Erzincan, Türkiye |
| title_full | Seismic, Field, and Remote Sensing Analysis of the 13 February 2024 Çöpler Gold Mine Landslide, Erzincan, Türkiye |
| title_fullStr | Seismic, Field, and Remote Sensing Analysis of the 13 February 2024 Çöpler Gold Mine Landslide, Erzincan, Türkiye |
| title_full_unstemmed | Seismic, Field, and Remote Sensing Analysis of the 13 February 2024 Çöpler Gold Mine Landslide, Erzincan, Türkiye |
| title_short | Seismic, Field, and Remote Sensing Analysis of the 13 February 2024 Çöpler Gold Mine Landslide, Erzincan, Türkiye |
| title_sort | seismic field and remote sensing analysis of the 13 february 2024 copler gold mine landslide erzincan turkiye |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1785/0320250007 |
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