Metamorphic Map of the Eastern Mediterranean Realm

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Roland Oberhänsli
• Subject Area: Mineralogy, Petrology and Geochemistry
• Term: from 2009 to 2016
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 110304291

2004 a new map of the metamorphic structure of the Alps was published on behalf of CGMW (Oberhänsli et al., 2004). I co-ordinated this initiative since 2001 when I was appointed President of the sub-commission of the UNESCO Commission of the Geologic Map of the World, CGMW. Subsequently I started as co-ordinator of the World Metamorphic Maps a follow- up project that should end in a similar map compilation for the Aegean - Near East region, including Greece and Turkey, and eventually Armenia as well as NE Iran. During the last years fieldwork has confirmed a wide distribution of high-pressure rocks in SW Turkey, in the Anatolian-Taurid block along the Afyon Zone and the Bitlis Massif in Eastern Anatolia (my working group). Turkish colleagues focused on the Pontides and the Sakaria Blocks. These new findings added to a new vision of the geodynamic evolution of Turkey and complemented ongoing work by Greek, German and French colleagues in the Aegean realm, as well as the work of Armenian and French colleagues in the Lesser Caucasus. However, the new observations on metamorphic regions are not as dense and their geodynamic interpretation is by far not as well presented and understood in Turkey and the Lesser Caucasus as they are in the Aegean realm. Yet a metamorphic map of the Eastern Mediterranean Realm does not exist, but is under construction in our follow-up CGMW project. In order to compile successfully the data for the planned metamorphic map visits for discussion with colleagues in Greece, Turkey, Armenia and Iran are needed. To gather relevant missing data and merge critical data we plan additionally a joint wrap-up meeting in Istanbul.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants