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Pliny-Strabo Trench (PST)is a Subduction Transform Edge Propagator (STEP) fault developed at the northern edge of the African oceanic lithosphere connecting the Aegean and Cyprian trenches in the eastern Mediterranean. Recent studies have demonstrated that the PST terminates close to Turkish Border and links to the Cyprian trench east of Rhodes and south of Fethiye-Gocek Bay. However, it is also claimed that the PST extends into SW Anatolia along a sinistral transtensional shear zone, so-called Fethiye-Burdur Fault Zone (FBFZ) implying that a lithospheric tear in the downgoing plate extends into the over-riding plate, although, this is kinematically almost impossible since full mechanical coupling between down going and the over-riding plate is necessary. To test this hypothesis and understand the kinematics of the transition zone between PST and Cyprian trench we have conducted a rigorous paleostress inversion study combined with interpretation of 2D seismic data of which 228 km total length obtained from Fethiye-Gocek Bay. The seismic reflection data are used for the interpretation and delineation of off-shore faults and to determine their recent activity. The geometry and kinematics of the exposed on-land faults are determined by analyzing 13969 fault slip data obtained from 211 sites distributed evenly throughout in an area encompassing the bay in an area extending 70 km in E-W and 50 km in N–S that cover the whole area where the Pliny-Strabo STEP fault would emerge on-land. Results of analyses indicated that most of the faults in the study area are developed under multi-directional extension, except for some NE-SW-striking faults, which have dextral strike-slip components contrary to proposed sinistral nature of Fethiye-Burdur Fault Zone. Although there are numerous normal faults some which have been active until recently, however, there is almost no NE-SW striking sinistral strike-slip fault in the region to justify the presence of Fethiye-Burdur Shear Zone. Additionally, there are a number of earthquakes with dominantly strike-slip moment tensor solutions in the deeper part of the bay while they are in normal character in the on-shore areas suggesting that the Pliny-Strabo Trench stops very close to the shoreline and it does not propagate into SW Anatolia. Therefore, existence and alleged characteristics of the Fethiye-Burdur Fault Zone could not be verified.

Convergence between the Eurasian and the African plates in the West Anatolian-Aegean region results in a trench retreat due to slab roll-back and tearing of the subducted African lithosphere. The u...

The slab edge processes related to the subduction of the African slab along the Aegean-Cyprian trench, beneath Anatolia, played a significant role in Cenozoic extension in western Anatolia. The Datça Basin, which includes various Late Miocene depositional environments characterised by continental to marine transitions, is a WSW-ESE trending asymmetric depression developed on the Datça Peninsula, which separates the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean Seas at the SW corner of Anatolia. Presently, the region is seismically active and is dominated by the E-W-trending Gökova Graben in the north and the NE-SW-trending Pliny-Strabo Trench in the south. Here, we conduct high resolution integrated stratigraphic study, that includes biostratigraphy, magnetostratigraphy as well as kinematic studies involving paleostress analysis to unravel geodynamic evolution of the region within the context of Africa-Eurasia convergence. Three prominent sequences separated by unconformities are recognised in the Datça Basin; i) facies associations related to alluvial fan to fluvio-lacustrine deposits of Pliocene age, ii) facies extending from alluvial fan to fluvio-deltaic to marine incursions interlayered with two air-fall ash deposits of Pleistocene age, and iii) alluvial fan to fluvial to marine coastal facies of the modern basin infill. Integration of available information and our findings indicate that the basin experienced three distinct deformation phases associated with reactivation of pre-existing structures since Pliocene. First, the Datça Basin was initially developed as a transtensional basin in Pliocene possibly due to strike-slip deformation related to the Pliny-Strabo Trench, then orthogonal extensional deformation dominated and the basin evolved into a superimposed half-graben as a result of NNE to NNW directed extensional strain and subsequently became a full graben under N-S directed extension by the late Pliocene onwards. This research is supported by The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK) with Grant Number of 117R012.Keywords: Integrated stratigraphy, kinematics, basin evolution, Datça Basin, Southwestern Anatolia

The present tectonic framework of the Western Anatolia has been dominated by two major deformations. The first one is the product of the slab-edge processes related to the convergence between Eurasian and African plates along with the Aegean-Cyprean subduction system since the Oligocene, and the second one is the westwards escape of Anatolian Block along the North Anatolian Fault Zone (NAFZ) since the late Miocene. The first one resulted in a widespread extensional deformation in the Western Anatolia and the Aegean region and is associated with slab-detachment and slab-tear processes that gave rise to the development of dynamic topography and various core-complexes (e.g., Cyclades and Menderes). Recent studies have shown that the deferential extensional strain between the core complexes in the region has been accommodated by strike-slip dominated transfer zones, the İzmir-Balıkesir Transfer Zone (İBTZ), which developed (sub)parallel to the extension direction and accommodate differential extension and rotational deformation in the region. The second one gave way to the development of a complex strike-slip deformation pattern and an array of pull-apart basin complexes throughout the northern margin of the Anatolian Block. The NAFZ and İBTZ interact around the Balıkesir-Bursa region resulting in a very peculiar deformation style due to partitioning of strain between these major structures.This study aims at unraveling how the strain partitioning operates between İBTZ and NAFZ and to reveal the kinematic constraints that produced the present tectonic scheme in the region. The geometry and kinematics of the faults are determined by analyzing 2773 fault slip data obtained from 49 sites evenly distributed throughout the study area. The preliminary results show that the İzmir-Balıkesir Transfer Zone localized after Miocene with the decoupling of strike-slip faults, and to the episodic exhumation of the metamorphic core complexes. The focal mechanism solutions of the recent earthquakes support this decoupling and manifest the seismic activity of the İBTZ. This study is supported by a Tübitak Project, Grant Number of 117R011.

WOS: 000431464600008 This study presents a detailed study of the dimensions, geometry, textures and breccias of a well-exposed epithermal vein system, the Kestanelik gold deposit in the Biga Peninsula, NW Turkey, and investigates the permeability enhancement mechanisms in epithermal gold deposits. Here mineralization is associated with quartz veins up to 13.6 m thick. Vein textures and breccia components indicate repeated sealing and subsequent brecciation of wall rock and pre-existing vein infill. Field and petrographic analyses characterize east-west-trending veins as left lateral faults, whereas NE-SW-trending veins are extensional (Mode I) fractures. Cataclasite and tectonic breccia of wall rocks and early quartz, hydrothermal crackle breccias, and matrix-supported chaotic breccias of pre-existing vein infill, all of which are cemented by late iron-oxide-bearing quartz, indicate that co-seismic rupturing and hydraulic fracturing are two major permeability enhancement mechanisms. In addition, transient variations in local stress direction, caused by syn-mineralization dyke intrusion, may have enhanced permeability on misoriented surfaces and at locations where the dip changes. This study emphasizes the importance of understanding structural geology and kinematics as controls on the location of boiling and mineralization mechanisms in epithermal gold deposits. University of Strathclyde; Geochemico Incorporated N.G. is grateful to the University of Strathclyde for funding the PhD. The authors are grateful to the Geochemico Incorporated for financial support.

Gondwana (Tauride/Kirsehir blocks) and Eurasia (Pontides) derived continental blocks delimit the Haymana basin, central Turkey, to the south and the north, respectively. The boundaries of these blocks define the Izmir-Ankara-Erzincan and Intra-Tauride Suture zones which are straddled by a number of Late Cretaceous to Oligocene marine to continental basins. The Haymana Basin is located at the junction of the IAESZ and ITSZ and comprises Upper Cretaceous to Middle Eocene basin infill deposited in response to the interaction of these blocks. The basin provides a unique opportunity to unravel spatio-temporal relationships related to the timing of late stage subduction history of Neo-Tethys Ocean and subsequent collision of the intervening continental blocks. We have conducted a multidisciplinary study in the region that includes mapping of major structures combined with fault kinematic analyses. E-W striking folds dominate the basin, cross-section balancing of these structures indicates around 25% roughly N-S shortening in the region. Paleostress studies indicate that the basin was initially subjected to N-S to NNE-SSW extension until the middle Paleocene (phase 1) and then N-S directed syn-depositional compression and coeval E-W directed extension until the middle Miocene (phase 2) implying strike-slip deformation and pure shear shortening in the basin. These different deformation phases are attributed to first fore-arc (subduction) basin development then foreland (collision) stages of the basin. Apatite (U-Th)/He dating of 5 samples indicate that exhumation of the SE segment of the basin started in early Oligocene, whereas the NW segment of the basin exhumed in the early Miocene. The differential uplift is possibly related to progressive north-westwards movement of Derekoy basin bounding fault at the north. We propose that the Haymana basin evolved from extensional forearc basin during the late Cretaceous to early Paleocene and foreland basin after the terminal subduction and subsequent collision of Tauride and Pontide blocks.

Summary As part of the application for a geothermal exploration permit in the Ede region (The Netherlands) a geological assessment study was conducted. The geothermal heat shall be used to feed the existing heat network. Major challenges were the interpretation of sparse vintage 2D seismic data in the region and finding a suitable drilling site in an urbanized environment outside the nearby Hoge Veluwe nature reserve. Data used included well data from two wells, gravity and a collection of 2D seismic lines. The workflow involves complete well velocity and density log upgrading, followed by seismic reprocessing, gravity and seismic interpretation and geothermal prospectivity estimation. An attractive reservoir has been found at ~2,5km depth, the Slochteren Sandstone formation, which is a well-known Permian reservoir rock formation. Diffraction imaging on one of the seismic lines demonstrated the presence of fractures that improves the prospectivity of the geothermal reservoir. The permit has been granted and follow-up work is planned.

In Central and Western Anatolia two continent-derived massifs simultaneously underthrusted an oceanic lithosphere in the Cretaceous and ended up with very contrasting metamorphic grades: high pressure, low temperature in the Tavsanli zone and the low pressure, high temperature in the Kirsehir Block. To assess why, we reconstruct the Cretaceous paleogeography and plate configuration of Central Anatolia using structural, metamorphic, and geochronological constraints and Africa-Europe plate reconstructions. We review and provide new 40Ar/39Ar and U/Pb ages from Central Anatolian metamorphic and magmatic rocks and ophiolites and show new paleomagnetic data on the paleo-ridge orientation in a Central Anatolian Ophiolite. Intraoceanic subduction that formed within the Neotethys around 100–90 Ma along connected N-S and E-W striking segments was followed by overriding oceanic plate extension. Already during suprasubduction zone ocean spreading, continental subduction started. We show that the complex geology of central and southern Turkey can at first order be explained by a foreland-propagating thrusting of upper crustal nappes derived from a downgoing, dominantly continental lithosphere: the Kirsehir Block and Tavsanli zone accreted around 85 Ma, the Afyon zone around 65 Ma, and Taurides accretion continued until after the middle Eocene. We find no argument for Late Cretaceous subduction initiation within a conceptual “Inner Tauride Ocean” between the Kirsehir Block and the Afyon zone as widely inferred. We propose that the major contrast in metamorphic grade between the Kirsehir Block and the Tavsanli zone primarily results from a major contrast in subduction obliquity and the associated burial rates, higher temperature being reached upon higher subduction obliquity.

The age and paleoenvironmental record of lacustrine deposits in the Aktoprak basin of south-central Turkey provides information about the evolution of topography, including the timing of development of an orographic rain shadow caused by uplift of the mountain ranges fringing the Central Anatolian Plateau. New magnetostratigraphy-based age estimates, in combination with existing biostratigraphic ages, suggest that the partially remagnetized Kurtulmus Tepe section of the basin is Chattian (Upper Oligocene). The mean carbon and oxygen stable isotope ratios (δ18O= 24.6 ± 2.0 ‰, δ13C= −4.9 ± 1.1‰) are largely constant through the section and indicative of a subtropical, open freshwater lake. These isotopic values are also similar to those of the Chattian Mut basin to the south, on the Mediterranean side of the modern orographic barrier (Tauride Mountains), and indicate absence of an orographic barrier during Late Oligocene basin deposition. Post-depositional partial remagnetization occurred after tilting of the basin sequence and was mineralogically controlled, affecting grey, carbonate-rich rocks (average %CaCO3= 82), whereas interlayered pink carbonate-poor rocks (average %CaCO3= 38) carry a primary, pretilt magnetization. The pink rocks are rich in clay minerals that may have reduced the permeability of these rocks that carry a primary magnetization, concentrating basinal fluid flow in the carbonate-rich grey layers and leading to the removal and reprecipitation of magnetic minerals. The normal and reverse polarities recorded by the remagnetized rocks suggest that remagnetization occurred over a protracted period of time.

Summary The use of seismic well logs such as sonic and density for well-to-seismic matching, seismic interpretation, inversion and 3D model building is well known. Generally, the depth-to-time conversion is done using the standard checkshot correction. Both errors in the VSP/checkshot first-break picking as well as the seismic logs make this process error prone. To improve the understanding of the subsurface and get the maximum value out of broadband seismic data and seismic diffraction imaging, this paper presents a novel and robust log repair and upgrading methodology to transform well data (seismic logs and VSP/checkshots) into a complete and realistic velocity and density profile from surface to TD. A case study from the south of the Netherlands (well Heeswijk-01) is used to analyse the performance of the proposed new methodology. Comparison of the original logs after checkshot correction and the upgraded and integrated logs show a dramatic improvement in the seismic-to-well match. Application of this promising log upgrading methodology in both oil & gas and geothermal projects around the world is thus appropriate in order to get more value out of expensive wells and seismic data.

International audience; The timing and direction of opening of the Black Sea Basin are debated. However, parts of its margins were inverted during Cenozoic and can be studied onshore. The Crimean Mountains are located in the middle of the northern margin of the basin, and at the onshore prolongation of the mid-Black Sea High. We present the first detailed mapping of large striated normal faults in Crimea. These faults define graben structures that trend parallel to the continental margin. Kinematic analysis of the faults combined with new biostratigraphic data show that the syn-rift sequence is Valanginian to Late Albian in age. It consists of siliciclastic deposits with limestone olistoliths. In contrast, the post-rift Late Cretaceous carbonaceous sequence of Crimea is devoid of normal faults or olistoliths. It unconformably overlies the graben structures. The onset ages, and the trends of extension are quite similar in the northern (Crimea) and the southern (Turkey) inverted margins of the basin. The Early Cretaceous extension directions are normal to the mid-Black Sea High and the Black Sea margins. We conclude that rifting of Black Sea Basin occurred from the Valanginian to the Late Albian (~39 Ma) and drifting during the Late Cretaceous. Based on the directions of rifting, on the lack of evidence of strike slip motions near the mid-Black Sea High, and on published paleomagnetic data, we propose that the Black Sea opened with rotations accommodated by transform faults at its western and eastern margins, as a response to asymmetric slab rollbacks of the Neo-Tethys plate. The inversion of the Crimean margin results from two successive shortening events: Early Eocene NE-SW compression, Eocene to Present SE-NW compression. Their timing support the idea that compressional stresses generated by continental collisions in Turkey were transmitted through the strong Black Sea lithosphere up to Crimea.

As the kinematics of active faults that bound the Anatolian plate are well studied, it is now essential to improve our understanding of the style and rates of intraplate deformation to constrain regional strain partitioning and improve seismic risk assessments. One of these internal structures, the Central Anatolian fault zone (CAFZ), was originally defined as a regionally significant left-lateral “tectonic escape” structure, stretching for 700 km in a NE direction across the Anatolian plate. We provide new structural, geomorphic, and geochronologic data for several key segments within the central part of the CAFZ that suggest that the sinistral motion has been overstated. The Ecemis fault, the southernmost part of the CAFZ, has a late-Quaternary minimum slip rate of 1.1 ± 0.4 mm a−1, slower than originally proposed. Farther north, the Erciyes fault has fed a linear array of monogenetic vents of the Erciyes stratovolcano and 40Ar/39Ar dating shows a syneruptive stress field of ESE-WNW extension from 580 ± 130 ka to 210 ± 180 ka. In the Erciyes basin, and central part of the CAFZ, we mapped and recharacterized the Erkilet and Gesi faults as predominantly extensional. These long-term geological rates support recent GPS observations that reveal ESE-WNW extension, which we propose as the driver of faulting since 2.73 ± 0.08 Ma. The slip rates and kinematics derived in this study are not typical of an “escape tectonic” structure. The CAFZ is a transtensional fault system that reactivates paleotectonic structures and accommodates E-W extension associated with the westward movement of Anatolia.

Analyzing subduction initiation is key for understanding the coupling between plate tectonics and the underlying mantle. Here we focus on suprasubduction zone (SSZ) ophiolites and how their formation links to intraoceanic subduction initiation in an absolute plate motion frame. SSZ ophiolites form the majority of exposed oceanic lithosphere fragments and are widely recognized to have formed during intraoceanic subduction initiation. Structural, petrological, geochemical, and plate kinematic constraints on their kinematic evolution show that SSZ crust forms at fore-arc spreading centers at the expense of a mantle wedge, thereby flattening the nascent slab. This leads to the typical inverted pressure gradients found in metamorphic soles that form at the subduction plate contact below and during SSZ crust crystallization. Former spreading centers are preserved in forearcs when subduction initiates along transform faults or off-ridge oceanic detachments. We show how these are reactivated when subduction initiates in the absolute plate motion direction of the inverting weakness zone. Upon inception of slab pull due to, e.g., eclogitization, the sole is separated from the slab, remains welded to the thinned overriding plate lithosphere, and can become intruded by mafic dikes upon asthenospheric influx into the mantle wedge. We propound that most ophiolites thus formed under special geodynamic circumstances and may not be representative of normal oceanic crust. Our study highlights how far-field geodynamic processes and absolute plate motions may force intraoceanic subduction initiation as key toward advancing our understanding of the entire plate tectonic cycle.

International audience; We compared the stratigraphic formations along the southern margin of the Black Sea using 196 nannoplankton ages determined in the Western and Central Pontides, and 112 new samples from the Eastern Pontides. We inferred that the İstanbul and Sakarya zones were amalgamated prior to the Early Cretaceous. Extensional subsidence migrated eastwards along the Pontides from the Barremian to the Palaeocene. An eastwards younging of the Cretaceous magmatism suggested that the eastern Black Sea Basin is younger. Locally, angular unconformities and a stratigraphic gap testify to the Late Albian uplift of the Central Pontides, as the consequence of the collision of an oceanic edifice. Cretaceous Oceanic Red Beds are marker beds of Santonian age along the much of the Pontides, and are of mainly Campanian age within the Eastern Pontides. The Middle-Campanian-Paleocene was a non-volcanic period characterized by extensional subsidence mainly along the eastern Black Sea Basin. The end of Cretaceous volcanism can be correlated with a southwards subduction jump. Syn-compressional basins show that contraction started during the Ypresian along the entire Pontide belt. Eocene volcanism started earlier in the north (Lutetian) than in the south (Bartonian) of the Eastern Pontides. This propagation of syn-collisional volcanism could have resulted from slab steepening under the Eastern Pontides.

Cenozoic convergence between the Eurasian and African plates and concurrent slab roll-back processes have produced a progressive extension in back-arc areas, such as the Aegean region and western Anatolia. There is still a long-standing controversy as to whether this was a continuous or stepwise process. To shed light on this controversy and on the driving mechanism of regional extension, we present palaeomagnetic and geochronological results from the Soke Basin located at the southeastern rim of the Izmir–Balikesir Transfer Zone. Our improved geochronology shows that volcanic activity in the region occurred between 11.66 and 12.85 Ma. Middle to late Miocene palaeomagnetic data for the Soke Basin show a c. 23° clockwise rotation, whereas early Miocene data show a c. 28° counterclockwise rotation. The primary nature of the magnetization is indicated by a positive tilt test. The resulting c. 51° counterclockwise rotations during the middle Miocene signify a major tectonic reorganization, during a period when an interruption of exhumation of metamorphic massifs has been reported. We suggest that the Izmir–Balikesir Transfer Zone is the main driver of the reorganization in the region. The regional fingerprint of this tectonic reorganization coincides with the acceleration of trench retreat and illustrates the surface impact of tearing of the Hellenic slab. Supplementary material: Details of 40 Ar/ 39 Ar analysis including heating steps and the output (.pmag) file including details of paleomagnetic analysis performed in this study are available at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.3690871

This contribution provides an updated planar seismic source characterization (SSC) model to be used in the probabilistic seismic hazard assessment (PSHA) for Istanbul. It defines planar rupture systems for the four main segments of the North Anatolian fault zone (NAFZ) that are critical for the PSHA of Istanbul: segments covering the rupture zones of the 1999 Kocaeli and Düzce earthquakes, central Marmara, and Ganos/Saros segments. In each rupture system, the source geometry is defined in terms of fault length, fault width, fault plane attitude, and segmentation points. Activity rates and the magnitude recurrence models for each rupture system are established by considering geological and geodetic constraints and are tested based on the observed seismicity that is associated with the rupture system. Uncertainty in the SSC model parameters (e.g., b value, maximum magnitude, slip rate, weights of the rupture scenarios) is considered, whereas the uncertainty in the fault geometry is not included in the logic tree. To acknowledge the effect of earthquakes that are not associated with the defined rupture systems on the hazard, a background zone is introduced and the seismicity rates in the background zone are calculated using smoothed-seismicity approach. The state-of-the-art SSC model presented here is the first fully documented and ready-to-use fault-based SSC model developed for the PSHA of Istanbul.

The Surgu Fault Zone (SFZ) is located in SE Anatolia extending from Goksun in the west to Celikhan in the east, where it bifurcates from the East Anatolian Fault Zone. A detailed analysis along the fault using satellite images, digital elevation models (DEMs) and aerial photographs revealed that the SFZ displays characteristic deformation patterns common to dextral strike-slip faults, including pressure ridges, displaced linear valleys, and deflected stream courses. In addition to this, fault slip data collected from 17 sites indicated that the SFZ is a dextral strike-slip fault zone having reverse and normal components in its western and eastern parts, respectively. The type of dip-slip components, orientation of the palaeostress configurations, and related structures along the fault are compatible with along strike variations of a strike-slip fault system that supports the dextral nature of the fault zone. Observed maximum cumulative stream deflections along the fault zone indicate that the dextral offset of the SFZ has been more than 3 km since the establishment of the stream network in the region. According to the preferred tectonic model suggested in this study, the present dextral motion along the SFZ occurs within a regional sinistral system related to westwards escape of the Maras Block, squeezed between Anatolian Block and Arabian Plate in N-S direction. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

The Central Anatolian Crystalline Complex (CACC) exposes metamorphic, ophiolitic and igneous rocks that were formed and deformed during closure of the Neotethyan ocean. The CACC is located in central Turkey, between the Pontides in the north and the Taurides in the south, separated by major fault zones. Composite plutons intruded the meta-sedimentary and ophiolitic units between similar to 95 and 75 Ma, and form linear magmatic belts (similar to 100 km long) along the western and northern margins of the CACC. Exhumation of the metamorphic and igneous complex was finalized by the Paleocene time. In this study, we paleomagnetically study fifteen plutons spanning the entire non-deformed upper Cretaceous granitoid belt to test whether the initial configuration of the CACC was modified by vertical axis rotations after its exhumation. Our results show three internally coherent domains with significantly different vertical-axis rotations: (1) in the north-east, the Akdag-Yozgat block (AYB) records similar to 15 degrees clockwise rotation, (2) in the north-west, the Kirsehir-Kirikkale block (KKB) shows similar to 6-9 degrees counter-clockwise rotation and (3) in the south-west, the Agacoren-Avanos block (AAB) shows similar to 28-35 degrees counterclockwise rotation. We propose that these rotations were accommodated by two transpressional fault zones: in the south, the existing Savoli Thrust Zone between the AYB and KKB and in the north, the newly introduced Delice-Kozakli Fault Zone between the KKB and AAB. The restored configuration of the CACC suggests that the three blocks were largely aligned in a similar to NNE orientation at an early stage of their history. Consequently, since the late Cretaceous the shape of the CACC was affected by large scale deformation, resulting in its modern triangular geometry. This deformation phase is best explained as a result of collision of the CACC with the Pontides.

The Tauride fold-thrusts belt formed during similar to S-N convergence between Africa and Eurasia since Cretaceous time. The western end of the central Taurides strike NW-SE, highly obliquely to the overall convergence direction, and connect to the NE-SW Beydaglan-Lycian Nappe flank of the western Taurides, forming the so-called 'Isparta Angle'. In Neogene time, the western and central Taurides and the inner part of the Isparta Angle became overlain by Neogene sedimentary basins including Manavgat, Koprucay and Aksu, characterized by marine clastics and carbonates. The eastern limb of the Isparta Angle experienced multidirectional Miocene to Present extension, whereas E-W shortening affected the marine sedimentary basins in the heart of the Isparta Angle. To quantitatively reconstruct the Neogene kinematic evolution of the Taurides, towards restoring the subduction system accommodating Africa-Eurasia convergence, we paleomagnetically assess if and when vertical axis rotations affected the Manavgat, Koprucay, and Aksu basins in Early Miocene to Pliocene times. We show that the northern Koprucay Basin rotated similar to 20-30 degrees clockwise, the Manavgat Basin underwent similar to 25-35 degrees counterclockwise rotation, and the Aksu Basin underwent no rotation since the Early-Middle Miocene. It was previously shown that the Beydaglari region underwent a post-Middle Miocene similar to 20 degrees counterclockwise rotation. These results show that the prominent oroclinal salient geometry of the western Taurides thus acquired, at least in part, since Miocene times, that the Koprucay Basin rotated relative to the Aksu Basin along the Aksu thrust, and that the Beydaglari platform rotated relative to the Aksu Basin along the Bucak thrust, which must have both been active until Late Neogene time. This synchronous E-W shortening in the heart of the Isparta Angle, and multidirectional extension in its eastern limb may be explained by relative westward retreat of an eastward dipping subducting Antalya slab that has previously been imaged by seismic tomography and a Benioff zone. The Neogene Bucak thrust west of the Aksu Basin may represent the most recent surface expression of the Antalya subduction zone. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

International audience; In Central and Western Anatolia two continent-derived massifs simultaneously underthrusted an oceanic lithosphere in the Cretaceous and ended up with very contrasting metamorphic grades: high pressure, low temperature in the Tavşanlı zone and the low pressure, high temperature in the Kırşehir Block. To assess why, we reconstruct the Cretaceous paleogeography and plate configuration of Central Anatolia using structural, metamorphic, and geochronological constraints and Africa-Europe plate reconstructions. We review and provide new 40 Ar/ 39 Ar and U/Pb ages from Central Anatolian metamorphic and magmatic rocks and ophiolites and show new paleomagnetic data on the paleo-ridge orientation in a Central Anatolian Ophiolite. Intraoceanic subduction that formed within the Neotethys around 100–90 Ma along connected N-S and E-W striking segments was followed by overriding oceanic plate extension. Already during suprasubduction zone ocean spreading, continental subduction started. We show that the complex geology of central and southern Turkey can at first order be explained by a foreland-propagating thrusting of upper crustal nappes derived from a downgoing, dominantly continental lithosphere: the Kırşehir Block and Tavşanlı zone accreted around 85 Ma, the Afyon zone around 65 Ma, and Taurides accretion continued until after the middle Eocene. We find no argument for Late Cretaceous subduction initiation within a conceptual " Inner Tauride Ocean " between the Kırşehir Block and the Afyon zone as widely inferred. We propose that the major contrast in metamorphic grade between the Kırşehir Block and the Tavşanlı zone primarily results from a major contrast in subduction obliquity and the associated burial rates, higher temperature being reached upon higher subduction obliquity.

International audience; Geophysical data allowed the construction of a ~250-km-long lithospheric-scale balanced cross section of the southern Black Sea margin (Espurt et al. 2014). In this paper we combine structural field data, stratigraphic data, and fault kinematics analyses with the 70 km-long onshore part of the section to reconstruct the geodynamic evolution of the Central Pontide orogen. These data reveal new aspects of the structural evolution of the Pontides since the Early Cretaceous. The Central Pontides is a doubly vergent orogenic wedge that results from the inversion of normal faults. Extensional subsidence occurred with an ENE-trend from Aptian to Paleocene in a forearc setting. We infer that the Black Sea back-arc basin also opened during this period, which was also the period of subduction of the Tethys Ocean below the Pontides. As in the Western Pontides, the Cretaceous-Paleocene subsidence was interrupted from Latest Albian to Coniacian time by uplift and erosion that was probably related to a block collision and accretion in the subduction zone. The restoration of the section to its pre-shortening state (Paleocene) shows that fault-related subsidence locally reached 3600 m within the forearc basin. Structural inversion occurred from Early Eocene to Mid-Miocene as a result of collision and indentation of the Pontides by the Kırşehir continental block to the south, with 27.5 km (~28%) shortening along the section studied. The inversion was characterized by NNE-trending shortening that predated the Late Neogene dextral escape of Anatolia along the North Anatolian Fault and the modern stress field characterized by NW-trending compression within the Eocene Boyabat basin.

International audience; We appreciate the interest of Dr. Yurdal Genç and Dr. Tekin Yürür in the work we carried out in central Turkey. In our paper, we presented a detailed structural study focused on one single fault zone located in the Kaman area, in the northwestern metamorphic massif of central Anatolia. The aim of our work was to provide clear structural evidence to assess the nature and kinematics of this fault zone, and to test whether it could be held responsible for part of the exhumation of the high-grade metamorphic rocks in the region. We demonstrated that the Kaman fault is an extensional detachment that was active in the late Cretaceous, and concluded that it was contemporaneous with late Cretaceous extension and exhumation of metamorphic rocks of the Central Anatolian Crystalline Complex (CACC) documented previously. This extensional phase has been discussed in numerous works such as the structural and metamorphic analysis from the southern Niğde crystalline massif ( [Gautier et al., 2002], [Whitney et al., 2003], [Whitney et al., 2007] and [Gautier et al., 2008]), structural and geochronological data from discrete shear zones across large magmatic intrusions in the north (Yozgat) and the west (Ağaçören) of the CACC ( [Isik et al., 2008] and [Isik, 2009]), and the tectonic evolution of the large basins surrounding the CACC (e.g. the Tuzgölü and Sivas basins, ( [Çemen et al., 1999] and [Dirik et al., 1999]). Following extension, the region underwent compression during the Paleogene due to the convergence and consequent collision between the CACC and the central Pontides ( [Görür et al., 1984], [Görür et al., 1998], [Kaymakci et al., 2000], [Kaymakci et al., 2009] and [Meijers et al., 2010]). In contradiction to the generally accepted tectonic evolution for central Anatolia, Genç and Yürür (2010) recently proposed an alternative model based on inferences from digital elevation data and local field observations. They interpreted the Cenozoic tectonic regime of central Anatolia to be dominated by extension, associated with coeval compressional zones resulting from gravitational movements. Taking that into consideration, Genç and Yürür have in their discussion listed several points that they consider to be "incoherencies". In this reply, we answer each point addressed in the comment, discussing the validity of our statements and data, and taking the opportunity to clarify the ideas that the authors of the comment may have misunderstood

The aim of this study is to propose and test a multi-level methodology for detection of oil slicks in ENVISAT Advanced Synthetic Aperture Radar (ASAR) imagery, which can be used to support the identification of hydrocarbon seeps. We selected Andrusov Ridge in the Central Black Sea as the test study area where extensive hydrocarbon seepages were known to occur continuously. Hydrocarbon seepage from tectonic or stratigraphic origin at the sea floor causes oily gas plumes to rise up to the sea surface and form thin oil films called oil slicks. Microwave sensors like synthetic aperture radar (SAR) are very suitable for ocean remote sensing as they measure the backscattered radiation from the surface and show the roughness of the terrain. Oil slicks dampen the sea waves creating dark patches in the SAR image. The proposed and applied methodology includes three levels: visual interpretation, image filtering and object-based oil spill detection. Level I, after data preparation with visual interpretation, includes dark spots identification and subsets/scenes creation. After this process, the procedure continues with categorization of subsets/scenes into three cases based on contrast difference of dark spots to the surroundings. In level II, by image and morphological filtering, it includes preparation of subsets/scenes for segmentation. Level III includes segmentation and feature extraction which is followed by object-based classification. The object-based classification is applied with the fuzzy membership functions defined by extracted features of ASAR subsets/scenes, where the parameters of the detection algorithms are tuned specifically for each case group. As a result, oil slicks are discriminated from look-alikes with an overall classification accuracy of 83% for oil slicks and 77% for look-alikes obtained by averaging three different cases.

The Hasancelebi deposit in eastern Turkey, with proven reserves of 95 million metric tons, is a copper-gold-bearing iron oxide deposit. It is chiefly hosted by rocks that underwent widespread sodic-calcic and potassic styles of alteration. In the Hasancelebi district, pervasive Na-Ca and K-Fe alteration types are overprinted by sericitization and by late alteration that occur in multiple, overprinting systems. The age of hydrothermal alteration and mineralization (ca. between 74-68 Ma) overlaps with the age of alkaline magmatism in the Hasancelebi district. Crystallization and cooling of alkaline magmatism is associated with hydrothermal features that spanned the duration of the district’s igneous history. The 40Ar/39Ar and U-Pb geochronology of magmatism indicate that the hydrothermal system was synchronous with diabase and syenite and/or microsyenite porphyry intrusions and consisted of several discrete phases of Na-Ca and K-Fe alteration. The oldest alteration (phase 1) formed at ca 74.4 to 74.3 Ma; it is spatially and temporally associated with the emplacement of diabase dikes and contains scapolite and phlogopite. The next younger alteration (phase 2) formed at about 71.3 Ma and is spatially and temporally associated with syenite porphyry and microsyenite porphyry intrusions. It consists of scapolite, garnet, pyroxene, and actinolite that are superimposed on the first alteration phase. The next alteration assemblage (phase 3) formed at about 68.6 Ma and consists of phlogopite 2 and magnetite mineralization. Still later alteration (phase 4) overprints phases 1, 2, and 3 and consists of sericite-quartz, chalcopyrite, hematite, calcite, fluorite, and barite. Oxygen ( δ 18O) and hydrogen ( δ D) isotope analyses were carried out on phlogopite, sericite, barite, calcite, fluorite, and quartz representing the mineral assemblage formed during phases 1 and 4 of the hydrothermal alteration. The calculated δ 18O (H2O) and δ D (H2O) composition of the fluids that formed preore K-Fe alteration and postore alteration of phase 4 range between 15.1 to 8.5 and −124 to −85.6 per mil, respectively, and partially overlap the range for traditional magmatic waters. Oxygen and H isotope compositions from alteration minerals highlight two major points: Na-Ca and K-Fe alteration assemblages are likely derived from high-temperature primary magmatic fluids, and late sericitization is likely derived from fluids exsolved from cooling alkaline plutons during hydrothermal fracturing and consequent degassing at moderate temperatures. The initial ɛ Ndi values of the alteration zones range from −2.02 to −2.08, close to the calculated ɛ Nd value of associated syenite porphyry at the time of alteration ( ɛ Nd (68.64Ma; −1.9). Nd-Sr isotope compositions combined with 40Ar-39Ar and U-Pb geochronology of the associated alteration suggest that the fluids were sourced from coeval diabase dikes and syenite porphyry and/or microsyenite porphyry intrusions. The rare earth element characteristics, 40Ar-39Ar and U-Pb geochronology of alteration and fresh magmatic rocks, δ 18O, δ D, Nd, and Sr isotope systematics together suggest that the fluids responsible for the high- to moderate-temperature assemblages are largely derived from the coeval alkaline igneous rocks (diabase and microsyenite porphyry dikes) that intrudes the sedimentary-volcanosedimentary basin.

Five different deformation phases have been recognized in the SE Anatolian orogen and the Arabian Platform based on palaeostress inversion studies using fault-slip data sets. The timing and duration of these phases are determined using various criteria including the age of the affected strata, syndepositional structures, cross-cutting structures and overprinting slickensides. The oldest deformation phase is characterized generally by NE-SW-directed extension. The extension is thought to have resulted from slab-roll back processes during the Maastrichtian to Middle Eocene interval (c. 60 Ma to 40-35 Ma). The second deformation phase is characterized by east-west to NW-SE-directed compression and thought to result from cessation of roll-back processes possibly due to subduction of younger oceanic crust or increase in the convergence rate between Africa and Eurasia during the post-Middle Eocene to Late Oligocene interval (c. 40-35 Ma to 25 Ma). The third deformation phase is characterized by east-west to NW-SE-directed extension possibly due to slab detachment that initiated in Iran and migrated westwards during the latest Oligocene to Middle Miocene period (25-11 Ma). The fourth deformation phase is characterized by approximately north-south-directed compression due to collision and further northwards indentation of Arabian Plate by the end of Middle Miocene (11-3.5 Ma). The fifth and present deformation phase is characterized by NE-SW compression which might result from tectonic re-organization in the region since the Middle Pliocene (c. 3.5 Ma to recent).

The Palaeozoic to recent evolution of the Tethys system gave way to the largest mountain chain of the world extending from the Atlantic to Pacific oceans - the Alpine- Himalayan Mountain chain, which is still developing as a result of collision and northwards con- vergence of continental blocks including Apulia in the west, the Afro-Arabian Plate in the middle and the Indian Plate in the east. This Special Publication addresses the main problems of the middle part of this system incorporating the Balkans, Black Sea and Greater Caucasus in the north and the Afro-Arabian Plate in the south. Since the Early Mesozoic a number of small to large scale oceanic basins opened and closed as the intervening continental fragments drifted northwards and diachro- nously collided with and accreted to the southern margin of the Eurasian Plate. Despite the remark- able consequences of this, in terms of subduction, obduction and orogenic processes, little is known about the timing and palaeogeographic evolution of the region. This includes the amounts of short- ening and interplay between synconvergent extension and compression, development of magmatic arc and arc-related basins and the timing and mechanism of their deformation. The chapters pre- sented in this Special Publication present new information that help to fill some of the gaps of the puzzle.

The Cankoro Basin straddles the Izmir-Ankara- Erzincan Suture Zone which demar- cates the former position of the northern branch of the Neotethys. It includes more than 3 km of pre-Middle Miocene in-fill related to late Cretaceous to pre-Middle Miocene evolution of the region. The basin has developed on the upper Cretaceous subduction complex and arc related basins of the Neotethys Ocean. The basin fill includes an upper Cretaceous forearc sequence over- lain by Paleocene with a local unconformity. The upper Cretaceous configuration of the Cankoro basin is interpreted as a part of a forearc basin. The Paleocene and younger history is interpreted as a foreland sequence dominated by progressively southwards migrated depocenters in front of southward migrating thrust faults upon which a series of piggy-back basins were developed. Ter- mination of the forearc setting and beginning of foreland basin conditions indicates complete sub- duction of the Neotethyan oceanic crust and onset of collision between the Pontides (Laurasia) and the Taurides (Gondwana) in the Paleocene. Thrusting and related sedimentation continued until the Aquitanian (Early Miocene).

A number of intra-continental alkaline volcanic sequences in NW Turkey were emplaced along localized extensional gaps within dextral strike-slip fault zones prior to the initiation of the North Anatolian Fault Zone. This study presents new palaeomagnetic and 40Ar–39Ar geochronological results from the lava flows of NW Turkey as a contribution towards understanding the Neogene–Quaternary tectonic evolution of the region and possible roles of block rotations in the kinematic history of the region. 40Ar–39Ar analyses of basalt groundmass indicate that the major volume of alkaline lavas of NW Turkey spans about 4 million years of episodic volcanic activity. Palaeomagnetic results reveal clockwise rotations as high as 73° in Thrace and 33° anticlockwise rotations in the Biga Peninsula. Movement of some of the faults delimiting the areas of lava flows and the timing of volcanic eruptions are both older than the initiation age of the North Anatolian Fault Zone, implying that the region experienced transcurrent tectonics during Late Miocene to Pliocene times and that some of the presently active faults in the region are reactivated pre-existing structures.

Paleostress orientations and relative paleostress magnitudes (stress ratios), determined by using the reduced stress concept, are used to improve the understanding of the kinematic characteristics of the Denizli Basin. Two different dominant extension directions were determined using fault-slip data and travertine fissure orientations. In addition to their stratigraphically coeval occurrence, the almost exact fit of the s2 and s3 orientations for the NE‐SW and NW‐SE extension directions in the Late Miocene to Recent units indicate that these two extension directions are a manifestation of stress permutations in the region and are contemporaneous. This relationship is also demonstrated by the presence of actively developing NE‐SW and NW‐SE elongated grabens developed as the result of NE‐SW and NW‐SE directed extension in the region. Moreover, stress ratios plots indicate the presence of a zone of major stress ratio changes that are attributed to the interference of graben systems in the region. It is concluded that the plotting of stress orientations and distribution of stress ratios is a useful tool for detecting major differences in stress magnitudes over an area, the boundaries of which may indicate important subsurface structures that cannot be observed on the surface. q 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Ultramafic xenoliths entrained in the Late Miocene alkali basalts and basanites from NW Turkey include refractory spinel-harzburgites and dunites accompanied by subordinate amount of spinel-lherzolites. Whole-rock major element and mineral chemical characteristics indicate that the xenoliths are mostly the solid residues of varying degrees of partial melting (∼3 to ∼15%), but some have mineral chemical signatures reflecting processes of melt/rock interaction. The mineral compositions of the undisturbed xenoliths have been used to estimate temperatures and, where possible, pressures of equilibration, and to construct a geothermal framework to interpret the thermal structure of the upper mantle beneath the region at the time of basaltic melt extraction. Most of the peridotite xenoliths have chemically homogeneous mineral phases reflecting ambient equilibrium pressure–temperature conditions. The combination of results from Ca-in-orthopyroxene geothermometer and Ca-in-olivine geobarometer yields pressure–temperature estimates for spinel-peridotites that fall in experimentally determined spinel-lherzolite field in CaO–Fe–MgO–Al 2 O 3 –SiO 2 –Cr 2 O 3 (CFMASCr) system. These pressure–temperature data sets have been used to construct the Late Cenozoic geotherm of NW Turkey, which defines a depth-temperature array from about 1.4 GPa at 810 °C to 2.1 GPa at 1180 °C. Extrapolation of this array to the adiabatic upwelling curve of normal temperature asthenospheric mantle indicates an apparent lithospheric thickness of ∼80 km. The geothermal gradient of NW Turkey is only slightly higher than that of the conventional conductive models (∼90 mW m −2 ) and may be interpreted as being a consequence of the thermal perturbation by the heat input into the relatively thin mantle lithosphere via the passage and emplacement of magma(s). In contrast, the calculations, based on the melt products of experimental phase equilibria, show that the compositions of the host magmas precipitating the most magnesian olivine (with 88.5 to 91.4% forsterite; Mg 2 SiO 4 ) phenocrysts of alkaline melts reveal significantly higher anhydrous liquidus temperatures that range from about 1290 to 1410 °C. The results are inconsistent with melt generation by either deep-seated thermal anomalies associated with mantle plumes ( T p > 1450 °C) or melting of thermally perturbed (wet) mantle lithosphere, but are consistent with the adiabatic upwelling of normal temperature ( T p ∼ 1300 °C) mantle asthenosphere probably along the lithospheric scale major shear zones.

Comprehensive Strip Based Lineament Detection (COSBALID) is a new method that detects lineaments from point-like features. It is based on the strip concept and composed of various steps, which apply filtering techniques in order to increase the accuracy and linearity of detected lineaments. The structure of the method is so robust that its parameters and variables are partially data driven giving the user great flexibility to adopt and modify them dynamically, in the course of processing, and impose new parameters at any step without altering the main structure of the method. The main steps of the method are as follows: (1) creation of a database using a GIS medium, (2) configuration of strips (polygons) (3) creation of an initial (strip) database by rotating the strips incrementally, (4) detection of unrefined alignments, (5) distance filtering, (6) linearity check, (7) repetition and redundancy check, and (8) further analysis based on various properties of the point like features. The method is applied to 94 volcanic cones within the Cappadocian Volcanic Province. The initial number of alignments is 2485 which gradually decreases to 25 after performing above-mentioned test and filters. The advantage of COSBALID method, over existing models is that it detects the exact geographical position of the end members of the lineaments. In addition, the method considers additional properties of point-like features such as type and shape.

The North Anatolian Fault Zone (NAFZ) bifurcates into three branches in the Marmara Region, which is a transition zone between the strike– slip tectonics manifested by the NAFZ and the N– S directed extensional regime of western Anatolia. The southern Marmara region is characterized by the middle and the southern branches while the northern branch controls the north Marmara region. The south Marmara region is characterized by approximately E – W trending rhomb-like horst and graben complexes bounded by strike slip-faults with normal component, striking mainly in E – W direction. This study documents the geometry and the structural characteristics of the NAFZ in the southeast Marmara region and discusses the commencement age of the strike– slip tectonics using deformation patterns of Neogene units and information available in the literature. q 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.

Palaeomagnetic data in combination with palaeostress data and anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility orientations are utilized to develop a tectonic evolutionary model for the Early Tertiary part of the Ω (omega)-shaped Çankırı Basin (Turkey). The results reveal clockwise rotations in the northeast and anticlockwise rotations in the west and southeastern corner of the basin. The magnetic inclinations indicate a northward drift of the Çankırı Basin and support an indentation model for the Kırşehir Block. It is proposed that the Ω-shape of the Çankırı Basin was the result of indentation of the Kırşehir Block into the Sakarya Continent during northwards migration accompanying closure of Neotethys. It appears that the indentation started prior to Eocene and ended before Middle Miocene times.

To illustrate the structural evolution of the Black Sea Basin in the context of Neotethyan subduction and subsequent continental collisions, we present the first lithosphere-scale, ∼250-km-long, balanced and restored cross section across its southern continental margin, the Central Pontides. Cross-section construction and restoration are based on field, seismic-reflection, geophysical, and apatite fission-track data. The structure of the onshore Pontides belt is predominantly controlled by inverted normal faults, whereas the offshore areas are devoid of large structural inversion. The restored section indicates that Cretaceous crustal thinning occurred synchronously with (probably buoyancy-driven) exhumation of a forearc high-pressure blueschist wedge likely during Neotethyan slab retreat. Apatite fission-track data show that structural inversion of the forearc zone, which formed the Central Pontides fold-and-thrust belt, started at ca. 55 Ma. This Eocene structural inversion followed upon collision of the Kirs¸ehir continental block and the arrest of Neotethyan oceanic subduction below the Central Pontides. Compared to the Central Pontides belt, which underwent significant shortening (∼28 km, i.e., ∼33%), the relatively colder and stronger Black Sea lithosphere prevented the northern offshore areas from undergoing inversion. We propose that the location of Cenozoic contractional deformation is related to the absence of lithospheric mantle below the southern Pontides (forearc) zone as a consequence of the Cretaceous high-pressure wedge exhumation.

A regional study on the northern Dutch Central Graben (DCG) and Step Graben (SG) based on, amongst others, very recent regional 3D seismic data has resulted in new ideas on the structural development of the area. It is postulated that main rifting of the DCG occurred during Middle to Late Triassic. The Late Jurassic extensional phases and the Early Cretaceous inversion phases affected the NS orientated DCG and SG in a different way than the NW-SE orientated basins. Under the NE-SW Late Jurassic extension, the NS bounding faults were not reactivated but WNW-ESE extensional faults developed creating a graben stepping down to the north. Furthermore, it seems that the Early Cretaceous inversion also did not reactivate the NS bounding faults but manifests itself only in a broad basin uplift with minor transpressional features. Based on this regional work, we expect to improve our understanding of the timing of events, erosion amounts and paleogeography. We foresee future basin modeling to obtain further insights into the hydrocarbon maturation history. The observed WNW-ESE fault trends in the DCG could have tectonically controlled Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous sedimentation and local accommodation space along the fault escarpments may create interesting opportunities for hydrocarbon exploration.

The kinematic and structural evolution of the major structures affecting the Cankiri Basin, central Turkey, has been deduced from a palaeostress inversion study. Four palaeostress tensor configurations indicative of four-phase structural evolution have been constructed from the fault slip data collected from the Cankiri Basin. The first two phases indicate the dominant role of thrusting and folding, and are attributed to the collision between the Pontides and the Taurides, the proposed interface of which is straddled by the Cankiri Basin. Phase 1 occurred in the pre-Late Palaeocene and Phase 2 in the Late Palaeocene-pre-Burdigalian. The third phase is dominated by extensional deformation in the Middle Miocene. The latest phase has been active since then and is characterized by regional transcurrent tectonics.

International audience; The Central Anatolian Crystalline Complex (CACC) exposes metasediment rocks overlain by Cretaceous ophiolites and intruded by granitoids. Following late Cretaceous exhumation of its high-grade metamorphic rocks, the CACC started to collide with the Central Pontides of southern Eurasia in the latest Cretaceous to Paleocene. Here, we present the sedimentary, stratigraphic and tectonic evolution of the Çiçekdağı Basin, located in the northwest of the CACC. Magnetostratigraphic dating, supported by 40Ar/39Ar geochronology, shows a late Eocene basin age. The basin fill unconformably overlies metamorphic basement in the south and ophiolites of the CACC in the north. It consists of red conglomerates, sandstones and siltstones, which overlie a sequence of nummulitic limestones. In the south, these limestones are ~ 10 m thick, are underlain by a few meters of conglomerate unit unconformably covering the CACC metamorphics. In the north, the limestones are underlain by a ~ 200 m thick sequence of volcanics and fine-grained clastics intercalating with shallow marine black shales. The upper Eocene sediments of the Çiçekdağı Basin were deformed into a syn-anticline pair. Progressive unconformities in the northern flank and a rapid and persistent ~ 180° switch in paleocurrent directions from southward to northward in the southern flank of the anticline demonstrate syn-sedimentary folding. We interpret the folding to result from a southward progression of the Çankırı foreland basin as a result of ongoing collision between the CACC and the Pontides.

The Izmir–Balikesir transfer zone (IBTZ) is a recently recognized strike-slip dominated shear zone that accommodates the differential deformation between the Cycladic and Menderes core complexes within the Aegean Extensional System. Here, we present new structural and kinematic data obtained from field observations and 1/25,000 scale mapping of Miocene to Recent units within the IBTZ around Izmir Bay. The results point out that the IBTZ is a transtensional brittle shear zone that affects the pre-Neogene basement rock units, the early-middle Miocene volcano-sedimentary units and the Plio–Quaternary continental units. The analysis of large-scale structures and fault kinematic data indicate that three different deformation phases prevailed in the Izmir Bay region during the late Cenozoic. The first phase (Phase 1) is characterized by N–S directed extension and E–W contraction that gave way to the development of strike-slip faults with normal components and likely took place during the early (?) to late Miocene. This transtensional phase, forming the volcano-sedimentary basin of deposition was overprinted by the second phase (Phase 2) which is characterized by variable extension and contraction directions indicating wrench- to extension-dominated transtension. The structures related to Phase 2 are observed all around the Izmir Bay and indicate a distributed nature of the deformation that probably took place during the early Pliocene, coeval with the end of the activity of the Mid-Cycladic Lineament and the last exhumation of the central Menderes Massif. The latest deformation phase (Phase 3) is characterized by an association of NW–SE trending left-lateral and NE–SW trending right-lateral strike-slip faults and E–W trending normal faults forming transtensional deformation. During Phase 3, the IBTZ evolved from a wider shear zone into a relatively narrow discrete fault zone by the late Pliocene, during which the strike-slip and extensional deformation were completely decoupled from each other. The field-based evidence for strike-slip deformation from the region has only recently been recognized, but has very important implications for understanding the deformation styles and coupling of Aegean–West Anatolian extensional deformation system along the IBTZ. We conclude that the Izmir Bay Basin developed during the Plio–Quaternary within the dextral IBTZ.

WOS: 000372953300004 Ouranopithecus turkae, from the late Miocene of Corakyerler in Central Anatolia, is considered one of the last known occurrences of great ape in the eastern Mediterranean. The Corakyerler fauna has previously been correlated with MN 11 to early MN 12 on the basis of biochronology, and its faunal composition has been found to contrast with those from contemporaneous sites. In this paper, we present the magnetostratigraphy of the Corakyerler site and an expanded interpretation of its paleobiogeographical and paleoecological contexts. The paleomagnetic results reveal two intervals of normal polarity and an intervening interval of reversed polarity in the main fossiliferous section. Of the three likely age correlations spanning 8.13-7.15Ma (MN 11-MN 12), we favor correlation with chron 4n, with a possible age range of the fossiliferous deposit between 8.11 and 7.64Ma (late MN 11). The geographic distribution of genus-level faunal similarity and mean hypsodonty show that Corakyerler is a typical representative of the Pikermian chronofauna with a wide range of faunal similarity, including late Miocene localities from the eastern Mediterranean, eastern Asia, and eastern Africa. Lithological and sedimentological characteristics of the fossiliferous horizon, however, indicate a lacustrine depositional environment and relatively humid local conditions within the more arid regional context. This special setting could explain the unexpected occurrence of a hominid primate at Corakyerler.Citation for this article: Kaya, F., N. Kaymakci, F. Bibi, J. T. Eronen, C. Pehlevan, A. C. Erkman, C. G. Langereis, and M. Fortelius. 2016. Magnetostratigraphy and paleoecology of the hominid-bearing locality Corakyerler, Tulu Formation (Cankr Basin, Central Anatolia). Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. DOI: 10.1080/02724634.2015.1071710. NSF-RHOI 'Anatolian Upper Miocene Project' [0321893]; Academy of FinlandAcademy of Finland We would like to thank all the people who have dedicated their efforts to this excavation project and the magnetostratigraphic sampling of the section. F.K., C.P, and A.C.E. are grateful to A. S. Erol, project leader of the, Corakyerler excavation, for allowing them to work long years under hard conditions at, Corakyerler, and to E. S. Gulec, who played a key role in the initiation of the first, Corakyerler excavations and who provided the back-hoe for magnetostratigraphic sampling. For their valuable suggestions, we would like to thank the reviewers of this article. We thank A. H. Kaya and C. TenWolde for editing the language of the article. This work was supported by the NSF-RHOI 'Anatolian Upper Miocene Project' (grant no.: 0321893) and by a grant from the Academy of Finland to M. Fortelius.

The Tauride range in southern Turkey is flanked and overlain by Neogene sedimentary basins. To the south and on top of the high range, these basins are mainly marine, whereas poorly studied intramontane basins dominated by continental deposits are exposed to the north. In this paper, we study the stratigraphy and structure of the continental Altinapa Basin, and provide Ar-40/Ar-39 geochronology for volcanic deposits in the stratigraphy. The stratigraphy can be subdivided into a Lower Group, displaying similar to 400 m of fining upward fluvio-lacustrine sediments, unconformably overlain by an Upper Group with similar to 500 m of lacustrine deposits, andesitic lavas and volcaniclastic sediments. Ar-40/Ar-39 dating of three volcaniclastic samples across the Upper Group provide 11.8-11.6 Ma ages. The Altinapa Basin is an extensional basin, which formed predominantly due to N-S to NE-SW directed stretching. The main basin forming phase occurred during deposition of the Lower Group, prior to 11.8 Ma. Paleostress inversion analyses demonstrate uniaxial stress, with highly variable extension directions that are consistent with currently observed seismicity patterns. The Middle Miocene extension history of the Altinapa Basin is consistent with a regional pattern of Middle Miocene NE-SW to NW-SE extension north of the Cyprus subduction zone. This suggests that the Cyprus subduction zone has been in retreat relative to central Anatolia since at least Middle Miocene time. The continental Altinapa Basin is currently at an elevation of similar to 1 km, whereas partly contemporaneous marine sediments in the Mut Basin that lies on top of the Tauride range are elevated to 2 km. This shows strong late Cenozoic differential uplift in southern Turkey, with at least 1 km more uplift of the Tauride range than of the intramontane basins to the north. We conclude that the current high elevation of the Taurides is related to late Neogene extension and does not result from the late Cretaceous to perhaps Oligocene folding and thrusting that deformed the rocks in the range. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

In the Central Anatolian Crystalline Complex (CACC), 100 km scale metamorphic domains were exhumed in a context of north-south plate convergence during late Cretaceous to Cenozoic times. The timing, kinematics and mechanisms of exhumation have been the focus of previous studies in the southern Ni gde Massif. In this study, we investigate the unexplored northern area regarding the tectonic features preserved on the edges of the Kırs¸ ehir Massif, based on detailed field-mapping in the Kaman area where high-grade metasediments, non-metamorphic ophiolites and monzonitic plutons are locally exposed together. Close to the contact with the ophiolites, west-dipping foliated marble-rich rocks display mylonites and discrete protomylonites with normal shear senses indicating a general top-to-the WeNW direction. Both of these structures have been brittlely overprinted into cataclastic corridors parallel to the main foliation. The mylonite series and superimposed brittle structures together define the Kaman fault zone. The study of the evolution of calcite deformation fabrics along an EW section supported by Electron Back Scattered Diffraction measurements (EBSD) on representative fabrics indicates that the Kaman fault zone represents an extensional detachment. In Ömerhacılı, in the vicinity of the Baranada g quartz-monzonite, the metamorphic sequence shows static annealing of the calcite mylonitic fabrics. This evidence suggests that intrusion took place at shallow depth (w10 km) into an already exhuming metamorphic sequence. As a consequence for the Kaman area, buried metasediments have been rapidly exhumed between 84 and 74 Ma (w1 km/Ma) where exhumation along a detachment zone, displaying a top-to-theWeNW shear motion, took place in the mid to upper crust prior to magmatic intrusion in the late Campanian. As the intrusion cut through the detachment fault, the main shearing deformation ceased. Brittle tectonics coupled with erosion likely took over during the final unroofing stages at a slower rate (