Estimation of environmental impacts on the water quality of İncesu-Dokuzpınar Springs in Kayseri, Turkey

Industrial and agricultural activities have directly or indirectly affected the concentrations of a large number of inorganic chemicals in groundwater, for example NO3, N2, Cl, SO4, H+, K, Mg, Ca, Fe, Cu, B, Pb and Zn, as well as a wide variety of pesticides and other organic compounds. For reactive contaminants like NO3, it is recommended that a combination of hydrochernical and environmental-tracer analytical approaches might be required to resolve changing inputs from subsequent alterations as causes of concentration gradients in groundwater. The water type of Incesu-Dokuzpinar Springs is mainly Na-MgCa-Cl-HCO3. Note that the water types of the Springs were directly related to the hydrogeochemical properties of outcrops at the study area. Thus, the high concentration of Ca+2 and HCO3 is mainly related to the high CO2 contents in the marbles, whereas the high Na concentration arises from the existing syenite, volcanic ash, basalt and clay units, although the ·Incesu-Dokuzpinar Springs cover most of the drinking and irrigation water demands at the study area. Therefore, relevant hydrogeochemical and statistical studies were carried out for estimating the mentioned environmental impacts on the water quality of ·Incesu-Dokuzpinar Springs. © Springer-Verlag 2004

Are U‐Th dates correlated with historical records of earthquakes? Constraints from co‐seismic carbonate veins within the North Anatolian Fault Zone

U-Th dating of carbonate veins in connection with active tectonics has recently been used as an attractive tool for constraining the absolute timing of late Quaternary crustal deformations. In this study, for the first time we correlate U-Th ages of travertine deposits in coseismic fissures along the North Anatolian Fault Zone with records of paleoseismological studies supported by historical earthquake catalogued data. U-Th ages are assessed in relation to the recurrence interval and the size and epicenter distance of major Holocene earthquakes. Our statistical evaluations on age correlations indicate that the carbonate vein precipitation is concentrated in eight different periods along the North Anatolian Fault Zone. The periods are well correlated with historical earthquake records and with previous dating results of the nearby trench studies. At least six of the periods correspond to the earthquakes reported in the historical catalogues. The age correlations of carbonate precipitation intervals for the last millennium show a recurrence along the eastern North Anatolian Fault Zone with a mode at 130–330 years that is consistent with a previously proposed paleoseismic recurrence interval of the fault. Recorded events in carbonate veins indicate a close-epicenter (d VI) paleoearthquakes. Our results suggest that coseismic carbonate veins could be used to determine paleoseismic records as a supplementary tool to augment paleoseismological techniques. This tool has advantages over traditional paleoseismological methods for the understanding of long-term earthquake behavior, particularly for prehistoric late Pleistocene events which cannot be dated easily by traditional paleoseismological methods

Plio-Quaternary extensional tectonics of the Central Anatolian Plateau: a case study from the Tuz Gölü Basin, Turkey

The Tuz Gölü Basin is the largest sedimentary depression located at the center of the Central Anatolian Plateau, an extensive, low-relief region with elevations of ca. 1 km located between the Pontide and Tauride mountains. Presently, the basin morphology and sedimentation processes are mainly controlled by the extensional Tuz Gölü Fault Zone in the east and the transtensional İnönü–Eskişehir Fault System in the west. The purpose of this study is to contribute to the understanding of the Plio-Quaternary deformation history and to refine the timing of the latest extensional phase of the Tuz Gölü Basin. Field observations, kinematic analyses, interpretations of seismic reflection lines, and 40Ar/39Ar dating of a key ignimbrite layer suggest that a regional phase of NNW–SSE to NE–SW contraction ended by 6.81 ± 0.24 Ma and was followed by N–S to NE–SW extension during the Pliocene–Quaternary periods. Based on sedimentological and chronostratigraphic markers, the average vertical displacement rates over the past 5 or 3 Ma with respect to the central part of Tuz Gölü Lake are 0.03 to 0.05 mm/year for the fault system at the western flank of the basin and 0.08 to 0.13 mm/year at the eastern flank. Paleo-shorelines of the Tuz Gölü Lake, vestiges of higher lake levels related to Quaternary climate change, are important strain markers and were formed during Last Glacial Maximum conditions as indicated by a radiocarbon age of 21.8 ± 0.4 ka BP obtained from a stromatolitic crust. Geomorphic observations and deformed lacustrine shorelines suggest that the main strand of the Tuz Gölü Fault Zone straddling the foothills of the Şereflikoçhisar–Aksaray range has not been active during the Holocene. Instead, deformation appears to have migrated towards the interior of the basin along an offshore fault that runs immediately west of Şereflikoçhisar Peninsula. This basinward migration of deformation is probably associated with various processes acting at the lithospheric scale, such as plateau uplift and/or microplate extrusion

Plio-Quaternary extensional tectonics of the Central Anatolian Plateau: a case study from the Tuz Golu Basin, Turkey

The Tuz Golu Basin is the largest sedimentary depression located at the center of the Central Anatolian Plateau, an extensive, low-relief region with elevations of ca. 1 km located between the Pontide and Tauride mountains. Presently, the basin morphology and sedimentation processes are mainly controlled by the extensional Tuz Golu Fault Zone in the east and the transtensional Inonu-Eskisehir Fault System in the west. The purpose of this study is to contribute to the understanding of the Plio-Quaternary deformation history and to refine the timing of the latest extensional phase of the Tuz Golu Basin. Field observations, kinematic analyses, interpretations of seismic reflection lines, and Ar-40/Ar-39 dating of a key ignimbrite layer suggest that a regional phase of NNW-SSE to NE-SW contraction ended by 6.81 +/- 0.24 Ma and was followed by N-S to NE-SW extension during the Pliocene-Quaternary periods. Based on sedimentological and chronostratigraphic markers, the average vertical displacement rates over the past 5 or 3 Ma with respect to the central part of Tuz Golu Lake are 0.03 to 0.05 mm/year for the fault system at the western flank of the basin and 0.08 to 0.13 mm/year at the eastern flank. Paleo-shorelines of the Tuz Golu Lake, vestiges of higher lake levels related to Quaternary climate change, are important strain markers and were formed during Last Glacial Maximum conditions as indicated by a radiocarbon age of 21.8 +/- 0.4 ka BP obtained from a stromatolitic crust. Geomorphic observations and deformed lacustrine shorelines suggest that the main strand of the Tuz Golu Fault Zone straddling the foothills of the Sereflikochisar-Aksaray range has not been active during the Holocene. Instead, deformation appears to have migrated towards the interior of the basin along an offshore fault that runs immediately west of Sereflikochisar Peninsula. This basinward migration of deformation is probably associated with various processes acting at the lithospheric scale, such as plateau uplift and/or microplate extrusion

The Role Of Oroclinal Bending In The Structural Evolution Of The Central Anatolian Plateau: Evidence Of A Regional Changeover From Shortening To Extension

The NW-SE striking extensional Inonu-Eskisehir Fault System is one of the most important active shear zones in Central Anatolia. This shear zone is comprised of semi-independent fault segments that constitute an integral array of crustal-scale faults that transverse the interior of the Anatolian plateau region. The WNW striking Eskisehir Fault Zone constitutes the western to central part of the system. Toward the southeast, this system splays into three fault zones. The NW striking Ilica Fault Zone defines the northern branch of this splay. The middle and southern branches are the Yeniceoba and Cihanbeyli Fault Zones, which also constitute the western boundary of the tectonically active extensional Tuzgolu Basin. The Sultanhani Fault Zone is the southeastern part of the system and also controls the southewestern margin of the Tuzgolu Basin. Structural observations and kinematic analysis of mesoscale faults in the Yeniceoba and Cihanbeyli Fault Zones clearly indicate a two-stage deformation history and kinematic changeover from contraction to extension. N-S compression was responsible for the development of the dextral Yeniceoba Fault Zone. Activity along this structure was superseded by normal faulting driven by NNE-SSW oriented tension that was accompanied by the reactivation of the Yeniceoba Fault Zone and the formation of the Cihanbeyli Fault Zone. The branching of the Inonu-Eskisehir Fault System into three fault zones (aligned with the apex of the Isparta Angle) and the formation of graben and halfgraben in the southeastern part of this system suggest ongoing asymmetric extension in the Anatolian Plateau. This extension is compatible with a clockwise rotation of the area, which may be associated with the eastern sector of the Isparta Angle, an oroclinal structure in the western central part of the plateau. As the initiation of extension in the central to southeastern part of the Inonu-Eskisehir Fault System has similarities with structures associated with the Isparta Angle, there may be a possible relationship between the active deformation and bending of the orocline and adjacent areas.WoSScopu

Quaternary bimodal volcanism in the Niğde Volcanic Complex (Cappadocia, central Anatolia, Turkey): age, petrogenesis and geodynamic implications

The late Neogene to Quaternary Cappadocian Volcanic Province (CVP) in central Anatolia is one of the most impressive volcanic fields of Turkey because of its extent and spectacular erosionally sculptured landscape. The late Neogene evolution of the CVP started with the eruption of extensive andesitic-dacitic lavas and ignimbrites with minor basaltic lavas. This stage was followed by Quaternary bimodal volcanism. Here, we present geochemical, isotopic (Sr-Nd-Pb and delta O-18 isotopes) and geochronological (U-Pb zircon and Ar-Ar amphibole and whole-rock ages) data for bimodal volcanic rocks of the Ni g de Volcanic Complex (NVC) in the western part of the CVP to determine mantle melting dynamics and magmatic processes within the overlying continental crust during the Quaternary. Geochronological data suggest that the bimodal volcanic activity in the study area occurred between ca. 1.1 and ca. 0.2 Ma (Pleistocene) and comprises (1) mafic lavas consisting of basalts, trachybasalts, basaltic andesites and scoria lapilli fallout deposits with mainly basaltic composition, (2) felsic lavas consisting of mostly rhyolites and pumice lapilli fall-out and surge deposits with dacitic to rhyolitic composition. The most mafic sample is basalt from a monogenetic cone, which is characterized by Sr-87/Sr-86 = 0.7038, Nd-143/Nd-144 = 0.5128, Pb-206/Pb-204 = 18.80, Pb-207/Pb-204 = 15.60 and Pb-208/Pb-204 = 38.68, suggesting a moderately depleted signature of the mantle source. Felsic volcanic rocks define a narrow range of Nd-143/Nd-144 isotope ratios (0.5126-0.5128) and are homogeneous in Pb isotope composition (Pb-206/Pb-204 = 18.84-18.87, Pb-207/Pb-204 = 15.64-15.67 and Pb-208/Pb-204 = 38.93-38.99). Sr-87/Sr-86 isotopic compositions of mafic (0.7038-0.7053) and felsic (0.7040-0.7052) samples are similar, reflecting a common mantle source. The felsic rocks have relatively low zircon delta O-18 values (5.6 +/- 0.6 %) overlapping mantle values (5.3 +/- 0.3 %), consistent with an origin by fractional crystallization from a mafic melt with very minor continental crustal contamination. The geochronological and geochemical data suggest that mafic and felsic volcanic rocks of the NVC are genetically closely related to each other. Mafic rocks show a positive trend between Sr-87/Sr-86 and Th, suggesting simultaneous assimilation and fractional crystallization, whereas the felsic rocks are characterized by a flat or slightly negative variation. High Sr-87/Sr-86 gneisses are a potential crustal contaminant of the mafic magmas, but the comparatively low and invariant Sr-87/Sr-86 in the felsic volcanics suggests that these evolved dominantly by fractional crystallization. Mantle-derived basaltic melts, which experienced low degree of crustal assimilation, are proposed to be the parent melt of the felsic volcanics. Geochronological and geochemical results combined with regional geological and geophysical data suggest that bimodal volcanism of the NVC and the CVP, in general, developed in a post-collisional extensional tectonic regime that is caused by ascending asthenosphere, which played a key role during magma genesis