Southeast Anatolian Orogenic Belt revisited (geology and evolution)

Abstract

The Southeast Anatolian Orogenic Belt consists of the Arabian Platform, a zone of imbrication, and a nappe zone. The Arabian Platform is represented by a thick marine succession. The zone of imbrication is a narrow belt sandwiched between the Arabian Platform and the nappes. The nappes are the highest tectonic unit. They consist of two continental slivers separated by ophiolitic associations representing oceanic environments. They were involved in the orogenic development and formed two metamorphic belts. The oceanic environment survived by the end of Middle Eocene. A northward subduction began in this ocean and generated the Elbistan–Yüksekova arc built above the Göksun ophiolite. Development of the Southeastern Anatolian Orogenic Belt began in the north, where the Binboğa–Malatya metamorphic massif, collided with the Elbistan volcanic arc to the end of Early Eocene period. Later new tectonic entities were accreted to this progressively growing and southerly transporting nappe stack. In the lower plate, the southern continental sliver that was attached to the oceanic slab subducted together and underwent high-pressure metamorphism. The subducting oceanic slab retreated. Asthenospheric inflow caused high-temperature metamorphism, which superimposed on the previous high-pressure metamorphism. The oceanic and continental fragments formed the Bitlis Massif and the Berit metaophiolite when exhumed. A younger volcanic arc was built on the ocean floor to the south. Accretion of the volcanic arc to the nappe pile occurred during the Late Eocene period. The orogenic belt was formed when the nappes collided with the Arabian plate during the Late Miocene.

Morphotectonic development of the Adana plain and the surrounding mountains, South Turkey

“…Data discussed in the preceding paragraphs lead to infer that the development of the Adana plain, the AİBC, and the surrounding mountains are genetically associated with the two groups of tectonic events; (1) the evolution of the SAOB (Yılmaz 1993(Yılmaz , 2019McKay and Robertson 2013) and 2the tectonic activities in the Eastern Mediterranean (Le Pichon and Kramer 2010; Özeren and Holt 2010;Robertson et al 2012;Harrison et al 2012;Schildgen et al 2012a, b;Kinnaird and Robertson 2013;Yılmaz 2019).…”

“…The northward advance of the Arabian Plate continued after the collision. The remnant seas that followed the ocean's demise survived until the late Miocene (Yılmaz 1993(Yılmaz , 2019. The evidence for this is the development of the E-W trending flysch belts accumulated in front of the nappes during the Miocene (Yilmaz 1993(Yilmaz ,2019Siyako et al 2013).…”

“…The evidence for this is the development of the E-W trending flysch belts accumulated in front of the nappes during the Miocene (Yilmaz 1993(Yilmaz ,2019Siyako et al 2013). Along the SAOB, the remnant seas disappeared before the end of Miocene, as revealed by the gradual transition from the linear flysch to shallow marine and terrestrial sediments (Yılmaz 1984(Yılmaz , 1993(Yılmaz ,2019Yılmaz et al 1988). When evaluated on a regional scale, the regressive successions indicate that the sea retreated from the SAOB to the Eastern Mediterranean, where it remained probably to the Pleistocene (Yilmaz 1993;Özdoğan et al 2011;Siyako et al 2013) and then was ruptured and partly destroyed.…”

“…The strike-slip faulting followed it, possibly during the Pliocene-Pleistocene. (Yılmaz 2017(Yılmaz , 2019. The southerly transported fault blocks began to supply clastic materials into the Adana depression (Yılmaz 1984;Gürsoy et al 2003).…”

Comparisons Between Tethyan Anorthosite‐Bearing Ophiolites and Archean Anorthosite‐Bearing Layered Intrusions: Implications for Archean Geodynamic Processes

“…Polat, Longstaffe, et al (2018) highlighted the similarity between Phanerozoic anorthosite‐bearing ophiolites and Archean anorthosite‐bearing layered intrusions and concluded that the latter formed in arc‐rift or back‐arc geodynamic settings. Some of the Phanerozoic ophiolites that formed during the opening and closure of the Tethys oceans (Paleo‐ and Neo‐Tethys), and therefore, the creation of the Alpine, Dinaride, Balkan, Taurus, Pontide, Caucasus, Zagros, and Himalayan mountain ranges (Dilek & Furnes, 2009; Şengör, 1979, 1990; Şengör et al, 2019; Yılmaz, 2019) contain anorthosites and share petrological and geochemical similarities with Archean anorthosite‐bearing layered intrusions (see Polat, Longstaffe, et al, 2018). The petrological and geochemical similarities between these Tethyan ophiolites and Archean anorthosite‐bearing layered intrusions include the fact that they both contain anorthosite‐bearing mafic to ultramafic cumulate sequences that are spatially associated with pillow basalts, and both have depleted, subduction‐derived N‐MORB‐normalized trace element patterns exhibiting variably negative Nb‐Ta‐Ti anomalies and high large‐ion‐lithophile abundances (Ashwal & Bybee, 2017; Dilek & Thy, 2009; Dilek & Furnes, 2009, 2011, 2014; Pearce, 2014; Polat, Longstaffe, et al, 2018).…”