Neogene Tectonic and Sedimentary Evolution of the Outer Cilica Basin, Eastern Mediterranean Sea PDF Download

Author: Stacey L. Mansfield
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Languages : en
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Book Description
The Neogene structural and sedimentary evolution of the Outer Cilicia Basin is investigated using marine multi-channel seismic data collected during a 1992 survey. The Cilicia Basin is a relatively shallow Neogene basin, which is located on the Aegean-Anatolian microplate in the fore-arc region of the Cyprean Arc. The basin's evolution is recorded in four main stratigraphic units each separated by laterally extensive erosional unconformities. These units from youngest to oldest are: Unit 1- Pliocene-Quaternary aged siliclastics, Unit 2 - Messinian aged evaporites, Unit 3A - mid- to late-Miocene aged marls and chalks, and Unit 3B - Oligocene to mid-Miocene aged marls and turbidite deposits. The deformation of these sequences, throughout the basin's history, gives rise to both compressional and extensional structures, largely affected by the ductile salt layer. -- The structural evolution of the Outer Cilicia Basin can be separated into two main phases. The first is a compressional phase which began in Miocene time in association with convergence along the Cyprean Arc. During this phase, a south-verging thrust belt developed directly south of the Outer Cilicia Basin. Since the mid-late Miocene, the basin has evolved on the back limb of the thrust system. A second evolutionary phase began in Pliocene time, coinciding with the initiation of westward escape and rotation of the Aegean-Anatolian microplate. The Pliocene-Quaternary succession is primarily affected by two main types of structures: 1) Transtensional faults, which provide accommodation for strain induced in the basin by the westward escape of the microplate, and 2) Salt tectonic structures, which develop in association with the basin-ward flow of salt, driven by gravitational forces and sedimentary loading.