Sedimentology of two fan-delta systems in the Pliocene-Pleistocene of the Mesaoria Basin, Cyprus

McCallum, Jean E.; Robertson, Alastair H. F.

doi:10.1016/0037-0738(95)00034-6

Cited by 43 publications

(42 citation statements)

References 13 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…In the area of Mesaoria, during the early Tertiary, the Lefkara formation was deposited over the ophiolite, followed by the deposition of the Pakhna formation [23]. The Mesaoria basin started to form towards the end of Miocene [24] and the Nicosia Formation is related to the filling stage of this graben.…”

Section: Geological Setting Of the Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing the Long-Term Behaviour of the Industrial Bentonites Employed in a Repository for Radioactive Wastes by Studying Natural Bentonites in the Field

Alexander¹,

Reijonen

MacKinnon

et al. 2017

Geosciences

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Bentonite makes an important contribution to the performance of the engineered barriers in most radioactive waste repository designs. The choice of bentonite results from its favourable properties for waste isolation and its stability in relevant geological environments. However, the longevity of bentonite (especially the resistance to waste container sinking) has been little studied. Modelling results suggest significant bentonite deformation and associated canister sinking is unlikely and, here, long-term natural system data are used as a reality check on model predictions. Results indicate that bentonite from the investigated site shows no significant deviation in bulk physical parameters from repository bentonite. However, micro-scale shear planes can be seen throughout the sampled cores. The presence of multi-directional S- and C-type shears suggests they originate from loading from the overlying limestone, not gravitational tectonics. The plastic limits and angles of shearing resistance for natural and repository bentonites suggest both are susceptible to shearing. The impact of bentonite shear under load could be minimised by appropriate design, but existing lower activity waste container designs do not consider the potentially high external stresses from the bentonite backfill and this should be addressed in future.

show abstract

Section: Geological Setting Of the Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing the Long-Term Behaviour of the Industrial Bentonites Employed in a Repository for Radioactive Wastes by Studying Natural Bentonites in the Field

Alexander¹,

Reijonen

MacKinnon

et al. 2017

Geosciences

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Of these, the Myrtou (Çamlıbel) Formation comprises interbedded marls and siltstones (Baroz 1979;Yetis et al 1995;McCay et al 2012), whereas the Nicosia (Lefkosa) Formation is made up of interbedded marls and chalks (Baroz 1979;Yetis et al 1995). Above this, the Athalassa (Gürpınar) Formation is predominantly shallow-marine carbonate grainstones (Baroz 1979;McCallum & Robertson 1995a;Harrison et al 2004). Finally, the traditional Fanglomerate Formation is represented by a series of terrace deposits on both flanks of the Kyrenia Range (Ducloz 1964;Knup 1965;Baroz 1979).…”

Section: Geological Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The presence of non-marine, fluvial deposits (Apalos Formation) around the periphery of the Troodos Massif indicates that this area was above sea level by the Late Pliocene (McCallum & Robertson 1995a;Schirmer et al 2010;Kinnaird et al 2011;Weber et al 2011). Throughout the Mesaoria (Mesarya) Basin, the mudstone and marl facies of the Nicosia (Lefkosa) Formation pass transitionally upwards into bioclastic calcarenites of the Athalassa (Gürpınar) Formation.…”

Section: Timing Of Upliftmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantitative dating of Pleistocene deposits of the Kyrenia Range, northern Cyprus: implications for timing, rates of uplift and driving mechanisms

Palamakumbura

Robertson

Kinnaird

et al. 2016

JGS

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The Kyrenia Range underwent tectonically driven uplift during the Pliocene to Pleistocene in response to the interaction of various tectonic processes. To understand the tectonic processes driving the uplift and how this is related to uplift of other areas of the Eastern Mediterranean, uranium-series disequilibrium and optically stimulated luminescence dating were applied to marine and non-marine terrace deposits exposed on the northern flank of the range. Palaeomagnetism and strontium isotope dating were used in conjunction to date the final stages of the marine environment adjacent to the Kyrenia Range prior to major surface uplift. Uplift rates range from >1.2 mm a −1 , inferred during the Early Pleistocene, to <0.2 mm a −1 during the Late Pleistocene. The new data show that the Kyrenia Range was uplifted contemporaneously with the Troodos Massif in southern Cyprus. The uplift of the Kyrenia Range appears to have been significantly faster than that affecting other comparable regions in the easternmost Mediterranean during the Pleistocene (e.g. Lebanon coast; southern Anatolian plateau). The driving mechanism for the uplift of both the Kyrenia Range and the Troodos Massif is inferred to be the collision of the Eratosthenes Seamount with the Cyprus trench to the south of Cyprus.Supplementary material: Details of the methods used are available at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.3260977.

show abstract

“…The Apalós Formation is the first recognizable fluvial system on the northern flank of the Tróodos Mountains [8]. Its fluvial stack is morphologically followed by a fluvial staircase that extends down to the recent rivers.…”

Section: The Vlokkariá Sectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These Kyrenia rocks do not affect the fluvial drainage of the northern Tróodos slope. The Mesaoría Basin was formed in the late Miocene [2,8] during marine deposition of the Nicosia Formation flanked by the then recently risen margins of the Tróodos Mountains to the south and the Kyrenia Range to the north. The basin fill consists mainly of marl, with some calcarenite, oolite, gravel and sand up to a maximum thickness of 900 m. Its age ranges from late Miocene through Pliocene and probably to early Pleistocene.…”

Section: Geological Settingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fluvial stacking due to plate collision and uplift during the Early Pleistocene in Cyprus

Schirmer

Weber²,

Bachtadse

et al. 2010

Open Geosciences

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Southern Cyprus is situated within a mosaic terrane that has been fragmented between the northward drifting African and Arabian plates and the Eurasian plate. Enormous uplift of the earth mantle in the Tróodos Mountains is explained by two models. The subduction model explains subduction along the Cyprean arc to be the driving force for uplift whereas after the restraining bend model westward squeezing of Cyprus along strike-slip faulting is responsible for the enormous uplift at restraining bends. Since its emergence as an island in early Miocene times, landscape formation on Cyprus has been strongly controlled by this uplift. Until the Plio-Pleistocene, a strait belt separated the southern unroofed ophiolitic core region-the Tróodos Mountainsfrom the folded Kyrenia range to the north. This former sea basin, nowadays the Mesaoría Basin, is linked with the Tróodos Mountains by a dissected glacis with a thick cover of river deposits. The highest and oldest river deposits (Apalós Formation) were studied in the Vlokkariá hill southwest of Lefkosía. The 45.5 m thick Apalós Formation of Early Pleistocene age exhibits 24 sedimentary units (Fluviatile Series). Their magnetostratigraphical characters align with the Matuyama chron including the Olduvai and Jaramillo subchrons thus comprising about 1.15 Ma within the Early Pleistocene. This fluvial stack indicates a very flat and deeply lying river environment flowing from a slowly uplifting Tróodos hinterland. It happened during the end of Early Pleistocene when the enhanced Tróodos uplift started the dissection of the stacked river plain.

show abstract

Sedimentology of two fan-delta systems in the Pliocene-Pleistocene of the Mesaoria Basin, Cyprus

Cited by 43 publications

References 13 publications

Assessing the Long-Term Behaviour of the Industrial Bentonites Employed in a Repository for Radioactive Wastes by Studying Natural Bentonites in the Field

Assessing the Long-Term Behaviour of the Industrial Bentonites Employed in a Repository for Radioactive Wastes by Studying Natural Bentonites in the Field

Quantitative dating of Pleistocene deposits of the Kyrenia Range, northern Cyprus: implications for timing, rates of uplift and driving mechanisms

Fluvial stacking due to plate collision and uplift during the Early Pleistocene in Cyprus

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About