scholarly journals Paleoenvironmental conditions and drainage evolution of the central Anatolian lake system (Turkey) during late Miocene to Pliocene surface uplift

Geosphere ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 490-509
Author(s):  
Maud J.M. Meijers ◽  
Gilles Y. Brocard ◽  
Donna L. Whitney ◽  
Andreas Mulch
Keyword(s):  
Late Miocene ◽  
The Black Sea ◽  
Anatolian Plateau ◽  
Base Level ◽  
Carbonate Sedimentation ◽  
Drainage Patterns ◽  
Surface Uplift ◽  
Terminal Lakes ◽  
Lacustrine Carbonate ◽  
The Persian Gulf

Abstract Continued Africa-Eurasia convergence resulted in post–11 Ma surface uplift of the Central Anatolian Plateau (CAP) and the westward escape of the Anatolian microplate. Contemporaneously, a central Anatolian fluvio-lacustrine system developed that covered extensive parts of the rising CAP. Today, the semi-arid CAP interior—except for the Konya closed catchment—drains toward the Black Sea, the Mediterranean Sea, and the Persian Gulf. Lake connectivity and drainage patterns of the fluvio-lacustrine system in the evolving plateau region are, however, largely unknown. Here, we present sedimentological and stable isotopic (δ13C and δ18O) data (N = 665) from 13 well-dated lake sections covering the former fluvio-lacustrine depocenters of the southern CAP. Persistently (>1 m.y.) stable paleoenvironmental and hydrological conditions suggest that a low-relief environment characterized the southern CAP during plateau uplift. Throughout the late Miocene, various open and closed lakes of the southern CAP drained into closed, terminal lakes within the plateau interior. Sedimentation east of the Tuz Gölü fault ceased during the early Pliocene (ca. 5.3–3.6 Ma), when the eastern CAP became connected to marine base level as a result of river incision shortly after the switch from regional compression to extension. A final phase of lacustrine carbonate sedimentation characterizes most sampled basins, yet occurred asynchronously over the extent of the CAP. Therefore, the final episode of lacustrine sedimentation is unlikely to have been the result of a climatic event, consistent with the absence of a clear aridification trend in the lacustrine δ18O data. Rather, capping carbonates reflect the interplay of surface uplift and transition from inward- to outward-drained plateau regions and concomitant lake reorganization during the formation of the CAP and its margins.

Interactions between tectonics and Earth surface processes of the Central Anatolian Plateau and its southern margin during Mio-Pliocene surface uplift

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maud J.M. Meijers ◽  
Gilles Y. Brocard ◽  
Ferhat Kaya ◽  
Cesur Pehlevan ◽  
Okşan Başoğlu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Mediterranean Sea ◽  
Tooth Enamel ◽  
Crustal Thickening ◽  
Surface Processes ◽  
The Black Sea ◽  
Field Observations ◽  
Earth Surface ◽  
Anatolian Plateau ◽  
Surface Uplift ◽  
Lacustrine Carbonate

<p>Quantifying the interactions between tectonics and Earth surface processes on orogenic plateaus requires the acquisition of a multitude of field observations and geological proxies. Here, we reconstruct the topographic development of the Central Anatolian Plateau (Turkey), identify the geodynamic drivers of plateau formation, and constrain the climatic boundary conditions that shaped the fluvio-lacustrine basins, drainage integration, and vegetation and biodiversity dynamics.</p><p>Our comprehensive dataset includes sedimentological and field observations, <sup>40</sup>Ar/<sup>39</sup>Ar ages, magnetostratigraphy, lacustrine carbonate δ<sup>18</sup>O and δ<sup>13</sup>C data (n=665) from thirteen sections in upper Oligocene to Pliocene continental basins of the CAP interior, and <sup>10</sup>Be erosion rates. We also analyze existing fossil faunal (mammal) and floral databases to assess biodiversity dynamics through time and we model isostatic rebound to understand drainage integration.</p><p>The CAP and its steep, southern Tauride margin emerged from the Mediterranean Sea ~12-11 Ma and ~8-7 Ma ago, respectively. Contemporaneously to surface uplift, a fluvio-lacustrine system covered extensive parts of the rising CAP. Today, the semi-arid CAP interior − except for the Konya Closed Catchment (KCC) − drains towards the Black Sea, Mediterranean Sea and Persian Gulf.</p><p>Our stable isotope paleoaltimetry data show similar-to-present elevations (~2 km) of the southern CAP margin by 5 Ma. Surface uplift affected the diversity of plants and large mammals, and was coeval with ignimbritic magmatism, forearc shortening and distributed compression. We suggest that removal of lithospheric mantle below Anatolia led to surface uplift of the CAP interior, followed by surface uplift of the southern CAP margin as a result of subduction-related crustal thickening. Persistently (>1 Myr) stable paleoenvironmental and hydrological conditions recorded by the former fluvio-lacustrine Anatolian depocenters suggest that a low-relief environment characterized the CAP during plateau uplift. Throughout the late Miocene, various open and closed lakes of the southern CAP drained into closed, terminal lakes within the plateau interior. Sedimentation east of the Tuz Gölü Fault ceased rapidly during the early Pliocene (from 5.3-3.6 Ma), when river incision led to a connection with marine base level. Analysis of incision patterns reveals that drainage integration was not driven by capture of the interior drainage by aggressive rivers draining the plateau margin, but rather by top-down avulsion or overflow due to the establishment of a more positive water balance in some of the closed catchments of the plateau interior. Drainage integration occurred shortly after the switch from regional compression to extension and the onset of escape tectonics of the new Anatolian microplate, when fault partitioning of the existing low-relief plateau interior may have led to drainage integration.</p><p>In a next step to reconstruct the paleoenvironmental conditions of the CAP, we obtain δ<sup>18</sup>O and δ<sup>13</sup>C values from fossil mammal tooth enamel, which allows for the reconstruction of mammalian diet, and in turn reflects paleovegetation, as well as seasonality for the Mio-Pliocene climate.</p><p><strong>References</strong></p><p>Meijers et al., 2018a: Palaeo3, doi: 10.1016/j.palaeo.2018.03.001</p><p>Meijers et al., 2018b: EPSL, doi: 10.1016/j.epsl.2018.05.040</p><p>Huang, Meijers et al., 2019: J of Biogeography, doi: 10.1111/jbi.13622</p><p>Meijers et al., 2020: Geosphere, doi: 10.1130/GES02135.1</p>

Rapid late Miocene surface uplift of the Central Anatolian Plateau margin

2018 ◽  
Vol 497 ◽  
pp. 29-41 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maud J.M. Meijers ◽  
Gilles Y. Brocard ◽  
Michael A. Cosca ◽  
Tina Lüdecke ◽  
Christian Teyssier ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Late Miocene ◽  
Anatolian Plateau ◽  
Surface Uplift

LATE MIOCENE TO PLIOCENE PALEOENVIRONMENT AND SURFACE UPLIFT OF THE CENTRAL ANATOLIAN PLATEAU AND ITS SOUTHERN MARGIN (TURKEY)

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andreas Mulch ◽  
◽  
Maud J.M. Meijers ◽  
Maud J.M. Meijers ◽  
Gilles Y. Brocard ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Late Miocene ◽  
Anatolian Plateau ◽  
Surface Uplift ◽  
Southern Margin

Late Miocene surface uplift of the southern margin of the Central Anatolian Plateau, Central Taurides, Turkey

2011 ◽  
Vol 124 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 133-145 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Cosentino ◽  
T. F. Schildgen ◽  
P. Cipollari ◽  
C. Faranda ◽  
E. Gliozzi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Late Miocene ◽  
Anatolian Plateau ◽  
Surface Uplift ◽  
Southern Margin ◽  
Plateau Central

Tectonics–Earth surface processes interactions of the Central Anatolian Plateau during the late Miocene to Pliocene revealed by ecosystem and paleotemperature reconstructions 

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maud J.M. Meijers ◽  
Gilles Y. Brocard ◽  
Ferhat Kaya ◽  
Cesur Pehlevan ◽  
Okşan Başoğlu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Late Miocene ◽  
Tooth Enamel ◽  
Surface Processes ◽  
Central Anatolia ◽  
Earth Surface ◽  
Anatolian Plateau ◽  
Surface Uplift ◽  
Carbonate Formation ◽  
Southern Margin ◽  
Clumped Isotope

<div> <p>The Central Anatolian Plateau (CAP, Turkey, elevation ca. 1-1.5 km) was established during the late Miocene. Prior to Pleistocene surface uplift of its southern margin (Tauride Mountains), a southern margin orographic barrier with similar-to-present elevations (ca. 2 km) existed between 8 and 5 Ma.</p> </div><div> <p>To unravel the interactions between tectonics and Earth surface processes, we quantify biotic and abiotic parameters for the late Miocene to Pliocene. As the CAP exposes presently incised fluvio-lacustrine sedimentary rocks of well-dated Miocene to Pliocene age, the region provides an excellent archive for reconstructing past landscape dynamics, such as surface uplift, lake hydrology, and drainage integration. Within this established framework, we now reconstruct the late Miocene to Pliocene ecosystem by measuring clumped isotope (Δ<sub>47</sub>) temperatures of carbonate formation and δ<sup>13</sup>C and δ<sup>18</sup>O values of paleosol carbonate and fossil mammal tooth enamel. Collectively, our data allow for the reconstruction of paleoclimate, vegetation types (C<sub>3</sub> vs. C<sub>4</sub>), mammalian diet, landscape heterogeneity, and seasonality.</p> </div><div> <p>The first clumped isotope-derived paleotemperatures indicate a large (8 <span>°</span>C) temperature difference at ca. 5.5 Ma between lacustrine carbonate from the Mediterranean coastal region (Adana Basin; ca. 26 ± 1.8 <span>°</span>C) and paleosol carbonate from the central Anatolian interior (ca. 18 ± 1.7 <span>°</span>C), which likely reflects the higher elevation of the CAP. Soil carbonate δ<sup>13</sup>C values from the plateau interior (13 sites, N= 344, ca. 10 to 2 Ma) are much higher between ca. 8 and 5 Ma (ca. –3 to 0 ‰) than earlier or later in time (ca. –8 to –5 ‰), which indicates the presence of a significant component of C<sub>4</sub> vegetation, characterized by wooded grasslands and grasslands, during the latest Miocene. In contrast, C<sub>3</sub>-dominated vegetation reflecting more wooded environments were dominant at ca. 10 Ma and from 4 to 2 Ma. The increase in C<sub>4</sub> vegetation during the late Miocene is coeval with surface uplift of the southern CAP margin, whereas an increase of C<sub>3</sub> vegetation by the Pliocene could coincide with a phase of subsidence of the southern CAP margin prior to its final phase of Pleistocene surface uplift. Furthermore, we collected mammal tooth enamel samples (equid, bovid, rhinocerotid, suid) from 11 individuals at one ca. 9 Ma-old and one latest Miocene-Pliocene<span> fossil site. </span>δ<sup>13</sup>C and δ<sup>18</sup>O values indicate the mammals at the two nearby fossil sites had varying diets and therefore access to different vegetation and water supplies. We are currently improving the stratigraphic framework and dating of these fossil sites, as well as obtaining tooth enamel δ<sup>13</sup>C and δ<sup>18</sup>O values of 44 more individuals to further constrain paleoenvironmental conditions and eventually the causality between tectonics and Earth surface processes in central Anatolia.</p> </div><div> <p><span>References:</span><strong><span> </span></strong><span>Meijers et al., 2018a: Palaeo3, doi: 10.1016/j.palaeo.2018.03.001; Meijers et al., 2018b: EPSL, doi: 10.1016/j.epsl.2018.05.040; Huang, Meijers et al., 2019: J of Biogeography, doi: 10.1111/jbi.13622; Meijers et al., 2020: Geosphere, doi: 10.1130/GES02135.1</span></p> </div>

Modeling of ecological conditions in the Euxine Basin in the Sarmatian and Maeotian by methods of diatom analysis

2019 ◽  
pp. 257-261
Author(s):  
Eleonora P. Radionova
Keyword(s):  
Black Sea ◽  
Late Miocene ◽  
The Black Sea ◽  
Subtidal Zone ◽  
Diatom Analysis ◽  
Diatom Flora ◽  
North West ◽  
Ecological Conditions ◽  
The North

The associations and ecological conditions of the existence of modern diatoms of the North-West (Pridneprovsky), Prikerchensky and Eastern regions of the subtidal zone of the Black Sea are considered. Based on the unity of the composition of the Present and Sarmatian-Meotian diatom flora, an attempt has been made to model some of the ecological c situation of the Late Miocene Euxinian basin.

Evolution of Orogenic Plateaus at Subduction Zones - Sinking and raising the southern margin of the Central Anatolian Plateau

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Fernández-Blanco
Keyword(s):  
Tectonic Evolution ◽  
Subduction Zones ◽  
Inversion Tectonics ◽  
High Discharge ◽  
Anatolian Plateau ◽  
Surface Uplift ◽  
Southern Margin ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Forearc Basins ◽  
Orogenic Plateaus

Orogenic plateaus have raised abundant attention amongst geoscientists during the last decades, offering unique opportunities to better understand the relationships between tectonics and climate, and their expression on the Earth’s surface.Orogenic plateau margins are key areas for understanding the mechanisms behind plateau (de)formation. Plateau margins are transitional areas between domains with contrasting relief and characteristics; the roughly flat elevated plateau interior, often with internally drained endorheic basins, and the external steep areas, deeply incised by high-discharge rivers. This thesis uses a wide range of structural and tectonic approaches to investigate the evolution of the southern margin of the Central Anatolian Plateau (CAP), studying an area between the plateau interior and the Cyprus arc. Several findings are presented here that constrain the evolution, timing and possible causes behind the development of this area, and thus that of the CAP. After peneplanation of the regional orogeny, abroad regional subsidence took place in Miocene times in the absence of major extensional faults, which led to the formation of a large basin in the northeast Mediterranean. Late Tortonian and younger contractional structures developed in the interior of the plateau, in its margin and offshore, and forced the inversion tectonics that fragmented the early Miocene basin into the different present-day domains. The tectonic evolution of the southern margin of the CAP can be explained based on the initiation of subduction in south Cyprus and subsequent thermo-mechanical behavior of this subduction zone and the evolving rheology of the Anatolian plate. The Cyprus slab retreat and posterior pull drove subsidence first by relatively minor stretching of the crust and then by its flexure. The growth by accretion and thickening of the upper plate, and that of the associated forearc basins system, caused by accreting sediments, led to rheological changes at the base of the crust that allowed thermal weakening, viscous deformation, driving subsequent surface uplift and raising the modern Taurus Mountains. This mechanism could be responsible for the uplifted plateau-like areas seen in other accretionary margins. ISBN: 978-90-9028673-0

Late Miocene sediment delivery from the axial drainage system of the East Carpathian foreland basin to the Black Sea

Geology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 48 (8) ◽  
pp. 761-765 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arjan de Leeuw ◽  
Stephen J. Vincent ◽  
Anton Matoshko ◽  
Andrei Matoshko ◽  
Marius Stoica ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Black Sea ◽  
Late Miocene ◽  
Drainage System ◽  
Sediment Supply ◽  
Sediment Flux ◽  
Danube River ◽  
The Black Sea ◽  
Foreland Basins ◽  
Continental Scale ◽  
Slab Breakoff

Abstract We describe a late Miocene to early Pliocene axial drainage system in the East Carpathian foreland, which was an important sediment supplier to the Black Sea and the Dacian Basin. Its existence explains the striking progradation of the northwest Black Sea shelf prior to the onset of sediment supply from the continental-scale Danube River in the late Pliocene to Pleistocene. This axial drainage system evolved due to the diachronous along-strike evolution of the Carpathians and their foreland; continental collision, overfilling, slab breakoff, and subsequent exhumation of the foreland occurred earlier in the West Carpathians than in the East Carpathians. After overfilling of the western foreland, excess sediment was transferred along the basin axis, giving rise to a 300-km-wide by 800-km-long, southeast-prograding river-shelf-slope system with a sediment flux of ∼12 × 103 km3/m.y. Such late-stage axial sediment systems often develop in foreland basins, in particular, where orogenesis is diachronous along strike. Substantial lateral sediment transport thus needs to be taken into account, even though evidence of these axial systems is often eroded following slab breakoff and inversion of their foreland basins.

scholarly journals Melt equilibration depths as sensors of lithospheric thickness during Eurasia-Arabia collision and the uplift of the Anatolian Plateau

Geology ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 47 (10) ◽  
pp. 943-947 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.R. Reid ◽  
J.R. Delph ◽  
M.A. Cosca ◽  
W.K. Schleiffarth ◽  
G. Gençalioğlu Kuşcu
Keyword(s):  
Late Miocene ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Middle Miocene ◽  
Volcanic Rocks ◽  
Suture Zone ◽  
Arabian Plate ◽  
Seismic Structure ◽  
Eurasian Plate ◽  
Lithospheric Thickness ◽  
Anatolian Plateau

Abstract A co-investigation of mantle melting conditions and seismic structure revealed an evolutionary record of mantle dynamics accompanying the transition from subduction to collision along the Africa-Eurasia margin and the >1 km uplift of the Anatolian Plateau. New 40Ar/39Ar dates of volcanic rocks from the Eastern Taurides (southeast Turkey) considerably expand the known spatial extent of Miocene-aged mafic volcanism following a magmatic lull over much of Anatolia that ended at ca. 20 Ma. Mantle equilibration depths for these chemically diverse basalts are interpreted to indicate that early to middle Miocene lithospheric thickness in the region varied from ∼50 km or less near the Bitlis suture zone to ∼80 km near the Inner Tauride suture zone. This southward-tapering lithospheric base could be a vestige of the former interface between the subducted (and now detached) portion of the Arabian plate and the overriding Eurasian plate, and/or a reflection of mantle weakening associated with greater mantle hydration trenchward prior to collision. Asthenospheric upwelling driven by slab tearing and foundering along this former interface, possibly accompanied by convective removal of the lithosphere, could have led to renewed volcanic activity after 20 Ma. Melt equilibration depths for late Miocene and Pliocene basalts together with seismic imaging of the present lithosphere indicate that relatively invariant lithospheric thicknesses of 60–70 km have persisted since the middle Miocene. Thus, no evidence is found for large-scale (tens of kilometers) Miocene delamination of the lower lithosphere from the overriding plate, which has been proposed elsewhere to account for late Miocene and younger uplift of Anatolia.

Northern Anatolia before Classical Times

1956 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 179-203 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. A. Burney
Keyword(s):  
Bronze Age ◽  
Black Sea ◽  
Mediterranean Coast ◽  
Deciduous Forests ◽  
The Black Sea ◽  
Anatolian Plateau ◽  
North Side ◽  
Maritime Climate ◽  
The Bronze Age ◽  
Eastern Half

That part of northern Anatolia known in Greek and Roman times as Bithynia and Paphlagonia comprises a number of high ridges running from west to east, through which the rivers break their way in their tortuous courses down to the Black Sea. The region discussed in this article in fact comprises Paphlagonia, the eastern half of Bithynia and part of Phrygia, from the lower Sakarya to the mouth of the Halys; but, since these names do not apply to the Bronze Age, the whole will be termed northern Anatolia. As far south as the crest of the main ridge bounding the Anatolian plateau along its north side the land has a maritime climate quite different from that of either the plateau or the Mediterranean coast: rainfall is abundant, even at times in the summer; deciduous forests cover these north-facing slopes, right to the top. Sinop provides the best natural harbour on this coast. The change to the steppe country of the plateau is abrupt.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document