The Suluova Basin is a prominent member of the wide transtensional Amasya Shear Zone located at the central part of the North Anatolian Shear Zone. This basin is crucial and provides well-resolved data to understand the evolution of transtensional tectonic zones as well as the morphological and paleoenvironmental changes of North Anatolia during the Quaternary. Analysis of detailed stratigraphical sections, faulting data, and mammal paleontology reveals that the Suluova Basin has started to evolve as a closed half-graben along the NW–SE-trending, SW-dipping basin bounding fault zone with normal slip in the early Quaternary. Initial sedimentation mode of the basin was dominated by alluvial fan facies associations. Progressive basin subsidence resulted in an expansion of a freshwater lake at the basin depocenter as faults propagated westwards. Further extensions in the basin were caused to initiate the E–W-trending southern tectonic boundary. Newly created accommodation space hosted a vast freshwater lake during the Calabrian (∼1.8–0.78 Ma) acting as a refugia for a rich faunal assemblage of large and small land mammals. The conditions prior to the onset of Middle Pleistocene (MIS19, ∼0.79 Ma) is marked with increasing regional erosion where paleo-Lake Suluova was captured by the regional river system. Synchronously, the next phase of the shear zone formation was introduced with E–W-trending dextral and NE–SW-trending sinistral strike-slip faults, cross-cutting the former basin structure, forming new depocenters. These faults are still active with noticeable seismic activity and comprise future risks for the major cities of the region.
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Research Article|
April 08, 2019
Quaternary evolution of the Suluova Basin: implications on tectonics and palaeonvironments of the Central North Anatolian Shear Zone1
Mehmet Korhan Erturaç;
a
Sakarya University, Department of Geography, 54187 Sakarya, Turkey.b
Sakarya University Research, Development and Application Center (SARGEM-MALTA), 54187 Sakarya, Turkey.Corresponding author: Mehmet Korhan Erturaç (email: erturac@gmail.com).
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Ozan Erdal;
Ozan Erdal
c
İstanbul Technical University, Eurasia Institute of Earth Sciences, 34469, İstanbul, Turkey.
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Gürsel Sunal;
Gürsel Sunal
d
İstanbul Technical University, Department of Geological Engineering, 34469, İstanbul, Turkey.
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Okan Tüysüz;
Okan Tüysüz
c
İstanbul Technical University, Eurasia Institute of Earth Sciences, 34469, İstanbul, Turkey.
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Şevket Şen
Şevket Şen
e
Sorbonne Universités, CR2P-UMR 7202 CNRS-MNHN, 8 rue Buffon, 75005 Paris, France.
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a
Sakarya University, Department of Geography, 54187 Sakarya, Turkey.b
Sakarya University Research, Development and Application Center (SARGEM-MALTA), 54187 Sakarya, Turkey.
Ozan Erdal
c
İstanbul Technical University, Eurasia Institute of Earth Sciences, 34469, İstanbul, Turkey.
Gürsel Sunal
d
İstanbul Technical University, Department of Geological Engineering, 34469, İstanbul, Turkey.
Okan Tüysüz
c
İstanbul Technical University, Eurasia Institute of Earth Sciences, 34469, İstanbul, Turkey.
Şevket Şen
e
Sorbonne Universités, CR2P-UMR 7202 CNRS-MNHN, 8 rue Buffon, 75005 Paris, France.Corresponding author: Mehmet Korhan Erturaç (email: erturac@gmail.com).
Publisher: Canadian Science Publishing
Received:
04 Dec 2018
Accepted:
03 Apr 2019
First Online:
26 Nov 2019
Online ISSN: 1480-3313
Print ISSN: 0008-4077
Published by NRC Research Press
Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences (2019) 56 (11): 1239–1261.
Article history
Received:
04 Dec 2018
Accepted:
03 Apr 2019
First Online:
26 Nov 2019
Citation
Mehmet Korhan Erturaç, Ozan Erdal, Gürsel Sunal, Okan Tüysüz, Şevket Şen; Quaternary evolution of the Suluova Basin: implications on tectonics and palaeonvironments of the Central North Anatolian Shear Zone. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 2019;; 56 (11): 1239–1261. doi: https://doi.org/10.1139/cjes-2018-0306
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Index Terms/Descriptors
- accommodation zones
- active faults
- alluvial fans
- Anatolia
- Anatolian Plate
- Asia
- assemblages
- biostratigraphy
- Calabrian
- Cenozoic
- Chordata
- controls
- depositional environment
- dip
- extension tectonics
- faults
- fossils
- geometry
- half grabens
- isotope ratios
- isotopes
- kinematics
- lateral faults
- left-lateral faults
- lineation
- lithofacies
- lower Pleistocene
- Mammalia
- Middle East
- middle Pleistocene
- neotectonics
- normal faults
- North Anatolian Fault
- O-18/O-16
- oxygen
- paleoenvironment
- Pleistocene
- Quaternary
- right-lateral faults
- seismic risk
- seismicity
- shear
- shear zones
- stable isotopes
- stress
- striations
- strike-slip faults
- structural analysis
- subsidence
- tectonics
- teeth
- Tetrapoda
- transtension
- Turkey
- Vertebrata
- Suluova Basin
- Tokat Massif
- Lake Suluova
- Salhan Fault
- Tersakan River
- Bayirh fault zone
- Amasya shear zone
- Suluova Fault
- Merzifon fault zone
- North Anatolian shear zone
Latitude & Longitude
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