Palaeomagnetic study of the Karaman and Karapinar volcanic complexes, central Turkey:: neotectonic rotation in the south-central sector of the Anatolian Block

In the Anatolian sector of the Afro-Eurasian collision zone a palaeotectonic collisional phase (Paleocene to Miocene) responsible for emplacement of the Pontide and Tauride orogens has been replaced by a neotectonic phase of continental deformation (Late Miocene/Early Pliocene to Recent). The latter phase appears to have been accommodated mainly by crustal thickening during Late Miocene and Pliocene times, but was succeeded by complex differential rotations of fault blocks during crustal extrusion in Late Pliocene and Quaternary times. In this study we have investigated palaeomagnetism of Miocene-Recent volcanic rocks comprising the western extension of the Central Anatolian Volcanic Province located in the south-central part of the Anatolian Block with the aim of resolving deformations near to the border with the Tauride orogen. Rock magnetic investigations identify low-Ti magnetite assemblages of primary cooling-related origin. These have predominant multidomain structures but significant fractions of single domains are always present; low-temperature alteration is largely absent. The Karaman Volcanic Complex (Late Pliocene) shows a net rotation of -5.7 +/- 6.9 degrees not significantly different from the regional field axis during Recent times. The Karapinar Volcanic Field (Brunhes epoch) identifies a larger net rotation of -23.1 +/- 12.0 degrees in a restricted sample. The adjoining Karacadag Volcanic Complex (Late Miocene-Pliocene) and Middle Miocene lavas beneath the Hasandag Complex define net rotations of -8.1 +/- 5.9 degrees and -16.4 +/- 8.9 degrees respectively. Analysis of palaeomagnetic results from Late Cretaceous-Recent rock units emplaced in Anatolia during the palaeotectonic and neotectonic regimes shows that rates of rotation have accelerated in post-Pliocene times as crustal thickening has given way to tectonic escape. A near-uniform anticlockwise rotation of 25-35 degrees has characterised much of this block during the most recent phase of deformation and appears to have occurred in common with the Eurasian Plate to the north of the North Anatolian Fault Zone. Whilst this rotation appears to extend south eastwards across the Ecemis Fault Zone towards the East Anatolian Fault, the present study shows that smaller differential anticlockwise rotations have characterised the south-central region of the block where it has interacted at its southwestern margin with oroclinal bending focussed on the Isparta angle. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.