5th Swiss Geoscience Meeting, Geneva 2007
New Carboniferous, Permian and Triassic results from
the Lycian Nappes (south-western Turkey):
paleogeographic implications
Moix Patrice*, Vachard Daniel**, Martini Rossana***, Stampfli Gérard M.*, Pille
Lucie** & Wernli Roland***
*Institut de Géologie et de Paléontologie, Anthropole, Université de Lausanne, CH1015 Lausanne (Patrice.Moix@unil.ch)
**Laboratoire de Paléontologie et Paléogéographie du Paléozoïque (LP3), Université
des Sciences et Technologies de Lille 1, F-59655 Villeneuve d’Ascq cedex
***Département de Géologie et Paléontologie, Rue des Maraîchers 13, CH-1205
Genève
In south-western Turkey, the Beydağları platform and the Menderes Massif form
the most external para-autochthonous domains belonging to the Cimmerian
Taurus terrane (Greater Apulia). The Lycian Nappes were thrust southwards
over these massifs between the Late Cretaceous and the Late Miocene. These
allochthonous units are composed of a pile of nappes showing several tectonic
imbrications. The Tavas Nappe forms the lowermost unit of the Lycian Nappes
and is separated into the lower Karadağ Unit and the upper Teke Dere unit,
both separated into several formations (de Graciansky, 1968; de Graciansky,
1972; Erakman et al., 1982). We logged in details a new section, focusing on
the description of shallow water material. Going from bottom to top, the
synthetic series characterized by some internal imbricate structures may be
summarized as follows:
(1) The lowest tectonic unit comprises a wildflysch sequence made of shales,
siltstones, sandstones and conglomerates, plus numerous blocks of Permian
limestones resting above a Late Permian-Early Triassic carbonate platform. The
transitional beds from platform to detritic episode indicate an Upper LadinianLower Carnian age. This sequence likely represents the southern shelf of
Palaeotethys (Tauric Cimmerian margin), overthrust during the Cimmerian
event by oceanic Palaeotethyan accretionary sequences.
(2) The next tectonic slice contains a seamount sequence (OIB-type basalts) of
Late Moscovian-Early Kasimovian age, consisting of basalts, tuffs and shallowwater-rich fusulinid limestones. The conodonts found in some limestones
(including the pelagic genus Gondolella) also indicate ages from the MoscovianKasimovian boundary (Kozur et al., 1998). The series is interpreted as slope
deposits contemporaneous with the seamount sequence. It is overlain by a
conglomerate rich in volcanic pebbles grading to a Gzhelian-Lower Permian
platform. The seamount series can be interpreted as a large block being part of
the lower wildflysch (lower plate position).
(3) The next slice consists of grauwackes, tuffites and calciturbidites. This
sequence is intercalated by Middle-Upper Triassic limestones considered as the
autochthonous sediments deposited in the basin during the flysch
sedimentation. This sequence is similar to the upper part of the first
compartment (Carnian wildflysch).
(4) The next slice consists of pillow-lavas showing a MORB signature. A few
badly-preserved Carboniferous radiolarians were extracted from red pelagic
5th Swiss Geoscience Meeting, Geneva 2007
limestone within intra-pillow fillings (Kozur et al., 1998). This MORB series could
also well be a block belonging to the Upper Ladinian-Lower Carnian wildflysch.
(5) Finally, the upper wildflysch-like sequence lies in the tectonic highest
position and consists of siliciclastic turbidites, grauwackes and large blocks of
lydites, pelagic, partly cherty limestones and mafic volcanic rocks and tuffs. The
matrix yielded radiolarians and conodonts (CAI=5-6) of Visean and
Serpukhovian ages respectively, while the blocks and clasts are mostly of
Tournaisian age although some are of Visean or Serpukhovian age (Kozur et
al., 1998). These mixed lithologies could represent a fore-arc type sequence
(upper plate position). This wildflysch is directly overlain by quartz-rich
sandstones with condensed iron-rich horizons and grauwackes, followed by a
thick sequence of dolomite and shallow water limestones without thermal
overprint and rich in Cisuralian to Guadalupian fusulinids.
In this part of the Lycian Nappes, the Late Pennsylvanian series is complete
and diversified. Particularly, the Moscovian/Kasimovian boundary and the Early
Kasimovian are well-represented and could be propitious for further detailed
studies. This boundary is characterised by pillow-lavas considered as OIB-type
basalts.
Among the foraminifers, the lineages of Protriticitids (fusulinina, advanced
fusulinellids and primitive schwagerinids) are interesting and apparently also
complete the ones found in the Urals and in the Carnic Alps. Smaller
foraminifers are relatively uncommon. Asselodiscus is noticeable, but the
lineages of Lasiodiscoidea and Nodosariata (both benthic smaller foraminifera)
are poorly developed. The Early Kasimovian algae yielded new and poorly
known taxa. The Midian is locally very rich and highly diversified.
The rich and diverse faunas found in this part of the Lycian Nappes present
striking similarities with Eurasian faunas, and particularly with the ones of the
Carnic Alps, Slovenia, Croatia and of the Russian basins of Moscow and the
Urals. On the contrary, our new faunas are very different from the ones found in
Greece and in southern Turkey, the latter being most probably derived from the
Gondwana. Practically, the Karadağ Unit could represent a platform
development of Gondwana-type whereas the Teke Dere unit might correspond
to a deep-water Variscan development (Palaeotethyan fore-arc series, including
Palaeotethyan seamounts).
REFERENCES
de Graciansky, P.-C. 1968: Stratigraphie des unités superposées dans le
Taurus Lycien et place dans l'arc dinaro-taurique. Bulletin of the Mineral
Research and Exploration Institute of Turkey, 71: 29-41.
de Graciansky, P.-C., 1972: Recherches géologiques dans le Taurus Lycien.
PhD Thesis, Paris Sud - Centre d'Orsay, Paris, 571 pp.
Erakman, B., Meşhur, M. Gül, M.A., Alkan, H., Öztaş, Y. & Akpınar, M. 1982:
Fethiye-Köycegiz-Tefenni-Elmali-Kalkan arasinda kalan alanin jeolojis, 6th
Turkish Petroleum Congress, Ankara, pp. 23-31.
Kozur, H.W., Şenel, M. & Tekin, K. 1998: First evidence of Hercynian Lower
Carboniferous deep-water sediments in the Lycian Nappes, SW Turkey.
Geologica Croatica, 51(1): 15-22.