Geology of the Seamounts in the Levantine Basin Christos ANAGNOSTOU - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Geology of the Seamounts in the Levantine Basin

Christos ANAGNOSTOU

Hellenic Center for Marine Research (HCMR) – Greece

The purpose of my presentation is

• to outline the geological dynamic of the

Levantine Basin and

• to focus more on the main geological

features of this Basin

Presentation made on existing information !!

This approach can build the basis to understand

• the recent dynamic of the Levantine

marine system and

• contributes significantly to

understand also the complicated bio- geo-chemical processes in the water- seafloor boundary zone.

Geological history of Mediterranean Sea - Its evolution.

Back to the past

Some important stages Extensional phase

• Late Permian (~250 Ma)
• Late Jurassic (~150 Ma)

Compresional phase

• Late Cetaceous (~80 Ma)
• Early Miocene (~20 Ma)
• Late Miocene (~6 Ma)

(Messinian salinity crisis)

• The Mediterranean Sea of today

Late Permian (~250 Ma):

• break-up of the Pangea supercontinent,
• formation of a New Ocean, the Neotethys

Ocean.

• Extension phase, development of

sedimentary basins,

• The Eastern Mediterranean Sea is born!!

~250 Ma Late Permian

~250 Ma Late Permian a

Late Jurassic (~150 Ma):

• In the Eastern Mediterranean. Sea, further

extension and subsidence, formation of faulting systems and sedimentation, with shallow to deep-marine carbonates.

• The initial opening of the Atlantic Ocean,

with its branch to NE, creating the Proto- Western-Mediterranean Sea.

• The Palaeotethys is progressively

“consumed”, due to convergence procedures and to the “collision” of the

• landmasses. Some relicts of the

Palaeotethys Ocean remained.

~150 Ma Late Jurassic b

• Late Cetaceous (~80 Ma):
• Opening of the South-Atlantic, this

changed the tectonic setting in the “Pangea” system from the extensional state to a compressional dynamic, due to the convergence of the African and Eurasian plate.

• This dynamic resulted in the subduction
• f Africa plate beneath the Eurasian plate.

The Western Mediterranean Sea separated from the Atlantic and formed an autochtonous system.

~80 Ma Late Cretaceous c

~20 Ma Early Miocene d

Late Miocene

6 Ma

• Messinian salinity crisis

The Mediterranean Sea today

A geo-dynamic cycle Pangea – Tethys – Alpine orogenetic belt – [Relict Mediterranean Sea]

The today Geodynamic of the Eastern Mediterranea Sea

The today Geodynamic of the Eastern Mediterranea Sea

The Mediterranean Sea today

Bathymetry of the Eastern Mediterranean Sea

The main geological features of the Levantine sea

The main geological features

• f the Levantine sea

Seamounts:

• Anaximander Seamount
• Eratosthenes Seamount
• Hecateus Seamount ?

Basins:

• Herodotus Basin
• (E) Levantine Basin

Troughs:

• Latakia Trough

Trenches:

• The South Cyprus Trench

Thrusts:

• Tartus Thrust
• Cyprus - Larnaca Thrusts
• Kyrenia Thrust zone

Lineations:

• The Baltim - Hecateus line

The Nile Delta Cone Slampings

Breman, 2006