Miocene–Recent evolution of Anaximander Mountains and Finike Basin at the junction of Hellenic and Cyprus Arcs, eastern Mediterranean

Abstract

Interpretation of ~ 1750 km of multi-channel seismic reflection profiles shows that the region of Anaximander Mountains ( sensu lato) experienced a protracted Miocene contractional tectonic phase characterised by a nearly E–W trending and S-verging fold–thrust belt. This tectonic phase culminated during the latest Miocene and was replaced in the early-mid Pliocene by a tectonic regime dominated by transpression and rotation. We postulate that during the Pliocene–Quaternary the Anaximander Mountain ( sensu stricto) and the Anaximenes Mountain developed as the result of reactivation and uplift and rotation of a linked, thick-skinned pre-Messinian imbricate thrust fan. In both regions, the development of back thrusts accentuated the morphology of these submarine mountains. At this time, the Anaximenes Mountain experienced a progressive counterclockwise rotation, while the Anaxagoras Mountain and the Florence Rise experienced a clockwise rotation creating the present present-day arrowhead-shaped morphology of the Anaximander Mountains ( sensu lato). The Sırrı Erinç Plateau represents a former Miocene fold–thrust belt that is transected during the Pliocene–Quaternary by a major transpressional fault system, which created a series of closely-spaced high-angle faults that cut the seafloor, creating a corrugated topography. A major transfer fault is developed between the Anaximander Mountain ( sensu stricto) and the Sırrı Erinç Plateau which displays ~ 2 km of contractional stratigraphic separation and as much as 40 km of sinistral strike-slip. The Finike Basin evolved during the Pliocene–Quaternary as the result of accelerated subsidence, caused by the lithospheric loading of the western Tauride Mountains.