Neotectonic Evolution of an Actively Growing Superimposed Basin in Western Anatolia: The Inner Bay of Izmir, Turkey


UZEL B., SÖZBİLİR H., Ozkaymak C.

TURKISH JOURNAL OF EARTH SCIENCES, vol.21, no.4, pp.439-471, 2012 (SCI-Expanded) identifier identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 21 Issue: 4
  • Publication Date: 2012
  • Doi Number: 10.3906/yer-0910-11
  • Journal Name: TURKISH JOURNAL OF EARTH SCIENCES
  • Journal Indexes: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus, TR DİZİN (ULAKBİM)
  • Page Numbers: pp.439-471
  • Keywords: Izmir Bay, Izmir fault zone, Karsiyaka fault zone, Seferihisar fault zone, fault kinematics, superimposed basin, western Anatolia, KUCUK-MENDERES-GRABEN, FAULT-SLIP DATA, GEDIZ-GRABEN, TECTONIC EVOLUTION, EXTENSIONAL TECTONICS, PALEOSTRESS FIELDS, REGIONAL STRESS, SURROUNDING REGIONS, 2-STAGE EXTENSION, INVERSE PROBLEM
  • Dokuz Eylül University Affiliated: Yes

Abstract

Izmir Bay is an actively growing shallow marine basin controlled by active faults trending NE, NW, N-S and E-W, in the West Anatolian Extensional Province. The bay of Izmir is a lazy L-shaped superimposed basin which is topographically divided into an E-W-trending inner bay and a NW-trending outer bay. The Inner Bay of Izmir is an asymmetric graben structure approximately 5-7 km wide and 25 km long containing (i) upper Cretaceous-Palaeocene basement, (ii) an older succession of lower to upper Miocene basin fill, overlain with angular unconformity by (iii) a younger Plio-Quaternary basin fill. The older succession contain a 0.5- to 1.5-km-thick, folded and coal-bearing continental volcano-sedimentary sequence. The younger succession of the Inner Bay of Izmir includes the upper Pliocene-Pleistocene Gorece formation and Holocene to recent alluvial fan, fan delta to shallow marine deposits.