Balanced cross section of the northeast of Adiyaman, Turkey

Deformation during closure of an ocean basin and continent-continent collision in southeast Anatolia Turkey during the Late Cretaceous to Middle Miocene was investigated by construction of a geologic map, structural cross-section and retrodeformed palinspastically restored cross-section. The area of study is a N-S transect across the Bitlis Suture Zone of Northeast of Adiyaman. The study area is situated in the southeast Anatolian orogenic belt which includes, from south to north, the Arabian platform, the zone of Imbrication, and the zone of Nappes. A geologic map of this region was prepared in order to construct balanced and restored cross sections from the Bitlis Suture Zone, Northeast of Adiyaman, Turkey. This balanced cross section integrates surface and subsurface data to analyze the structural geometry of the region, calculate the vertical extension and tectonic shortening. The cross section was restored using the line and area balancing methods. A balanced structural cross section suggests that structural uplift in the Bitlis Suture Zone was the result of a thin skinned, imbricated thrust and fold system. The imbricated thrust system sequence is composed of Late Cretaceous and younger strata. Shortening and vertical length estimates based on the direct comparison between the present-day balanced cross section and the reconstructed section from Late Cretaceous to Late Miocene time indicate 24.6 % shortening in the horizontal direction. Vertical thickening is greater in the north 36.56 % than in the south 11.18 % consistent with maintaining a wedge with a critical taper necessary for continued south directed thrusting during continent-continent collision. The interpreted structural evolution model from the restoration of geological structure will assist planning for petroleum exploration in this area --Abstract, page iii