Late Palaeozoic evolution of Palaeotethys in the Eastern Mediterranean region
Final Report Abstract
This project focused on Palaeotethys-related sedimentary successions in key areas of western and central Turkey. A multi-method provenance approach provided constraints on the age, composition and origin of the various rock units. Provenance data helped to decipher the sources for the detrital material during deposition, i.e., derivation from either Eurasia or Gondwana or both. The data allow placing the investigated tectonostratigraphic units within the Palaeotethyan realm in Late Palaeozoic and Early Mesozoic times. Some of the previous models in which the study areas are placed together along the northern margin of Gondwana do not conform to the results obtained in this project. Detrital zircon ages identified Eurasiaderived sources for many of the investigated successions. Low textural and compositional maturity of most of the studied samples indicate relatively proximal provenance and the presence of a nearby volcanic arc. Part of the data have already been published, but data evaluation is still ongoing to present a concise palaeotectonic model in the near future.
Publications
- (2017): Palaeotethys-related sediments of the Karaburun Peninsula, western Turkey: constraints on provenance and stratigraphy from detrital zircon geochronology. International Journal of Earth Sciences, 106(8), 2771-2796
Löwen K, Meinhold G, Güngör T, Berndt J
(See online at https://doi.org/10.1007/s00531-017-1458-9) - Provenance and tectonic setting of Carboniferous–Triassic sandstones from the Karaburun Peninsula, western Turkey: A multi-method approach with implications for the Palaeotethys evolution. Sedimentary Geology
Löwen K, Meinhold G, Güngör T
(See online at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sedgeo.2017.11.006)
