Kaş Bay: Evidence of a 20 km-diameter complex impact structure on the Turkey-Greece frontier

Abstract

Extensive field work, mineralogical and petrographic investigations show strong evidence for a complex, hypervelocity impact structure protruding into the Mediterranean Sea at the Turkey-Greece border. The Kaş Bay structure with a diameter of around 20 km, is structurally altered, since it coincides with the triple point of the Anatolian, Aegean, and African plates. The target rocks, entirely comprising sedimentary carbonate, show evidence of shock metamorphism, along with a wealth of significant finds and numerous indications of a clear and strong impact overprint. A Pleistocene age is inferred from related stratigraphical evidence.