SW Turkey Research Articles

An 80 kyr-long continuous speleothem record from Dim Cave, SW Turkey with paleoclimatic implications for the Eastern Mediterranean.

Speleothem-based stable isotope records are valuable in sub-humid and semi-arid settings where many other terrestrial climate proxies are fragmentary. The Eastern Mediterranean is one such region. Here we present an 80-kyr-long precisely-dated (by U-series) and high-resolution oxygen (δ18O) and carbon (δ13C) records from Dim Cave (~36°N) in SW Turkey. The glacial-interglacial δ18O variations in the Dim Cave speleothem are best explained in terms of changes in the trajectories of winter westerly air masses. These are along a northerly (European) track (isotopically less depleted) during the early last glaciation but are gradually depressed southward closer to the modern westerly track along the North African coast (more depleted) after c.50 kyr and remain in the southern track through the Last Glacial Maximum. The southward displacement of the westerly track reflects growth of the Fennoscandian ice sheet and its impact on westerly wind fields. Changes in δ13C are interpreted as reflecting soil organic matter composition and/or thickness. δ13C values are significantly more negative in interglacials reflecting active carbonic acid production in the soil and less negative in glacial times reflecting carbonate rock values. Several Heinrich events are recorded in the Dim record indicating intensification of westerly flow across this part of the EM.

Late Holocene uplift of Rhodes, Greece: evidence for a large tsunamigenic earthquake and the implications for the tectonics of the eastern Hellenic Trench System

Several large earthquakes in the Hellenic subduction zone have been documented in historical records from around the eastern Mediterranean, but the relative seismic quiescence of the region over the period of instrumental observation means that the exact locations of these earthquakes and their tectonic significance are not known. We present AMS radiocarbon dates from uplifted late Holocene palæoshorelines from the island of Rhodes, showing that uplift is most consistent with a single large (MW ≥ 7.7) reverse-faulting earthquake between about 2000 BC and 200 BC. Analysis of the uplift treating the earthquake as a dislocation in an elastic half-space shows a predominantly reverse-faulting event with a slip vector oblique to the direction of convergence between Rhodes and Nubia. We suggest that the fault responsible for the uplift dips at an angle of 30–60° above the more gently dipping oblique subduction interface. The highly oblique convergence across the eastern Hellenic plate boundary zone appears to be partitioned into reverse slip on faults that strike parallel to the boundary and strike-parallel or oblique slip on the subduction interface. Hydrodynamical simulation of tsunami propagation from a range of tectonically plausible sources suggests that earthquakes on the fault uplifting Rhodes represent a significant tsunami hazard for Rhodes and SW Turkey, and also possibly for Cyprus and the Nile Delta.

Paleoenvironmental evolution of the late Pliocene–early Pleistocene fluvio-deltaic sequence of the Denizli Basin (SW Turkey)

Abstract The late Pliocene–early Pleistocene Tosunlar succession (Denizli Basin, southwestern Turkey) represents fluvial-dominated delta environments at the margins of a brackish long-lived lake. Two main facies associations are documented: (i) a delta front facies association, with a distal (DF1) and proximal (DF2) deposits; and (ii) a delta plain facies association that contains distributary channel (DP1) and interdistributary swamp (DP2) deposits. The stable isotopic analysis of the mollusc faunas exhibit a narrow range of values (–4.68

Palaeoenvironmental reconstruction of Hüsamlar coal seam, SW Turkey

The Ören and Yatağan Basins in SW Turkey host several Miocene coal deposits currently under exploitation for power generation. The present study aims to provide insight into the palaeoenvironmental conditions, which controlled the formation of the Hüsamlar coal seam located in Ören Basin. The coal seam displays many sharp alternations of matrix lignite beds and inorganic, lacustrine sediment layers. The coal is a medium-to-high ash lignite (10.47–31.16 wt%, on dry basis) with high total sulphur content (up to 10 wt%, on dry, ash-free basis), which makes it prone to self-combustion. The maceral composition indicates that the peat-forming vegetation consisted of both arboreal and herbaceous plants, with the latter being predominant in the upper part of the seam. Mica and feldspars contribute to the low part of the seam; carbonates are dominant in the upper part, whereas quartz and pyrite are present along the entire coal profile. The sudden transitions of the telmatic to the lacustrine regime and reverse is attributed to tectonic movements that controlled water table levels in the palaeomire, which affected surface runoff and hence, clastic deposition.

Lithological properties and environmental importance of the Quaternary colluviums (Muğla, SW Turkey)

The colluviums are one of the common Quaternary deposits of the SW Turkey grabens. The protection of the colluviums is important for agriculture, ecology and safety of constructions. This study concentrates on the sedimentary properties of colluviums and environmental issues relating to them. The colluviums of the Mugla crop out in the northern-normal faulted margin of the Mugla Polje. These colluviums form wedge-shaped and narrow small strips (total 6 km in length, 250–300 m in width and 20 m thick), and contain four main facies delineated with respect to the field observations. These facies are A-Boulder facies, B-Cobble facies (gravel ≥94 % including cobble 10–46 %; mud + sand 17 %). Three representative sections were measured and 14 sieve analyses were made during this study. These colluviums include poorly to very poorly sorted angular limestone fragments bearing breccia. The colluviums are underlain by crystallized Liassic limestone and laterally passing into the alluvial sediments in a downdip direction. Tectonic activity, climate, gravitational forces and host rock characteristics are the primary controlling factors in the development of colluviums in Mugla. Agriculturally fertile soil derived from colluviums has decreased due to new residential areas and road construction. Moreover, excavations due to urbanization are causing many stability problems (landslides, debris flows, and rock fall–slides). The heavy rainfall and seismicity of the area increase the effects of these stability problems.

The effects of extensional structures on the heat transport mechanism: An example from the Ortakçı geothermal field (Büyük Menderes Graben, SW Turkey)

The extensional stress regime is very effective in western Turkey since the Latest Oligocene-Early Miocene. Geothermal fields are positioned on the high-angle normal faults along the northern and southern margins of the Büyük Menderes and Gediz grabens, respectively. The Ortakçı geothermal field is located on the tectonically active northern margin of Büyük Menderes graben. The discharge rate and temperature of the Ortakçı hot spring is 2.4l/s and 50.5°C, respectively. Hot water discharges in the relay ramp representing the overlapping regions of two E–W normal faults related to N–S-oriented extension. The high-angle normal faults provide pathways for the fluid flow by increasing dilations. The field observations prove that all hot water outflows are related to the high-angle normal faults on the hanging wall of the detachment faults. Detailed structural analyses were performed on the Ortakçı geothermal field, particularly on one of the active hot springs at the intersection of the E–W and N–S-oriented faults, to evaluate the tectonic activity in the area and the flow pathways for geothermal fluids. The heat source is the shallow mantle of a thinned lithosphere due to large extension rates, resulting in increased heat flow. The tectonic effects are on the heat transport mechanism, and the heat transport is controlled by faults in a convection dominated systems. The result is a high geothermal gradient because water can circulate deep and transports the heat upwards to the surface.

Morphometric and flow cytometric evaluations of a putative natural hybrid of Centaurium (Gentianaceae) from Turkey

A putative natural hybrid of Centaurium was discovered in a population composed of C. serpentinicola and C. tenuiflorum subsp. tenuiflorum in the vicinity of Köyceğiz (Muğla province, SW Turkey). Morphometric analysis performed using 14 diagnostic characters supported that the putative natural hybrid as an interspecific hybrid between C. serpentinicola and C. tenuiflorum subsp. tenuiflorum. Flow cytometric measurements revealed that C. serpentinicola and C. tenuiflorum subsp. tenuiflorum have similar nuclear DNA amounts (2.61 and 2.53 pg DNA/2C), whereas the putative hybrid have a significantly higher nuclear DNA amount (2.77 pg DNA/2C), and they have the same ploidy level.

An overview on the main stratigraphic and structural features of a geothermal area: the case of Nazilli-Buharkent section of the Büyük Menderes Graben, SW Turkey

The study area is Nazilli-Buharkent section of the Büyük Menderes Graben. This is one of the most active intracontinental extensional structures shaping the south-western Anatolian graben–horst system, which comprises the southwestern frontal part of the Anatolian platelet. The Büyük Menderes Graben is about 3–30 km wide, 170 km long and approximately E–W-trending depression included in the back-arc section of the northerly-dipping south Aegean-Cyprian subduction zone. The Büyük Menderes Graben of episodic origin has two morphotectonic configurations: (1) a wider, uplifted, dissected and deformed initial configuration of late Early–late Middle Miocene age; and (2) the narrower, linear, undeformed and continuous recent configuration of Quaternary age. These two configurations are here termed as the Büyük Menderes palaeotectonic graben and the Büyük Menderes modern (neotectonic) graben, respectively. These two grabens are represented by two sedimentary packages separated by an intervening angular unconformity. The 1.1-km-thick older sedimentary package is deformed (steeply tilted to folded) and consists of, from bottom to top, unsorted boulder-block basal clastics and coal-bearing flood plain to lacustrine deposits of late Early–late Middle Miocene age. The younger sedimentary package is undeformed and consists of very thick (up to 0.9 km) debris flow and fluvial deposits of Quaternary age. The palaeotectonic configuration of the Büyük Menderes Graben is bounded by the Hasköy-Künüpe and İğdecik structural segments of the Büyük Menderes detachment fault. However, the modern configuration of the Büyük Menderes Graben is bounded by the Kuyucak and Menderes high-angle normal fault zones, composed of numerous fault segments, which cut and displace deeply the detachment fault. Hot water springs occur along the traces of the detachment faults. But they are not observed along the traces of modern graben-boundary faults. This reveals that the low-angle detachment fault is being still used by the geothermal fluids. Indeed, it is a fact that the geothermal fluids are shared by both the older detachment and younger high-angle normal faults at their intersection at depth, because the faults are the most suitable ways for the underground circulations of both cold meteoric waters and geothermal fluids, i.e. the geothermal system in south-western Turkey is fault-controlled. Consequently, the geothermal potential of this extensional domain is quite high based on the criteria such as the active tectonic and related faults, sources of high-heat, reservoir rocks with high porosity, reservoir cap rocks with no or low permeability and cold meteoric water supply enough. In order to obtain huge volume of geothermal fluids, first of all, whole steps of the geothermal exploration have to be completed, and then the site of borehole(s) has to be chosen so that it penetrates the intersection of low-angle detachment fault, high-angle normal fault(s) and the reservoir rocks overlain by the thick and impermeable cap rock(s).

Seasonal and intradiurnal variation of airborne pollen concentrations in Bodrum, SW Turkey.

An aeropalynological study was performed in Bodrum, the famous tourism center in southwestern Turkey with a Hirst-type volumetric 7-day pollen and spore trap for 2 years (2007-2008). In Bodrum, 25,099 pollen grains as a mean value belonging to 41 taxa were recorded annually during the study period, and pollen grains from woody plant taxa had the largest atmospheric contribution of 86.99% and 24 taxa. However, 17 herbaceous plant taxa constituted 12.82% of the annual total pollen count, and 0.19% were unidentified. An average annual pollen index of 22.66% was recorded in March, despite differences from year to year. The highest pollen variability of 34 taxa was recorded in April and May. Predominant pollen types belonged to Cupressaceae/Taxaceae (42.73%), Quercus (15.95%), Pinus (9.78%), Olea europaea (9.04%), Poaceae (5.50%), Betula (1.82%), Pistacia (1.74%), Morus (1.72%), Urticaceae (1.46%), and Plantago (1.28%) and generated 91.03 of the annual total. In total, 32.59% of the mean annual total pollen index was recorded in the morning, and less pollen was recorded in the evening (18.71%). Maximum pollen concentration was recorded between 11:00 and 12:00 a.m.

Organic Facies Characteristics of the Triassic Ispartaçay Formation, Antalya Nappes, Western Taurus, Turkey

In the Antalya Nappes (SW Turkey), the Triassic Ispartaçay Formation consists of radioaria, chert, turbiditic limestone and sandstone. Detailed data from thick Triassic sediments (Ispartaçay Formation) made it possible to construct an organic facies framework using different zonation. Organic matter is composed predominantly of woody material, with a minor contribution of planty and woody material. Kerogen in the deposits is type III, as indicated by organic petrographic observations and Rock-Eval data. Total organic carbon (TOC) values are generally between 0.16 and 1.36%, but reach 5.24% in the formation. Tmax values vary between 331 and 602°C, confirming the increase in maturation trends indicated by vitrinite reflectance data. Organic facies type D was identified in the investigated units. Organic facies D is related to sandstone and limestone litofacies. This facies is characterized by average values of HI around 18 (equivalent to type III kerogen), TOC around 0.85%, and an average of S2 of 0.19mg HC/g of rock. The organic matter is highly oxidized, decomposed and reworked. Organic facies D is no generative.

Archaeological evidence for 9th and 8th millennia BC at Girmeler Cave near Tlos in SW Turkey

A mound settlement in front of the Girmeler Cave near the major Lycian city of Tlos in SW Turkey revealed evidence for occupation during the late 9th and 8th millennia BC. The ccupation is characterized by a structure with at least two layers of lime-plastered floor, hearths and bins and a wattle-and-daub superstructure, all pointing to a sedentary community engaged in intensive hunting and gathering. The trial trenches at Girmeler Cave also yielded evidence of an Early Pottery Neolithic period at the end of the 8th millennium BC. The remains of several buildings with terrazzo floors and wattle-and-daub superstructures were found. It is likely that the cave served as a sacred site in the Early Pottery Neolithic period. There was a hiatus between the late 9th/early 8th millennium BC and the Early Pottery Neolithic occupations at the site.

A new Early Pleistocene mammalian fauna from Burdur Basin, SW Turkey

A new Early Pleistocene mammalian fauna from Burdur Basin, SW Turkey

Mixing of geothermal and non-geothermal fluids in shallow aquifers in the Germencik-Nazilli area, Büyük Menderes Basin (SW Turkey)

This study observes groundwater hydrochemical characteristics during mixing between geothermal and non-geothermal fluids in Germencik–Nazilli area in the Büyük Menderes Basin (SW Turkey). Hydrogeochemical features of 32 non-geothermal, geothermal and surface samples were studied. The mean temperatures of the geothermal reservoirs are calculated to be 150–240 °C in Germencik field, based on Na-K-Mg geothermometry. Hydrochemical characteristics of Germencik geothermal fluid differ from non-geothermal fluids, mainly Na-Cl-HCO3-type geothermal fluid, while non-geothermal fluid is mostly Ca-Mg-HCO3-SO4 type. High contents of some minor elements in geothermal fluids are most likely sourced from prolonged water-rock interaction, reflecting the signals of flow paths and residence times. A mass-balance approach was used to calculate mixing ratios between geothermal and non-geothermal fluids based on B, Cl and Na concentrations. Germencik field is considerably characterised by rising geothermal fluids and overlying non-geothermal fluids. The amount of water stored in the Quaternary aquifer evolved from a deep thermal source is low in Germencik (.5–40% geothermal fluid in non-geothermal wells). Mixing between geothermal and non-geothermal fluids has been caused by groundwater utilisation practices and is increased close to active faults. Irrigation of the shallow groundwater composition is considered as influx of low-temperature geothermal fluid.

Biological condition and trophic ecology of the deep-water shrimp Aristaeomorpha foliacea in the Levantine Sea (SW Turkey)

The trophic ecology (diets, stable isotope composition) and life cycle (gonado-somatic, GSI, and hepato-somatic, HSI, indices) of Aristaeomorpha foliacea were analysed seasonally (in May, June, and November 2012 and January 2013) off southeast Turkey (Levantine Basin), over the slope at 442-600 m depth. A. foliacea females were mature in June, suggesting gonad maturity was somewhat delayed off southeast Turkey compared to other areas in the Eastern Mediterranean. The HSI of A. foliacea was highest in May and June (8.2% of body weight) for males and both immature and mature females, sharply lower in November (3.5%) and then increasing again in winter (7.1%). Stomach fullness (F) showed a tendency similar to HSI in both females and males, increasing from May to June. A. foliacea had rather low d15N (6.68‰ to 8.26‰) off southeast Turkey, with females having higher d15N with increasing size. The δ13C signal (-14.85 to -14.68‰) indicated that diet was mainly though not exclusively based on zooplankton (pelagic shrimps and small myctophids of 1.3-4.5 mm TL, cnidarians, hyperiids and pteropods). The increase of A. foliacea remains in A. foliacea guts and of some benthic prey (polychaetes, bivalves, gastropods) after the reproductive period would explain the moderate depletion of δ13C in spring-summer. The greatest changes in the diet occurred between periods of water mass stratification (June and November) and periods of water mass homogeneity (May and January), with greater consumption of zooplankton in the latter season. A. foliacea seems to have lower reproductive capacity (GSI 5.6%) than other deep-water species of penaeidae that live shallower (Parapenaues longirostris) and deeper (Aristeus antennatus) than it does. The species has a more specialized zooplankton diet, exploiting short, more efficient trophic chains, which could be an advantage explaining its dominance in oligotrophic areas of the Central-Eastern Mediterranean, including the Turkish slope.

Review of Mediterranean members of the Aphaenogaster cecconii group (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), with description of four new species.

A group of six Mediterranean species related to Aphaenogaster cecconii Emery is reviewed. Four new species are described: A. equestris (SW Turkey), A. jolantae (Greece, Rhodes), A. lykiaensis (SW Turkey) and A. olympica (Greece, Karpathos). Aphaenogaster cecconii Emery and A. phillipsi Wheeler & Mann are redescribed. Detailed measurements and some observations on the location of nests and activity of workers are given.

Foreland Magmatism during the Arabia–Eurasia Collision: Pliocene–Quaternary Activity of the Karacadağ Volcanic Complex, SW Turkey

Pliocene to Quaternary magmatism in the Karacadag Volcanic Complex in SE Turkey occurred in the foreland region of the Arabia–Eurasia collision and can be divided into two phases. The earlier Karacadag phase formed a north–south-trending volcanic ridge that erupted three groups of lavas. The same range of mantle sources contributed to the younger Ovabag phase lavas, which were erupted from monogenetic cones to the east of the Karacadag fissure. As at several other intraplate localities across the northern Arabian Plate this magmatism represents mixtures of melt from shallow, isotopically enriched mantle and from deeper, more depleted mantle. The deep source is similar to the depleted mantle invoked for other northern Arabian intraplate volcanic fields but at Karacadag this source contained phlogopite. This source could be located in the shallow convecting mantle or may represent a metasomatic layer in the base of the lithosphere. There is no evidence for a contribution from the Afar mantle plume, as has been proposed elsewhere in northern Arabia. Melting during the Karacadag and Ovabag phases could have resulted from a combination of upwelling beneath weak or thinned lithosphere and restricted local extension of that weakened lithosphere as it collided with Eurasia. Tension associated with the collision focused magma of the Karacadag phase into the elongate shield volcano of Mt. Karacadag. The northern end of the fissure accommodated more extensive differentiation of magma, with isolated cases of crustal contamination, consistent with greater stress in the lithosphere closest to the collision. Most magma batches of the Karacadag and Ovabag phases differentiated by fractional crystallization at ∼5 MPa, near the boundary between the upper and lower crust. Magma batches dominated by melt from garnet lherzolite show evidence for restricted amounts of differentiation at ∼22·5 MPa, which is close to the base of the lithospheric mantle.

Aalenian–Early Bathonian (Middle Jurassic) radiolarian assemblages in the Tavas nappe within Lycian nappes in the western Taurides (SW Turkey): The first dating of carbonate platform drowning

Stratigraphic sections (Kizilca and Kizilca North) in the Tavas nappe, western Taurides, Turkey records the event of carbonate platform drowning in the western Tethyan realm. Our detailed biostratigraphic study of radiolarians and other microfossils places the important temporal constraints on this event and indicates that drowning occured in the geochronological interval from Early Jurassic (Hettangian–Sinemurian) through to Middle Jurassic (early Bathonian). The basal part of the Kizilca section is represented by platform carbonates with abundant benthic foraminifera and algae of Hettangian–Sinemurian to Pliensbachian age. Toward the upper part of the section, the occurrence of brecciated limestones with some ammonites and belemnites reveals that the drowning event began in the Pliensbachian. The first radiolarian assemblages of early–middle to late Aalenian age were obtained from the overlying units characterized by pelagic limestones and chert alternation. Just after the subsidence of the platform, ribbon chert sedimentation began in the late Aalenian, as indicated by the radiolarians. Successively, early–late Bajocian and latest Bajocian–early Bathonian radiolarian assemblages were obtained from overlying chert with mudstone–silicified mudstones. Similar to that observed in the Kizilca section, the Kizilca North section include successively pelagic limestones, pelagic limestone–chert alternation and chert–mudstone alternation of late Aalenian to early–middle Bajocian age according to radiolarian biostratigraphy. All of these observations indicate that a continuous stratigraphy recorded the drowning event without a large gap from Hettangian–Sinemurian to early Bathonian in the Tavas nappe. This drowning event has close similarities with coeval events in other Tethyan realms in terms of mechanism, facies characteristics and fossil assemblages. Therefore, this study can aid correlation studies of the Tavas nappe with the Jurassic paleogeography worldwide.

Phylogenetic Status of the Turkish Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes) based on Partial Sequences of the Mitochondrial Cytochrome b Gene

Genetic diversity and multiple mitochondrial phylogroups of the red fox have been revealed from scattered locations in previous studies. There is a still lack of information about the genetic diversity and phylogeographic structure of the red fox in Asia Minor. We investigated the genetic diversity in the Turkish red fox using a part of the cytochrome b mitochondrial gene (375 bp), and attempted to evaluate the phylogeographic structure in various geographic ranges of the species with the use of sequences available from the GenBank from various geographic origins and our data. Bayesian and Network analyses of the cytochrome b sequences from Turkey and GenBank suggested that the red fox is divided into four main phylogroups. They are grouped accordingly: Group 1 (SW Anatolia, Turkey and Hokkaido, Japan), Group 2 (Eurasia and North America), Group 3 (only North America), and Group 4 (Vietnam). The majority of Turkish haplotypes grouped with those of Eurasia. Despite the great distance between the localities, two haplotypes from SW Anatolia, Turkey grouped with previously reported haplotypes from Hokkaido, Japan. The present study shows that the Turkish red fox is nested within two main phylogroups and exhibits a high genetic diversity.

The metal production at Düzen Tepe (Southwest Turkey): an archaeological and archaeometric study

At the Classical-Hellenistic settlement at Düzen Tepe (SW Turkey), magnetite particles were observed in the majority of the excavation contexts and a considerable amount of metal production waste and metal objects was found in a wide variety of archaeological contexts. In order to find out the origin of the magnetite ore and to determine whether or not the ores, production waste and objects all originated from local metal production activities, a series of archaeological and archaeometric studies were executed. A petrographic study of production waste samples and X-ray fluorescence analysis of production waste and a magnetite ore sample indicated that indeed magnetite was used in the process from which the waste samples resulted. Several inherent characteristics of the magnetite sample used in this study, are likely reflected in the production waste samples. Through a combination of geomagnetic survey and archaeological test soundings a couple of areas probably related to iron production activities could be determined. One location was identified as an area for ore preparation. Although mutual links could not be determined for all three find categories related to metal production (ore, production waste and objects), the study yielded sufficient arguments to assume that metal was produced locally, local magnetite sources were exploited for that reason and at least part of the metal finds from the excavations resulted from that local production.

Comment on Analyses of Seismic Deformation at the Kibyra Roman Stadium, Southwest Turkey by Volkan Karabacak, Önder Yönlü, Eray Dökü, Nafiye Günenç Kıyak, Erhan Altunel, Şükrü Özüdoğru, Cahit Çağlar Yalçıner, and Hüsnü Serdar Akyüz

The ancient city of Kibyra, which has been damaged by ancient earthquakes, is located on the middle part of Burdur‐Fethiye Fault Zone (SW Turkey). The existence of an active NNE‐SSW‐trending left‐lateral fault cutting the stadium of Kibyra has been previously discussed in many publications (Akyüz and Altunel, , ; Karabacak, ). Karabacak et al. () also adhere to this view and restate it in the recent article published in Geoarchaeology. However, there is no evidence directly indicating a fault cutting the stadium and the earthquake damage to the stadium was most likely caused by ground shaking. In conclusion, the arguments, observations and interpretations presented by Karabacak et al. () are misleading in key respects and must be reviewed.