Regional significance of neotectonic counterclockwise rotation in central turkey

Abstract

Counterclockwise rotation is a characteristic feature of the results of most paleomagnetic studies of the Pontides and Anatolides of central Turkey, applicable to regions both north and south of the North Anatolian fault zone. In this paper, we report new data from Eocene volcanics and assess existing data from the calc-alkaline volcanic suites of this age. Although there are regional variations, probably resulting from rotations of individual fault blocks, an average counterclockwise rotation of ?33° is identified across a region extending from 34° to 38° E Long. A mean Eocene paleolatitude of 27° N is compatible with ongoing northward movement and residual closure of a few degrees across the Pontide orogen during the latter part of its paleotectonic history. It seems probable that this rotated domain extends as far west as the Aegean graben system of western Turkey and as far south as the Taurides. Paleomagnetic evidence from younger volcanics suggests that the bulk of the rotation occurred during Quaternary time. The counterclockwise rotation of central Turkey is complemented by contemporaneous clockwise rotation of Greece, and the combined differential motion has produced the Aegean Sea in between them. © 1996 Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.