U-Pb zircon geochronology of the Paleogene – Neogene volcanism in the NW Anatolia: Its implications for the Late Mesozoic-Cenozoic geodynamic evolution of the Aegean

The northern Aegean region was shaped by subduction, obduction, collision, and post-collisional extension processes. Two areas in this region, the Rhodope-Thrace-Biga Peninsula to the west and Armutlu-Almacık-Nallıhan (the Central Sakarya) to the east, are characterized by extensive Eocene to Miocen...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Tectonophysics 2017-10, Vol.717, p.284-301
Main Authors: Ersoy, E. Yalçın, Akal, Cüneyt, Genç, Ş. Can, Candan, Osman, Palmer, Martin R., Prelević, Dejan, Uysal, İbrahim, Mertz-Kraus, Regina
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Accretion
Aegean
Cenozoic
Cretaceous
Crustal accretion
Deposition
Eocene
Evolution
Geochronology
Geochronometry
Geographical distribution
Lead
Mesozoic
Migration
Miocene
Neogene
Obduction
Oceanic crust
Palaeocene
Paleocene
Paleogene
Plate tectonics
Radiometric dating
Regions
Slab break-off
Stratigraphy
Subduction
Subduction (geology)
Transfer zone
Transform faults
Trenches (pipelines)
Volcanic activity
Volcanism
Volcanoes
Zircon
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The northern Aegean region was shaped by subduction, obduction, collision, and post-collisional extension processes. Two areas in this region, the Rhodope-Thrace-Biga Peninsula to the west and Armutlu-Almacık-Nallıhan (the Central Sakarya) to the east, are characterized by extensive Eocene to Miocene post-collisional magmatic associations. We suggest that comparison of the Cenozoic magmatic events of these two regions may provide insights into the Late Mesozoic to Cenozoic tectonic evolution of the Aegean. With this aim, we present an improved Cenozoic stratigraphy of the Biga Peninsula derived from a new comprehensive set of U-Pb zircon age data obtained from the Eocene to Miocene volcanic units in the region. The compiled radiometric age data show that calc-alkaline volcanic activity occurred at ~43–15Ma in the Biga Peninsula, ~43–17Ma in the Rhodope and Thrace regions, and ~53–38Ma in the Armutlu-Almacık-Nallıhan region, which are slightly overlapping. We discuss the possible cause for the distinct Cenozoic geodynamic evolution of the eastern and western parts of the region, and propose that the Rhodope, Thrace and Biga regions in the north Aegean share the same Late Mesozoic to Cenozoic geodynamic evolution, which is consistent with continuous subduction, crustal accretion, southwestward trench migration and accompanying extension; all preceded by the Late Cretaceous – Paleocene collision along the Vardar suture zone. In contrast, the Armutlu-Almacık-Nallıhan region was shaped by slab break-off and related processes following the Late Cretaceous – Paleocene collision along the İzmir-Ankara suture zone. The eastern and western parts of the region are presently separated by a northeast-southwest trending transfer zone that was likely originally present as a transform fault in the subducted Tethys oceanic crust, and demonstrates that the regional geodynamic evolution can be strongly influenced by the geographical distribution of geologic features on the subducting plate. •U-Pb zircon ages of the Biga Peninsula volcanics are measured•Mesozoic to Cenozoic tectono-magmatic evolution of the region investigated.•Tectonic evolution of the Rhodope to Anatolia is compared and discussed•Cenozoic geodynamics of the Aegean includes both subduction accretion and roll-back in the west and slab break-off in the east.
ISSN:0040-1951
1879-3266
DOI:10.1016/j.tecto.2017.08.016