Early Miocene lacustrine deposits and sequence stratigraphy of the Ermenek Basin, Central Taurides, Turkey

Abstract

The lacustrine Ermenek Basin evolved as a SE-trending intramontane graben affected by strike–slip deformation, with the initial two lakes merging into one and receiving sediment mainly through fan deltas sourced from the basin's southern margin. The northern margin was a high-relief rocky coast with a wave-dominated shoreline. The Early Miocene lacustrine sedimentation was terminated by a late Burdigalian marine invasion that drowned the basin and its surroundings. The lacustrine basin-fill succession is up to 300 m thick and best exposed along the southern margin, where it consists of four sequences bounded by surfaces of forced regression. The offshore architecture of each sequence shows a thin lowstand tract of shoreface sandstones overlain by a thick transgressive systems tract of mudstones interbedded with sandy tempestites and delta-derived turbidites, which form a set of coarsening-upward parasequences representing minor normal regressions. The corresponding nearshore sequence architecture includes a thick lowstand tract of alluvial-fan deposits overlain by either a well-developed transgressive systems tract (backstepping parasequence set or single fan-deltaic parasequence) and poorly preserved highstand tract; or a thin transgressive tract (commonly limited to flooding surface) and a well-developed highstand tract (thick fan-deltaic parasequence). The sequences are poorly recognizable along the northern margin, where steep shoreline trajectory rendered the nearshore system little responsive to lake-level changes. The resolution of local stratigraphic record thus depends strongly upon coastal morphology and the character of the depositional systems involved. The sequential organization of the basin-fill succession reflects syndepositional tectonics and climate fluctuations, whereas the lateral variation in sequence architecture is due to the localized sediment supply (deltaic vs. nondeltaic shoreline), varied coastal topography and differential subsidence. The study points to important differences in the sequence stratigraphy of lacustrine and marine basins, related to the controlling factors. A crucial role in lacustrine basin is played by climate, which controls both the lake water volume and the catchment sediment yield. Consequently, the effects of tectonics and the dynamics of changes in accommodation and sediment supply in a lacustrine basin are different than in marine basins.