Strontium Isotopic and Micropalaeontological Dating Used to Help Redefine the Stratigraphy of the Neotectonic Hatay Graben, Southern Turkey

• Published in: Turkish journal of earth sciences Vol. 16; no. 2; pp. 141 - 179
• Main Authors: BOULTON, SARAH J, ROBERTSON, ALASTAIR H.F
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Turkish Journal of Earth Sciences 01-01-2007; TÜBİTAK
• Subjects: Cenozoic stratigraphy, strontium isotopes, micropalaeontology, Hatay Graben, Karasu Rift, Dead Sea Fault Zone, Eastern Mediterranean; Dead Sea Fault Zone; Doğu Akdeniz; Eastern Mediterranean; geologic map; Geological formation; Geology; Güney Anadolu Bölgesi; Hatay Graben; Hatay Grabeni; isotope dating; İzotop ile yaş tayini; Jeoloji; Jeolojik formasyon; Jeolojik harita; lithostratigraphy; Litostratigrafi; paleontology; Paleontoloji; Southern Anatolia Region; Stratigrafi; stratigraphy[sequence of layers]; Stronsiyum; strontium; Ölü Deniz Fay Bölgesi
• ISSN: 1303-619X; 1300-0985; 1303-619X

In this paper we report for the Hatay Graben, new micropalaeotology, the first strontium dating and new sedimentology. The previous lack of a modern systematic stratigraphy was problematic for the study of the Hatay region. With the new data combined with the existing literature we evaluate and redefine the lithostratigraphy following international standards. The focus of this paper is on the Neogene cover rocks that record the transition from a regional carbonate shelf environment during Palaeocene to Eocene times, through late-stage continental collision, to recent continental rift tectonics that were initiated in the Middle Miocene and continue to operate to the present-day. The Eocene-Pliocene sedimentary cover of the Hatay Graben is here divided into six formations and one member; Samandağı Formation (Pliocene), Vakıkflı Member (Messinian), Nurzeytin Formation (Serravalian-Tortonian, ~13.2-8.6 Ma), Sofular Formation (Burdigalian-Langian), Balyatağı Formation (Aquitanian-Burdigalian), Kışlak Formation (Eocene), and Okçular Formation (Eocene). Similar sediments of the Karasu Rift are termed the Gökdere Formation (Tortonian-Messinian), Kepez Formation (Langian), Kıcı Formation (Burdigalian), and Hacıdağı Formation (Palaeocene-Eocene). A brief interpretation of the stratigraphical relationships is also given.