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Seismic stratigraphy and depositional history of the Büyükçekmece Bay since Latest Pleistocene, Marmara Sea, Turkey

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Abstract

High-resolution seismic data shed light on latest Pleistocene and Holocene sedimentation beneath the Büyükçekmece Bay, northern shelf area of the Marmara Sea, Turkey. Discontinuous fluvio-marine and marine deposits overlying the erosional truncation surface of Oligocene–Lower Miocene deposits are as thick as 30 m and preserved preferentially within the incised valleys that were controlled by some old faults. A series of prograding shoreline, laterally passing to the latest Pleistocene–Holocene valley-fill deposits, are thought to have accumulated mainly during times of shoreline transgression and sea-level rise. The overall morphology and stratigraphic setting observed in the Büyükçekmece Bay and at the southern outlet of the Bosphorus Strait have nearly same characteristics, implying that similar hydrodynamic conditions, erosional and depositional processes were mainly under the control of strong northerly flows during the Late Quaternary. These flows were less powerful in the Büyükçekmece region with decreased sediment input and smaller accommodation space.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by Scientific Research Projects Coordination Unit of Istanbul University, Project numbers ONAP-41866 and BEK-2016-23137.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Marine Sciences and Management, Istanbul University, 34134,  Vefa, Istanbul, Turkey

    Denizhan Vardar & Bedri Alpar

  2. Department of Geophysical Engineering, Istanbul University, Avcılar, Istanbul, Turkey

    Hakan Alp

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  1. Denizhan Vardar
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  2. Hakan Alp
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  3. Bedri Alpar
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Correspondence to Denizhan Vardar.

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Corresponding editor: D Shankar

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Vardar, D., Alp, H. & Alpar, B. Seismic stratigraphy and depositional history of the Büyükçekmece Bay since Latest Pleistocene, Marmara Sea, Turkey. J Earth Syst Sci 127, 13 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12040-017-0906-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12040-017-0906-z

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