Unravelling the Tectonostratigraphy and Kinematics of the Late Cretaceous-Eocene Deformations in the Eastern Central Taurides (Türkiye)

Unravelling the Tectonostratigraphy and Kinematics of the Late Cretaceous-Eocene Deformations in the Eastern Central Taurides (Türkiye) | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Unravelling the Tectonostratigraphy and Kinematics of the Late Cretaceous-Eocene Deformations in the Eastern Central Taurides (Türkiye) Tolga ESİRTGEN, Ayhan ILGAR This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-6877975/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 27 Aug, 2025 Read the published version in Mediterranean Geoscience Reviews → Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The Bozkır, Bolkardağı, and Aladağ units, exposed in the eastern part of the Central Taurides, in southern Türkiye, were formed through subduction, metamorphism, compression, and collision processes during the Late Cretaceous to Eocene periods. The Bozkır Unit is composed of ophiolites, a metamorphic sole, and mélanges. The Bolkardağı Unit comprises metamorphic rocks, while the Aladağ Unit predominantly consists of limestone and dolomite in the study area. Although several hypotheses have been proposed for the formation of these Tauride units, the structural evolution of the Taurides remains poorly understood due to a lack of analytical data. This study integrates the facies characteristics of the Tauride units with their kinematic data to draw conclusions about their structural evolution and evaluate the direction of palaeostresses causing deformation. In addition to conventional field studies, structural data, including planar and linear deformation structures, were measured from all individual units and analysed using stereographic projections. The emplacement of the tectonostratigraphic units and their subsequent post-emplacement deformations indicate that compressional deformation occurred in two distinct directions during the Late Cretaceous to Eocene period. We interpret the SE-directed emplacement of Tauride units during the Turonian to Late Maastrichtian as a result of thrust tectonics. In contrast, the NW-directed deformation from the Late Maastrichtian to the Eocene (Ypresian) is interpreted as backthrust tectonics. thrust backthrust greenschist facies blueschist facies deformation Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 27 Aug, 2025 Read the published version in Mediterranean Geoscience Reviews → Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-6877975","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":471435404,"identity":"d2588378-0a25-4a2b-ac98-f0bc6b2b72e3","order_by":0,"name":"Tolga ESİRTGEN","email":"data:image/png;base64,iVBORw0KGgoAAAANSUhEUgAAAZAAAAAyAQMAAABI0h/eAAAABlBMVEX///8AAABVwtN+AAAACXBIWXMAAA7EAAAOxAGVKw4bAAABB0lEQVRIie3RMUvEMBTA8RcC6RLv1ogHfoXKgXJQLh/EpaVwW/ZOclJ4t0Rcz2/i2CNr8VbBRenSwaHdFBRNW24z19Uh/yUvgR+EBMDn+5fRdb+wYReNAw7kQGi3rOzJkBglMBAzTmRwm9cfEMnJ2d7U7eP+WgYFrVuEm6v134TzHS40rBKcpGzxUL4ozWM7IIhZ4SAiwZCDiRmnbH6ClkDM5rwE4bpZRy6+4Ef25BuflJ6+jpK84lAQ5JRWBAulRUwrnh0h5Q7pLEwTSy7JHaZKP78h2WbidOsgwSY37Xu2lOeaVM0nLtXmPjVNE0ZT5yvbTxQQHoY+guLIt3TRxjn4fD6fr+sXRJtQMOzQ4x8AAAAASUVORK5CYII=","orcid":"","institution":"Exploration","correspondingAuthor":true,"prefix":"","firstName":"Tolga","middleName":"","lastName":"ESİRTGEN","suffix":""},{"id":471435405,"identity":"9d4eda69-09bd-4beb-9a73-24863eab0de5","order_by":1,"name":"Ayhan ILGAR","email":"","orcid":"","institution":"Exploration","correspondingAuthor":false,"prefix":"","firstName":"Ayhan","middleName":"","lastName":"ILGAR","suffix":""}],"badges":[],"createdAt":"2025-06-12 08:08:31","currentVersionCode":1,"declarations":"","doi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6877975/v1","doiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6877975/v1","draftVersion":[],"editorialEvents":[{"content":"https://doi.org/10.1007/s42990-025-00190-6","type":"published","date":"2025-08-27T15:58:23+00:00"}],"editorialNote":"","failedWorkflow":false,"files":[{"id":90344962,"identity":"afe63fec-6996-48c5-87f7-b9ed610f0696","added_by":"auto","created_at":"2025-09-01 16:08:29","extension":"pdf","order_by":1,"title":"","display":"","copyAsset":false,"role":"manuscript-pdf","size":4884586,"visible":true,"origin":"","legend":"","description":"","filename":"BolkardagAladagMS.pdf","url":"https://assets-eu.researchsquare.com/files/rs-6877975/v1_covered_1779b16e-98d4-4627-8223-b99b89853245.pdf"}],"financialInterests":"No competing interests reported.","formattedTitle":"Unravelling the Tectonostratigraphy and Kinematics of the Late Cretaceous-Eocene Deformations in the Eastern Central Taurides (Türkiye)","fulltext":[],"fulltextSource":"","fullText":"","funders":[],"hasAdminPriorityOnWorkflow":false,"hasManuscriptDocX":false,"hasOptedInToPreprint":true,"hasPassedJournalQc":"","hasAnyPriority":false,"hideJournal":true,"highlight":"","institution":"","isAcceptedByJournal":true,"isAuthorSuppliedPdf":true,"isDeskRejected":"","isHiddenFromSearch":false,"isInQc":false,"isInWorkflow":false,"isPdf":true,"isPdfUpToDate":true,"isWithdrawnOrRetracted":false,"journal":{"display":true,"email":"[email protected]","identity":"researchsquare","isNatureJournal":false,"hasQc":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"externalIdentity":"","sideBox":"","snPcode":"","submissionUrl":"/submission","title":"Research Square","twitterHandle":"researchsquare","acdcEnabled":true,"dfaEnabled":false,"editorialSystem":"","reportingPortfolio":"","inReviewEnabled":false,"inReviewRevisionsEnabled":true},"keywords":" thrust, backthrust, greenschist facies, blueschist facies, deformation","lastPublishedDoi":"10.21203/rs.3.rs-6877975/v1","lastPublishedDoiUrl":"https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-6877975/v1","license":{"name":"CC BY 4.0","url":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/"},"manuscriptAbstract":"The Bozkır, Bolkardağı, and Aladağ units, exposed in the eastern part of the Central Taurides, in southern Türkiye, were formed through subduction, metamorphism, compression, and collision processes during the Late Cretaceous to Eocene periods. 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