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The Konya region in central Anatolia is covered by Pliocene-Late Pleistocene sediments and volcanites related to the sediments NNW of Karapınar, Turkey. In the area, the Upper Miocene-Quaternary Üzecek Dağı and Karacadağ volcanites are generally of the same age and formed from magmas of similar composition. The Karapınar formation is brown to whitish-beige, partly fossiliferous and consists of limestone, marl, claystone and, locally, sandy layers. Silica-rich lenses, nodules and layers are observed in the upper strata which locally contain sepiolite-rich layers. The mineralogical composition of sepiolite samples taken from the area was determined by powder X-ray diffractometry, while the abundance of major-element oxides was measured by X-ray fluorescence spectrometry. The crystallographic and morphological properties of samples were determined by means of scanning electron microscopy and energy dispersive spectroscopy. Samples were taken from three sections and from random locations. Mineral assemblages in the same stratigraphic position are generally similar in the three sections, while the thickness of the individual beds varies between the sections. Dolomite and calcite are the main carbonate minerals in the sections. Sepiolite occurs primarily with dolomite and, locally, dolomite and calcite, and less commonly with just calcite. Generally, quartz, feldspar and mica are found, especially in the upper parts of the sections where tuff is abundant. CaO and MgO dominate the major-element oxides. The CaO content is between 1 and 30% while MgO is 3–21%. Al2O3 and SiO2 are generally higher in the sepiolitic and tuffitic layers. Al2O3 is <3% and SiO2 is between 15–18% in the sepiolitic layers. The average structural formula of sepiolite was calculated as: (Mg7.00Al0.44Fe0.18)(Si11.71Al0.29)O30 (OH)4(OH2)4Ca0.13K0.09Na0.01. Sepiolite occurs as fibers and dolomite as subhedral or euhedral crystals. It is considered that sepiolite was formed either by conversion of dolomite or by direct precipitation from solution under alkaline and saline conditions in the Karapınar paleolake. The paleolake was saturated with respect to Mg, Ca and Si derived from groundwater that percolated along fracture systems.

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The Altınekin Complex in south central Turkey forms part of the south-easterly extension of the Tavşanlı Zone, a Cretaceous subduction complex formed during the closure of the Neo-Tethys ocean. The protoliths of metamorphic rocks within the Altınekin Complex include peridotites, chromitites, basalts, ferruginous cherts and flysch-facies impure carbonate sediments. Structurally, the complex consists of a stack of thrust slices, with massive ophiolite tectonically overlying a Cretaceous sediment-hosted ophiolitic mélange, in turn overlying a sequence of Mesozoic sediments.Rocks within the two lower structural units have undergone blueschist-facies metamorphism. Petrographic, mineralchemical and thermobarometric studies were undertaken on selected samples of metasedimentary and metabasic rock in order to establish the time relations of deformation and metamorphism and to constrain metamorphic conditions. Microstructures record two phases of plastic deformation, one predating the metamorphic peak, and one postdating it. Estimated peak metamorphic pressures mostly fall in the range 9-11 kbar, corresponding to burial depths of 31-38 km, equivalent to the base of a continental crust of normal thickness. Best-fit peak metamorphic temperatures range from 375 to 450 C. Metamorphic fluids had high H 2 O:CO 2 ratios. Peak metamorphic temperature/depth ratios (T/d values) were low (c. 10-14 C/km), consistent with metamorphism in a subduction zone. Lawsonite-bearing rocks in the southern part of the ophiolitic mélange record lower peak temperatures and T/d values than epidote blueschists elsewhere in the unit, hinting that the latter may consist of two or more thrust slices with different metamorphic histories. Differences in peak metamorphic conditions also exist between the ophiolitic mélange and the underlying metasediments.Rocks of the Altınekin Complex were subducted to much shallower depths, and experienced higher geothermal gradients, than those of the NW Tavşanlı Zone, possibly indicating dramatic lateral variation in subduction style.Retrograde P-T paths in the Altınekin Complex were strongly decompressive, resulting in localized overprinting of epidote blueschists by greenschist-facies assemblages, and of lawsonite blueschists by pumpellyite-facies assemblages. The observation that the second deformation was associated with decompression is consistent with, but not proof of, exhumation by a process that involved deformation of the hanging-wall wedge, such as gravitational spreading, corner flow or buoyancy-driven shallowing of the subduction zone.