The Fars Arc of the Zagros Mountains hosts around one hundred salt extrusions at different morphochronological stages (e.g., domes, salt fountains, salt droplets), being the best natural laboratory worldwide for the study of salt karst in active diapirs. A number of publications document the geomorphology and hydrology of salt fountains at a juvenile stage dominated by polygonal karst (holokarst) with internal drainage. However, studies on mature salt fountains and the associated long-term evolution remain lacking. This work characterises from the morpho-hydrological perspective the mature Mesijune salt fountain. This is the largest salt fountain in the region (137 km2, ca. 11,650 Mm3) showing: (1) a multidirectional salt glacier (i.e., namakier) around the summit dome; (2) a well-developed network of throughgoing radial valleys; (3) prevalence of external drainage (ca. 65%) and fluvial landscapes; (4) extensive caprock covers (ca. 58%) that record protracted periods of dissolutional weathering; and (5) abundant and diverse slope movements, including DSGSD. The application of an ergodic concept allows inferring the changes associated with the transition in salt fountains from a juvenile to a mature stage, mainly involving the replacement of polygonal karst areas into fluviokarst and fluvial landscapes. This major transformation implies the reduction in the number and density of sinkholes, and the increase in their clustering and the proportion of sinkholes acting as ponors. Landsliding plays a progressively greater morphogenetic role favoured by rapid fluvial erosion, and mechanical erosion prevails over dissolutional erosion. Mesijune can be ranked as a geosite of superlative value, representing a paradigmatic example of a mature salt fountain dominated by fluvial and fluviokarst landscapes.

From a global perspective, the basic mapping and investigation of the loess sinkholes are far less extensive and in-depth than those of karst sinkholes. To some extent, this has limited people's understanding of the morphological characteristics, development patterns, and formation mechanisms of the loess sinkholes. The Chinese Loess Plateau (CLP) features the most typical loess landforms in the world, where tens of thousands of loess sinkholes have developed. However, due to the lack of high-precision and high-resolution survey data, the identification, characterization, and quantification of sinkholes in the CLP are basically blank, which significantly hinders in-depth research on loess sinkholes. In this study, we investigated a typical watershed in the CLP using photogrammetry, airborne laser scanning, and a handheld laser scanner. Based on previous studies, this paper introduces indices and methods for the morphological quantification of loess sinkholes and constructs the first-ever dataset of loess sinkhole morphology containing 1194 records at the basin scale. On this basis, we completed the spatial mapping of loess sinkholes, analysis of distribution patterns, morphological analysis, size-frequency analysis, fitting analysis of different parameters, estimation of subsurface soil erosion, in-depth investigation of typical sinkholes, and quantification of the contributions of different factors to sinkhole development. These efforts provide rich information for a deeper understanding of the morphological characteristics and genesis of loess sinkholes and offer data support for comparative studies with sinkholes in other regions. More importantly, we preliminarily estimate that the subsurface soil erosion triggered by sinkholes in the study area reaches as high as 345 000 metric tons. This finding underscores that loess sinkholes are not only a geological disaster but also a serious form of soil loss, highlighting their undeniable significance in regional soil erosion studies and laying a solid foundation for subsequent research and disaster prevention efforts. Furthermore, we suggest that the integration of airborne laser scanning and handheld laser scanning may represent a new trend in the detailed investigation of sinkholes in the future. This dataset is available on the Zenodo platform (10.5281/zenodo.14000267, Hu et al., 2025).

Abstract. From the perspective of the world, the basic mapping and investigation of the loess sinkhole is far less extensive and in-depth than that of the karst sinkhole survey. To some extent, this hinders people’s understanding of the morphological characteristics, development rules, and formation mechanisms of the loess sinkholes. Chinese Loess Plateau (CLP) has the most typical loess landform in the world, and tens of thousands of loess sinkholes have developed. However, due to the lack of high-precision and high-resolution survey data, the identification, characterization, and quantification of sinkholes in the Loess Plateau are basically blank, which seriously hinders the in-depth study of loess sinkholes. We investigated a typical watershed on the Chinese Loess Plateau using photogrammetry, airborne laser scanning, and handheld laser scanner. Based on previous studies, this paper proposes indices and methods for the morphological quantification of loess sinkholes and constructs the first dataset of loess sinkhole morphology containing 1194 records at the basin scale. On this basis, we completed the spatial mapping of loess sinkholes, analysis of distribution patterns, morphological analysis, size-frequency analysis, fitting analysis of different parameters, estimation of subsurface soil erosion, in-depth investigation of typical sinkholes, and quantification of the contributions of different factors to sinkhole development. These efforts provide rich information for a deeper understanding of the morphological characteristics and causes of loess sinkholes and offer data support for comparative studies with sinkholes in other regions. More critically, we preliminarily assessed that the subsurface soil erosion triggered by sinkholes in the study area amounts to as high as 345,000 metric tons. This finding makes it increasingly clear that loess sinkholes are not only a geological disaster process but also a serious soil loss process, highlighting their undeniable significance in regional soil erosion studies and laying a solid foundation for subsequent research and disaster prevention efforts. Moreover, we believe that the integration of airborne laser scanning and handheld laser scanning may represent a new trend in the detailed investigation of sinkholes in the future. The dataset is available from Zenodo platform (https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14000267).

Published data on solutional erosion in rock salt exposures are scarce, hindering our ability to understand the evolution of emergent salt diapirs with a number of practical implications (e.g. long-term geostorage). The Bofia Gran karst depression at the actively rising Cardona salt diapir (NE Spain) has been used as a test site to assess chemical erosion on a salt outcrop with a wide diversity of karren. Denudation measurements obtained by using erosion pins, terrestrial laser scanner (TLS) and ground-based photogrammetry consistently indicate a robust relationship between rainfall and slope-normal erosion, with an average value of around 10 mm per 100 mm rainfall. The significant variability observed in the surface-normal erosion is mainly controlled by slope gradient and karren micro-topography. Surface-normal erosion increases linearly as the slope declines and the surface area that interacts with rainfall decreases. The comparison of high-resolution point clouds shows that the range of erosion values across specific karren increases with their complexity, with extreme situations found in planar solution bevels and rugged solution flutes. The empirical relationships between slope-normal erosion and both rainfall and slope can be used to model geomorphic evolution in rock salt exposures, as illustrated with the case of the Bofia Gran, where diapiric uplift overwhelms chemical erosion. The experience gained in this investigation suggests that photogrammetry using a conventional camera can be more effective than TLS for assessing erosion in areas on the order of square meters. It also illustrates the benefits of using erosion values normalized to precipitation to enable worldwide comparisons.

Subsidence sinkholes are often a major ground instability hazard in karst terrains and can cause severe economic losses, and even fatalities. Developing sinkhole susceptibility and hazard models with tested prognostic capability is essential for the design of effective risk-mitigation strategies. Since the early 2000s, hundreds of cover subsidence sinkholes have occurred in the Konya Basin related to intensive groundwater withdrawal for irrigation, constituting an outstanding and extensively investigated example of human-induced sinkholes. However, the susceptibility models developed have limited prediction capability and no attempts of assessing hazard and its temporal variability have been carried out so far. In this study, we have constructed comprehensive multi-temporal sinkhole inventories including morphometric data spanning from 2000 to 2024 for the entire basin (50,000 km2). The preferential occurrence of sinkholes in tight clusters along fault zones is attributed to deep hypogene karstification related to rising volcanogenic gases that locally renew the aggressiveness of the groundwater. Sinkhole hazard increased dramatically between 2000 and 2019 rising from 3 (2000-2010) to 32 sinkholes yr-1 (2016-2019), and has experienced a decline to 22 sinkholes yr-1 since 2020. This temporal trend, despite the continued water-table decline, is ascribed to the progressive exhaustion of collapse-prone cavities. Simple and easy-to-develop sinkhole susceptibility models based on the concept whereby new sinkholes tend to occur in the vicinity of pre-existing sinkholes, have been developed. For instance, high-susceptibility areas delineated by 500 m buffers around sinkholes formed documented between 2011 and 2019 predict with 1.7 % of the study area 65.2 % of the new sinkholes occurred in the interval 2020-2024.

The morphologically degraded Mesijune salt extrusion (137 km2, 650 m local relief), with a summit dome and a multidirectional namakier, is the largest salt fountain in the Zagros Mountains. This work analyses the long-term evolution of the salt extrusion, including the development of associated basins, and characterises its current kinematics with decomposed DInSAR data. The salt fountain displays an alluvium-filled supra-namakier basin associated with an encircling autosuture located downstream of an obstacle of upturned bedrock strata (probable flap). This basin atop the namakier expanded downstream as the salt sheet advanced downslope and experienced rotation, resulting in a sedimentary fill with a general offlap arrangement and backtilted structure. In the Late Pleistocene, the advancing namakier front obstructed drainage creating a marginal namakier-dammed basin with lacustrine-palustrine deposits dated by Optically Stimulated Luminiscence (OSL) at 14.3 ± 2.5 ka. Currently, the highest horizontal displacement rates (140 mm/yr) occur in the steep flanks of the summit dome, and progressively decrease to null values towards the stable fronts of the namakiers. The summit dome is dominated by surface lowering at an average rate of -16 mm/yr, suggesting that it could vanish in around 5 kyr, involving the transition of the salt fountain into salt droplet. The comparison of LOS displacement time series with monthly rainfall data from a nearby station indicates steady salt creep unaffected by the rainfall regime. The Mesijune salt fountain may serve as a terrestrial analogue for unravelling the past evolution of salt sheets and associated features from the geological record.

The Fars Arc of the Zagros Fold-and-Thrust Belt hosts the most remarkable examples of salt extrusions worldwide, within a context of rapid collision-related deformation and high seismic activity. Hormuz salt extrusions in the western Fars Arc form rows associated with >200 km long dextral strike-slip faults, which constitute major seismic sources. This work is focused on the Jahani salt fountain and the associated Kareh Bas Fault. The Kareh Bas Fault is interpreted as a supra-salt tear fault controlled by thickness variations in the Hormuz salt detachment and associated rows of precursor diapirs. The precursor Jahani diapir likely induced the segmentation of the S-propagating Kareh Bas Fault, generating a releasing stepover that facilitated salt emergence. OSL dating of +40 m terrace deposits of the Shur River deformed by the Kareh Bas Fault reveals that the fault sourced two paleoearthquakes before and around 14.7-13.8 ka, and indicates a long-term fluvial incision rates of 2.7-2.9 mm/yr. The emerged Jahani diapir (68 km(2), 918 m in local relief) is a salt fountain comprising a protruding summit dome and laterally spreading salt glaciers (i.e., namakiers). The northern namakier has been trimmed by the Shur River, generating an exceptional salt escarpment 6 km long and >400 m high. Masses of disconnected Hormuz rocks on the opposite margin of the valley and paleolake deposits found upstream and dated by OSL at 28 +/- 5 ka, indicate that the Shur River has experienced multiple damming episodes, likely during dry periods. This work documents for the first time the damming of a major drainage by a salt glacier and the creation of a lake. DInSAR data reveal an overall progressive displacement pattern in the Jahani salt fountain characterised by a rising summit dome (1-2 cm/yr) and laterally spreading namakiers with distally decreasing horizontal displacement rates (1-2 cm/yr) and some uplift in the frontal sectors. This general pattern is altered in the northern sector, where the debuttressed salt extrusion rapidly flows towards the deeply entrenched Shur valley at horizontal and vertical rates of around 10-15 cm/yr. The presented displacement data invalidate a previous work, that based on inadequate theodolite displacement measurements of the order of m/yr, suggested that the is one of the most vigorously rising salt extrusions on Earth.

In the Czech Outer Western Carpathians (OWC), the lower limit of deep-seated gravitational slope deformations (DSGSDs) occur associated with moderate local relief and slope gradient, showing a limited degree of geomorphic development. Here, DSGSDs display a relatively high spatial frequency, despite the limited tectonic and seismic activity, often claimed as major preparatory and triggering factors. Nonetheless, favourable stratigraphic and structural features in flysch successions, together with fluvial downcutting, provide conditions prone to DSGSDs. The study area of Travn & yacute; Mt. hosts the typical DSGSDs in the highest part of Czech OWC. With the aim of unravelling the controlling and triggering factors, the internal structure, and the timing and kinematics of mass-movement activity, a multidisciplinary investigation was performed. LiDAR-based and field geomorphological mapping allowed to constrain the extent of the of DSGSD, expressed by characteristic landforms such as antislope scarps and grabens. The structural analysis and geophysical surveys (ERT and GPR) provided insight into the internal structure of the DSGSD, reaching a depth of >100 m, and supported its mountain-scale spatial propagation. The instability is controlled by inherited faults, deep-penetrating joints and and the stratigraphic contact between brittle caprock overlying weaker rocks. Morphologically, the most prominent deformation is located in the upper part, which is dominated by toppling of flysch blocks with thick-bedded sandstone. The results of the trenching technique and geochronological analyses point to the episodic kinematics of this portion of the DSGSD, revealing a significant displacement event (ca. 9.9 ka) linked to a major climate change occurred after the Late Glacial/Holocene transition.

The downdip migration of dissolution fronts in gently tilted evaporite formations produces updip-facing monoclinal folds and adjacent synformal troughs (depositional basins) in the supra-evaporite strata. These gravitational deformation structures, up to 1000 km long, can be expressed in the landscape as laterally migrating fold escarpments and linear depressions, forming the largest karst features on Earth. Despite their large dimensions and numerous associated practical implications (hydrocarbon, salt, geostorage, water quality, sinkhole hazards), the scientific publications dealing with these interstratal evaporite karst features are rather scarce. This work reviews the available literature on dissolutional edges and associated features developed on dipping salt and gypsum/anhydrite formations. It also analyses the >800 km long dissolution and subsidence belt associated with the updip edge of the Upper Jurassic Arab and Hith anhydrites in the Interior Homocline of central Saudi Arabia, with special focus on its striking geomorphic features. This is the largest Ca-sulphate karst feature in the world, despite the aridity of the region, and is also the example in which the associated landforms and deformation structures are best displayed. It displays striking monoclinal scarps with an aggregate length of 420 km, affected by crestal extensional structures and punctured by numerous giant caprock collapse sinkholes. The increased sinkhole hazard and risk documented in the Ar Riyadh area in recent times can be attributed to adverse human activities (localized artificial water input) and the expansion of the urban area across the dissolution front and monoclinal scarp.

Salt diapirs, despite their inherent instability related to salt flow and dissolution (terra infirma), are often the focus of significant economic activities and sensitive facilities (e.g., salt mining, hydrocarbon production, geostorage). Nonetheless, Differential Interferometry SAR (DInSAR) studies on active diapirs are relatively scarce and frequently lack field-based characterization and independent validation of displacement rates. This work analyses the complex spatial and temporal patterns of ground displacement at the Cardona salt extrusion (NE Spain) combining detailed mapping and DInSAR LoS (Line of Sight) and vertical displacement data obtained by both coherence-based (i.e. Small BAseline Subset - SBAS) and Persistent Scatterers-like (PS) approaches. Overall, the salt extrusion is affected by steady diapiric uplift driven by differential loading and increasing towards the axis of the salt wall to vertical rates of 2-3.5 cm/yr. The obtained rates are in agreement with long-term rates previously calculated using radiocarbon dated uplifted terraces and are comparable with those obtained at vigorously rising salt extrusions in the Zagros Mountains. DInSAR data reveal other local ground displacement processes substantiated by field mapping and damage on human structures, including: (1) rapid dissolutional lowering at salt exposures, showing a tight temporal correlation with rainfall data (>5 cm/yr); (2) widespread dissolution-induced subsidence in valley-floor alluvium underlain by salt bedrock; (3) landsliding favored by diapiric rise and slope oversteepening; and (4) some large active sinkholes. This case study illustrates the practicality of integrating complementary DInSAR and field-based approaches for the comprehensive characterization of ground instability in salt diapirs, providing an objective basis for assessing the associated hazards.

This work analyses the superlative salt karst developed on Jahani salt extrusion (ca. 70 km(2), 900 m in local relief). This active diapir is expressed as a salt fountain comprising a summit dome above the feeding vent and laterally spreading salt glaciers (i.e., namakiers) moving at rates of the order of cm/yr. The salt extrusion hosts the first documented and mapped salt karst poljes, developed at the foot of the steep rock salt slopes of the summit dome by differential suballuvial dissolution and expansion by rim dissolution. A cartographic inventory of 6489 sinkholes has allowed to characterise morphometrically the differences between the juvenile and mature sinkhole landscapes developed in the proximal and distal sectors of a namakier, respectively. Sinkholes developed in the recently expelled salt at the proximal sector have an average length four times smaller (23 m versus 83 m) and a density three times higher (600 versus 200 sinkholes/km(2)), reflecting the variable impact of expansion and coalescence processes. The Firuzabad River has trimmed the northern namakier, generating a 6 km long and > 400 m high salt escarpment, likely the largest on Earth. The dynamics of the escarpment is governed by the antagonistic roles of salt flow and rapid erosion by fluvial undermining, rock falls and dissolutional removal of the rock salt debris, causing severe hydrochemical degradation of the river waters. Exceptional halite rimstones occur in a marginal stream largely fed by permanent brine springs.

Morphometric data on karren developed in evaporite rocks, and especially salt, are almost lacking. Additionally, the models proposed to explain the evolution of some karren such as solution flutes (rillenkarren) and solution bevels are not based on real examples but on physical experiments or conceptual models poorly supported with data. Rocksalt, thanks to its high solubility and transport‐controlled dissolution kinetics, offers the opportunity to investigate the morphological evolution of karren in short periods of time. This work uses high‐resolution, multi‐temporal 3D surface models generated by Structure from Motion (SfM) photogrammetry of a salt exposure in the Cardona salt diapir, NE Spain, to address the following issues: (1) morphometric characterisation of salt karren, (2) comparison with data from other lithologies and (3) morphological evolution of salt karren. Solution pits and solution flutes in salt tend to have significantly larger width and much larger depth than in carbonate rocks and gypsum. Solution flutes and solution bevels show complex evolutionary patterns that do not align with the commonly advocated parallel retreat and morphological persistence model. Instead, flutes can experience substantial morphological changes involving coalescence by the destruction of slim ridges and splitting caused by incision in the resulting broad flutes. The rillenkarren‐bevel junction experiences a general downward and backward displacement, but locally can propagate forward by the development of intra‐bevel flutes that merge with the rillenkarren slopes. Pedestals can grow vertically at rates as high as 5 cm/year.

The reconstruction of long-term magmatic and eruptive evolution in arc settings is often limited by the incomplete preservation of volcanic stratigraphy, as sequences in active tectonic regions are commonly disrupted and eroded, making it difficult to link these variations to underlying geodynamic processes. This contribution presents a detailed reconstruction of the prolonged (similar to 6 Myr) volcanic evolution recorded in a dissected Miocene arc system, based on detailed stratigraphic analysis, whole-rock geochemistry, and U-Pb zircon geochronology. The >2500 m-thick volcanic succession documents diverse eruptive and compositional phases in three stratigraphic units, revealing remarkable changes in magma composition and eruptive style over time. The lower unit is composed of andesitic lavas and pyroclastic breccias, indicating explosive-effusive volcanism prior to 22.6 Ma. Zircon ages from the base of the middle unit confirms the onset of an episode dominated by rhyolitic domes between 22.6 and 18.6 Ma. This is followed by the construction of a composite andesite-basaltic edifice (upper unit), characterized by lava flows and volcanoclastic sequences, with the youngest zircon crystallization ages at ca.15 Ma. The enrichment in incompatible elements in rhyolitic and late andesitic rocks, combined with isotopic evidence for increased crustal assimilation and subducted sediments input within the source, points to a progressive modification of the magmatic system between 22 and 18 Ma. These geochemical and isotopic signatures coincide with the onset of a well-established crustal thickening event in central Chile during this period. This case illustrates how major magmatic changes and eruptive transitions can align with the transition from extensional to contractional tectonics within a single arc segment.

Delimiting, characterizing and monitoring active sinkholes in urban areas are fundamental steps for effectively managing the associated risks. These high‐exposure scenarios require accurate data on hazard parameters (e.g., spatially distributed subsidence rates), but the current investigation and monitoring techniques for sinkholes remain relatively undeveloped in comparison to other geological hazards, such as landslides. In this regard, we present the first comparative analysis of the performance of terrestrial laser scanner (TLS) and ground‐based structure from motion (SfM) photogrammetry for delimiting the actively deforming areas and characterizing the spatial patterns of ground displacement through the comparison of two pairs of high‐resolution 3D point clouds. To assess their performance, this work utilizes vertical displacement data measured by high‐precision levelling. The main finding is that, despite TLS providing displacement data with less noise and internal distortion, the less expensive and easier‐to‐implement SfM photogrammetry using ground‐based conventional cameras yields a comparable performance when accurate geodetic data is available. However, according to high‐precision levelling data, both techniques may underestimate the extent and rate of the deformation. According to levelling data, the active sinkhole has a major axis 60 m long, while the length detected by TLS and SfM photogrammetry drops to 21 and 17 m, respectively. Maximum subsidence rates by levelling, TLS and SfM were 22.9, 17.2 and 15.2 mm/year, respectively. These results indicate that there is still a need to complement these high‐resolution techniques with the use of high‐precision methods such as levelling or additional geodetic benchmarks.

This study presents the characterization and chronology of the Quaternary terrace sequence developed in the confluence zone of the Jucar and Cabriel river valleys. The study area covers a radius of 10 km from the confluence of the two valleys near the locality of Cofrentes (Valencia). It is located in the northern zone of the Ayora-Cofrentes Graben in the northeastern sector of the External Prebetic Zone adjacent to southern Iberian Chain. This N-S graben is an inherited tectonic feature with an axial salt wall subject to different periods of fluvial dissection and refilling since at least the end of the Messinian Salinity Crisis (MSC). Regional isostatic uplift and local uplift and subsidence processes related to salt flow and dissolution during the Quaternary period, favored by fluvial entrenchment and terrace development. The terrace system and the previous pre-incision erosional and depositional surfaces are analyzed from a geomorphological point of view. The terrace system only develops within the soft Mio-Pliocene sedimentary fill of the graben, whilst upstream and downstream this zone the studied valleys develop important gorges (canyons) carved in the Cretaceous tablelands (Caroch Massif) and MioPliocene deposits (Llanura Manchega). The geochronological control is established from 20 numerical ages obtained by different dating methods, such us Electron Spin Resonance (ESR), Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) in detrital sequences and Th/U series in calcareous tufa deposits. Additionally, four K/Ar dates available for volcanic materials disrupting the upper and oldest terrace have been considered. A total of 14 terrace levels were identified between +130-135 m (T1) and +3-4 m (T14) of relative height above the river thalwegs. The T1 has an approximate age of c. 1.6-2.0 M.a. as indicate the age of the volcanic materials from the Agras Volcano intruded in the terrace, marking the onset of Quaternary fluvial dissection in the zone. The obtained geochronological data indicate that the Lower-Middle Pleistocene boundary is slightly above T6 (+60-65 m), which has an ESR age of 577 +/- 43 ka. This terrace also documents the onset of the most important period of rise of the salt within the graben interfering drainage development. The geochronological data indicate the occurrence of a second eruptive event during the second half of the Middle Pleistocene related to the terraces T7 (+50 m) and T8 (+35-40 m), updating the volcanic activity in the zone. The beginning of the Upper Pleistocene is recorded by the top sequences of the T9 terrace (+25-30 m) where numerous OSL and Th/U data have been obtained with ages between ca. 105 and 81 ka (MIS 5). However, these young terraces (T8 to T13) are thickened (8-10 m) recording Middle Pleistocene sediments in their basal sequences with ages between ca. 193 and 137 ka (MIS 6). The study provides important data on valley evolution under the interference of volcanic activity, salt -related deformation (diapirism, solution subsidence) and fluvial incision fostered by the rise of the axial diapir (salt wall) protruding the graben since at least the Brunhes-Matuyama boundary. The analyzed fluvial evolution documents interesting cases of river capture, drainage antecedence and tectonic adaptation of the drainage

Active diapirism has received very limited attention from the geomorphological and Quaternary Science perspective, despite the role played by this ground deformation process in the development of landforms and sedimentary environments, and the important practical implications associated with mobile salt structures (e,g., mining, hydrocarbon production, geostorage). The Cardona salt extrusion (NE Spain) was initiated in late Quaternary times from the post-shortening unroofing of the crest of a salt anticline by the entrenchment of the transverse Cardener River. Detailed mapping, outcrop analysis, geophysical data and trenching indicate that the diapir-flanking deposits show halokinetic complexes comprising two types of morpho-stratigraphic units: (1) an older flap of coarse-grained drapefolded colluvial deposits; and (2) younger lacustrine and fluvial deposits in peripheral depressions confined between the upturned colluvial flaps and the country rock slope. These synkinematic units record an overall relief inversion and correspond to the so-called wedge and hook halokinetic sequences, recording ratios between diapir rise rate and sedimentation rate lower and greater than 1, respectively. The radiocarbon ages obtained from several raised late Holocene strath terraces carved in the salt indicate uplift rates within the range of 36.5-12.1 mm/yr, consistent with geodetic data. The spatial variability of the uplift rates can be related to increasing flow rates towards the axis of the salt wall and potential along-strike variations. The relatively high diapir rise rates observed at Cardona diapir, unaffected by contractional displacement loading (tectonic squeezing), is attributed to the youthful stage of the salt extrusion and the low dynamic viscosity of the Cardona Saline Formation, with a low proportion of impurities and a significant amount of potash salts.

The Söğüt Mountains is a fault-bounded carbonate range situated between the active Acıgöl and Akgöl grabens in southwestern Türkiye. The southwestern sector of the Acıgöl Graben floor displays an array of faults that have produced peculiar intra-basin half-grabens with local lakes and drainages. The conspicuous geomorphic expression of the intra-basin faults and depressions in this sector of the basin is attributed to low sedimentation rate (i.e., starved basin) related to very limited runoff and sediment supply from the southwestern carbonate margin of the basin, dominated by subsurface drainage in a carbonate bedrock strongly affected by gravitational deformation and karstification. Detailed mapping reveals the presence of large landslides and extensive DSGSDs in the mountain fronts flanking the Söğüt Mountains, showing ridge-top depression, uphill-facing scarps, high-relief downhill-facing scarps, and toe bulges. Cartographic relationships provide insights into the development and evolution of the deformations in the slopes that experience continuous tectonic rejuvenation and debuttressing. DSGSDs and large landslides take advantage of secondary synthetic tectonic faults, in which gravitational and tectonic displacement are superposed. The transformation of DSGSDs into large to giant short runout landslides (up to ca. 3.5 Gm3) occurs mainly on laterally unconfined slopes associated with bends and stepovers in the basin-bounding faults. Seismicity is likely the main triggering factor controlling the kinematics of the gravitational deformations and landslides. Cartographic evidence indicate downslope propagation of the gravitational deformation (uphill-facing-scarps and associated troughs) in the tectonically growing slopes. Additionally, preferential development of solution sinkholes is observed in gravitationally distorted slopes with impeded surface drainage.

The endorheic Konya Basin is a vast aggradational plain in Central Anatolia, Türkiye. It occupies a significant portion of Konya Province, covering approximately 50,000 km2. The basin is subjected to intense groundwater withdrawal and extensive agricultural activities with excessive irrigation. These activities have led to human-induced hazards, such as sinkholes and regional land subsidence. Although sinkhole occurrence mainly occurs in the Karapınar area, land subsidence is primarily observed in the central sector of Konya city, with 2 million inhabitants, as well as in various parts of the basin. This study focuses on determining the extent and rate of land subsidence throughout the basin, understanding sinkhole formation, and unraveling their relationship with anthropogenic activities. For this purpose, Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) analysis of Sentinel-1 data from 2014 to 2022 was conducted to identify and assess land subsidence. We also used the land cover data and groundwater-level information to better understand the spatial and temporal patterns of land subsidence and sinkhole occurrence. Additionally, the land cover data were used to resolve spatial–temporal variations in the cultivated area and urbanization, which are the main factors governing groundwater exploitation in the region. Our study identified widespread subsidence zones with rates as high as 90 mm/y. Groundwater overexploitation to sustain extensive agricultural operations is the main cause of the high rate of land subsidence. Additionally, it was discovered that the number of sinkholes has substantially increased due to anthropogenic influences, currently amounting to as many as 660.