Mesozoic to Early Tertiary Tectonic- Sedimentary Evolution of the Northern Neotethys Ocean: Evidence from the Beysehir- Hoyran-Hadim Nappes, Southern Turkey
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Mesozoic to Early Tertiary tectonic- sedimentary evolution of the Northern Neotethys Ocean: evidence from the Beysehir- Hoyran-Hadim Nappes, Southern Turkey Theo Andrew Thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Edinburgh 2002 I declare that this thesis has been written by myself and is the result of my own research, except where contributions have been stated and duly acknowledged. Theo Andrew ii “The sun sets on the western mountain. The cliff thrusts forward, suspended in space. See the ocean in its vastness and the sky in its immensity.” From the T’ai Chi classics, unknown author. iii Abstract The Beysehir-Hoyran-Hadim Nappes crop out over 700km, from east to west in the Pisidian and Central Taurus Mountains of southern Turkey. During this study, field obsevations of lithological, structural and sedimentological features are combined with igneous geochemical data derived from samples collected to help redefine a series of tectono-stratigraphic units and also determine the origin of the Beysehir-Hoyran-Hadim Nappes. Above a regionally autochthonous Tauride carbonate platform, the Beysehir-Hoyran Nappes begin with Ophiolitic Melange, consisting of blocks of neritic and pelagic limestone, basalt, serpentinite, radiolarian chert and, in places, amphibolite-grade metamorphic sole-type rocks, together set in a highly sheared siltstone and mudstone matrix. Locally, large slices of serpentinized harzburgite are incorporated in the melange. The peridotite sheets include lenses of chromitite and dunite and are cut by a series of dolerite dykes. The higher thrust sheets in the Hadim area begin with the Korualan Unit; a thrust sheet (ca. 400m thick) of mainly redeposited carbonates, quartzose sandstones and mudstones of Mid-Late Triassic age, interpreted as a proximal slope/base-of-slope succession. Regionally above is the Huglu-type Unit; a thrust sheet (ca. 1 km thick) of Mid-Late Triassic intermediate-acidic extrusives, volcaniclastics and minor pelagic carbonates, interpreted as a continental rift. Post-rift subsidence in this thrust sheet is recorded by thin (<100m thick) Upper Triassic-Upper Cretaceous pelagic carbonate and radiolarian chert, depositionally above. The uppermost thrust sheet, the Boyali Tepe-type Unit, comprises broken formation and melange, including Jurassic shallow-water carbonate, Ammonitico Rosso condensed pelagic limestone, radiolarian chert and Upper Cretaceous pelagic limestone, representing a Bahaman-type carbonate platform which subsided in Early Jurassic time. Anastomosing zones of tectonic-sedimentary melange separate these higher units. The Beysehir-Hoyran Nappes document Triassic rifting and Jurassic-Cretaceous passive margin subsidence bordering the Northern Neotethyan Ocean. The Late Cretaceous harzburgitic ophiolite probably formed above a northerly dipping subduction zone within the Neotethyan ocean basin. Ophiolitic melange formed along the leading edge of the overiding plate. The ophiolite was emplaced southwards onto the northern margin of the Tauride platform in latest Cretaceous time, probably during collision of the passive margin with a trench. The nappe pile and underlying platform (Hadim Nappe) were thrust ca. 150km further south in Late Eocene time during regional continental collision and suture zone tightening. Several alternative palaeo-tectonic models are considered and tested in the light of data presented from this study. Assuming ‘in-sequence’ thrusting, the Beysehir-Hoyran Nappes restore to a location north of a northerly Neotethyan spreading axis. More probably, they originated near the south margin of the northern Neotethys, but reached their position by ‘out-of-sequence thrusting’. Formation within a localised southerly strand of the northern Neotethys (Inner Tauride ocean) is more probable than within the main Neotethys further north. Wider implications for the Tethyan ocean as a whole and several other orogenic belts are also considered. iv Acknowledgements Over the last four years I have had the pleasure of meeting and working with a great deal of people who have made the process of producing this ‘labour of love’ a lot easier. Thankyou Alastair Robertson for all the considerable time and effort you have given over the course of this project. Your enthusiasm for all things (apart from a big e-mail folder!) is a joy to see and a source of inspiration. I suppose the chain of events that brought me to Edinburgh started one day back in Leicester with an innocent suggestion from Allan Collins…… The Tethyan Research Group (past, present and future!) during my time here have been a constant source of inspiration, in particular the 1998-2002 vintage; Khalil Al-Riyami, Nikos Kourampas, Noah Jaffey, Matthew Clark, Mat Hard’n’fast, and Sam Rice. Timur Üstaomer, Ulvican and family, Ali Ünlügenç, Ömer Faruk Çelik are all thanked for being more than just friendly faces in foreign places. The fieldwork in Turkey could not have been done without your help. Taniel Danelian generously helped out with all things radiolarian and Olivier Monod kindly provided hard to find literature which proved to be crucial in the end. Nik Glazebrook provided much needed expert fieldwork assistance during the second field season. The PhD studentship was kindly sponsored by the Natural Environment Research Council, the Caledonian Brewery, and during the last few months the City of Edinburgh Council and the Diagenesis Research Group. The third and final field season was made possible only by the generosity of the University of Edinburgh who kindly supported fieldwork costs. Technical assistance at Edinburgh University was expertly supplied by Geoff Angell, Dodie James, Shane Voss , Justin McNeil, Mike Hall and Yvonne Cooper. Whilst demonstrating on numerous memorable fieldtrips (in particular Cyprus, Whitby & Inchnadamph) I have benefited from various words of wisdom; some related to this project, some about geoscience and some about life in general. In particular, ENKC, JRU, SLH, RAS, RSH and Peder Aspen all had sensible things to say. Also many thanks to John Dixon and Katy Hardacre for reading through early drafts of various chapters. Big thanks to all the people who have brightened my days during my time in Edinburgh and who I am proud to call my friends. In no particular order; John Braisby, for sharing a big flat and many good times. May there be many more round the corner! Rich Hesketh, for not only being there at the end, but being a much needed source of distraction. Lets face it- slime volleyball IS much more fun than writing up. Matthew Clark, again, for being there from the start and sharing much of this amazing adventure with me. Colonel Mustard, for the rainy day rides home. Pete McFadzean, for keeping it westside baby. For real….Ruth Gilpin for all the black cab moments, “TAXI FOR GILPIN!”. Emily Good, for amongst other things teaching me how to do crosswords during countless coffee breaks. Andrew Cavanagh, for showing me that there is another way. Gavin England, for his antipodean humour and ‘thirst’ for the good life. Ira Ojala for all the ‘zoomhey’; whatever it means! Chris Byrne, for sharing a little flat and putting up with me during the last few months, and finally, Anna Hultman, for knowing how to make me smile :-) The biggest thankyou is reserved for my family; June, Peter and big bruv Piers for their unconditional love and support. v CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1 1.1 RATIONALE 1 1.2 REGIONAL AND TECTONIC SETTING 1 1.2.1 Tethys ocean 4 1.2.2 Single evolving Tethys model 5 1.2.3 Single Mesozoic Tethys model 5 1.2.4 Southwards subduction model 9 1.3 PROJECT METHODS 9 1.4 THESIS ORGANISATION 11 1.5 PRONUNCIATION OF THE TURKISH LANGUAGE 12 1.5.1 Place names 12 1.6 A BRIEF NOTE ON TERMINOLOGY 13 CHAPTER 2: BEYSEHIR AREA 14 2.1 PREVIOUS WORK 14 2.2 INTRODUCTION 16 2.3 REGIONAL AUTOCHTHON (GEYIK DAG UNIT) 16 2.3.1 Autochthonous Palaeozoic basement 17 2.3.1.1 Çal Tepe Formation (Lower-Mid Cambrian) 17 2.3.1.2 Seydisehir Formation (Mid Cambrian-Ordovician) 19 2.3.1.3 Sobova Formation (Late Arenig) 19 2.3.2 AUTOCHTHONOUS MESOZOIC UNITS 19 2.3.2.1 Triassic 20 2.3.2.2 Jurassic – Late Cretaceous 20 2.3.2.3 Late Cretaceous -Tertiary 21 2.4 ALLOCHTHONOUS HADIM NAPPE 25 2.4.1 Palaeozoic Bademli unit 25 2.4.1.1 Devonian schists and quartzites 25 2.4.1.2 Carboniferous shales, carbonates and quartzites 25 2.4.1.3 Permian limestone (Cevizli Limestone) 27 2.4.1.4 Lower Triassic carbonates (Medi Ova Formation) 27 2.4.1.5 Lower Jurassic siliciclastics (Derebucak Formation) 28 2.4.2 Lower Jurassic-Upper Cretaceous Çamlik Unit 29 2.4.2.1 Lower Jurassic transitional units 29 2.4.2.2 Mid Jurassic-Upper Cretaceous neritic limestone 30 2.5 OPHIOLITE AND OPHIOLITIC MELANGE 31 2.5.1 Ophiolitic Melange 33 2.5.2 Melange Matrix 33 2.5.3 Melange inclusions 34 2.5.3.1 Limestone Inclusions 35 2.5.3.2 Volcano-sedimentary- metamorphic rock melange 37 2.5.3.3 Peridotite thrust sheet 38 2.5.3.5 Basal Ophiolitic Melange 39 2.6 ALLOCHTHONOUS BEYSEHIR NAPPES 40 2.6.1 Upper Triassic Gencek Unit 40 2.6.2 Upper Triassic-Upper Cretaceous Boyali Tepe Unit 40 2.6.3 Triassic-Upper Cretaceous Huglu Unit 44 2.6.3.1 Lower volcano-sedimentary unit 45 2.6.3.2 Upper pelagic limestone unit 47 2.7 SUMMARY 48 vi CHAPTER 3: PISIDIAN TAURIDES 50 3.1 PREVIOUS WORK 50 3.2 TECTONOSTRATIGRAPHY OF THE WESTERN PISIDIAN TAURIDES: SARKIKARAAGAÇ AND KUMDANLI AREAS 52 3.2.1 REGIONAL AUTOCHTHON 52 3.2.1.1 The Sultan Dag autochthon north of Lake Beysehir (Sarkikaraagaç area) 53 3.2.1.2 The Sultan Dag autochthon northeast of Lake Hoyran (Kumdanli area) 54 3.2.1.3 The Anamas Dag autochthon in the Sarkikaraagaç area 61 3.2.2 ALLOCHTHONOUS UNITS 61 3.2.2.1 The B-H Nappes in the Sarkikaraagaç region 61 3.2.2.2 The B-H Nappes in the Kumdanli region 67 3.3 TECTONOSTRATIGRAPHY OF THE WESTERN PISIDIAN TAURIDES: THE DINAR AREA 70 3.3.1 Regional Autochthon 72 3.3.1.2 The Precambrian Sandikli Basement Complex 72 3.3.1.3 Early Palaeozoic autochthonous succession: the Hüdai, Çaltepe and Seydisehir Formations.