Early Late Triassic Subduction in the Northern Branch of Neotethys Petrological and Paleontological Constraints from the middle Carnian basalts in the Lycian Nappes

2015-12-18
The Lycian Nappes, SW Anatolia, are represented by a stack of thrust sheets derived from the northern branch of Neotethys (i.e. Izmir-Ankara Ocean) and the northern margin of the Tauride-Anatolide platform. The Turunç Unit, which is now preserved within a tectonic slice of the Lycian Nappes, includes among others the Neotethys-derived basalt blocks with pelagic intra-pillow carbonate infillings of middle Carnian age (early Late Triassic). Here, we focus on the geochemistry of the Turunç basalts to shed light into their petrogenetic evolution within the Neotethyan framework. Immobile trace element systematics indicate that the Turunç lavas are sub-alkaline basalts, with geochemical signatures resembling to those generated above subduction zones. Detailed examination of the Turunç volcanics reveals two chemical groups. Both groups are variably enriched in Th and La relative to Nb, and exhibit depleted Zr and Hf contents relative to N-MORB. Of the two groups, however, Group 2 is more enriched in Th, but with a similar Nb content, which results in higher Th/Nb ratios (0.21-0.27) compared to those of Group 1 (0.08-0.11). Both groups reflect similar REE systematics; they display marked enrichment in LREE relative to HREE ([La/Yb]N = 4.8-8.9). Trace element characteristics of the Turunç basalts indicate that their mantle source has been modified by slab-derived component(s). Taking into account that the Turunc Unit includes no continent-derived detritus, we suggest that the Turunç lavas represent fragments of a Late Triassic island arc formed on the Neotethyan oceanic lithosphere. This may further imply that the Neotethyan oceanic lithosphere had already been formed by the early Late Triassic, thus suggesting a pre-early Late Triassic oceanization of the northern branch of Neotethys
AGU 2015 Fall Meeting

Suggestions

Middle Carnian Arc-Type Basalts from the Lycian Nappes, Southwestern Anatolia: Early Late Triassic Subduction in the Northern Branch of Neotethys
Sayıt, Kaan; Göncüoğlu, Mehmet Cemal (2015-11-01)
The Turunc Unit, which represents one of the tectonic slices within the Lycian Nappes in southwestern Anatolia, preserves the remnants derived from the northern branch of Neotethys. The unit includes basalts intercalated with pelagic limestones of middle Carnian age (early Late Triassic) based on the characteristic radiolarian assemblage of the Tetraporobrachia haeckeli Zone. The Turunc lavas reflect trace element signatures resembling those from subduction zones, displaying selective enrichment of Th and l...
Post-late cretaceous rotational evolution of neotethyan sutures around Ankara region
Özkaptan, Murat; Kaymakcı, Nuretdin; Özacar, Atilla Arda; Department of Geological Engineering (2016)
The central Anatolia comprises various continental fragments belonging to Laurasia at the north and Gondwana at the south. These amalgamated continental fragments (micro continents) delineated by ophiolitic remnants of Tethyan oceanic lithosphere which were consumed due to ~N to S convergence. Around Haymana Basin the closure of the Neotethys Oceans lead to amalgamation of the Pontides (Laurasian affinity) in the north, Tauride and Kırşehir blocks (Gondwana affinity) in the south. The main purpose of this s...
Late Carboniferous and early Permian fusulinoideans in the Central Taurides, Turkey: Biostratigraphy, faunal composition and comparison
Kobayashi, Fumio; Altıner, Demir (GeoScienceWorld, 2008-01-01)
The Upper Carboniferous and Lower Permian rock units in the Hadim area, central Taurides, Turkey, are biostratigraphically divided into eleven fusulinoidean zones in ascending order: the Protriticites variabilis, Montiparus umhonoplicatus and Schwageriniformis schwageriniformis Zones in the Kasimovian; the Jigulites aff. formosus, Daixina asiatica and Rugosofusulina sp. A Zones in the Gzhelian; the Paraschwagerina sp. and Dutkevichia complicata Zones in the Asselian; the Paraschwagerina pseudondra and Robil...
Late Cretaceous Arc Magmatism in the Southern Central Pontides: Constraints for the closure of the Northern Neotethyan branches
Sayıt, Kaan; Cemal Göncüoğlu, M.; Ellero, Alessandro; Ottria, Giuseppe; Frassi, Chiara; Marroni, Michele; Pandolfi, Luca (2022-01-31)
In the southern Central Pontides in northern Turkey the remnants of two Neotethyan oceanic basins, currently represented by the Intra-Pontide and the Izmir-Ankara-Erzincan sutures, and the interposing continental microplate (i.e., the Sakarya Composite Terrane) are completely dissected by the North Anatolian Shear Zone (NASZ). Within the resulting kilometre-scale, strike-slip fault-bounded blocks, several Late Cretaceous arc-type magmatic units have been detected. In this paper, we present new geochemical d...
LATE CRETACEOUS ARC AND BACK-ARC FORMATION WITHIN THE SOUTHERN NEOTETHYS: WHOLE-ROCK, TRACE ELEMENT AND Sr-Nd-Pb ISOTOPIC DATA FROM BASALTIC ROCKS OF THE YUKSEKOVA COMPLEX (MALATYA- ELAZIG, SE TURKEY)
Ural, Melek; ARSLAN, MEHMET; Göncüoğlu, Mehmet Cemal; TEKİN, UĞUR KAĞAN; KÜRÜM, SEVCAN (2015-06-01)
The remnants of the Southern Neotethys are represented by ophiolitic bodies and subduction/accretion complexes along the Southeast Anatolian-Zagros suture belt in the Eastern Mediterranean. Around Malatya and Elazig areas (SE Turkey), they are found within imbricated slices of a melange complex, known as the Yuksekova Complex. The studied basaltic rocks are common members of this melange complex, and show distinctive features of sources with tholeiitic to tholeiitic-transitional character. Petrography, whol...
Citation Formats
K. Sayıt and M. C. Göncüoğlu, “Early Late Triassic Subduction in the Northern Branch of Neotethys Petrological and Paleontological Constraints from the middle Carnian basalts in the Lycian Nappes,” presented at the AGU 2015 Fall Meeting, 2015, Accessed: 00, 2021. [Online]. Available: https://hdl.handle.net/11511/73669.