Neogene development of the Antalya Basin, Eastern Mediterranean: An active forearc basin adjacent to an arc junction

Abstract

Detailed interpretation and mapping of high-resolution multi-channel seismic reflection profiles showed a two phase history for the Miocene–Recent kinematic evolution of the Antalya Basin. The first phase of deformation occurred in the Middle–Late Miocene when a crustal-scale imbricate fold–thrust belt developed. This phase of deformation affected the entire Antalya Basin and is represented by several major northwest–southeast-striking, north-dipping and south-verging thrust culminations, which created a series of elongated to teardrop-shaped piggyback basins. The transitions from late Miocene to Messinian and Messinian to Plio-Quaternary are marked by the N- and M-reflectors which record the periods of erosion associated with the initial and final phases of desiccation of the Mediterranean Sea, respectively. A fundamental change in kinematic regime occurred during the transition from the Miocene to Plio-Quaternary. During early Pliocene to Recent the fold–thrust belt was overprinted by extensional/transtensional faults in the northeastern Antalya Basin, while transpression dominated the southwestern Antalya Basin. This tectonic phase is related to the westward displacement of the Tauride block as the eastern segment of the Aegean–Anatolian Microplate initiated its westward escape in the latest Miocene to early Pliocene.