Tertiary Uplift History of the Troodos Massif, Cyprus

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Tertiary uplift history of the Troodos massif, Cyprus

A.H.F. ROBERTSON* Department of Geology, University of Cambridge, Sedgwick Museum, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EQ, England

ABSTRACT INTRODUCTION Troodos massif that he took as an indica- tion of possible subaerial exposure. The detailed uplift history of a portion of In the recent debate about the mech- Subsequently, in Maastrichtian time, the Late Cretaceous Tethyan oceanic litho- anisms of formation and subsequent de- open oceanic stage in the evolution of the sphère is documented by in situ sedimentary formation of the Troodos massif of Cyprus, Troodos massif was terminated by major sequences around the Troodos massif of little account has been taken of the various tectonic movements that simultaneously af- Cyprus. The pre-uplift tectonic setting first in situ Upper Cretaceous and Tertiary fected the whole belt stretching from Greece involved genesis of the Troodos massif at a sedimentary sequences that are exposed through Cyprus to Oman and beyond spreading ocean ridge of Late Cretaceous around the perimeter of the Troodos mas- (Smith, 1971). In the south and southwest age, followed by deformation in Maas- sif. This paper has two main objectives. of Cyprus, substantial thrust sheets and trichtian time. Then, after a brief period of First, it outlines the sedimentary develop- mélange were emplaced directly over the latest Cretaceous deep-water pelagic ment of southern Cyprus in the Tertiary Troodos ocean floor. This deformation is sedimentation, much of the area was blan- Period, of interest to many working in the suggestive of subduction and a trench envi- keted in early Tertiary time by a wedge of East Mediterranean. Secondly, on a more ronment, as will be discussed elsewhere. pelagic carbonates derived from the north- general level, it documents the uplift of the When these tectonic movements came to an east. Gradual uplift to the middle Miocene Troodos oceanic lithosphere from near end later during Maastrichtian time, the is documented by shallowing-upward car- oceanic depths in the Early Cretaceous to entire south margin of the Troodos massif bonate sequences culminating in lagoons the present altitude of Mount Olympos, was left tectonically sliced, tilted en masse and localized reefs that were adjacent to more than 2,000 m. It emerges that this to the southwest, and under a deep cover of emergent areas of vegetated and deeply final uplift is the antecedent of a long his- sea water, as indicated by the pelagic nature weathered Troodos rocks. tory of episodic uplift, subsidence, erosion, of the marls and chalks that began to ac- A pulse of vastly accelerated middle and peneplanation. The dominant driving cumulate soon afterward. With this re- Miocene uplift is recorded by slumping, force here is believed to involve periodic gional tectonic setting as a background, I widespread erosion, and folding of the serpentinization of parts of Troodos ultra- now pass on to a more detailed discussion south Troodos sedimentary sequences. This mafic rocks during periods of regional of the later uplift history of the Troodos uplift was associated with rapid deposition tectonic instability. This represents one im- massif. of both clastic and carbonate sediments in portant general mechanism of uplifting subsiding basins to the south. The Miocene oceanic lithosphere to the relatively high Late Maastrichtian: Deep-Water uplift culminated in localized reef develop- structural levels needed to facilitate the Calcareous Sedimentation ment and gypsum deposition, then perva- emplacement of ophiolites. sive peneplanation of the Troodos massif. Immediately after emplacement of the In contrast, much of the Troodos massif Stratigraphy of the Cyprus Sedimentary allochthonous rocks, calcareous pelagic remained low-lying and tectonically stable Deposits sediments began to accumulate over the during Pliocene time, whereas to the north, Throughout this paper reference is made whole area as if nothing had happened. sedimentary basins developed along high- to the provisional stratigraphic nomencla- Where the Troodos massif had escaped the angle faults initiated during the late ture as set out by Mantis (1970; Table 1). earlier deformation, as around the east and Miocene emplacement of the adjacent This stratigraphy is still under review by north of the massif, the basal marls and Kyrenia Range. Major uplifts during the members of the Cyprus Geological Survey chalks of the Lower Lefkara Formation (see Pleistocene epoch were renewed, as shown Department. Mantis, 1970, and Robertson and Hudson, by thick deposits of marine and continental 1974, for stratigraphic details, also Table 1) fanglomerates. Late Cretaceous Tectonic Setting were ponded into broad hollows inherited The uplift of Troodos oceanic crust is at- from the earlier ocean-ridge setting. These tributed to the progressive serpentinization The scene initially was set for the Tertiary sediments were deposited as finely lami- of ultramafic rocks of the oceanic layer 4. uplift of Troodos by the ocean-floor genesis nated nannoplankton and planktonic These rocks, which were first deformed and of the Troodos massif (Gass and Masson- foraminiferal and radiolarian oozes, free of partly serpentinized in Late Cretaceous Smith, 1963; Moores and Vine, 1971; Vine macrofossils except fish teeth. Sedimentary time, were subsequently remobilized during and others, 1973). As early as the Campan- features point to deep-water deposition periods of regional tectonic instability, ian, lateral facies variations of in situ se- close to the carbonate compensation depth especially during the middle Miocene and quences of pelagic (Perapedhi Formation) (Robertson and Hudson, 1974). Pleistocene. The dominant driving force and volcanogenic sediments (Kannaviou In contrast, in the south of Cyprus, the may have involved the liberation of water Formation, Table 1) show that parts of the Maastrichtian marl-chalk sequences locally from a subduction zone dipping northward present Troodos massif were already topo- reach very much greater thicknesses, partly beneath Cyprus. graphically elevated relative to the sur- owing to an addition from erosion of the rounding areas. Indeed, de Vaumas (1959) newly emplaced allochthonous rocks. For described peneplaned surfaces of pre- example, north of Monagroulli, Limassol * Present address: Grant Institute of Geology, Tertiary age in the Akamas Peninsula and District (Fig. 1), the basal several hundred West Mains Road, Edinburgh EH93JW, Scotland. around the northern margins of the metres of the Lefkara sequence consist of

Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 88, p. 1763-1772, 4 figs., 1 table, December 1977, Doc. no. 71208.

1763

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TABLE 1. BASIC STRATIGRAPHIC alternations of massive silty chalks and Eocene sedimentary deposits appear to be NOMENCLATURE OF IN SITU finely laminated argillaceous marls. These thin or absent. For example, near Aredhiou, SEDIMENTARY COVER OF sediments contain abundant silt-sized Paleocene and lower Eocene chalks are quartz, chert, and clasts of low-grade overlain disconformably by Oligocene TROODOS MASSIF metamorphic rocks, all presumably derived marls of the Upper Lefkara Formation. FANGLOM- ERATE from erosion of the Moni Mélange, an ad- In general, throughout the middle & jacent body which was emplaced earlier in Eocene, the south margin of the Troodos

CEN E BeachDeoosits UATER - MAR Y Û-LEIST O the Maastrichtian. massif still remained under relatively deep but gradually shallowing seas, whereas at. Paleocene and Early Eocene: Gradually areas to the north were already relatively 0. < z a. t/> Shallowing Seas elevated, undergoing only minimal LU 3 sedimentation, possibly some submarine o 8 < CU z S In Cyprus, as in many other areas of the erosion. o LLf Oä ad < Mediterranean, Danian sediments have not < been recognized (Mantis, 1975, personal Oligocene to Early Miocene: Localized UJ O. 1 s! 14 commun.), presumably owing to non- Subaerial Exposure Q£ Í deposition (see Worsley, 1971). In some a. areas, as in the Troulli inlier, Nicosia Dis- From Oligocene to early Miocene time, in a. 2 3 trict, several laterally continuous chert beds many areas there was continued accumula- occur near the top of the Maastrichtian se- tion of marls and chalks in seas that prog- quence in otherwise unsilicified chalks and ressively retreated until some areas were LU U•7J marls. These cherts may represent either exposed subaerially. The disappearance of UJ enhanced radiolarian productivity or the Radiolaria, which are abundant in the preferential dissolution of CaC03, possibly Eocene chalks, may have been due to a re- z < owing to a period of relatively elevated car- striction of the seas around Cyprus from

E « z - bonate compensation depth. open oceanic circulation farther east. Three O GYPSU M During Paleocene and early Eocene time, main areas of sedimentation that can be z LU X CONGLOMER / calcareous pelagic sedimentation was suc- recognized are (1) south and east of * «o ceeded by the accumulation of a thick se- Troodos: shallow seas and lagoons; (2) Od quence of calciturbidites and possible con- north margin of Troodos: unrestricted O u DD L < tourites along the southeastern margins of carbonate-depositing seas; and (3) north- O the Troodos massif (Fig. 2). In general, the west of Troodos: emergence, erosion, and a. CALCARENIT E M l SANDSTON E i L calciturbidites were transported from the reef formation. o < UJ north-northeast over a southward-sloping South and East of Troodos: Shallow Seas UJ is topography that had been inherited from and Lagoons. In these areas pelagic chalks the Maastrichtian deformation of the south -i and marls continued to be deposited to a — margin of Troodos. The in situ inter turbi- maximum additional thickness of around U c/> dite chalks are typical deep-water calcare- 250 m (Fig. 2). As an example, in the Yialis 2 UJ ous pelagic sediments without benthonic River (Fig. 2), 1 km east of Kotchati, Z LO —« LU foraminifera, whereas contemporaneous Oí t/9> Nicosia District, the lower, predominantly chalks along the north margins of the Oligocene part of the Upper Lefkara se- S E l aÖ E Troodos massif are ferruginous, strati- quence consists of massive chalks, on an av-

~~I < R graphically condensed, often strongly erage of 0.3 m thick, alternating with more œ.OC UJ bioturbated, and, according to Zomenis finely laminated gray or buff marls. Toward~~

h- CALCARE N MAR L (1972), contain a fauna of autochthonous the top of this sequence the massive chalks LU Z benthonic foraminifera. From this evidence become pink or red, owing to relatively ele- m it is clear that by Paleocene time the seas vated concentrations of iron. The higher fi along the north margin of the Troodos beds in this section are extensively chan- UJ 8 massif were already relatively shallow, neled with numerous washouts and local o < MAR L whereas much deeper waters persisted in disconformities. Traced upward, these 2 < the south of the island (Fig. 1). marls give way to gray, strongly biotur- o U_ UJ LXJ bated calcareous shales, packed with benthonic foraminifera (Bagnall, 1960; Gass, * Middle Eocene: Tectonic Stability O —i 1960), and also intercalated with occa- í sional thin beds of black shale. These shales

~~UPPE R U By the middle Eocene, continued chalk~~

O UPPE R LU > sedimentation had smoothed many of the consist mostly of finely divided plant det- UJ to major irregularities on the sea floor. Depo- ritus with disseminated pyrite grains and sition of the calciturbidites came to an end scattered chalk intraclasts. Emission spec- —1 EOCEN E MIDDLE •s. followed by an extended period of tectonic trometry shows that, relative to the adja- C quiescence signified by the deposition of as cent marls, the black shales are strongly en- LCWER —ot c Q_ much as 200 m of generally massive, often riched in Fe, Ba, Cr, Ni, and V. ïï « X ¿)m OL o * o strongly bioturbated chalks, of the upper The features of these sediments point to a ai Z UJ a ï chert-free unit of the Middle Lefkara For- gradual transition from shallow, open- LU < t 5 ïï I to 3 mation (Fig. 2; Table 1). Around the south- marine carbonate-depositing seas to semi- o east margins of the Troodos massif, benth- enclosed coastal lagoons where the black MAAST- IO WER onic foraminifera become abundant, which RICHTIAN LEFKARA Atari shales were laid down. Contrary to earlier KANNAVIOU Vblc. implies gradually shallowing seas (Gass, views (Gass, 1960; Bear, 1960), the CAM PA- & Sst. 1960). stenohaline fauna and the evidence of cur- SENO -

~~NIA N Clay~~

CEOUS ) NI AN CRETA - PERAPEDHI Ihiber In contrast, along the north margins of rents imply that the lagoons are unlikely to Note: Modified from Mantis (1970). the Troodos massif, middle and upper have been stagnant; anaerobic conditions

Downloaded from http://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/gsabulletin/article-pdf/88/12/1763/3418490/i0016-7606-88-12-1763.pdf by guest on 29 September 2021 Figure 1. Geologic map of southern Cyprus showing locations of places mentioned in text.

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limestones rest directly on the Troodos basement with evidence of erosion of the pre-existing Lefkara sedimentary units. e? Erosional remnants have also been noted in the Akamas Peninsula near Pano Arodhes; near Pelathousa, the Terra reef limestones overlie a conglomerate 5 m thick, which KEY contains subangular boulders of chert-free

REEF LIMESTONE L.MIOCENE chalk of Upper Lefkara origin. BLACK SHALE IO U.EOCENE A more complex history is recorded in MARL the Polis basin, a major north-trending gra- MASSIVE CHALK U. EOCENE U. EOCENE TO ben that separates the Troodos massif from CHALK-CHERT L.PALEOCENE the Akamas Peninsula to the west (Fig. 1). MAASTRICHTIAN MARL-CHALK In this graben, highly laterally variable se- SCALE PRE-LEFKARA SEDIMENTS quences of pelagic chalks encountered in PILLOW LAVAS O boreholes (M. Mantis, 1973, personal IO commun.) imply continuing movements 20 along high-angle faults throughout 30 M Paleogene and Neogene time. Reef limestones are exposed on both margins of the graben but have not been encountered in drill cores along the axes of this basin. Farther south, in the southeast of Paphos, the Upper Lefkara sedimentary rocks pass upward into a thick calcarenitic facies of the Terra limestones, free of reefs. This sequence, well exposed near Ayios Neophytos Monastery, comprises thick-bedded highly \ »I bioturbated calcarenites packed with i I benthonic foraminifera. Intercalations of limestone conglomerates contain clasts of Upper Lefkara chalk as much as 20 cm in \l diameter. Viewed as a whole, during the early \l Miocene, parts of the north of Paphos were uplifted, subaerially exposed, and eroded, associated with the development of fringing reefs. Meanwhile, the south of Paphos and ggg the Polis basin remained submerged and » « e o «• 6 A A « still undergoing calcareous pelagic sedi-

I. KINOUSA 2. ARMINOLI 3 PERAPEDHI 4 LEFKARA 6 AREDHIOU mentation; then there was a strong uplift leading to partial erosion of the underlying Figure 2. Generalized stratigraphic sections of the circum-Troodos Maastrichtian to middle sedimentary sequences, followed by shallow- Miocene sedimentary units (Lefkara Formation). (These sections are intended only as a general guide; more detailed sections are published in various memoirs of the Cyprus Geological Survey Depart- water carbonate deposition. ment.) Lower Middle Miocene (Langhian): Uplift would only have developed during subsur- were probably emergent by early Miocene and Subaerial Exposure face diagenesis (for example, see Berner, time, but to the north in the Mesaoria plain, 1971). The evidence of shallowing condi- boreholes reveal continuous open-marine By early in the middle Miocene, con- tions around the south and east of the pelagic sedimentation throughout the tinued gradual uplift had resulted in Troodos massif probably accompanied the Upper Lefkara sequence (M. Mantis, 1975, emergence, or near emergence, of much of emergence of a low-lying landmass to the personal commun.). the present Troodos massif, as is recorded west. The iron oxide and the plant material Northwest of Troodos: Emergence, Ero- by development of the mature erosion sur- imply that this landmass was vegetated and sion and Reef Development. The Upper faces described by de Vaumas (1961). Soon already deeply weathered by early Miocene Lefkara sedimentary units of Paphos Dis- afterward, areas that were still undergoing time. trict provide important evidence of regional shallow-marine Lefkara sedimentation to North Margin of Troodos: Open shallow uplift in the lower Miocene. Important here the south and east of the Troodos massif Carbonate-Depositing Seas. Along the is the occurrence of reef and shelly lime- were then suddenly exposed subaerially by north margin of the Troodos massif, which stones, the Terra limestones, dated by M. a pulse of vastly accelerated uplift of the was already relatively shallow, the Mantis (1975 personal commun.) as Bur- Troodos basement, which apparently oc- Oligocene to lower Miocene sedimentary digalian and Langhian (early Miocene; curred immediately prior to the Langhian deposits are correspondingly thin and dis- Table 1). North of a line running east- (Mantis, 1975, personal commun.). continuous. For example, at Kottaphi Hill southeast to west-southwest of the villages Evidence of this uplift is found southeast near Aredhiou, Nicosia District, a of Kritou Marottou, Simou, and Evretou of the Troodos massif in a broad zone ex- monotonous sequence of chalks and marls (Fig. 1), the Terra limestones take the form tending from Cape Dolos northeastward to reaches a maximum of only 20 m (Fig. 2). of a dominately shelly reef fades. Locally, near Lymbia (Fig. 1). At Petrounda Point, Parts of the Troodos massif to the south as around Kinousa and Pelathousa, the reef Larnaca District (Fig. 1), the higher Upper

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Lefkara beds, marls, chalks, and black shales have all slumped chaotically after deposition (Bagnall, 1960). The extensively convoluted and tightly folded nature of the marls and chalks implies that they were still plastic when deformed, unlike the thin interbeds of black shales that have been bro- ken into angular clasts, presumably owing to lithification prior to slumping. In general, most of the slump folds are southward facing; their intraformational character is proved by the overlying thin deposits of uppermost Lefkara sediments that are com- pletely undeformed. These sediments are marls as much as 30 m thick with oyster shells. A thin horizon rich in elliptical limonitic concretions (Bagnall, 1960) may signify a hiatus at the end of Upper Lefkara sedimentation. Even more spectacular slumped beds occur south of the Nicosia to Limassol road; south of Ayios Theodhoros flaggy- bedded, channeled Upper Lefkara chalks pass upward into a laterally continuous G -yG slumped horizon 9 m thick, which is in turn overlain by undeformed chalk, often cross- laminated with abundant clay intraclasts. In the deformed horizon, thinly bedded gray 1. NORTH 2 PAKHNA 3 PYRGOS 4 AYIOS 5 DHALI 6 MITSERO marls and massive white chalks have PAPHOS THEODOROS slumped to form numerous south-facing Figure 3. Generalized stratigraphie sections of the circum-Troodos middle Miocene sedimentary asymmetrical folds with generally low- units (Pakhna Formation). (Additional, more detailed sections can be found in memoirs of the Cyprus angle dipping axial planes. Geological Survey Department.)

Later Middle Miocene sediment contact. Apparently the uplift of sedimentary cover parallels a northwest- (Langhian-Tortonian): Rapid Uplift and the Limassol forest massif to the north gen- trending fault zone, which is an offshoot Varied Sedimentation erated compressional folding close to the from the major east-trending Arakapas lava-sediment contact. The southward fault belt (Fig. 1). This fault belt has been The tectonic movements that terminated asymmetry of most of the folds was proba- identified as a transform fault dating from Lefkara sedimentation in the early middle bly the result of southward gravity sliding the ocean-floor genesis of the Troodos Miocene were associated with major uplift away from the uplifted area to the north. massif (Moores and Vine, 1971; Simonian, of the Limassol forest, a region close to the Critically, in this south Troodos zone, the 1975) and was later deformed during the present south margin of the Troodos mas- folded Lefkara chalks are unconformably Maastrichtian emplacement of allochthon- sif. A series of distinctive areas undergoing overlain by undeformed upper late Miocene ous rocks in the south of Cyprus (Lapierre erosion and sedimentation can be recog- sediments of the Pakhna Formation. This and Rocci, 1967). At this time partly ser- nized (Fig. 3) as follows: (1) Limassol forest demonstrates a predominantly intramiddle pentinized ultramafic rocks were emplaced — near the centre of uplift folding, and Miocene age of these major tectonic move- to high structural levels. Later during Ter- partial erosion of pre—middle Miocene sed- ments in the Limassol forest. Typically, the tiary time the Arakapas transform fault and iments; (2) southeast of Troodos Pakhna deposits dip southward at relatively its associated faults underwent rejuvenation —shallow-water clastic and carbonate low angles consistent with Pleistocene up- associated with continued serpentization of sedimentation in an unstable subsiding ba- doming of Mount Olympos. Troodos-type ultramafic rocks. This ser- sin; (3) south of Troodos — thick biogenic Although the complex tectonic history of pentinization is thought to have produced carbonate deposition in a major subsiding the Limassol forest remains to be eluci- the major uplift of the Limassol forest area basin; (4) north of Troodos — low-lying dated, at least along the igneous-sediment in the middle Miocene. coasts, occasional inundations of shallow contact as at Akrounda, the Troodos pillow Southeast of Troodos: Shallow Water carbonate-depositing seas; (5) west of lavas have been thrust over the Upper Cre- Clastics and Carbonates. The emergence of Troodos — locally variable tectonically taceous Moni Mélange and lower Tertiary the Limassol forest massif was reflected in controlled clastic and carbonate sedimen- chalks and marls; locally, the thrust contact rapid accumulation of lithologically vari- tation. dips at 30° to the north-northeast. At able Pakhna sediments in areas to the south Limassol Forest: the Center of Uplift. Yerasa, a few kilometres to the west, ser- and southwest (Table 1). Bagnall (1960) Along the south margin of the Troodos pentinite has been thrust directly over the divided the Pakhna sequence of Larnaca massif, from Pendakomo some 30 km Lefkara chalks, and throughout the Limas- District into three facies, the "Wavy- westward to Ayios Mamas, the Lefkara sol forest as a whole, a series of slices of Bedded Limestones," "Fragmental Lime- sedimentary unit has been deformed into Troodos igneous rocks, including pillow stones," and "Limestone-Shale" sequence. major vertical and south-facing folds lavas, sheeted diabase, and ultramafk rocks These units are reinterpreted here as mainly (Morel, 1960). These folds possess a well- have been thrust southward. lateral-facies variants rather than parts of a developed axial-plane cleavage, which de- Significantly, the zone of deformed general ascending stratigraphic sequence as creases in intensity away from the igneous- ophiolites and pre-middle Miocene believed by Bagnall (1960).

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In general, the "Wavy-Bedded Lime- Bagnall (1960) noted a tendency toward area that now forms the north margin of the stone" facies is restricted to an elliptical cyclical alterations: sandstones and cal- Troodos massif remained relatively topo- area (near Ayios Theodhoros, Alaminos, careous grist near the base, then alterations graphically elevated undergoing minimal and Psematismenos), where it reaches a of limestones and shales with an incoming sedimentation in shallow carbonate-depos- thickness of 130 m (Bagnall, 1960; Fig. 3). of thin conglomerates near the top of the iting seas. This situation persisted despite Rhythmical alterations of pale-brown cal- succession. the drastic events that were taking place not carenites, calcareous sandstones and marls In many areas these limestones and shales far to the south. The Pakhna sediments of predominate. The basal beds include con- are conformably overlain by the Koronia the north of Troodos are thin and discon- glomerates composed of boulders of Upper reef limestones of late Tortonian and pos- tinuous, normally less than 15 m thick, Lefkara chalk, as much as 0.7 m in diame- sibly early Messinian age (M. Mantis, 1975, although locally, as in a borehole north of ter, in a matrix of impure calcarenite. The personal commun; Table 1). These lime- Mitsero, up to 160 m of Pakhna sediments interbedded calcarenites contain numerous stones consist of up to 10 m of algal-bound, have been recorded (Bear, 1960). In gen- small pebbles of chert, basalt, and diabase. bryozoan-bearing shelly limestones with eral, chalks and marls predominate, free of Higher strata of this facies, well exposed on only subordinate coral. Occasionally, these clastics apart from a few minor intercala- the slopes of High Hill south of Ayios limestones contain Troodos-derived igneous tions of brown shelly and sandy limestones Theodhoros, are composed of highly rocks as large as cobble size, suggestive of containing a minor amount of volcanic bioturbated bioclastic calcarenites, which continuing episodes of minor uplift of the material. Unlike other areas, gypsum is said are typically conspicuously wavy bedded. volcanic basement. to be not confined to the top of the succes- There are rafts of white Upper Lefkara South of Troodos: Carbonate Deposition sion; in the Mitsero area, three gypsum chalk as much as 1 m long and occasional in a Major Subsiding Basin. The area that horizons with a total thickness of about 37 south-facing asymmetrical slump folds up extends south west of the Limassol forest m have been recorded in around 140 m of to 1 m in amplitude. These features indicate center of uplift into Paphos District, a dis- Pakhna marls and chalks (Bear, 1960). Reef that deposition was by a combination of tance of about 50 km, is characterized by limestones are found, generally, toward the rapid current, mass flow, and slumping. thicker deposits of Pakhna sediments than top of the succession; occasionally, as near Later shallowing upward is shown by the elsewhere, as much as 350 m, much less Mitsero they overlie gypsum. No evaporites incoming of finer grained calcareous than the 1,200 m estimated by Morel are exposed farther west, presumably sandstones and siltstones containing scat- (1960). These Pakhna sedimentary units are owing to continuous subaerial exposure of tered in situ coral heads as much as 1 m in currently being mapped by M. Mantis this region during the middle Miocene diameter. (1975, personal commun.). (Fig. 4). In contrast, closer to the uplifted Limas- In general, the base of this sequence con- West of Troodos: Locally Variably sol forest area much more proximal de- sists of up to 150 m of mostly highly bur- Mostly Clastic Sedimentation. The posits comprise thick-bedded calcareous rowed calcarenites with interbeds of softer Pakhna sedimentary units of Paphos Dis- sandstones intercalated with conglomerates marls and calcareous siltstones. The cal- trict reflect the uplift of both the Troodos of the "Fragmental Limestone" facies of carenites contain eroded clasts of Lefkara massif and the Akamas Peninsula to the Bagnall (1960). For example, close to the chalks and cherts as much as 30 cm in west. In the Polis graben mostly calcareous Troodos igneous rocks (near Tokhni), beds diameter. Close to the Troodos massif, as sandstones and siltstones accumulated to of graded but otherwise homogenous near Pakhna itself, the calcarenites are par- thicknesses in excess of 100 m. Nearer the brown calcareous sandstones, as much as ticularly sandy with small pebbles of Troodos massif (Evretou, Philousa areas) 1.2 m thick, contain well-developed dish Troodos-derived rocks and grains of red the Lefkara sedimentary units are overlain structure and occasional rafts of Upper Lef- chert probably eroded from a now unex- unconformably by as much as 50 m of kara chalk up to 20 cm in diameter, features posed area of Cretaceous allochthonous alternating sandy marls and sandstones which are indicative of mass-flow rocks. with various macrofossils that include emplacement. The graded beds sometimes Above these lower calcarenites, there is a echinoids. Above this, there are some 20 m show the planar, cross, and convolute lami- sequence of around 200 m of predomi- of finely laminated calcareous shales, then nations diagnostic of the Bouma ABCD di- nately thinly bedded marls with calcarenitic substantial and widely distributed deposits visions of proximal turbidites (Bouma, interbeds, some of which are likely to be of gypsum up to 20 m thick (Kluyver, 1962). Above these sandstones there are calciturbidites. Above, there is a return to 1969). conglomerates composed of pebble- to calcarenites, about 25 m, culminating in 3 Interpretation of the Middle Miocene cobble-size Troodos igneous rocks, mostly to 5 m of massive porcelaneous chalk bear- Paleogeography basalt and diabase, as well as red cherts, ing Discospirina (M. Mantis, 1976, per- silicified Lefkara chalk, and algal limestone. sonal commun.). The upper calcarenites The overall paleogeography of southern The individual conglomerate beds range in crop out in a broad zone north of Limassol Cyprus was dominated by the uplift of the thickness from 0.6 to 3 m, with boulders up and are especially well exposed in a large Limassol forest massif coupled with subsi- to 2 m in diameter. In these proximal areas cement quarry near Ypsonas. There, indi- dence of areas to the south. Around the the conglomerates fine progressively up- vidual beds up to 2 m thick consist of shelly south and east of the Troodos massif, uplift wards and then pass into reef limestones, bands interspersed with lenticular, but was associated with emergence or near whereas the more distal regions farther otherwise structureless, marly calcilutite emergence of the underlying sediment, then south and east are chacterized by deposition with numerous scattered pebbles of well- a renewed transgression flooded the low- of laterally persistent shales, marls, and rounded red, brown, and dark gray chert up lying coastal areas of the landmass to the limestones. This is the "Limestone-Shale" to 3 cm in diameter. Bivalve shells are found northwest (Fig. 4). The earliest sediments, facies of Bagnall (1960). These sedimentary only as molds, implying a source for the including the chalk conglomerates, were rocks crop out extensively along the south- cement in the dissolution of aragonite. The deposited in a localized basin in which ac- east margins of the Troodos massif where fossil assemblage is indicative of a shallow- cumulation roughly kept pace with subsi- they typically rest unconformably on Lef- water, possibly immediately subtidal envi- dence. With continuing uplift and erosion, kara chalks. Clastic sediments are confined ronment. the Limassol forest island was dissected to thin beds of grits and sandy siltstones, North Troodos: Shallow Ephemeral down to the sheeted diabase, implying up- rarely more than several centimetres thick. Seas. Throughout the middle Miocene the lift of at least 1 km. The denuded igneous

~~A MAASTRICHTIAN B L.-M. EOCENE.~~

~~C L. MIOCENE D MIDDLE MIOCENE~~

~~-UPLIFT .,^Cagoons~~

~~PLIOCENE~~

~~KEY~~

~~+ EMPLACEMENT DIRECTION~~

INFERRED WATER DEPTH t TURBIDITE PALEOCURRENT S SHALLOW O- IOO M. / SEDIMENT DISPERSAL D DEEP IOO-IOOO M. : : CHALKS & MARLS VD VERY DEEP >IOOOM. CONGLOMERATES •s REEFS / COASTLINE Figure 4. Reconstruction of chief features of Maastrichtian to Holocene paleogeography of southern Cyprus. Note that reconstruction is relative to present position of Cyprus.

material accumulated as conglomerates, fringed the rising Limassol forest island. La- areas. Reefs established themselves in shal- mass-flow deposits, and turbidites in prox- ter, uplift slowed and then almost ceased as low waters wherever a firm substratum was imal areas, and as finer grained, mostly is indicated by a progressive reduction in available as above the conglomerates, current-deposited sandstone and siltstone the supply of igneous detritus. Subse- whereas reefs are absent where the sea floor farther offshore. The reef and algal material quently, a slight regional subsidence or rise was soft-bottomed or where marine in the conglomerates was probably derived in sea level allowed the seas to transgress circulation was restricted. Around the east from destruction of short-lived reefs that broad low-lying subaerially exposed coastal of the Troodos massif, as in the Dhali area,

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the black shales are likely to have been de- both the southern and northern sides of the 1), predominately arenaceous shallow posited in subtidal lagoons marginal to the Troodos massif. Also, the almost flat ero- marine sediments that are highly variable emergent landmass to the west. sion surface of the Limassol forest may date laterally and as yet little known. In contrast, the unusually thick Pakhna from this time. South Troodos: Subaerial Exposure and sedimentary units of the area southwest of Erosion. In the south and southeast of the the Limassol forest are predominately Pliocene: Renewed Marine Transgression, Troodos massif, marine deposits are re- open-marine, relatively deep-water foram- Tectonic Stability, Then Marine Regression stricted to small areas, particularly around iniferal chalks. The intraformational con- Kalavassos and in the Akrotiri Peninsula glomerates, slumping, turbiditic beds, and From Miocene time onward, the geologic south of Limassol. Around Kalavassos un- local disconformities all attest to rapid sub- history of the Troodos massif can no longer differentiated Pliocene sedimentary units as sidence of a tectonically unstable basin. be divorced from the Kyrenia Range. The much as 25 m thick consist of calcareous Later, when this subsidence came to an end, final emplacement of the Kyrenia Range sandstones and conglomerates composed of progressive shallowing led to the accumu- was at the end of Miocene time (Moore, rounded Troodos-derived rocks up to 0.3 m lation of shelly and pebbly limestones rich 1960), associated with major faulting of the in diameter. Farther south there are finer in benthonic foraminifera. Extensive slump- subjacent Troodos volcanic basement be- grained sedimentary rocks, presumably ing of the highest levels of the Pakhna de- neath the Mesaoria plain. Subsequent more offshore facies. Comparable sedimen- posits in some areas may have resulted from movements along these faults then strongly tary rocks have also been reported by Morel a relative lowering of sea level prior to the influenced Pliocene sedimentation in the (1960) from the Akrotiri Peninsula, where deposition of gypsum. Unlike the area to Mesaoria area. In contrast, the main area of horizons rich in oysters, pectens, and span- the south, along the north margin of the the Troodos massif remained low in eleva- tangid echinoids are intercalated with beds Troodos massif there were periodic marine tion and free from major tectonic distur- rich in pebbles of derived pillow lava and incursions leading to the establishment of bances. A variety of shallow marine sedi- diabase. reefs, then regressions resulting in evapori- ments were laid down in coastal areas — (1) South Paphos: Shallow Marine Arena- tic conditions. Troodos-derived igneous north and east of Troodos: deposition in ceous Sedimentation. Over a large area of material is confined to occasional intercala- fault-controlled subsiding basins; (2) south the south of Paphos District there are ex- tions of sandy marls, a surprising feature as Troodos: mostly subaerial, deposition of tensive, but little studied, deposits of gray, the summit of the Limassol forest island can coarse Troodos-derived clastics and local- generally sandy Pliocene marls (Kluyver, have been situated little more than 20 km to ized marine incursions; (3) south Paphos: 1969). Widely distributed in the Simou and the south. At this time the Arakapas fault deposition of shallow marine sands and Dhrimou areas (Fig. 1), they are, however, belt probably still existed as a series of marls. almost absent north of Evretou, presumably south-facing fault scarps that prevented the North and East of Troodos: Fault- owing to subaerial exposure of this area. dispersal of sediment toward the north of Controlled Subsiding Basins. Faulting of Troodos. the Troodos volcanic basement beneath the Interpretation of the Pliocene Mesaoria plain resulted from the final late Paleogeography of the Troodos Massif Late Middle Miocene: Evaporite Miocene emplacement of the Kyrenia Deposition and Peneplanation Range. According to Baroz and Bizon Onset of the Pliocene epoch was marked (1974), two major east-trending reversed by rapid transgression of the seas over The Pakhna sedimentation culminated in faults, the Kythrea and the Ovgos, divided much of the Pontian erosion surface. Later, the local deposition of evaporites, normally the Mesaoria plain into several subbasins the southern shoreline of Cyprus lay close first as gypsiferous marls, then as massive that were undergoing differing sedimenta- to its present position, except for a shallow saccaroidal gypsum as much as 30 m thick. tion in Pliocene time. marine incursion in the Kalavassos and Ak- Comparable salt deposits have been discov- In the north near the southern edge of rotiri areas. The Limassol forest remained ered in boreholes in the Mesaoria plain in Kyrenia Range, the lower Pliocene sedimen- emergent, still relatively elevated, probably the Dhali area (M. Mantis, 1973, personal tary deposits, termed the Mirtou marls with some renewed uplift as indicated by commun.) and off the southwest of Cyprus (Table 1), rest with an angular unconfor- the igneous-derived conglomerates. In (Hsü and others, 1975). Also, the circum- mity on the underlying Lapatza gypsum. A Paphos, the Polis basin remained sub- Troodos evaporites have been correlated basal conglomerate, as much as 10 m thick, merged, receiving arenaceous sediment with the Lapatza gypsum deposits of the contains gypsum and minor amounts of pil- from denudation of both the emergent Kyrenia Range (Gass and Cockbain, 1961), low lava and marble derived from the Troodos massif to the east and the Akamas now known to be uppermost Tortonian and Kyrenia Range (Baroz and Bizon, 1974). Peninsula to the west. Messinian (Baroz and Bizon, 1975), which Above these conglomerates there is an in- In Pliocene time, much the most interest- favors correlation of all the Cyprus gypsum coming of sands and sandy marls that are ing area was the north margin of Troodos deposits with the widespread Messinian characteristic of the region north of the and the adjacent Mesaoria plain. The final evaporites elsewhere in the Mediterranean Ovgos fault (Fig. 1). South of this fault, the late Miocene emplacement of the Kyrenia (Hsü and others, 1973). Mirtou marls are finer grained and more Range was associated with short-lived sub- Toward the end of Messinian time, con- calcareous. Close to the Troodos margin, aerial exposure of much of the Mesaoria tinued erosion led ultimately to almost sedimentary deposits then become more area (Baroz and Bizon, 1974), probably as- complete peneplanation to form the Pon- arenaceous — gray marls, often sandy with sociated with gypsum deposition; then the tian erosion surfaces. These are highly dis- irregular intercalations of conglomerates seas flooded back, followed by subsidence tinctive geomorphological features discov- with pebble to cobble-size material derived along the Kythrea, Ovgos, and related ered by de Vaumas (1959, 1961), which from the Troodos rocks to the south (Bear, faults. The areas between the Ovgos fault could have been generated by a significantly 1960). In this area the basal Mirtou marls and the present north margins of the lowered base level of erosion as would be overly the Pakhna unconformably; at Troodos formed a subsiding basin where implied by the dessication hypothesis of Aredhiou, marls overstep directly onto the predominately fine-grained Mirtou marls Hsü and others (1973). Remnants of the Troodos basement. exceed 800 m in thickness. In contrast the Pontian surface are well preserved, espe- The upper Pliocene consists of the much thinner coastal facies are coarser and cially in the Akamas Peninsula and along Nicosia and Athalassa Formations (Table include intercalations of nodular limestones

(cornstones) and gypsum, features indic- vial reworking of the Fanglomerates. Minor drastic upheaval that were centered on sev- ative of periodic emergence and dessication fluctuations in sea level are recorded in a eral different areas. The driving force be- resulting from relatively minor tectonic variety of marine terraces. A widespread hind this uplift is believed to have been the movements of the basement. superficial cover of caliche, locally termed hydration of deep-seated Troodos igneous "harvara," has an important stabilizing ef- rocks to produce serpentinite (Moores and Pleistocene: Episodes of Drastic Uplift fect upon unconsolidated sediment. Over- Vine, 1971). That Cyprus and not adjacent all, it would appear that in the absence of areas of the east Mediterranean should have The onset of the Pleistocene epoch saw a renewed uplift the Troodos massif is once been uplifted is probably a consequence of marked switch from relative tectonic sta- again on its way to peneplanation as at the the Maastrichtian deformation of the south bility to successive phases of drastic uplift. end of the Miocene. margin of the Troodos massif, believed then From a detailed analysis of mature reliefs, to have been situated close to a trench. Dur- deformed erosion surfaces, and rejuvenated CONCLUSIONS ing these tectonic movements, the Troodos land surfaces, de Vaumas (1961) was able stratigraphy was deeply faulted, associated to show that the uplift was spasmodic, In Maastrichtian time, Troodos ocean- with extensive thrusting of Troodos ultra- separated by three or possibly four periods floor rocks were strongly deformed in con- mafic rocks, some of which found their way of erosion and subsidence, the Villa- junction with thrusting of major masses of onto the sea floor, as is evidenced by sheets franchian cycles. De Vaumas was able to nappes and mélange along the south margin of Troodos-derived serpentinite in the document parallel stages of lower Pliocene of the Troodos massif. This tectonic setting Mamonia Complex of Paphos. uplift of the Kyrenia Range by study of the then strongly influenced the later geologic The gradual emergence of the Troodos various marine and continental terraces. At history of the Troodos massif. During massif throughout the lower Tertiary may the same time the Akamas Peninsula was Paleocene and early Eocene time, the de- have been due to slow serpentinization as uplifted independently, and several smaller formed and downbuckled south margin of sea water gained access along inherited lines masses of serpentinite in the Mamonia the Troodos massif was blanketed by a of structural weakness to the deep-seated complex were mobilized. southward-thickening wedge of pelagic ultramafic rocks. The hydrating fluids in- The renewed uplift of Troodos initiated calciturbidites derived from the northeast. volved in this serpentinization may have rapid denudation releasing a flood of highly By this time the north margin of Troodos been liberated from a northward-dipping immature sediment, the Fanglomerates. was already relatively topographically ele- subduction zone beneath Cyprus in which These sediments issued from deep valleys vated under a cover of shallow carbonate- oceanic crust may have been consumed in cut through the newly uplifted areas, then depositing seas. Continued gradual uplift the Tertiary. This subduction is particularly fanned out over an even plain, formed by lead first to localized subaerial exposure, suggested by the presence of an east- the Pontian erosion. Along the north of the then to widespread emergence early in trending chain of Miocene to sub-Holocene Troodos massif, alluvial fans progressively middle Miocene time. calc-alkalic volcanoes in the central Taurus built out into the Mesaoria Sea where After this gradual emergence there was area of Turkey (Innocenti and others, lithologically variable, relatively fine- then a switch to uplift of the Limassol forest 1975). grained marine fanglomerates were laid area of South Cyprus, which was associated Superimposed on the gradual uplift were down (Gass, 1960). In contrast, the conti- with extensive folding and erosion of the several pulses of much more rapid up- nental fanglomerates are extremely coarse, older sedimentary sequences beneath. A heaval. These may have been triggered off immature, and poorly sorted, with indi- growing island controlled sedimentation by regional tectonic disturbances. In the vidual boulders in excess of 1 m in diame- around it; conglomerates and coarse mass- case of the Miocene uplift, this could have ter. In highly elevated areas undergoing flow deposits and proximal turbidites ac- been the emplacement of the Kyrenia rapid denudation, as in the Limassol forest, cumulated in near-shore areas, whereas Range; the exact reason for the Pleistocene scree deposits have been observed that are predominately carbonates and silts were uplift remains obscure. Whatever the cir- composed of angular fragments of diabase, laid down farther offshore in a rapidly sub- cumstances, the Troodos serpentinites must gabbro, and serpentinite (Bear, 1960; siding basin. Meanwhile, in southwest Cy- have been diverse in origin; marine, mete- Fig. 4). prus mostly pelagic chalks accumulated to a oric waters, and brines associated with the Interestingly, de Vaumas (1961) noted thickness of 350 m in an adjacent subsiding Messinian evaporites could all have been that most of the alluvial fans converge on area. Miocene sedimentation culminated in involved. The evidence is not consistent an area to the east of Mount Olympos, the development of reefs, followed by with the identification by Margaritz and which shows that the initial Pleistocene up- evaporite deposition and then by penepla- Taylor (1974) of brines derived from the lift occurred closer to the earlier Miocene nation of the Troodos massif. Miocene evaporites as the main source of center of uplift in the Limassol forest, then The final emplacement of the Kyrenia the hydrating fluids. the focus shifted westward to the present Range in late Miocene time produced paral- Finally, the evidence of serpentinite- position of Mount Olympos. With the up- lel high-angle faults in the adjacent Troodos driven uplift of the Troodos massif repre- lift of Mount Olympos, the Limassol forest basement, which then subsided as the faults sents an important means of uplifting is likely to have subsided as a block filled with sediment eroded from the oceanic crust to the relatively high struc- bounded to the north by the Arakapas fault. Kyrenia Range. In contrast, the main area tural levels needed to facilitate the em- of Troodos to the south remained a low- placement of ophiolites onto continental Quaternary: Return of lying, still-emergent landmass that under- crust, as seen elsewhere in the Alpine Tectonic Stability went pulses of minor uplift. Finally, the Mediterranean Tethys. Pleistocene epoch brought renewed drastic By the end of the Pleistocene, continued uplift, totalling more than 2,000 m. This ACKNOWLEDGMENTS deposition of the Fanglomerates had dis- uplift began close to the Limassol forest, placed the seas from the Mesaoria plain and then shifted westward to the present posi- The work forms a part of a Ph.D. project the Polis basin, leaving the coasts of Cyprus tion of Mount Olympos. funded by the British Natural Environmen- much as they are today. Erosion in the Overall, during Tertiary time the Troo- tal Council Research Studentship held at Quaternary has been relatively minor, dos massif underwent progressive uplift the University of Leicester and was com- confined to continued denudation and flu- punctuated by relatively brief episodes of pleted during the tenure of a demon-

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