PALYNOSTRATIGRAPHIC AND PALYNOFACIES INVESTIGATION OF THE OLIGOCENE-MIOCENE UNITS IN THE KARS-ERZURUM-MUŞ SUB-BASINS (EASTERN ANATOLIA) A THESIS SUBMITTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF NATURAL AND APPLIED SCIENCES OF MIDDLE EAST TECHNICAL UNIVERSITY BY RECEP HAYRETTİN SANCAY IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN GEOLOGICAL ENGINEERING AUGUST 2005 i Approval of the Graduate School of Natural and Applied Sciences Prof. Dr. Canan ÖZGEN Director I certify that this thesis satisfies all the requirements as a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Prof. Dr. Asuman Günal TÜRKMENOĞLU Head of Department This is to certify that we have read this thesis and that in our opinion it is fully adequate, in scope and quality, as a thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Prof. Dr. Demir ALTINER Supervisor Examining Committee Members Prof. Dr. Demir Altıner (METU, GEOE) Prof. Dr. Cemal Göncüoğlu (METU, GEOE) Prof. Dr. Asuman Günal Türkmenoğlu (METU, GEOE) Assoc. Prof. Dr. Kağan Tekin (HU, GEOE) Assoc. Prof. Dr. Sevinç Özkan Altıner (METU, GEOE) ii I hereby declare that all information in this document has been obtained and presented in accordance with academic rules and ethical conduct. I also declare that, as required by these rules and conduct, I have fully cited and referenced all material and results that are not original to this work. Name, Last name : Recep Hayrettin SANCAY Signature : iii ABSTRACT PALYNOSTRATIGRAPHIC AND PALYNOFACIES INVESTIGATION OF THE OLIGOCENE-MIOCENE UNITS IN THE KARS-ERZURUM-MUŞ SUB- BASINS (EASTERN ANATOLIA) SANCAY, Recep Hayrettin Ph.D., Department of Geological Engineering Supervisor: Prof. Dr. Demir Altıner August 2005, 364 pages Eleven dinoflagellates, acritarchs, and pollen biozones have been identified on the basis of 43 pollen, 20 spores, 13 fungal spores, 70 dinoflagellates, 3 acritarchs, 2 organic-walled green algae, and 5 incertae sedis taxa in Upper Eocene to Pliocene sediments combined from Muş, Tekman, Tercan-Aşkale, Pasinler-Horasan basins and the Bayburt-Kars Plateau in this study. FADs of Compositae (tubuliflorae type), Slowakipollis hipophäeoides, Mediocolpopollis compactus, Monoporopollenites gramineoides and Umbelliferae at the base of Rupelian, FAD of Wetzeliella gochtii in the “middle” Rupelian, LAD of Ascostomocystis potane in the late Rupelian, LAD of Wetzeliella gochtii in the “latest” Rupelian, LAD of Deflandrea spp. in the latest Chattian, peak occurrences of Chriptoredium spp. in the early and late Aquitanian, FAD of Hystrichosphaeropsis obscura, followed by FAD of Membranilarnacea ?picena in the late Aquitanian should have particular emphasis for palynostratigraphic divisions in regional correlations and indicate that a continuous deposition took place in the iv Eastern Anatolia from Late Eocene to the end of the Early Miocene. An acritarch called Ascostomocystis potane has been recorded for the first time in the middle-upper Rupelian sediments of the Eastern Anatolia. Data obtained from nine dinoflagellate-acritarch eco-groups defined in this study give impotant clues on the paleogeography of the region suggesting that relatively deeper marine deposition prevailed during the Late Eocene, which was followed by a shallowing-upward deposition during the Oligocene in Hınıs-Muş-Van, Tekman, Tercan-Aşkale, and Pasinler-Horasan basins. These basins were also characterized by an Early Miocene regional transgression, and terrestrial (lacustrine and fluvial) deposition during the Late Miocene-Pliocene whereas terrestrial conditions have been predominating since Late Eocene in the Bayburt-Kars Plateau. Changes in relative sea level in the Eastern Anatolian sub-basins well match with the eustatic sea level curves. Paleoclimatological reconstructions of the Eastern Anatolian Oligocene-Miocene sediments suggest temperate to subtropical climates in which mean annual temperatures vary between 15,6 to 21,3 °C, mean temparatures of the coldest and the warmest month are 5.0 to 13.3 °C and 24.7 to 28.1 °C, respectively, and mean annual precipitation is 1122.0 to 1522.0 mm. Keywords: Oligocene-Miocene, Eastern Anatolia, palynostratigraphy, paleoecology, paleogeography, paleoclimate. v ÖZ KARS-ERZURUM-MUŞ HAVZALARI (DOĞU ANADOLU) OLİGOSEN- MİYOSEN BİRİMLERİNİN PALİNOSTRATİGRAFİSİ VE PALİNOFASİYES ÖZELLİKLERİ SANCAY, Recep Hayrettin Doktora, Jeoloji Mühendisliği Bölümü Danışman: Prof. Dr. Demir Altıner Ağustos 2005, 364 s. Muş, Tekman, Tercan-Aşkale, Pasinler-Horasan havzaları ile Bayburt- Kars platosu Üst Eosen-Pliyosen çökellerinde yapılan palinolojik çalışmalarda tür ya da cins düzeyinde tanımlanan toplam 43 pollen, 20 spor, 13 fungal spor, 70 dinoflagellat, 3 akritark, 2 organik kavkılı yeşil alg ve 5 kökeni bilinmeyen palinomof ile 11 dinoflagellat, akritark ve pollen biyozonu tanımlanmıştır. Doğu Anadolu Üst Eosen-Alt Miyosen çökellerinin bölgesel korelasyonuna olanak sağlayan bu biyozonlar Compositae (tubuliflorae-type), Slowakipollis hipophäeoides, Mediocolpopollis compactus, Monoporopollenites gramineoides ve Umbelliferae’nın FAD’ının Rupeliyen tabanı; Wetzeliella gochtii’nin FAD’ının “orta” Rupeliyen; Ascostomocystis potane’nin LAD’ının geç Rupeliyen; Wetzeliella gochtii’nin LAD’ının en geç Rupeliyen; Deflandrea spp.’nin LAD’ının en geç Şattiyen; Chriptoredium spp.’nin bolluk zonunun erken ve geç Akitaniyen; Hystrichosphaeropsis obscura’nın FAD’ının, ve takip eden Membranilarnacea? picena’ının FAD’ının vi geç Akitaneyen olduğunu ortaya koymuştur. Çalışılan sedimanların paleocoğrafik dağılımları hakkında önemli ipuçları veren ve bu çalışmada tanımlanan 9 dinoflagellat-akritark eko-grupları, söz konusu havzalarda Geç Eosen boyunca göreceli derin denizel, Geç Oligosen’de gittikçe sığlaşan denizel, Erken Miyosen’de bölgesel transgresyon ve Geç Miyosen-Pliyosen döneminde ise karasal (gölsel-akarsu) çökelimin etkin olduğunu ortaya koymuştur. Tanımlanan eko-gruplara dayanarak Bayburt-Kars platosunda Geç Eosen’den başlayarak karasal koşulların egemen olduğu söylenebilir. Palinomorflara dayanarak Doğu Anadolu alt havza çökelleri için oluşturulan deniz seviyesi eğrisi, global deniz seviyesi eğrileri ile büyük benzerlikler sunmaktadır. Doğu Anadolu Oligosen-Miyosen sedimanlarının paleoiklimsel değerlendirmeleri ise ortalama yıllık sıcaklık değerlerinin 15,6-21,3 °C olduğunu; en soğuk ve en sıcak ay sıcaklık değeri ortalamalarının 5.0-13.3 °C ile 24.7-28.1 °C; ortalama yıllık yağış miktarının ise 1122.0-1522.0 mm arasında değiştiğini ortaya koymuştur. Anahtar Kelimeler: Oligosen-Miyosen, Doğu Anadolu, palinostratigrafi, paleoekoloji, paleocoğrafya, paleoiklim. vii To my wife and daughter viii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS First of all, I would like to thank my sponsor Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) because without their permission and financial support, this study would not be possible. I am greatly indepted to my supervisor Dr. Demir Altıner for his guidance. I am also greatful to Dr. Asuman G. Türkmenoğlu, Dr. Kağan Tekin, and Dr. Cemal Göncüoğlu for their valuable contributions during the study. I owe many thanks to Dr. Zühtü Batı from Turkish Petroleum Corporation Research Center Group. This study could not be completed without his help, experience, and encouragement. I really appreciate to the field geologists from Turkish Petroleum Corporation Exploration Group, Ömer Şahintürk, Ahmet Çaptuğ and Bülent Sadioğlu for their great effort during the field study and sharing us their priceless experience on the Eastern Anatolia. Special thanks go to Dr. Lucy E. Edwards from USGS and Kaya İ. Ertuğ from Turkish Petroleum Corporation Research Center for their valuable contributions during the identification of the dinoflagellates. I am also indepted to Sehrab A. Shikhlinsky from Azerbaijan Republic State Oil Company (SOCAR) for sharing his regional experiences with us on Caspian and neigbouring areas. Micropaleontologists Sabri Kirici and Uğraş Işık, and nannopaleontologist Nihal Akça made important contributions in the calibration of palynomorph biozonations. I want to thank Dr. Ercüment Sirel from Ankara University for his valuable discussions about the distribution of benthic foraminifers in Turkey. I would like to thank Dr. Volker Mosbrugger and Dr. Tursten Utescher from Institute and Museum of Geology and Palaentology in Tübingen, Germany and M. Serkan Akkiraz from Dokuz Eylül University for their technical support in paleoclimatologic reconstructions by CLIMSAT. ix I owe many thanks to palynology technician Hasan Can who helped a lot in the preperation of palynological slides. Finally, my wife deserves special thanks for her patience and encouragement during this study. x TABLE OF CONTENTS PLAGIARISM...................................................................................... iii ABSTRACT......................................................................................... iv ÖZ........................................................................................................ v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.................................................................... vi TABLE OF CONTENTS xi LIST OF TABLES…………………………………………………………. xvi LIST OF FIGURES……………………………………………………….. xvii CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION...................................................................... 1 1.1. Purpose and Scope ...................................................... 1 1.2. Previous Studies ........................................................... 2 II. GEOLOGY.............................................................................. 16 2.1. Regional Geology.........................................................