--> Subsurface Structural Geology of the Büyük Menderes Graben, Western Turkey: Implications for the Structural Evolution of the Alasehir and Büyük Menderes Grabens

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Subsurface Structural Geology of the Büyük Menderes Graben, Western Turkey: Implications for the Structural Evolution of the Alasehir and Büyük Menderes Grabens

Abstract

The Alasehir and Büyük Menderes Grabens are two main east-west trending basins located in the central part of the Western Anatolia Extended Terrane, Turkey. The oldest sedimentary unit in these grabens is early Miocene in age. In recent years, subsurface structural geology of the Alasehir graben (AG) is well established. However, the Büyük Menderes Graben (BMG) has remained relatively unstudied. We have been interpreting the seismic lines acquired by the Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) to determine the structural geometry of extensional features in the BMG to the similar features in the AG. We are also comparing them to published structural features in the AG. TPAO drilled a wildcat well, Nazilli-1, in the BMG which provides a guide to the stratigraphy of the sedimentary section and make the depth conversion possible. Our preliminary interpretation of the available seismic data suggests that the south dipping main boundary fault has been active during the Miocene sedimentation in the basin. This is evidenced by the wedge-shaped growth strata adjacent to the main boundary fault. Syn-sedimentary extension in the graben has also caused the formation of rollover structure and associates extensional folds and faults in the basinal sediments. The intensity of the extensional features however seems less in the Büyük Menderes Graben than in the Alasehir Graben. This is evidenced by the broad nature of the rollover folds and steepness of the extensional faults within the basinal sediments in the BMG with respect to the extensional folds and faults in the published depth-converted seismic lines in the AG.