Dating quaternary volcanism and incision by the river Tigris at Diyarbakir, southeast Turkey
JOURNAL OF QUATERNARY SCIENCE, vol.22, no.4, pp.387-393, 2007 (SCI-Expanded, Scopus)
- Publication Type: Article / Article
- Volume: 22 Issue: 4
- Publication Date: 2007
- Doi Number: 10.1002/jqs.1074
- Journal Name: JOURNAL OF QUATERNARY SCIENCE
- Journal Indexes: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus
- Page Numbers: pp.387-393
- Keywords: Turkey, Diyarbakir, Tigris, quaternary, Ar-Ar, uplift, incision, WESTERN TURKEY, TERRACE STAIRCASE, REGIONAL UPLIFT, SE TURKEY, CONSTRAINTS, KINEMATICS, ANATOLIA, MOTION, RECORD, MARAS
- Akdeniz University Affiliated: No
Abstract
New high-precision Ar-Ar dating of basalt underlying the city of Diyarbakir, southeast Turkey, constrains the Quaternary incision history of the River Tigris, strengthening the pre-existing chronology based on magnetostratigraphy and K-Ar dates. The basalt, which overlies Tigris terrace gravel 70 m above the river, is part of the Karacadag shield volcano complex centred ca. 60 km to the southwest. The reverse-magnetised Diyarbakir basalt, one of relatively few flow units to reach the Tigris valley axis, has been dated to 1196 +/- 19 ka (+/- 2 sigma). Two lower terraces have been recognised in the Diyarbakir area, 46 and 32 m above the present river, with at least one other further downstrearn. From this evidence the rate of Middle-Late Pleistocene incision by the Tigris can be estimated; it probably reached ca. 0.07 mm a(-1), reflecting the characteristic global increase in uplift rates observed at that time. Copyright (C) 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.