The Ayli Dağ ophiolite sequence (central-northern Turkey): a fragment of Middle Jurassic oceanic lithosphere within the Intra-Pontide suture zone

Abstract

The Ayli Dağ ophiolites occur as an independent tectonic unit within the Intra-Pontide suture zone, central-northern Turkey. They crop out, together with the other units of the Intra-Pontide suture zone, at the top of the Late Cretaceous-Middle Paleocene foredeep sediments of the Sakarya Terrane. The Ayli Dağ ophiolites sequence include in its lower part a mantle sequence consisting of not less than 2-3 km-thick peridotites, topped by 500-600 m-thick layered gabbros with alternating, dm- to m-thick layers of spinel-bearing dunites, melatroctolites, troctolites, ol-gabbros and leucogabbros. The gabbro sequence is overlain by a sheeted dyke complex, that shows a transition to 100-200 m-thick massive basaltic lava flows followed by 600-800 m-thick massive and pillow lavas and breccias alternating with ophiolite-bearing arenites and cherts. Geochemical evaluation of the mafic lavas and dykes reveals three distinct chemical groups that reflect melt generation within an intra-oceanic subduction system. Among these, the first group shows island-arc tholeiite (IAT)-like features, showing very-depleted characteristics (very high Zr/Nb, low Zr/Y and Nb/Y) ratios coupled with light rare-earth (LREE)-depleted chondrite-normalized patterns. The second group is more akin to back-arc basin basalts (BABB); it displays normal mid-ocean ridge basalt (N-MORB)-like high-field strength element (HFSE) distribution except for depletion in Nb, and flat REE patterns. The third group is somewhat similar to the second one, displaying BABB-like characteristics, but it is more enriched in terms of absolute trace element abundances. The radiolarian cherts sampled from the top of the pillow lavas yielded less-diverse but characteristic radiolarian assemblages indicating the middle Bathonian to early Callovian ages. The Ayli Dağ Ophiolite is the first finding of back-arc type oceanic lithosphere in the Intra-Pontide suture zone. Together with previous data obtained from basalts in the mélange from the Intra-Pontide suture zone, this finding represents a proof that an intra-oceanic subduction within the Intra-Pontide oceanic basin occurred in the Middle Jurassic time