Reconciling the stratigraphy and depositional history of the Lycian orogen-top basins, SW Anatolia

Terrestrial fossil records from the SWAnatolian basins are crucial both for regional correlations and palaeoenvironmental reconstructions. By reassessing biostratigraphic constraints and incorporating new fossil data, we calibrated and reconstructed the late Neogene andQuaternary palaeoenvironments within a regional palaeogeographical framework. The culmination of the Taurides inSWAnatolia was followed by a regional crustal extension from the late Tortonian onwards that created a broad array of NE-trending orogen-top basins with synchronic associations of alluvial fan, fluvial and lacustrine deposits. The terrestrial basins are superimposed on the upper Burdigalian marine units with a c. 7 myr of hiatus that corresponds to a shift from regional shortening to extension. The initial infill of these basins is documented by a transition from marginal alluvial fans and axial fluvial systems into central shallow-perennial lakes coinciding with a climatic shift from warm/humid to arid conditions. The basal alluvial fan deposits abound in fossil macro-mammals of an early Turolian (MN11–12; late Tortonian) age. The Pliocene epoch in the region was punctuated by subhumid/humid conditions resulting in a rise of local base levels and expansion of lakes as evidenced by marsh-swamp deposits containing diverse fossilmammal assemblages indicating late Ruscinian (lateMN15; late Zanclean) ageWe are grateful for the support of the international bilateral project between The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK) and The Russian Scientific Foundation (RFBR) with grant a number of 111Y192. M.C.A. is grateful to the Turkish Academy of Sciences (TUBA) for a GEBIP (Young Scientist Award) grant. T.K. and S.M. are grateful to the Ege University Scientific Research Center for the TTM/002/2016 and TTM/001/2016 projects. M.C.A., H.A., S.M. and M.B. have obtained Martin and Temmick Fellowships at Naturalis Biodiversity Center (Leiden). F.A.D. is supported by a Mehmet Akif Ersoy University Scientific Research Grant. T.A.N. is supported by an Alexander-von-Humboldt Scholarship. L.H.O. received support from TUBITAK under the 2221 program for visiting scientists

KUMSAL PLASERLERİ ARAŞTIRMA YÖNTEMİ: TRAKYA'NIN KARADENiZ KIYI KUŞAĞI ÖRNEĞİ

Kıyı kuşaklarındaki plaser incelemelerini sağlıklı yapabilmek için, sırasıyla, çökelme bölgelerinin ve bu bölgelere ait kaynak alanların belirlenmesi, çökelme bölgelerindeki jeomorfik birim/çökelme fasiyeslerinin ayırtlanması ve bu fasiyeslerin temsilcisi olan örneklerin derlenmesi gerekir. Yalnızca böyle bir yöntemin uygulanmasıyla alınan örneklerin istatistiksel değerlendirmesi sonucunda, kıyının hangi kuşağında ve hangi kaynak kayalara sahip çökelme bölgesinde tenorun yükseldiğini bulabilmek olası ve ekonomiktir. Bu yöntem Trakya'nın Karadeniz kıyı kuşağında yapılan çalışmalarda uygulanarak, plaser rutilin kış kumsalında yoğunlaştığı ve başlıca Üst Miyosen yaşlı Ergene formasyonu yüzleklerinin yer aldığı kaynak alandan beslenen Ormanlı kıyısında daha yüksek oranda bulunduğu ortaya koyulmuştur

Geological evolution of a tectonic and climatic transition zone: the Beysehir-Sugla basin, lake district of Turkey

*Gürbüz, Esra ( Aksaray, Yazar )Central-west Turkey is a transition zone both tectonically and climatically between the quite different central and western regions of Anatolia. Central Anatolia represents the seismically quiet part of the otherwise highly active Turkey. On the other hand, this region has some of the lowest precipitation and highest evaporation ratios of Turkey. Conversely, west Anatolia is one of the most rapidly extending regions of the world and seismically very active. The climate is very different from the central part of Turkey and more humid. The zone between these two regions is also known geologically as the Isparta Angle. This reverse-V-shaped fold and thrust belt has several lake basins today, which have archived the geological and geomorphological history of this tectonic and climatic transition zone. The Beysehir-Sugla basin is located on the eastern part of this zone. This NW-SE trending basin includes the largest natural freshwater lake of the Mediterranean region: Lake Beysehir. Lakes Beysehir and Sugla are located in this tectonic depression that discharge into an incised river gorge opening to the Konya closed basin. In order to shed light on the development of the Beysehir-Sugla basin, our study was mainly conducted within the Neogene and Quaternary units of the region. Our structural results indicate that the depression was probably formed by a transtensional regime in the middle Miocene, which is controlled by extensional tectonics since the early Quaternary. Also, the current depression has mainly embodied the structures that are the products of these tectonic phases. According to our sedimentary data and palaeoecological interpretation of available palaeontological data, the Beysehir-Sugla basin was developed initially under a humid and warm climate in the middle Miocene; then since the late Miocene-Pliocene it was controlled by a relatively more arid and, at times, humid climate more like the central Anatolian basins. Although the Beysehir-Sugla basin is hydrologically connected to the Konya closed basin in central Anatolia, it was protected from arid climatic conditions for over millions of years as evidenced by the lack of evaporites in the studied basin and surrounding basins located in the interior part of the Isparta Angle. While the regional climate seems to have changed consistently with the geomorphic response to large-scale tectonics (i.e. orographic barrier development), the Beysehir-Sugla basin seems to be protected from hydrological closure by the existence of karstic features in the surrounding carbonate basement rocks

Valorisation of the Geological Values (Future Geosite Candidates) Around the UNESCO World Heritage Asset of Hittite Capital Ḫattuša, Türkiye

The ancient city of Ḫattuša, which is already in the UNESCO World Heritage List, is one of the most attractive cultural tourism spots in the central Anatolian landmass. The city is located in the Boğazkale district of the Çorum province and is one of the most important settlements in the Hittite history. The city had served as the capital of the Hittites approximately for 500&nbsp;years. The oldest archaeological findings in this ancient city start from the Chalcolithic Age and extend to the Byzantine period; however, the city reached its golden ages during the reign of the Hittite Empire. Especially the construction of the monumental structures has been considered to be initiated during the old Hittite Kingdom, in the mid-sixteenth century B.C. Besides the famous cultural tourism attractions, the city and its surroundings host important geological structures. In this aspect, we propose twelve potential geosite candidates, which are quantitatively evaluated. These potential geosites are evaluated in basis of their stratigraphic, volcanic, sedimentological, structural geological value and historical significance. Especially, six of these geosite candidates are already located within the archaeological protection area and have an important potential to be registered as future geosites. A quantitative assessment of these geosites and the region for its scientific value (SV), potential educational use (PEU), potential touristic use (PTU) and degradation risk (DR) has shown that the study area has moderate high regional SV, PEU and PTU scores (288, 279 and 278, respectively) and low moderate (213) DR score. The results of the quantitative assessment show that the region has an important potential for geology education and geotourism activities.</p