Derya Gürer

Tectonic evolution and paleogeography of the Kırşehir Block and the Central Anatolian Ophiolites, Turkey

In Central and Western Anatolia two continent-derived massifs simultaneously underthrusted an oceanic lithosphere in the Cretaceous and ended up with very contrasting metamorphic grades: high pressure, low temperature in the Tavsanli zone and the low pressure, high temperature in the Kirsehir Block. To assess why, we reconstruct the Cretaceous paleogeography and plate configuration of Central Anatolia using structural, metamorphic, and geochronological constraints and Africa-Europe plate reconstructions. We review and provide new 40Ar/39Ar and U/Pb ages from Central Anatolian metamorphic and magmatic rocks and ophiolites and show new paleomagnetic data on the paleo-ridge orientation in a Central Anatolian Ophiolite. Intraoceanic subduction that formed within the Neotethys around 100–90 Ma along connected N-S and E-W striking segments was followed by overriding oceanic plate extension. Already during suprasubduction zone ocean spreading, continental subduction started. We show that the complex geology of central and southern Turkey can at first order be explained by a foreland-propagating thrusting of upper crustal nappes derived from a downgoing, dominantly continental lithosphere: the Kirsehir Block and Tavsanli zone accreted around 85 Ma, the Afyon zone around 65 Ma, and Taurides accretion continued until after the middle Eocene. We find no argument for Late Cretaceous subduction initiation within a conceptual “Inner Tauride Ocean” between the Kirsehir Block and the Afyon zone as widely inferred. We propose that the major contrast in metamorphic grade between the Kirsehir Block and the Tavsanli zone primarily results from a major contrast in subduction obliquity and the associated burial rates, higher temperature being reached upon higher subduction obliquity.

Dynamics of intraoceanic subduction initiation : 2. Suprasubduction zone ophiolite formation and metamorphic sole exhumation in context of absolute plate motions

Analyzing subduction initiation is key for understanding the coupling between plate tectonics and the underlying mantle. Here we focus on suprasubduction zone (SSZ) ophiolites and how their formation links to intraoceanic subduction initiation in an absolute plate motion frame. SSZ ophiolites form the majority of exposed oceanic lithosphere fragments and are widely recognized to have formed during intraoceanic subduction initiation. Structural, petrological, geochemical, and plate kinematic constraints on their kinematic evolution show that SSZ crust forms at fore-arc spreading centers at the expense of a mantle wedge, thereby flattening the nascent slab. This leads to the typical inverted pressure gradients found in metamorphic soles that form at the subduction plate contact below and during SSZ crust crystallization. Former spreading centers are preserved in forearcs when subduction initiates along transform faults or off-ridge oceanic detachments. We show how these are reactivated when subduction initiates in the absolute plate motion direction of the inverting weakness zone. Upon inception of slab pull due to, e.g., eclogitization, the sole is separated from the slab, remains welded to the thinned overriding plate lithosphere, and can become intruded by mafic dikes upon asthenospheric influx into the mantle wedge. We propound that most ophiolites thus formed under special geodynamic circumstances and may not be representative of normal oceanic crust. Our study highlights how far-field geodynamic processes and absolute plate motions may force intraoceanic subduction initiation as key toward advancing our understanding of the entire plate tectonic cycle.

Chromite in komatiites: 3D morphologies with implications for crystallization mechanisms

High-resolution X-ray computed tomography has been carried out on a suite of komatiite samples representing a range of volcanic facies, chromite contents and degrees of alteration and metamorphism, to reveal the wide range of sizes, shapes and degrees of clustering that chromite grains display as a function of cooling history. Dendrites are spectacularly skeletal chromite grains formed during very rapid crystallization of supercooled melt in spinifex zones close to flow tops. At slower cooling rates in the interiors of thick flows, chromite forms predominantly euhedral grains. Large clusters (up to a dozen of grains) are characteristic of liquidus chromite, whereas fine dustings of mostly individual ~20-μm grains form by in situ crystallization from trapped intercumulus liquid. Chromite in coarse-grained olivine cumulates from komatiitic dunite bodies occurs in two forms: as clusters or chains of euhedral crystals, developing into “chicken-wire” texture where chromite is present in supra-cotectic proportions; and as strongly dendritic, semi-poikilitic grains. These dendritic grains are likely to have formed by rapid crescumulate growth from magma that was close to its liquidus temperature but supersaturated with chromite. In some cases, this process seems to have been favoured by nucleation of chromite on the margins of sulphide liquid blebs. This texture is a good evidence for the predominantly cumulus origin of oikocrysts and in situ origin of heteradcumulate textures. Our 3D textural analysis confirms that the morphology of chromite crystals is a distinctive indicator of crystallization environment even in highly altered rocks.

Kinematics of a former oceanic plate of the Neotethys revealed by deformation in the Ulukışla basin (Turkey)

Kinematic reconstruction of modern ocean basins shows that since Pangea breakup a vast area in the Neotethyan realm was lost to subduction. Here we develop a first-order methodology to reconstruct the kinematic history of the lost plates of the Neotethys, using records of subducted plates accreted to (former) overriding plates, combined with the kinematic analysis of overriding plate extension and shortening. In Cretaceous-Paleogene times, most of Anatolia formed a separate tectonic plate—here termed “Anadolu Plate”—that floored part of the Neotethyan oceanic realm, separated from Eurasia and Africa by subduction zones. We study the sedimentary and structural history of the Ulukisla basin (Turkey); overlying relics of this plate to reconstruct the tectonic history of the oceanic plate and its surrounding trenches, relative to Africa and Eurasia. Our results show that Upper Cretaceous-Oligocene sediments were deposited on the newly dated suprasubduction zone ophiolites (~92 Ma), which are underlain by melanges, metamorphosed and nonmetamorphosed oceanic and continental rocks derived from the African Plate. The Ulukisla basin underwent latest Cretaceous-Paleocene N-S and E-W extension until ~56 Ma. Following a short period of tectonic quiescence, Eo-Oligocene N-S contraction formed the folded structure of the Bolkar Mountains, as well as subordinate contractional structures within the basin. We conceptually explain the transition from extension, to quiescence, to shortening as slowdown of the Anadolu Plate relative to the northward advancing Africa-Anadolu trench resulting from collision of continental rocks accreted to Anadolu with Eurasia, until the gradual demise of the Anadolu-Eurasia subduction zone.

Structure and evolution of volcanic plumbing systems in fold-and-thrust belts: A case study of the Cerro Negro de Tricao Malal, Neuquén Province, Argentina

Magma ascent and emplacement in compressional tectonic settings remain poorly understood. Geophysical studies show that volcanic plumbing systems in compressional environments are vertically partitioned into a deep level subject to regional compression and a shallow level subject to local extension. Such vertical partitioning has also been documented for the plumbing systems of mud volcanoes, implying common, yet unresolved, underlying processes. In order to better constrain the mechanisms governing this depth partitioning of emplacement mechanisms, we studied the structure and evolution of the Cerro Negro intrusive complex emplaced in the Chos Malal fold-and-thrust belt in the foothills of the Neuquen Andes, Argentina. The Cerro Negro intrusive complex consists of sills and N-S–striking dikes that crosscut the sills. The most prominent structures in the study area are N-S–trending folds, and both E- and W-vergent thrusts. We provide new U-Pb ages of 11.63 ± 0.20 Ma and 11.58 ± 0.18 Ma for sills and 11.55 ± 0.06 Ma for a dike, which show that the Cerro Negro intrusive complex was emplaced in a short period of time. Our ages and field observations demonstrate that the emplacement of the Cerro Negro intrusive complex was coeval with the tectonic development of the Chos Malal fold-and-thrust belt. This implies that the dikes were emplaced perpendicular to the main shortening direction. The systematic locations of the dikes at the anticlinal hinges suggest that their emplacement was controlled by local, shallow stresses related to outer-arc stretching at the anticlinal hinge. We conclude that folding-related outer-arc stretching is one mechanism responsible for the vertical partitioning of igneous plumbing systems in compressional tectonic settings.

Forced subduction initiation recorded in the sole and crust of the Semail Ophiolite of Oman

Subduction zones are unique to Earth and fundamental in its evolution, yet we still know little about the causes and mechanisms of their initiation. Numerical models show that far-field forcing may cause subduction initiation at weak pre-existing structures, while inferences from modern subduction zones suggest initiation through spontaneous lithospheric gravitational collapse. For both endmembers, the timing of subduction inception corresponds with initial lower plate burial, whereas coeval or delayed extension in the upper plate are diagnostic of spontaneous or forced subduction initiation, respectively. In modern systems, the earliest extension-related upper plate rocks are found in forearcs, but lower plate rocks that recorded initial burial have been subducted and are inaccessible. Here, we investigate a fossil system, the archetypal Semail Ophiolite of Oman, which exposes both lower and upper plate relics of incipient subduction stages. We show with Lu–Hf and U–Pb geochronology of the lower and upper plate material that initial burial of the lower plate occurred before 104 million years ago, predating upper plate extension and the formation of Semail oceanic crust by at least 8 Myr. Such a time lag reveals far-field forced subduction initiation and provides unequivocal, direct evidence for a subduction initiation mechanism in the geological record.The subduction system recorded by the Semail Ophiolite of Oman was initiated by far-field events, according to a comparison of the ages of the upper and lower plate material.