deformation history of the high pressure lycian nappes and implications for tectonic evolution of sw turkey 1 in southwestern turkey the lycian nappe complex which overlies the autochthonous menderes massif and bey dag platform consists from base to top of metasediments a melange unit and an ophiolitic sequence fresh fe mg carpholite occurrence in the metasediments attests to a high pressure low temperature metamorphic event we report the distribution of fe mg carpholite and its breakdown products e g pyrophyllite and chloritoid on the bodrum peninsula south of the menderes crystalline massif the distribution of fe mg carpholite and its relics shows that the low grade high pressure metamorphism affected a widespread area in the lower units of the lycian nappes analysis of the ductile deformation in hp lt metasediments indicates shear senses top to the northeast to top to the east most of this deformation is contemporaneous with the retrogression of high pressure low temperature parageneses and is therefore coeval with exhumation from a depth of about 30 km at the top of the menderes massif cover series close to the contact with the lycian nappes similar eastward displacements are observed and trajectories of the stretching lineations are continuous from the lycian nappes to the menderes massif across the contact these observed movements are incompatible with the southward transport of the lycian nappes over the menderes massif we discuss the regional tectonic implications and conclude that the lycian nappes and the southernmost part of the menderes massif were exhumed in two stages 1 eocene top to the ne shear syn orogenic extension 2 miocene deformation contemporaneous with the aegean extension

progressive development of the buyuk menderes graben based on new data western turkey oblique and normal fault systems exposed in the buyuk menderes graben bmg region record two successive and independent complex tectonic events the first group tectonic event is defined by an e w extension related to n s contraction and transpression this group is responsible for the development of nw and ne trending conjugate pairs of oblique faults which controlled early middle miocene basin formation between the early middle miocene and plio quaternary strata exists an unconformity indicating a period of folding uplift and severe erosion associated with n s shortening the second group of events was the change in tectonic regime from e w extension to n s extension which controlled the formation of the buyuk menderes graben by three progressive pulses of deformation the first pulse of extensional deformation was initially recorded in the region by the exhumation of the deep part of the menderes massif mm with the development of the e trending buyuk menderes detachment fault bmdf the minimum age of this pulse is constrained by the older plio quaternary fluviatile deposits of the buyuk menderes graben that range in age from the plio pleistocene boundary interval to late pleistocene the second pulse which is marked by the rapid deposition of alluvial deposits initiated the formation of approximately e w trending high angle normal faults synthetic and antithetic to the buyuk menderes detachment fault on the northern margin during holocene times these faults are interpreted as secondary steeper listric faults that merge with the main buyuk menderes detachment fault at depth the third pulse was the migration of the buyuk menderes graben depocentre to the present day position by diachronous activity of secondary steeper listric faults these steeper faults are the most seismically active tectonic elements in western turkey according to the stratigraphic and structural data the n s extension in the buyuk menderes graben region produced a progressive deformation phase with different pulses during its plio quaternary evolution with migration of deformation from the master fault to the hangingwall the formation of diachronous secondary synthetic and antithetic steeper faults on the upper plate of the buyuk menderes detachment fault hence the southward migration of the deformation and of the buyuk menderes graben depocentre should be related to the evolution of detachment in the region the presence of the seismically active splays of secondary faults implies an active detachment system in the region this young plio quaternary n s extension in the buyuk menderes graben may be attributed to the combined effects of the two continuing processes in aegean region the first process is back arc spreading or probably the roll back of african slab below the south aegean arc which seems to be responsible for the change in the stress tensor from e w extension to n s extension the second and later event is the southwestward escape of the anatolian block along its boundary fault that is the north anatolian fault naf

palynology sedimentology and palaeoecology of the late holocene dead sea abstract palynological and sedimentological studies were performed at two holocene profiles in erosion gullies ze elim and ein feshkha which dissect the retreating western shore of the dead sea the aim of the project was to analyse possible links between climate lithology and vegetation development the section in ze elim shows both lacustrine and fluvial sediments whereas sedimentation at ein feshkha is predominantly lacustrine the ze elim profile previously used for paleo lake reconstruction provides an opportunity to compare climate triggered lake levels as paleo hydrological indicators and vegetation history by use of palynology the vegetation development in ze elim and ein feshkha is influenced by both climate and human impact the pollen record of ze elim begins in the pottery neolithic the section of ein feshkha in the late bronze age both records end in the middle ages the ze elim section is characterized by sedimentary hiati between the beginning of the chalcolithic period until the middle bronze age and within the late bronze age settlement periods during the middle bronze age iron age and hellenistic roman byzantine period are indicated by high values of anthropogenic indicators and or mediterranean trees collapses of agriculture which can be related to climate effects are evident during the late bronze age during the iron age and at the end of the byzantine period when the lake level curve indicates arid conditions a comparison of the two pollen records from different environments illustrates a more prominent influence of mediterranean vegetation and cultivated plants in the pollen diagram of ein feshkha the southern dead sea region at the desert fringe is more vulnerable to regional climate change

miocene nne directed extensional unroofing in the menderes massif southwestern turkey structural investigations in the central part of the menderes massif odemio kiraz submas sif reveal the presence of a large scale low angle extensional shear zone with a top to the n ne shear sense regional ductile deformation was accompanied by the intrusion of two syntectonic granodiorites that have been dated with the 40 ar 39 ar method one hornblende isochron age of 19 5 1 4 ma and two biotite plateau ages of 13 1 0 2 and 12 2 0 4 ma respectively constrain that extension was already active in the early miocene successive tectonic denudation of the odemio kiraz submassif resulted in the formation of a n dipping detachment fault in which ductile fabrics were severely reworked by cataclasis under decreasing temperature syntectonic neogene sediments currently exposed along the southern margin of the gediz graben were deposited in the hanging wall of the extensional fault system and were tectonically emplaced onto the cataclasites during progressive exhumation minor rotation c 15 caused southward tilting of the sediments ongoing nne directed extension created a steep normal fault that truncates the detachment fault and constitutes the southern boundary fault of the gediz graben

gully incision as a key factor in desertification in an arid environment the negev highlands israel abstract gully incision has been eroding the alluvial sediments and loess soils deposited and developed along the valleys in the arid and semiarid regions of israel this phenomenon is critical in the arid regions of the negev highlands where the agricultural fields the main floral biomass and the areas which have the highest grazing value are limited to narrow valleys filled with redeposited loessial sediments the headcut migration and gully development in the region were studied between 1990 and 2001 in three representative drainage basins zipporim revivim and sekher during flood events the runoff penetrates the alluvial cover of the valleys forming vertical headcuts which gradually retreat up the valley the runoff is channeled into narrow gullies preventing the floodwater from spreading over the whole width of the valley the change in irrigation efficiency along the valleys is reflected in a sharp estimated drop of 70 90 in the floral biomass causing the reduction of the range value by 83 99 during the monitoring time interval 1990 2001 the linear gully retreat in the study area ranged between 12 3 and 250 m an average rate of 1 12 22 7 m year 1 for each gully head the process is accompanied by erosion of soil which has high agricultural and range value the total soil losses in these sites ranged between 800 and 9000 m3 at an average rate of 81 818 m3 year 1 for each gully head which is equivalent to 121 1227 mg year 1 during the monitoring period approximately 0 11 0 87 ha of land lost its agricultural and range value in each basin under study at an average rate of 0 01 0 079 ha year 1 since the byzantine period 1400 bp approximately 6 5 ha which is 10 of the land that had high agricultural and range value in the zipporim valley lost its value due to gully erosion no recovery effects of the gully channels were found in the nearby region the soil erosion is generated by a long term natural dynamic change in the soil rock ratio evolving within the drainage basins through time since the termination of the last glacial phase the loessic sediments originally deposited within the drainage basins during the late pleistocene glacial stage are being removed under the present holocene climate in several erosion stages this ongoing phenomenon is causing degradation of soil and biomass and is severely reducing the agricultural and range potential of the region these parameters indicate that an ongoing process of desertification is active in the arid environment of the negev highlands and is advancing in proportion to the headcut retreat rates in the region the soil erosion and headcut retreat have been active in the negev highlands for the last few millennia if these processes continue in the future the negev highlands region will lose its agricultural potential within a few millennia however the fact that the ancient inhabitants of the region implemented successful long term land conservation techniques already 3000 years ago implies that a sustainable land management policy can be adapted to the negev highlands as well as to other semi arid regions in the middle east

an active bivergent rolling hinge detachment system central menderes metamorphic core complex in western turkey two symmetrically arranged detachment systems delimit the central menderes metamorphic core complex and define a bivergent continental breakaway zone in the anatolide belt of western turkey structural analysis and apatite fission track thermochronology show that a large east trending syncline within the alpine nappe stack in the central part of the orogen is related to late miocene early pliocene to recent core complex formation the syncline formed as a result of two opposite facing rolling hinges in the footwalls of each of the two detachments back rotation of the syncline limbs suggests that the detachments rotated from an initial dip of 408 608 to a currently shallow orientation of 08 208

speleothem record of climatic changes in the northern aegean region greece from the bronze age to the collapse of the roman empire abstract the climatic transitional zone of the northern aegean sea potentially affected by different weather systems in the past was the center of developed human societies that experienced rise and fall in the context of a few centuries interconnections of human occupation and climate shifts from the bronze age until the demise of the roman empire are investigated based on the first high resolution isotope record of a stalagmite from northern aegean region skala marion cave thassos island greece fourteen u th dated layers tune precisely the isotope signal and provide distinct information of climate deterioration to drier conditions at 3900 3700 3600 3400 2600 2000 and after 1500 yr bp the intensity of the impact of these deteriorations on human societies is evaluated against archaeological data and in respect to the tolerance of the societies in the bronze age versus the iron age finally it is evident that downscaling to local environments result in time discrepancies between the records which could only be addressed when the most robust and large amplitude oscillations have been identified

the role of the flexural rotation rolling hinge model in the tectonic evolution of the alasehir graben western turkey the alasehir graben is a well defined prominent extensional structure in western turkey generally trending e w and containing four sedimentary units at the beginning of graben formation during early middle miocene times the first fault system was active and responsible for the accumulation of the first and second sedimentary units in pliocene times a second fault system developed in the hanging wall of the first system and a third sedimentary unit was deposited the recently active third fault system separates older graben fill and a fourth sedimentary unit activity on each fault system caused the rotation and uplift of previous systems similar to the flexural rotation rolling hinge model but our field observations indicate that the rotated first fault system is also active allowing exhumation of larger amounts of rock units this paper documents that graben formation in western turkey is a sequential process its different periods are represented by three fault systems and associated sedimentation consequently recent claims using age data from only the second and or third sedimentary units to determine the timing of graben formation are misleading

holocene environmental change and its impact on sediment dynamics in the eastern mediterranean abstract investigators have studied past environmental change in the eastern mediterranean region from a number of perspectives while climate reconstructions and palynological research have focused on forces that drive the geomorphologic system many researchers have attempted to use sediment archive studies to identify periods of change in sediment dynamics due to the large variability in environmental parameters and the variety of landscapes present in the eastern mediterranean region research has focused on sediment archives ranging from small colluvial sites to deltas of large rivers on the mediterranean coast as the cultural record for the region is extremely rich the main goal of palaeo environmental research in the eastern mediterranean has been to identify the relative importance of human impact on the landscape nevertheless sediment archives have significant limitations chronological control for many palaeo environmental records is highly uncertain and rates of landscape change are oftentimes difficult to assess most palaeo environmental research has been conducted on or near archeological sites where direct human impact may obscure the indirect impact on sediment dynamics through land use changes quantification and modeling of sediment dynamics in the eastern mediterranean environment offer one solution when erosion and sediment transport rate analyses are incorporated periods of relatively important change can be identified using multiple approaches the relative importance of the main driving forces climate and land use become distinguishable since field based data from the actual sediment archives remain vital an overview of numerous studies in the eastern mediterranean is provided in order to draw a general picture for different time periods and the relative scale of regional landscape development during the holocene a comparison of sediment dynamics with the record of driving forces indicates that while climate was the main driver of the geomorphic system during the early holocene at some point human impact became widespread and began to dictate sediment dynamics to a large extent from the byzantine period onward soil properties seem to play an increasingly important role as the hillslope soil reservoir in the eastern mediterranean was progressively depleted during the late holocene

geology of the bozdag area central menderes massif sw turkey pan african basement and alpine deformation the menderes massif consists of a precambrian core series that preserves evidence for a polymetamorphic history and a paleozoic mesozoic cover series that experienced only the alpine tectonometamorphic evolution structural petrographic and geochronologic investigations in the central menderes massif demonstrate that a part of the metamorphic and structural evolution of the precambrian basement is older than the undeformed 551 1 4 ma old birgi metagranite and b inferred alpine fabrics overprinting the cover series largely have the same attitudes as the old structures in the much older core series the inferred alpine fabrics include both contractional and extensional structures contraction under greenschist to amphibolite facies conditions resulted in the imbrication of the core and cover series and generated an inverted metamorphic sequence by north directed thrusting during alpine extension most of the south dipping thrust faults were reactivated as extensional shear zones under decreasing greenschist facies conditions

human induced calcretisation in anthropogenic soils and sediments field observations and micromorphology in a mediterranean climatic zone israel abstract for over a century the study of pedogenic calcrete and its formation focuses on natural processes disregarding the possible role of humans in its formation here we present field and micromorphological evidence from archaeological and modern sites in the eastern mediterranean region israel that indicate that some specific calcretes are human induced we demonstrate that anthropogenic affected calcrete differs from natural non human induced calcrete we show that the occurrence of the human induced calcrete is spatially limited and is associated with both macro and micro scale remnants and occasionally high content of organic material we propose an operative definition for anthropogenic calcretisation as the interference of humans with a component s that influence the formation of calcrete we assume that if present day calcretised environments will retain their calcretisation prone conditions for the next 5 10 millennia a distinct calcretic morphology could become a significant terrestrial formation this discovery can be particularly useful for evaluating past human impact on the environment adding a new archaeological set of research tools that should further be developed

excess in precipitation as a cause for settlement decline along the israeli coastal plain during the third millennium bc although the relations between climate and settlement are not straightforward there is a general agreement that arid conditions are less favorable for human settlement in the semiarid near east than humid conditions here we show that humid conditions resulted in the abandonment of settlements along the israeli coastal plain we first present archaeological evidence for a drastic decline in settlement along the israeli coast during most of the third millennium bc early bronze age ii iii then based on archaeological and climatic evidence we link this decline to an environmental change occurring at that time we propose that increased precipitation intensified the already existing drainage problems and resulted in flooding which led to the transformation of arable land into marshes and to the spread of diseases gradually causing settlement decline and abandonment

southern menderes massif an incipient metamorphic core complex in western anatolia turkey in the southern sector of the menderes massif north of selimiye milas augen gneisses interpreted as a deformed peraluminous granite have been dynamothermally metamorphosed and are surrounded by and intrude a regionally metamorphosed palaeozoic envelope the granitic rocks exhibit a moderately dipping mylonitic foliation and nne ssw trending mineral elongation lineation the progressive deformation of the granitic rocks produces a structural sequence typical of an extensional shear zone marked from bottom to top by a very thick extensive zone of mylonites followed in turn by brecciated mylonite and cataclasite the kinematic indicators exhibit a top to the south down dip sense of shear these structures are attributed to exhumation of the granitic rocks of the massif along a major south dipping normal sense shear zone that accommodated crustal extension during late oligocene collapse of the orogen in western turkey thus the southern menderes massif may be interpreted as the exhumed footwall of a major extensional shear zone and possibly as an incipient core complex

granitoid rocks of the southern menderes massif southwestern turkey field evidence for tertiary magmatism in an extensional shear zone recent field campaign in the southern menderes massif in southwestern turkey revealed that the so called core of the massif comprises two distinct types of granitoid rocks an orthogneiss traditionally known as augen gneisses and leucocratic metagranite where the latter is intrusive into the former and the structurally overlying cover schists these differ from one another in intensity of deformation degree of metamorphism and kinematics the orthogneiss display penetrative top to the n nne fabrics formed under upper amphibolite facies conditions during the eocene main menderes metamorphism mmm whereas foliation and stretching lineation exists in the leucocratic metagranites but are not strongly developed the leucocratic metagranites show evidence of syn to post emplacement deformation in a series of weakly developed top to the s ssw fabrics formed under lower greenschist facies conditions leucocratic metagranite bodies occur all along the augen gneiss schist contact in the southern menderes massif they are emplaced as sheet like bodies into country rocks previously deformed and metamorphosed during a top to the n nne alpine orogeny along a ductile extensional shear zone located between orthogneisses and metasediments which was possibly active during emplacement the data presently available indicate that emplacement and associated ductile extensional deformation occurred during late oligocene early miocene time these results confirm previous contentions that there are tertiary granites in this part of the menderes massif

hydrothermal co2 degassing in seismically active zones during the late quaternary natural co2 discharges are abundant in turkey as evident from ongoing deposition of recent terrace mound travertines and emplacement of significant travertine vein and breccia deposits in fractured damage zones of active fault systems we report high precision u series age data for the vein carbonates combined with important field observations and geochemical data to evaluate the travertine veining and co2 degassing history in seismically active areas field evidence suggests that travertine filled veins and associated breccias represent hydrothermal eruption products which probably formed by hydraulic fracturing in response to overpressure of co2 rich fluids stable isotope and ree data support the field observations and indicate that travertine veins formed as thermogene deposits from rapidly ascending co2 rich fluids travertine veins from the kirsehir geothermal field give u series ages in a range from 10 6 0 3 ka to 86 16 1 24 ka with a majority of ages failing between 10 6 0 3 and 11 3 0 2 ka vein samples from the pamukkale geothermal field yield u series ages between 21 1 0 1 ka and 73 6 0 6 ka two major age groups are evident in pamukkale that cluster coherently around 21 ka and 25 ka a large number of travertine veins we dated by high precision u series technique coincide with times of cold dry climate events this is different from surface sinter deposits in geothermal fields which more frequently form during warm and wet periods we propose that a significant reduction in surface discharge of co2 by spring or geothermal waters during dry climate periods may promote oversaturation of co2 in deep reservoirs host rock fracturing in response to seismic shaking and fluid overpressure results in rapid exsolution and expansion of the dissolved gas and may lead to hydrothermal eruptions crown copyright c 2009 published by elsevier b v all rights reserved

sarcopoterium spinosum from mosaic structure to matrix structure impact of calcrete nari on vegetation in a mediterranean semi arid landscape abstract sarcopoterium spinosum l s p is a common type of dwarf shrub in the eastern mediterranean area this study focuses on the semi arid south western judean foothills shephelah in israel characterized by a hilly landscape with variable coverage of hard calcrete rock outcrops nari on chalk the following research questions were addressed 1 what is the effect of calcrete rock outcrops on s p and the spatial composition of the vegetative landscape 2 what are the landscape conditions in which s p dominates the vegetation 3 what is the spatial structure and occupation strategy of s p in relation to rocky and non rocky landscape surfaces a field study was conducted to measure visual surface coverage of five components s p shrub excluding s p and including other dwarf shrubs and trees annuals rock and bare soil the results show that rock an abiotic component plays an important role in the semi arid landscape of the research area when rocky coverage is more than 14 of the surface its presence contributes to high heterogeneity and advanced ecological niches and governs the appearance and distribution of biotic components such as s p and others among the studied components the relationship between rock and s p was found to be the strongest furthermore rock and s p seem to fill interchangeable functions as rock presence decreases s p distribution increases when rock coverage is less than 14 s p becomes the dominant landscape component covering 37 77 of the surface characterized by large patches with a high level of homogeneity along the entire slope our results show that the rock s p ratio controls changes in the landscape structure varying from stable heterogenic mosaic to stable homogeneous s p matrix

sea land oxygen isotopic relationships from planktonic foraminifera and speleothems in the eastern mediterranean region and their implication for paleorainfall during interglacial intervals the oxygen and carbon stable isotope compositions of cave speleothems provide a powerful method for understanding continental climate change here we examine the question of the regionality of this isotopic record and its linkage with the marine isotopic record in the eastern mediterranean em region the study presents a new accurately dated 250 kyr 18o and 13c record determined from speleothems of the peqiin cave northern israel its comparison with the continuous 185 kyr isotopic record of the soreq cave speleothems from central israel reveals striking similarities thus a strong regional climatic signal brought about by variations in temperature and rainfall amount is reflected in both cave records low 18o minima in the peqiin profile for the last 250 to 185 kyr period interglacial marine isotopic stage 7 match the timing of sapropels 9 to 7 and are indicative of high rainfall in the em region at these times the combined soreq and peqiin 18o record for the last 250 kyr excellently matches the published globigerinoides ruber g ruber marine 18o record for the em sea with the isotopic compositional difference g ruber speleothems remaining relatively constant at 5 6 0 7 thus establishing for the first time a robust exploitable link between the land and the marine isotopic records the correspondence of low 18o speleothem values and high cave water stands with low g ruber 18o values during interglacial sapropel events indicates that these periods were characterized by enhanced rainfall in the em land and sea regions by use of sea surface temperatures derived from alkenone data as a proxy for land temperatures at the soreq cave we calculate the paleorainfall 18o values and its amounts maximum rainfall and lowest temperature conditions occurred at the beginning of the sapropel events and were followed by decrease in rainfall and increase in temperatures leading to arid conditions the record for the last 7000 yr shows a trend toward increasing aridity and agrees well with climatic and archeological data from north africa and the middle east

the menderes massif of western turkey and the cycladic massif in the aegean do they really correlate based on lithostratigraphic comparisons the menderes massif has been correlated with the cycladic massif thereby implying that the eastern mediterranean consists of a narrow pre alpine basement belt which is laterally continuous over a long distance and which experienced a similar alpine orogenic history our work indicates that the architecture the age of basement and the pre alpine and alpine tectonometamorphic history of both massifs differ fundamentally from each other the menderes massif consists of remnants of the cycladic massif which overly an exotic unit the menderes nappes both massifs do not represent lateral continuations which has implications for palaeogeographic reconstructions

iron age landscape changes in the benoue river valley cameroon the introduction of agriculture is known to have profoundly affected the ecological complexion of landscapes in this study a rapid transition from c 3 to c 4 vegetation is inferred from a shift to higher stable carbon 13 c 12 c isotope ratios of soils and sediments in the benoue river valley and upland fali mountains in northern cameroon landscape change is viewed from the perspective of two settlement mounds and adjacent floodplains as well as a rock terrace agricultural field dating from 1100 cal yr bp to the recent past 15 n 14 n isotope ratios and soil micromorphology demonstrate variable uses of land adjacent to the mound sites these results indicate that early iron age settlement practices involved exploitation of c 3 plants on soils with low 15 n values indicating wetter soils conversely from the late iron age 700 cal yr bp until recent times high soil and sediment 13 c and 15 n values reflect more c 4 biomass and anthropogenic organic matter in open dry environments the results suggest that iron age settlement practices profoundly changed landscapes in this part of west africa through land clearance and or utilization of c 4 plants

the 2017 july 20 mw 6 6 bodrum kos earthquake illuminates active faulting in the gulf of gokova sw turkey

paleolithic caves and hillslope processes in south western samaria israel environmental and archaeological implications abstract south western samaria is emerging as a major province of paleolithic cave sites most recently discovered caves have been naturally filled with terra rossa type colluvial deposits when the hillslopes above the caves were stripped from vegetation during late quaternary times site formation processes differ significantly between caves with pit like openings such as qesem emanuel and rantis caves vs those with cliff side entrances such as shukbah tinshemet and deir kaddis caves the former favored accumulation of colluvial debris while the latter were relatively protected from these deposits caves discovered in the 20th century were mainly of the latter cliff face type while in the 21st century new discoveries commonly occur where construction works intersect previously unnoticed filled caves

late quaternary alluviation and soil formation in the southern argolid its history causes and archaeological implications in the context of an archaeological survey of the southern argolid greece studies have been carried out to elucidate the evolution of the landscape since its earliest known human occupation about 50 000 years ago one of these studies was a detailed geological mapping of the late quaternary alluvium and soils in the area dated by means of thorium uranium disequilibria archaeological finds and historical information seven periods of alluviation were identified each of short duration relative to long intervening periods of stability and soil formation the three earliest alluvial phases falling before and during the last glacial interval range from about 330 000 to 32 000 years in age no alluviation accompanied the last glacial maximum around 20 000 years ago in fact a stable landscape persisted until about 4500 years ago when debris flows and widespread aggradation in the valleys resulted from major slope destabilization and soil erosion probably as a result of extensive land clearance in the early bronze age a subsequent stable period lasted through the many upheavals of the later bronze age the dark ages and the early historical period it came to an end with a brief phase of alluviation between about 300 and 50 bc stability returned through the late roman period notwithstanding considerable expansion of the settled area another period of destabilization this one marked by debris flows and hence major soil erosion is poorly fixed in time but probably coincides with expanded maquis clearance accompanying the resettlement of the area around ad 1000 subsequent events of soil erosion and aggradation vary in nature and timing from one drainage to the next and in some areas continue today nature and chronology of the soil forming and alluviation events show that simple correlations with climatic events do not suffice to explain them for the latter ones past about 2500 bc human activity seems to be the dominant cause but once again the relation between cause and effect is not straightforward land clearing or neglect of soil conservation efforts during economic downturns appear to have a more devastating effect upon the landscape than do intensive land use or total land abandonment

geology and petrology of the simav magmatic complex nw anatolia and its comparison with the oligo miocene granitoids in nw anatolia implications on tertiary tectonic evolution of the region the oligo miocene granitic plutons and their related volcanic subvolcanic successions form a nw se trending magmatic belt along the northern border of the menderes massif this belt evolved within a nappe package consisting of the menderes metamorphics sakarya continent afyon zone and tavsanli zone and also intruded this nappe package the ezine evciler eybek kozak alacam koyunoba egrigoz and the baklan plutons emplaced along this belt and show similarities in their internal structures emplacement mechanisms and petrological characteristics these different granitic plutons cut and stitch various combinations of the nappe package of the above mentioned tectonic belts and evolved during and following the alpine collision they all show characteristic map patterns of shallow seated plutons and range from granite to monzogranite the granitic plutons display calc alkaline i type and post collisional geochemical characteristics the egrigoz koyunoba plutons and their subvolcanic volcanic phases simav magmatic complex were studied in detail the geochemical characteristics and field occurences of the simav magmatic complex were compared to the other magmatic associations in western anatolia and it was determined that it is of collisional origin and not related to an extensional tectonic regime as suggested in some recent studies

coeval plutonism and metamorphism in a latest oligocene metamorphic core complex in northwest turkey a metamorphic core complex of latest oligocene age crops out in the kazdag mountain range in northwest turkey the footwall of the core complex consists of gneiss amphibolite and marble metamorphosed at 5 1 kbar and 640 50 c the average muscovite and biotite rb sr ages from the gneisses are 19 ma and 22 ma respectively and imply high temperature metamorphism during latest oligocene times the hangingwall is made up of an unmetamorphosed lower tertiary oceanic accretionary melange with upper cretaceous eclogite lenses the hangingwall and footwall are separated by an extensional ductile shear zone two kilometres thick mylonites and underlying high grade metamorphic rocks show a n trending mineral lineation with the structural fabrics indicat ing down dip top to the north shear sense the shear zone the accretionary melange and the high grade metamorphic rocks are cut by an undeformed granitoid with a 21 ma rb sr biotite age analytically indistinguishable from the rb sr biotite ages in the surrounding footwall gneisses the estimated pressure of the metamorphism and that of the granitoid emplacement indicate that the high grade metamorphic rocks were rapidly exhumed at 24 ma from a depth of 14 km to 7 km by activity along the shear zone the subsequent exhumation of the metamorphic rocks to the surface occurred during pliocene quaternary times in a transpressive ridge between two overstepping fault segments of the north anatolian fault zone the high grade metamorphic rocks of the kazdag range are surrounded by voluminous calc alkaline volcanic and plutonic rocks of late oligocene early miocene age which formed above the northward dipping hellenic subduction zone the magmatic arc setting of the core complex and stratigraphic evidence for subdued topography in northwest turkey prior to the onset of extension suggest that the latest oligocene regional extension was primarily related to the roll back of the subduction zone rather than to the gravitational collapse

from palaeotectonics to neotectonics in the neotethys realm the importance of kinematic decoupling and inherited structural grain in sw anatolia turkey abstract in order to asses young i e neotectonic fault kinematics and the relation with plate tectonic processes in sw turkey we focused on the questions 1 what produced the structural grain i e how and when are faults generated 2 what was is the kinematic behaviour of these faults and 3 during which period s were these faults active firstly the distribution of faults has been investigated using a lineament analysis performed on satellite imagery and digital elevation models we define five main tectonic domains in sw turkey 1 and 2 the northern and southern western anatolian extensional provinces 3 the eastern hellenic arc including rhodes island and the submarine anaximander mountains 4 the lycian taurides and 5 the western limb of the isparta angle lineament analysis reveals dominance of three lineament groups i e nne ene and wnw trending in all identified domains variations in the relative importance of lineament groups exist and are attributed to the specific tectonic evolution of each domain a synthesis of recently published field data shows that the onset of activity of related fault groups is neither synchronous nor uniform the structural grain for the neotectonic deformation in sw turkey is formed during the last stage of palaeotectonic deformation stage 1 which is dominated by the onset of the menderes massif exhumation along a top n major detachment the datca break away fault seyitoglu g isik v and cemen i 2004 complete tertiary exhumation history of the menderes massif western turkey an alternative working hypothesis terra nova 16 358 364 and related se ward sliding of the lycian nappes in the footwall of this fault this stage is characterized by spatially variable types of deformation that are delineated by from nw to se the datca fault around the menderes lycian contact zone and the lycian frontal thrust zone respectively the kinematic decoupling along these structures explains the co existence of top n detachment type extension in the western anatolian extensional province and ongoing nappe emplacement and piggy back development in the lycian taurides the decoupling also explains the lateral complexity of deformation associated with later neotectonic deformation from late miocene onward stage 2 nne ssw extension dominated the western anatolian extensional province influenced by combined anatolian extrusion and hellenic subduction roll back contemporaneously bidirectional ese wnw and nne ssw extension controls the lycian taurides due to the effects of hellenic arc expansion superposed on extrusion roll back extension the zone of kinematic decoupling is characterized by structural complexity with local transpressional features during stage 3 post late pliocene the same types of extension prevail in the western anatolian extensional province and the lycian taurides although a third tectonic regime becomes gradually more important this regime is associated with a tectonic escape in the hellenic arc that induced forearc slivers to be sheared of the expanding arc along mostly sinistrally displacing ene trending strike slip zones several of these zones have been identified in the coastal zones of sw turkey either through recent seismicity or field observations and are especially focused in the lycian taurides domain here they form what is classically referred to as the fethiye burdur fault zone which becomes gradually penetrated from the sw by oblique or strike slip zones exemplifying the time transgressive nature of the tectonic escape mechanism zones of kinematic decoupling remain persistent throughout the entire early miocene recent tectonic evolution of sw turkey and explain the existence of differently deforming tectonic domains

late holocene lake levels of the dead sea this work presents a high resolution lake level record of the late holocene dead sea a hypersaline terminal lake whose drainage basin encompasses both mediterranean and hyperarid climatic zones the lake level curve reflects the regional hydrologic variations in the drainage basin which in turn represent the levant paleoclimates the curve is based on 46 radiocarbon ages of organic remains from well exposed sedimentary sequences along the dead sea shores these sequences record fluvial and lacustrine depositional environments the paleolakeshores are marked by shore ridges coarse sand units and aragonite crusts in the modern dead sea such features indicate the exact elevation of the shore the late holocene dead sea level fluctuated within the range of 390 to 415 m below sea level mbsl for most of the time the lake was below the topographic sill 402 mbsl separating the northern and southern basins of the dead sea and was confined to the deep northern basin nevertheless short term rises in the late holocene dead sea level caused the flooding of the shallow and flat southern basin highstands occurred in the second and first centuries b c and the fourth century a d during the roman and early byzan tine periods respectively in the eleventh and twelfth centuries a d during the crusader period and at the end of the nineteenth century a d the rises mark a significant change in the annual rainfall in the region which likely exceeded the instrumentally measured modern average the curve also indicates drastic drops that exposed the sedimentary sequences to erosion the oldest and probably deepest drop in the lake level culminated during the fifteenth and fourteenth centuries b c after a retreat from a higher lake stand the longest lowstand occurred after the byzantine period and continued at least until the ninth century a d this arid period coincided with the invasion of moslem arab tribes into the area during the seventh century a d the dramatic fall of the dead sea level during the twentieth century is primarily artificial and has been caused by the diversion of runoff water for the drainage basin but the magnitude is not considered exceptional for the late holocene although the past drops in the lake never exceeded the modern artificial drop rates they do represent extreme arid conditions that occurred frequently over the past several thousand years

lacustrine clay mineral assemblages as a proxy for land use and climate changes over the last 4 kyr the amik lake case study southern turkey abstract lake sediments are sensitive to landscape changes and most of these changes seem to be modulated by land use anthropogenic factors coupled to palaeoenvironmental palaeoclimatic changes in its detrital fraction the lacustrine sediments record the history of soil erosion within its catchment via the inputs of clays and others detrital products within a mediterranean context the study investigates the upper sediments infilling the central part of the amik basin in southern turkey this tectonic basin was occupied and exploited by modern human at least since 6000 7000 bce we focus on the clay mineralogy x ray diffraction on oriented aggregates and magnetic susceptibility measurements bartington of the sedimentary record in the area over the last 4000 years to assess environmental changes in relation with the different land uses and or weathering during the successive bronze iron roman islamic ottoman and modern civilizations the clay fraction of amik lake sediments comprises smectite kaolinite illite chlorite and chlorite smectite mixed layers that are the inherited clay phases a relative change in abundance and crystallinity and chemistry of illite attests that environmental conditions evolved in the amik plain from the bronze to modern age in relation with climates and or land use changes the history of the amik lake reveals different soil erosion episode the most intense erosion phase occurred during the bronze iron ages as indicated by the clay and magnetic susceptibility proxies the roman period was an exceptional period with soil erosion products arriving from the watershed probably due the water channelization a reduction of soil erosion occurred during the post roman period until nowadays significant pedogenesis transformations are evidenced especially during the islamic ottoman periods suggesting intense chemical weathering conditions related to climate change

the 40ar 39ar age of extensional ductile deformation and granitoid intrusion in the northern menderes core complex implications for the initiation of extensional tectonics in western turkey the simav detachment fault in the northern part of menderes core complex in western turkey separates cover sequence rocks with brittle deformation from high grade metamorphic core rocks and young granitoid intrusions the timing of shear zone formation and the intrusion of syn tectonic granitoids is constrained by 40ar 39ar geochronology on muscovite from mylonitic gneiss and biotite from the egrigoz granitoid 40ar 39ar data indicate that mylonitic deformation occurred at 22 86 0 47 ma whilst the cooling age of the granitoid is 20 19 0 28 ma the intrusion and cooling of the egrigoz granitoid occurred between 23 20 ma these data demonstrate that extensional deformation in the northern menderes core complex began before early miocene times and represents an early stage in the tertiary extensional tectonics of western turkey

continental oxygen isotopic record of the last 170 000 years in jerusalem abstract a long radiometrically dated oxygen isotopic record of continental climatic variations since the penultimate glaciation was obtained from a stalagmite deposited in a sealed cave in jerusalem this record shows that speleothems have the potential of assigning dates to long and short term climatic events with possible refining of milankovitch tuning of ice and marine records which themselves are not datable short term 1000 yr events are very significant in the region reaching 50 of glacial interglacial fluctuations the mediterranean sea was the most probable source of local precipitation throughout the last glacial cycle

mechanical obstacles to the movement of continent bearing plates selected geophysical problems associated with the concept of continental drift as an incidental corollary of plate movement are discussed the problems include the absence of a suitable plate driving mechanism for plates with continental leading edges the absence of the low velocity zone under shields and continental roots of 400 to 700 km depths it is shown that if continental drift occurs it must use mechanisms not now understood or that it may not occur at all plate movement being confined to ocean basins

an assessment of human versus climatic impacts on holocene soil erosion in ne peloponnese greece soil erosion is a natural geomorphological process which can be triggered by both natural climate tectonics or both and anthropogenic e g agriculture perturbation of the ecosystem evidence has accrued that the holocene climate experienced large fluctuations in amplitude and suggestions of human impact on the ecosystem provided by the neolithic revolution dating back to the early holocene have been made the question of whether man or climate was the dominant factor responsible for holocene soil erosion remains unresolved to resolve the reasons for holocene sediment redistribution high resolution chronometric data on sediments derived from colluvial and alluvial archives from southern greece were obtained and combined with available archaeological and paleoclimatic data from the eastern mediterranean these data show a significant correlation between sedimentation rates and settlement history climatic fluctuations are only weakly correlated with sedimentation history the results show high sedimentation rates during the early neolithic 7th millennium bc in southern greece suggesting that holocene soil erosion was triggered by human activity and then amplified by enhanced precipitation this would explain the high sedimentation rates during the early neolithic in connection with enhanced precipitation in the eastern mediterranean which continued until the mid holocene

timing of tectonic events in the menderes massif western turkey implications for tectonic evolution and evidence for pan african basement in turkey the menderes massif forms the western of the two large metamorphic culminations within the turkish alpide orogen it has three major lithologic units with a gneissic core at the base and a schist and a marble envelope overlying it successively although relations between them have been largely obscured by the polymetamorphic and structurally complex history of the massif we present a review of the available stratigraphic evidence and combine it with new isotopic ages from the central and southern parts of the massif to constrain the timing of major tectonic events that shaped the massif since the late proterozoic pt3 in the southern part of the massif sensu stricto three episodes of deformation and metamorphism are distinguished whereas in its northern part there are four the first episode occurred at 500 10 ma with intense deformation and metamorphism at high grade amphibolite facies with local anatexis in the central part of the massif the 470 9 ma old now highly deformed tonalitic and granitic intrusions mark the end of this episode on a cambrian reconstruction of continents around the eastern mediterranean the menderes massif forms the southern end of the pan african orogenic collage of northeastern africa and arabia the area of earliest palaeozoic deformation in the menderes may connect with the northwest african orogenic collage along the strike via the bozburun and saricicek diabases arkoses and schists in the center of the karacahisar dome interpreted herein as fragments of a pan african suture the earliest palaeozoic deformations to affect the rocks were probably related to the last pan african collisions and associated postcollisional convergence the southern part of the massif was undeformed from early ordovician to the early later eocene whereas the northern part was deformed metamorphosed and intruded possibly during the late triassic related to the closure of the karakaya marginal basin of palaeo tethys the next major event affecting the whole of the massif was the intense deformation and widespread metamorphism that reached high amphibolite grade in the structurally lower parts and only greenschist grade in the outermost envelope this metamorphism here called the main menderes metamorphism mmm is biostratigraphically constrained between early eocene and early oligocene time rb sr isotopic data show a spread of ages between 60 ma and 25 ma with the greatest number of determinations around 35 5 ma this number is in excellent agreement with the stratigraphic evidence and shows that mmm took place during latest eocene time or at the transition from eocene to oligocene time along the northern border of the massif deformation and metamorphism had already taken place during the late cretaceous in a high pressure low temperature hp lt metamorphic belt northernmost part of menderes massif sensu lato which was then covered by palaeocene molasse the evolution of the hp lt belt was probably related to the obduction of the bozkir ophiolites from the izmir ankara branch of the neo tethys ocean and preceded terminal collision in the evolution of the massif the mmm was a product of the latest palaeocene collision across neo tethys and the consequent internal imbrication of the menderes taurus block that resulted in the burial of the menderes massif area beneath the lycian nappe complex a low grade metamorphic event dated at 10 to 5 ma is interpreted to be related to the extensional deformation in the aegean and western turkey which has been dated stratigraphically to have begun during the tortonian 11 5 ma

unique human made catenary changes and their effect on soil and vegetation in the semi arid mediterranean zone a case study on sarcopoterium spinosum distribution near tell eṡ ṡâfi gath israel abstract the semi arid mediterranean landscape in the area of tell e fi biblical gath of the philistines in central israel has been affected by extraordinary human activities the judean foothills in the region are characterised by chalk and calcrete with a patchy cover of rendzina soils unique human made geomorphic and catenary changes in the landscape nearly 3000 years ago left their marks on the vegetation distribution in the area today a very large trench that surrounds the tell on three sides was excavated in the iron age ii ca 9th century b c e the trench served as a siege moat part of an offensive siege system around the tell the trench is 2 5 km long 8 10 m wide and has a maximum depth of 5 5 m a berm consisting of dumped earth and rock fragments excavated from the trench is situated alongside the entire length of the trench covering the original surface our catenary landscape analysis revealed that a particular vegetation species sarcopoterium spinosum is dominant on the berm covering 78 of its surface area its coverage of the three other catenary landscape units slope above the berm trench slope below the trench is only 29 32 and 24 respectively bedrock exposure in the berm is less than 4 which together with the slightly elevated position of the berm results in surface area conditions of relatively low water retention such areas are conducive to s spinosum establishment and survival due to the plant s high resistance to comparatively dry conditions thus the human landscape changes almost three thousand years ago caused a dramatic catenary change that continues to have a distinct effect on vegetation distribution today

the wide distribution of hp lt rocks in the lycian belt western turkey implications for accretionary wedge geometry ocean okay monie 1997 okay et al 2002 south of the izmir ankara suture fig 1a other hp lt metamorphic domains have resulted from the late cretaceous northward subduction of the neotethys ocean and subsequent early tertiary collision between the sakarya microcontinent and the anatolide tauride platform 3engor yilmaz 1981 okay et al 2001 these alpine metamorphic terranes form several tectonometamorphic units the late cretaceous blueschist belt of the tav anli zone okay kelley 1994 okay et al 1998 sherlock et al 1999 okay 2002 the recently described hp lt rocks of the afyon zone candan et al 2002 2005 the eocene cycladic blueschists and eclogites of the dilek peninsula region in the westernmost part of the menderes massif area candan et al 1997 oberhansli et al 1998 cetinkaplan 2002 and the hp lt metasediments of the lycian nappes oberhansli et al 2001 rimmele et al 2003a 2005 and the abstract in sw turkey fe mg carpholite has recently been recognized in the basal metasediments of the lycian nappes which overthrust the menderes massif on its southern flank this high pressure low temperature hp lt metamorphic index mineral was widely found in the bodrum peninsula region our new metamorphic and structural data on similar carpholite bearing rocks found farther north in several klippen of the lycian nappes located on top of the menderes massif show that hp lt rocks in sw turkey occur over a distance of 200 km in both north south and east west directions thus indicating a wide hp lt metamorphic belt the deformation pattern from the bodrum peninsula to civril all along the contact between the lycian nappes and the menderes massif reveals the role played by major top to the ne shear zones contemporaneous with exhumation of the lycian hp lt rocks this deformation shows an oblique direction of opposite shear sense relative to the earlier southward translation of the lycian nappes over the menderes massif for which top to the south displacements are preserved in the upper units of the lycian nappes on the bodrum peninsula as well as at the base of the lycian nappe klippen located farther north the widespread distribution of well preserved fe mg carpholite bearing rocks in the lycian nappes has implications for the geometry of the accretionary wedge responsible for hp lt metamorphism in sw turkey

long term exhumation of an aegean metamorphic core complex granitoids in the northern menderes massif western turkey the egrigoz koyunoba and alacam plutons are located in the northern portion of the menderes massif a region characterized today by large scale extension to gain a better understanding of their exhumation history we acquired zircon ages geochemical analyses and cathodoluminescence cl images to search for evidence of micro to macro scales of deformation the combination is a powerful means to decipher their tectonomagmatic history in situ ion microprobe 238u 206pb zircon ages of the granitoids range from 30 0 3 9 ma to 14 7 2 6 ma 1 and indicate the plutons crystallized over 15 m y the dated zircons show cl zoning consistent with igneous crystallization and are only located adjacent to or as inclusions in biotite grains the youngest ages are dominated by a blue color in cl whereas a majority of older zircons are yellow higher th u contents are typically shown by zircons with black or dark green colors in cl most of the samples of these granitoids indicate they are magnesian calc alkalic and peraluminous granite to granodiorites but variations exist likely reflecting heterogeneity caused by magma mixing partial melting crustal contamination and post emplacement fluid interactions as evidenced by the cl images cl images show that all samples experienced magma mixing multiple episodes of brittle deformation and fluid mediated alteration sources for the generation of northern menderes massif granitoids include simple slab induced upwelling from the subduction of the african plate along the hellenic arc adiabatic decompression as the northern edge of turkey9s anatolide tauride block delaminates and upwelling asthenosphere as the continental lithosphere thins during extension we present a model in which western turkey is an amalgamation of stacked subduction zones that transition from north to south over time northern menderes massif granitoids document their complex geologic history in their ages chemistry and textures

intrusion age of pan african augen gneisses in the southern menderes massif and the age of cooling after alpine ductile extensional deformation

crustal scale geometry and kinematics of late orogenic extension in the central aegean cyclades and ewia island abstract the aegean continental domain is known to be the site of widespread back arc extension since at least the middle miocene overprinting structures related to the mesozoic cenozoic hellenic orogeny features attributed to early thrusting include the overall ductile deformation within two broad belts that have suffered hp lt metamorphism across the aegean this study summarizes the results of a structural study in the central aegean area cyclades and evvia island examining in particular the relationship between ductile and brittle deformation on a regional scale extension appears to be responsible for most of the ductile deformation within hp rock units that have experienced penetrative greenschist facies and higher grade metamorphic overprinting on each island studied progressive extensional deformation has occurred through the development of a major normal sense detachment zone down to depths of about 18 25 km the geometry of the extensional system on the scale of the central aegean is described taking into account the characteristic features of the regional scale ductile strain field at least two probably three subparallel major north dipping detachment zones are identified trending nw se in the northwestern cyclades and e w in the southeastern cyclades both with initial dips estimated at around 30 45 the present geometry of the extensional system implies that these detachment zones and related metamorphic core complexes interfere with each other two main evolutionary models are considered which can account for such a kinematic link between parallel detachment zones structural data favour the sequential development of synthetic major detachments zones in a direction opposite to the sense of dip of the detachments early oligocene lower miocene detachment type extension in the area studied is related to a late orogenic post thickening back arc setting

investigation of the submarine active tectonism in the gulf of gokova southwest anatolia southeast aegean sea by multi channel seismic reflection data submarine active tectonism in the gulf of gokova located at the southwest anatolia southeast aegean sea region was investigated by means of multi channel seismic reflection data the gokova basin is filled by the latest miocene pliocene quaternary sediments with maximum thickness of about 2 5 km the lycian nappes which predominantly cover extreme southwestern anatolia constitutes the basement rocks for the gokova province the gulf was mainly opened by a buried major listric normal fault so called datca fault which has not been previously discussed in the literature the north dipping mainly e w trending datca fault is located at the southern part of the gulf whereas its associated antithetic faults are located at the north the onset time of the opening of the gulf is possibly in the latest miocene pliocene in terms of local rather than regional effects the activity of the datca fault has decelerated possibly since the pleistocene the datca fault might have gained its curved fault plane as it evolved beginning as planar and or using antecedent planes of the lycian nappes in the area as the extension progressed i e as the hanging wall block slipped further north gravity may have impeded rather than helped the faulting on the other hand continuing extension in the area may have initiated a second phase of faulting i e wnw ese oriented subgrabens in the gulf and major e w normal faulting in the northeast margin a bathymetric low in the mid gulf area and a horst graben system in the eastern part of the gulf are observable from the bathymetric data and are well correlated to the seismic data although the main orientation of the gulf is e w more recent wnw ese structures are remarkable in the mid gulf and in the eastern part of the gulf the latest wnw ese structures are also in agreement with the results of gps and slr studies as well as plate motion modelling by total moment tensor of earthquakes in the western anatolia aegean sea region particularly in southwestern anatolia the amount of total n s extension within the gulf is estimated as at least 5 5 km since the latest miocene pliocene with overall constant extension rate of at least 1 1 mm y where the estimated extension factor is about 1 3

3 d imaging of the upper crust beneath the denizli geothermal region by local earthquake tomography western turkey abstract the denizli basin and its surroundings are one of the regions that have high seismic activity and rich geothermal fields in western anatolia in the first half of year 2000 an increasing seismic activity was observed around the denizli basin without a large mainshock occurrence a temporary seismic network consisting of 28 stations were deployed to observe the seismic activity in the region by the scientific and technological research council of turkey marmara research center earth and marine science institute tubitak mam emsi in this study one and three dimensional vp and vp vs structure of the denizli basin have been determined by using the travel times of the 635 recorded earthquake data firstly one dimensional inversion schema was performed to stabilize initial velocity model and to have more reliable hypocentral locations then an iterative and simultaneous three dimensional inversion procedure was carried out to obtain 3 d high resolution seismic velocity models furthermore to assess the solution quality of our inversion we conducted a series of resolution tests we concluded high resolution 3 d vp and vp vs seismic velocity models for the upper 20 km of the crust beneath the denizli basin and surroundings and interpreted the results in the context of known geologic and tectonic units the resulting 3 d vp models define the geometry of the basin sediment thickness and intrusive magmatic bodies as well as regions of anomalous velocity the vp vs models help to constrain the location and geometry of the faults zones of weakness and gas or fluid saturated formations with high pore pressure zones all tomographic results show that there is a strong correlation between local seismicity and the high vp and vp vs anomalies consequently this relationship indicates that the reason of the high seismicity in the denizli basin depends on activity of hydrothermal system as well as tectonic regime

timing of cenozoic extensional tectonics in west turkey the timing of the transition from compressional to extensional tectonics in the late cenozoic evolution of west turkey has been constrained by k ar geochronology from acidic volcanic rocks and tourmaline leucogranite dykes in the central and east margin respectively of the gordes basin dacites and rhyolites in the centre of the gordes neogene sedimentary basin cut both the basement ophiolites of the izmir ankara suture zone and the neogene sediments on the basin s eastern margin the leucogranites cut metamorphic basement along a major ne sw trending normal fault that controls the regional structure of the basin pebbles of these leucogranites occur in adjacent neogene turfites and conglomerates k ar dates on biotites from the central volcanic rocks vary from 18 4 0 8 ma to 16 3 0 5 ma early miocene whilst muscovite from a leucogranite on the eastern margin of the basin provides ages of 24 2 0 8 ma and 21 1 1 1 ma latest oligocene to early miocene geochronological data and field relationships demonstrate that the earlier compressional regime had been replaced by extensional tectonics by latest oligocene early miocene

processes of late cretaceous to late miocene episodic thrust sheet translation in the lycian taurides sw turkey the lycian taurides of sw turkey consist of an allochthonous mesozoic passive margin succession that was episodically detached from its autochthon and translated southeastwards between latest cretaceous to late miocene times a combination of structural analysis sedimentology palaeontology and geochemistry allows subdivision of this orogenic event into 1 latest cretaceous trench passive margin collision causing ophiolite obduction and detachment of the koycegyiz thrust sheet 2 mid late eocene continent continent collision renewing southeastwards thrusting and causing detachment of the teke dere thrust sheet and yavus thrust sheets 3 miocene extensional collapse of the orogen with southeastwards translation of the allochthon coeval with rift basin formation in the hinterland

mediterranean valleys revisited linking soil erosion land use and climate variability in the northern levant abstract this paper presents results of geomorphological and archaeological investigations undertaken in several small drainage basins in the jebel al aqra region of southern turkey by focusing intensive archaeological settlement survey in basins where securely dated sequences of sedimentary valley fills have been recorded spatially and temporally linked high resolution records of land use and soil erosion have been generated sedimentary data show that throughout most of the holocene floodplains remained rather stable allowing deep soils to form but in the past two millennia probably from ad 150 700 a phase of severe soil erosion was initiated and resulted in the deposition of 3 5 5 0 m of alluvial sediments on valley floors archaeological and historical evidence suggest that while these areas were occupied by agrarian communities since at least 2800 bc nearly three millennia of cultivation during the bronze and iron ages had relatively little effect on soil erosion the intensification of settlement throughout the region and the conversion of upland areas to intensive agricultural production during the hellenistic roman and late roman periods 300 bc ad 650 however created the necessary preconditions for severe soil erosion to occur these data are compared against modern and paleoclimate studies of the eastern mediterranean which show an extremely variable precipitation regime and the effects that it can have on erosion a 400 year lag between the initial settlement of upland areas and the first evidence of soil erosion suggest that it may have been the intersection of extreme precipitation events with particular land use conditions of the roman and late roman periods which worked together to drive soil erosion

tectonic denudation of a late cretaceous tertiary collisional belt regionally symmetric cooling patterns and their relation to extensional faults in the anatolide belt of western turkey t hermochronological data reveal that the late cretaceous tertiary nappe pile of the anatolide belt of western turkey displays a two stage cooling history three crustal segments differing in structure and cooling history have been identified the central menderes metamorphic core complex represents an inner axial segment of the anatolide belt and exposes the lowest structural levels of the nappe pile whereas the two outer submassifs the g ordes submassif to the north and the ci ne submassif to the south represent higher levels of the nappe pile a regionally significant phase of cooling in the late oligocene and early miocene affected the outer two submassifs and the upper structural levels of the central menderes metamorphic core complex in the northern part of the g ordes submassif cooling was related to top to the nne movement on the simav detachment as the apatite fission track ages show a northward younging trend in the direction of movement on this detachment in the ci ne submassif relatively rapid cooling in late oligocene and early miocene times may have been related to top to the s extensional reactivation of the basal thrust of the overlying lycian nappes the second phase of cooling in the anatolide belt is related to pliocene to recent extension resulting in the formation of the central menderes metamorphic core complex in the inner part of the anatolide belt core complex development caused the formation of supra detachment graben which document the ongoing separation of the central menderes metamorphic core complex from the outer submassifs

high pressure metasediments in central turkey constraints on the neotethyan closure history 1 the distribution of oceanic domains and continental blocks in central anatolia remains a challenge in understanding the alpine geodynamic evolution of the tethys realm the consumption of a neotethys oceanic branch at the mesozoic cenozoic boundary welded the central anatolian crystalline complex in central turkey and the anatolide tauride block in western turkey with the northerly eurasian margin whether those two regions constituted a single or two distinct continental masses is still matter of debate high pressure metamorphism has been locally evidenced in the afyon zone which was however defined as a greenschist facies metamorphic zone of the anatolide tauride block since the afyon zone composes a metamorphic equivalent of a continental margin exposed far south of the izmir ankara suture zone this encouraged us to reevaluate its metamorphic evolution in order to better understand the relation between western and central turkey our investigations reveal that the high pressure minerals fe mg carpholite and glaucophane are present in the entire afyon zone which we reconsider as a blueschist facies zone we additionally present a tectonic reconstruction stripping off the postcollisional tectonics it reveals that today s bending of the high pressure belt is consistent with an eocene collision of the anatolide tauride block around the southern edge of the central anatolian crystalline complex we argue that the central anatolian crystalline complex and the anatolide tauride block were two distinct continental masses separated by a neotethyan oceanic stripe the closure of which engendered subduction related metamorphism in the latter and arc volcanism and high grade metamorphism in the former by late cretaceous to early cenozoic

complete tertiary exhumation history of the menderes massif western turkey an alternative working hypothesis the main exhumation of the menderes massif western turkey occurred along an originally n dipping datca kale main breakaway fault that controlled depositions in the kale and the gokova basins during the oligocene early miocene interval the isostatically controlled upward bending of the main breakaway fault brings the lower plate rocks to the surface in the early miocene e w trending n and s dipping graben bounding faults fragmented the exhumed dome shaped massif the development of half grabens by rolling master fault hinges has allowed further exhumation of the central menderes massif after the pliocene high angle normal faults cut all of the previous structures this model suggests that the menderes massif is a single large metamorphic core complex that has experienced a two stage exhumation process

normal fault growth and linkage in the gediz alasehir graben western turkey revealed by transient river long profiles and slope break knickpoints the gediz alasehir graben is located in the highly tectonically active and seismogenic region of western turkey the rivers upstream of the normal fault bounded graben each contain a non lithologic knickpoint including those that drain through inferred fault segment boundaries knickpoint heights measured vertically from the fault scale with footwall relief and documented fault throw vertical displacement consequently we deduce these knickpoints were initiated by an increase in slip rate on the basin bounding fault driven by linkage of the three main fault segments of the high angle graben bounding fault array fault interaction theory and ratios of channel steepness suggest that the slip rate enhancement factor on linkage was a factor of 3 we combine this information with geomorphic and structural constraints to estimate that linkage took place between 0 6 ma and 1 ma calculated pre and post linkage throw rates are 0 6 and 2 mm yr respectively maximum knickpoint retreat rates upstream of the faults range from 4 5 to 28 mm yr faster than for similar catchments upstream of normal faults in the central apennines and the hatay graben of turkey and implying a fluvial landscape response time of 1 6 to 2 7 myr we explore the relative controls of drainage area and precipitation on these retreat rates and conclude that while climate variation and fault throw rate partially explain the variations seen lithology remains a potentially important but poorly characterised variable this article is protected by copyright all rights reserved

genetic investigation and comparison of kartaldag and madendag epithermal gold deposits in canakkale nw turkey two epithermal gold deposits kartaldag and madendag located in nw turkey have been characterized through the detailed examinations involving geologic mineralogical fluid inclusion stable isotope whole rock geochemistry and geochronology data the kartaldag deposit 0 01 17 65 ppm au hosted by eocene dacite porphyry is associated with four main alteration types with characteristic assemblage of i chlorite smectite illite kaolinite ii quartz kaolinite iii quartz alunite pyrophyllite iv quartz pyrite the last being characterized by three distinct quartz generations comprising massive vuggy early fine medium grained vug lining early and banded colloform comb late textures observed sulfide minerals are pyrite covellite and sphalerite oxygen and sulfur isotope analyses performed on quartz delta o 18 quartz 7 93 to 8 95 parts per thousand and calculated delta o 18 h2o 7 95 to 1 4 parts per thousand and pyrite delta s 34 pyrite 4 8 parts per thousand and calculated delta s 34 h2s 6 08 to 7 20 parts per thousand separates suggest a meteoric water source for water in the hydrothermal fluid and an igneous source for the sulfur dissolved in ore related fluids microthermometric analyses of primary fluid inclusion assemblages performed on quartz late quartz generation yield temperatures th dominantly in the range of 245 285 degrees c and generally low salinity values at 0 to 1 7 wt nacl eq based on the quartz textures and the associated base metal concentrations along with fluid inclusion petrography the early vug lining quartz is considered to have been associated with the mineralization possibly through a boiling and a late mixing process at 285 degrees c the madendag deposit 027 20 60 ppm au hosted by paleozoic mica schists is associated with two main alteration types sericite illite kaolinite and quartz pyrite dominated by two distinct quartz generations i early colloform comb and banded quartz and ii late quartz forming the cement in hydrothermal breccia whereas oxygen isotope analyses of quartz delta o 18 quartz 9 55 to 18 19 parts per thousand and calculated delta o 18 h2o 2 97 to 5 54 parts per thousand suggest varying proportions of meteoric and magmatic sources for the ore bearing fluid sulfur isotope ratios delta s 34 pyrite 2 2 parts per thousand and calculated delta s 34 h2s 3 63 to 3 75 parts per thousand point to an essentially magmatic source for sulfur with or without contribution from sedimentary sources microthermometric analysis carried out on primary fluid inclusion populations of a brecciated sample early quartz give a temperature th range of 235 255 degrees c and 0 0 to 0 7 wt nacl eq salinity based on the textural relationship base metal and high gold contents the ore precipitation stage is associated with late stage quartz formation via a possible boiling process the presence of alunite pyrophyllite and kaolinite vuggy quartz and covellite suggest a high sulfidation type of epithermal deposit for kartaldag on the other hand madendag is identified as an adularia sericite type owing to the presence of significant sericite neutral ph clays mostly illite chlorite smectite and kaolinite low temperature quartz textures e g colloform comb and banded quartz and limited sulfide minerals given the geographical proximity of kartaldag and madendag deposits the similar temperature and salinity ranges obtained from their fluid inclusions and the similar ages of igneous rocks in both deposits kartaldag 40 80 036 to 42 19 0 45 ma madendag 43 34 0 85 ma the mineralizing systems in both deposits are considered to be genetically related c 2013 elsevier b v all rights reserved

late holocene climates of the near east deduced from dead sea level variations and modern regional winter rainfall the dead sea is a terminal lake of one of the largest hydrological systems in the levant and may thus be viewed as a large rain gauge for the region variations of its level are indicative of the climate variations in the region here we present the decadal to centennialresolution holocene lake level curve of the dead sea then we determine the regional hydroclimatology that affected level variations to achieve this goal we compare modern natural lake level variations and instrumental rainfall records and quantify the hydrology relative to lake level rise fall or stability to quantify that relationship under natural conditions rainfall data pre dating the artificial dead sea level drop since the 1960s are used in this respect jerusalem station offers the longest uninterrupted pre 1960s rainfall record and jerusalem rains serve as an adequate proxy for the dead sea headwaters rainfall principal component analysis indicates that temporal variations of annual precipitation in all stations in israel north of the current 200 mm yr 1 average isohyet during 1940 1990 are largely synchronous and in phase 70 of the total variance explained by pc1 this station also represents well northern jordan and the area all the way to beirut lebanon especially during extreme drought and wet spells we a determine the modern and propose the past regional hydrology and eastern mediterranean em climatology that affected the severity and length of droughts wet spells associated with multiyear episodes of dead sea level falls rises and b determine that em cyclone tracks were different in average number and latitude in wet and dry years in jerusalem the mean composite sea level pressure and 500 mb height anomalies indicate that the potential causes for wet and dry episodes span the entire em and are rooted in the larger scale northern hemisphere atmospheric circulation we also identified remarkably close association within radiocarbon resolution between climatic changes in the levant reflected by level changes and culture shifts in this region

late orogenic crustal extension in the northern menderes massif western turkey evidence for metamorphic core complex formation the simav metamorphic core complex of the northern menderes massif western turkey consists of a plutonic tertiary and metamorphic precambrian core footwall separated from an allochthonous cover sequence hanging wall by a low angle ductile to brittle extensional fault zone i e detachment fault the core rocks below the detachment fault are converted into mylonites with a thickness of a few hundred metres two main deformation events have affected the core rocks the first deformational event d1 was developed within the precambrian metamorphic rocks the second event d2 associated with the tertiary crustal extension includes two distinct stages stage one is the formation of a variably developed ductile mylonitic deformation d2d in metamorphic and granitic core rocks under greenschist facies conditions the majority of the mylonites in the study area have foliations that strike nnw to nne and dip sw to se stretched quartz and feldspar grains define the mineral lineation trending sw ne direction and plunging gently to sw the kinematic indicators indicate a top to ne sense of shear stage two formation of brittle deformation d2b that affected all core and cover rocks d2b involves the development of cataclasites and high angle normal faults an overall top towards the north sense of shear for the ductile mylonitic fabrics in the core rocks is consistent with the n s regional extension in western turkey

combining allostratigraphic and lithostratigraphic perspectives to compile subregional records of fluvial responsiveness the case of the sustainably entrenching palancia river watershed mediterranean coast ne spain abstract we use a combined allostratigraphic and morpholithostratigraphic approach to establish a relative stratigraphy of macroscale sediment landform units in the mediterranean palancia river watershed 986 km2 ne spain four alloformations signifying important changes in sub regional scale geomorphic valley floor evolution were identified based on data from 1120 field sites and age determinations and from analyzing high resolution geodata the formation of the widespread and thick pleistocene alloformation can be attributed to climatically induced excessive sediment supply and flood activities during pleistocene cold intervals rather than representing time lagging response to plio pleistocene neotectonic uplift triggered by the turn to holocene climatic conditions three successively inset alloformations illustrate how stream grading and floodplain narrowing continuously have progressed over the holocene the overall degradational valley floor evolution in the holocene is interpreted as a response to the antecedent overly valley floor aggradation allostratigraphic and morphostratigraphic data suggest that the abandonment of the two earlier holocene alloformations geomorphologically represents a pulsed turn toward intensified entrenchment rather than pulsed sedimentation the most important benefit of amalgamating allostratigraphic and morpho lithostratigraphic concepts is that allostratigraphic ordering provides a formally conclusive approach to scale up morpho lithostratigraphic information from the reach scale to much larger scales of geographical extent consequently applying allostratigraphic principles opens a perspective to moving forward toward analyzing the relationships between climate neotectonics sea level change human impact and fluvial response in coupled hinterland coastal systems that require to evaluate sedimentary information at larger spatial scales

the palaeoflood record of a hyperarid catchment nahal zin negev desert israel the palaeohydrology of nahal zin a 1400 km2 catchment in the hyperarid negev desert is inferred from slackwater deposits and palaeostage indicators in a canyon near its lower end the palaeoflood record augmented by the instrumental and historical records of the last decade includes 28 floods ranging from 200 to 1500 m3s 1 over the last 2000 years this helps to reanalyse the frequency of floods in this drainage system the clusters of floods around 1000 years bp and again during the last 60 years are characterized by high flow magnitudes periods with many floods correspond well to periods with high dead sea levels and are probably relatively wet periods while periods with few floods correspond well to low dead sea levels indicating a drier climate fluctuations in the frequency of floods are typical of periods of transition from one climate regime to another copyright 2000 john wiley sons ltd

late cenozoic tectono sedimentary development of the selendi and usak gure basins a contribution to the discussion on the development of east west and north trending basins in western turkey

palaeoenvironment and anthropogenic activity in the southeastern mediterranean since the mid holocene the case of tell es safi gath israel abstract the younger fill phenomenon defined by vita finzi related to sediments that were deposited in many mediterranean valleys has been a topic of discussion for several decades the main challenge regarding this issue is deciphering the origin of the fill geomorphic processes induced by natural climatic or by anthropogenic activity the current research is an attempt to deal with this issue by using a concept in which the environmental records i e climate hydrology and sedimentology were examined in conjunction with human history in the area of the bronze and iron age archaeological site of tell es safi gath in central israel the study investigated geomorphic structures of various scales a single slope 1st and 2nd order valleys and larger drainage basins of a few tens to hundreds km 2 high resolution dating of the sediments by osl and 14 c allowed the identification of different sedimentary phases the sedimentary history of the tell es safi gath environs shows that a during the chalcolithic period and early bronze age 4200 3050 bce stable conditions prevailed in the small valleys represented by soil formation b during the iron age ii and up to the early arab period 800 bce 800ce aggradation took place in the small and the large valleys c during the post byzantine early arab periods after 800 ce major incision occurred in the large valleys whereas minor aggradation occurred in the small valleys climatic and natural geomorphic processes are the major factors shaping the landscape in the current research area anthropogenic activity was expressed at localized sites and for a limited time in two locations only one location is the siege trench that surrounds tell es safi gath where sedimentation occurred shortly after the destruction of the site by hazael king of aram damascus ca late 9th century bce and in the same locality during the byzantine period the other location is the 2nd order valley close to the archaeological site where enhanced sedimentation rates occurred shortly after site destruction in addition these results suggest that the small basin valleys underwent aggradation that continuously recorded the local environmental history whereas the large drainage basins underwent cut and fill processes related to the regional environmental history in a less continuous record

metamorphic history of the southern menderes massif western turkey metamorphic mineral compositions and textures are integrated with microstructures to test tectonic models for the construction and exhumation of a mid crustal terrane in western turkey the southern menderes massif part of the alpine orogen is composed of a tilted sequence of metasedimentary rocks that structurally overlies orthogneiss garnet biotite equilibria for schists collected along north south traverses consistently indicate temperatures of 430 c for the southernmost structurally highest garnet bearing rocks 500 c for structurally intermediate rocks and 550 c for the structurally deepest rocks near the contact with the orthogneiss there are no detectable discontinuities in metamorphic grade from north to south within the schist unit or between the schist and overlying lower grade and underlying higher grade rocks pressure estimates are less certain geobarometric results for the schists yield p 8 kbar but mineral assemblages and structural data are consistent with lower pressures 6 kbar metamorphic textures and garnet zoning in the menderes schists indicate metamorphism during a single thermal event accompanying development of the main penetrative foliation top to north fabrics formed during folding thrusting and were synkinematic with garnet growth top to south chloritic shear bands truncate the earlier foliation and overprint peak metamorphic assemblages and textures we propose that these metamorphic features and structures indicate synmetamorphic shortening followed by extension during alpine orogenesis

contemporary plate motion and crustal deformation the measurement of relative plate velocities during the past few years is a signal accomplishment in earth science leading to refinement of the precepts of steady motion of plate interiors and cyclic deformation along plate margins regrettably deformation premonitory to an earthquake has yet to be detected with confidence delineation of the spatial and temporal buildup of strain between earthquakes however has put limits on models of the earthquake cycle a diverse set of fault structures and crustal rheologic conditions can explain the pattern of surface strain accumulation and release along strike slip faults in contrast the geometry of thrusts and normal faults revealed by earthquake deformation has been found to differ markedly from expectations geodetic observations have proved vital to monitor the ascent of magma through the earth s crust and to predict volcanic eruptions at the earth s surface episodic vertical and horizontal deformation in southern california remains a subject of dispute if anything it is less certain than it once seemed

thermochronologic evaluation of postcollision extension in the anatolide orogen western turkey 1 to better understand the driving mechanisms behind the transition from collision to extension in a convergent orogen data from multiple low temperature thermochronometers were obtained from the simav detachment fault sdf the earliest developed major extensional structure recognized in the western anatolide orogen of western turkey twenty two zircon fission track ft 26 apatite ft 12 apatite u th he ages and 26 apatite ft track length analyses are presented the data establish that the sdf was a major extensional fault active between 25 and 19 ma the coincidence in timing of magmatism with cessation of sdf activity implies the detachment became locked owing to doming induced by magma emplacement zircon ft ages away from the influence of miocene magmatism record rapid footwall cooling between 25 and 21 ma at a slip rate of up to 15 km myr and demonstrate that active ductile deformation along the sdf migrated northward with time apatite ft ages from the footwall of the sdf are spatially invariant over 100 km and consistently 2 3 myr younger than the zircon fission track ages from the same samples these data are consistent with a regional but relatively rapid erosion linked cooling phase that removed 2 3 km of overburden following cessation of sdf activity but before deposition of sedimentary rocks on the detachment surface at 16 4 ma postcollision extension of the anatolide orogen with development of the sdf can be best explained as the result of postcollision magmatism and thermal weakening of the crust inducing the extensional reactivation of an earlier major out of sequence thrust

current plate motions based on doppler satellite observations about 50 of the doppler observations made on a navy navigation satellite over a 9 year period were analyzed to determine the motion of 8 sites on the north american plate and 12 sites on 7 other plates the computed plate motions were not statistically significant compared with the standard errors of measurement of 1 to 5 cm yr except for the australian plate european plate and pacific plate the measured motions of these plates are about twice those inferred from geologic records but are in the proper direction processing of the balance of the data on one satellite over the 9 year time interval would improve the accuracy of the determination by about 60 improving the possibility of detecting additional statistically significant motions unreasonable altitude changes at most sites are probably due to neglected higher order ionospheric refraction effects on the observations

ductile brittle transition along the alasehir detachment fault and its structural relationship with the simav detachment fault menderes massif western turkey abstract western turkey has experienced extensional deformation since the tertiary an early phase of extensional deformation resulted in the formation of detachment faults in the northern part of the menderes massif the alasehir and simav detachment faults the footwalls of these two detachment faults are mid crustal level rocks the alasehir detachment fault developed in metamorphic rocks and in a syn extensional intrusion the salihli granodiorite the salihli granodiorite shows a gradual change from undeformed isotropic granodiorite to protomylonite mylonite and ultramylonite towards its upper structural levels the deformed granodiorite in turn grades into a cataclastic zone whose uppermost part is the alasehir detachment surface this gradual upward change from the undeformed granodiorite to a brittlely deformed detachment surface suggests that tertiary extension resulted in a ductile deformation at depth and the ductilely deformed granitoids were brought to shallower depths where they were brittlely deformed the metamorphic wall rocks of the intrusion are also mylonitized structurally upward a similar transition has also been found in the footwall of the simav detachment fault the upper part of which is also a cataclastic zone leading to the simav detachment fault separating the low grade metamorphic rocks and or non metamorphic rocks in its hanging wall from mainly high grade metamorphic rocks and syn tectonic granitoids in its footwall during ductile extension greenschist facies grade mylonitic deformation developed in the metamorphic rocks and the granitoids shear sense indicators along the two shear zones show top to n ne sense shear consistent with the regional cenozoic extension direction in western turkey available radiometric age data from the granitoids in the footwall of the two detachment faults suggest that the cenozoic extension in western turkey was initiated in oligocene to early miocene and the simav detachment fault is older than the alasehir detachment fault extensional features of these detachment faults suggest that the simav detachment fault characterise the earlier stage of the tertiary extensional tectonics of the menderes massif and later stage of this deformation resulted in the development of the alasehir detachment fault

of lakes and fields a framework for reconciling palaeoclimatic drought inferences with archaeological impacts abstract quantitative estimates of climate variability are increasingly important in interpretations of archaeological turnovers in arid regions variations in lake levels or lake water oxygen isotope ratios 18o are often used to infer droughts or humid periods along with speleothem 18o pollen and windblown dust records key examples are the centennial scale holocene events associated with the end of the bronze age 1200 bce the end of the copper age 4000 bce and the onset of neolithic expansion 6200 bce whether explicitly stated or only implied causality between archaeological turnovers and inferred droughts is often ascribed to a disturbance to food resources which means a disturbance to the agricultural potential of the study region in the present study a simple framework of equations is presented for evaluation of this causality it quantitatively reveals significant complications in one example substantially improved crop growing potential is found to coincide with dropping lake levels which reflect significant net drought the complications mainly arise from 1 control of annually averaged climate conditions on lake changes versus control of seasonal conditions on the yield potential of fields and 2 changes in the ratios between the overall catchment area of a lake or field and the surface area of the lake or field itself the results demonstrate that lake records per se do not satisfactorily reflect agricultural potential but also that this gap may be bridged with targeted information collection about the regional setting in particular improved results may be obtained from detailed assessments of change in the catchment ratios of the lake s and field s that are being studied e g using digital elevation models along with expert opinions on field irrigation potential the scenarios presented here then allow initial field based assessments and hypothesis formulation to prompt more sophisticated modelling

multistage exhumation of the menderes massif western anatolia turkey structural analyses along selected transects across the menderes massif and incorporation of existing data have resulted in a synthetic cross section across southwestern turkey the tectonic interpretation has been combined with 40ar 39ar laser probe experiments on two syn kinematic white mica populations which respectively predate and overprint documented early miocene deformational fabrics our results indicate that the regional extension had initiated by eocene oligocene times a 36 2 ma 40ar 39ar age derived from white mica which formed during a regionally observed northward directed tectonic transport suggests that the extension was contemporaneous with the tectonic emplacement of mid crustal continental basement alternatively the age may relate to the regional cooling of the basement sequence and thus postdates the tectonic emplacement in the latter scenario the analysis fails to solve the present ambiguity on the pan african or alpine affinity of the northward directed transport further exhumation of basement rocks is characterized by a dominant displacement along the north dipping gediz detachment at the northern margin of the massif which developed under ductile conditions in the early miocene by partial exploitation of older zones of weakness which originated from an earlier phase of basement emplacement youngest semi ductile activity along the gediz detachment has been recorded as having a 7 1 ma 40ar 39ar age derived from syn kinematic white mica in the top of the detachment following the initiation of the ductile gediz detachment an antithetic semibrittle and south dipping buyuk menderes detachment had developed in the center of the massif which together with the gediz detachment accommodated further doming of the central part of the menderes massif and controlled the architecture of the surrounding supradetachment basins

climate deterioration in the eastern mediterranean as revealed by ion microprobe analysis of a speleothem that grew from 2 2 to 0 9 ka in soreq cave israel abstract analysis of oxygen isotope ratios 18 o by ion microprobe resolves a sub annual climate record for the eastern mediterranean from a soreq cave stalagmite that grew between 2 2 and 0 9 ka in contrast to conventional drill sampling methods that yield a total variation of 1 0 in 18 o calcite values across our sample the methods described here reveal up to 2 15 variation within single annual growth bands values of 18 o measured by ion microprobe vary in a regular saw tooth pattern that correlates with annual fluorescent growth banding where calcite grades from light to dark fluorescence modern records of precipitation and of cave dripwater indicate that variable 18 o calcite values record regular seasonal differences in 18 o rainfall modified by mixing in the vadose zone large differences in 18 o values measured across a single band i e between the dark and light fluorescent calcite or 18 o dark light are interpreted to indicate wetter years while smaller differences represent drier years oxygen isotopes record 1 month scale growth increments 2 changes in 18 o dark light that represent seasonality 3 a systematic long term decrease in maximum 18 o dark light values and 4 an overall increase in average 18 o calcite values through time these results suggest a drying of regional climate that coincides with the decline of the roman and byzantine empires in the levant region