Micropaleontological findings and absolute ages mark the termination of the Last Glacial Maximum in the Eastern Mediterranean Region: New electron spin resonance data from Gediz Delta (Western Turkey)

Abstract

Sediments and fossil content of Gediz Delta (Eastern Aegean Sea-İzmir) were examined from the samples collected from three drilling cores from the west (seaward) to east (landward) of the delta. Each drilling core contains Quarternary marine deposits with a marine fauna of foraminifers, bivalves, gastropods, echinoids, and ostracods at the bottom and Quaternary continental delta deposits at the top. According to our Electron Spin Resonance (ESR) age model marine sediments of the Aegean Sea started to cover the western Gediz Delta area before 19.9 ka (thousand years). Following the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), after the transgression due to deglaciation occurred 15.3 ka ago, the coastline progressed 15-20 km eastward and covered the entire delta area. At the end of the LGM, as a result of the overflow of Manisa Gediz Lake depending on the deglaciation in Western Anatolia, and its flow from the Emiralem Strait to the İzmir Bay, the continental deposits reaching the West Gediz Delta region are younger than 11.4 ka.