Sedimentology (2000) 47, 801824

Vertical and lateral organization of a carbonate

deep-water slope marginal to a submarine fan system,
Miocene, southern Turkey
BRYAN T. CRONIN*, KEMAL GU RBU Z, ANDREW HURST* and NICK SATUR*
*Department of Geology and Petroleum Geology, University of Aberdeen, Meston Building, King's
College, Aberdeen AB24 3UE, Scotland, UK (E-mail: cronin@abdn.ac.uk)
ukurova University, Faculty of Architecture and Engineering, Geology Department, Balcali 01330
C
Adana, Turkey

ABSTRACT
Organization is recognized in the forereefdeep water slopesubmarine fan
system of the Burdigalian-Langhian Kaplankaya Formation. A basinwards
transition from a prograding shelfal reef complex, through forereef talus, deep-
water slope and laterally encroaching bypass deep-water clastic system is
described, although the deep-water slope makes up the bulk of the succession.
Considerable thickness variations occur between the reef and deep-water
clastic complexes; these are controlled by sea-oor topography, carbonate
foreslope gradient and degree of mass wasting off the platform and foreslope.
The vertical and lateral heterogeneity of the Kaplankaya deep-water slope
system is described from a number of localities along a 40-km-long and up to
3-km-wide exposed section of the northern margin of the Miocene Adana
Basin, a foreland basin setting resulting from thrust sheet loading from the
north during the Tauride Orogeny. Detailed eld mapping is supplemented
with vertical sedimentary logs, photomosaics, palaeontological and
petrological data to investigate stratal variation, diagnostic architectural
elements, controls on slope progradation, differential timing of basinward
encroachment of the reefal complex and lateral onlap of the deep-water clastic
system onto the slope. Three-dimensional models are presented showing the
vertical and lateral facies associations in different parts of the deep-water slope
system, and provide a basis for architectural prediction of geometry and
relative position in such environments.
Keywords Deep-water slope, resedimented carbonates, turbidites, Turkey.

INTRODUCTION be relatively randomly distributed. In contrast to

Modern and ancient deep-water carbonate slopes
are characterized by: variable width (5300 km);
steep slopes (particularly off reefs); linear distri-
bution of sediment input points; calciturbidite,
pelagite and hemipelagite slides and debrite facies
associations; and irregular lateral facies distribu-
tion. Their morphological elements include shelf
break, gullies, channels, canyons, slide scars,
slide and debrite masses and vertical facies trends
(Mutti & Ricci Lucchi, 1972; Mullins & Cook,
1986; Stow, 1986), which are generally thought to
2000 International Association of Sedimentologists
ancient examples of carbonate shelf-to-slope
systems, particularly from tectonic settings char-
acterized by rapid subsidence (Gawthorpe, 1986;
Mullins & Cook, 1986; Schlager & Camber, 1986;
Stow, 1986; Eberli, 1987), comprehensive facies
models for other carbonate deep-water slope
systems are rare (Hess, 1975; Krause & Oldershaw,
1979; McIlreath & James, 1984; Abbots, 1989;
Tucker & Wright, 1990). This is mainly because of
their poorer preservation potential and greater
compactness, and the ease of recognition of
carbonate system shelf breaks compared with
801
802 B. T. Cronin et al.
those of siliciclastic systems (Pickering et al.,
1989). In particular, there are very few published
examples of carbonate slopes in deep water that
are onlapped by signicant deep-water clastic
systems that bypassed the contemporaneous car-
bonate margin at points lateral to the deep-water
slope. Case studies (particularly from the subsur-
face) of sand sourced from the shelf between
periods of shelf carbonate upbuilding, on the
other hand, are more common (Meyer, 1989;
Saller et al., 1989; Luterbacher et al., 1991).
Here, a rare example of an exceptionally well-
exposed, deep-water slope from the Miocene
Adana Basin in southern Turkey is documented,
along with a description of its stratigraphic
relationships with a contemporaneous prograding
shelfal reef carbonate complex and a laterally
onlapping, basinward, bypass deep-water clastic
system. The Adana Basin is an exhumed and
largely untectonized sedimentary basin where it is
possible to observe and interpret synsedimen-
tary carbonate-dominated slope-to-basin environ-
ments. The slope system had a minimum lateral
extent of 40 km, maximum width of 3 km and
maximum stratigraphic thickness of 300 m. This
mixed carbonatesiliciclastic depositional system
accumulated in a foreland basin, which formed
during thrust loading from the north of the
Tauride Orogenic belt. The stratal patterns des-
cribed are the product of limited shelf width, an
irregular basin oor topography, an indented
margin, limited accommodation and continued
sporadic tectonic activity (Gurbuz, 1993; U nlu-
genc, 1993). The basin provides ideal examples of:
1 predictable vertical and lateral distribution of
deep-water slope morphological elements in a
setting that is commonly thought to be typied
by stratigraphic `randomness';
2 vertical facies associations indicative of a
carbonate deep-water slope and a laterally
encroaching deep-water clastic system lling
the same limited accommodation space;
3 vertical and lateral stratigraphic variations that
could be used as a test for updip closure in
analogous deep-water clastic petroleum plays
fringed by carbonate slopes.
THE ADANA BASIN
Structural setting
The Adana Basin is situated in the most north-
eastern part of the Mediterranean on the coast of
southern Turkey (Fig. 1A). It is bound to the north
2000 International Association of Sedimentologists, Sedimentology, 47, 801824
Fig. 1. (A) Tectonic map of the Adana Basin (after
Gurbuz, 1993). The Cukurova Basin consists of two
sub-basins, the Adana and Iskenderun Basins, which
are separated by the Misis Structural High. It is bound
to the west by the Ecemis Fault Zone, to the north by
the Taurus Mountains, and to the east by the Amanos
Mountains, which are the southerly extension of the
Eastern Anatolian Fault System. (B) General geological
map of the study area (modied after Yetis & Demirkol,
1986). The Cingoz submarine fans form a trough-
shaped axial system that was fed by clastics bypassing
the Karaisali Limestone platform carbonates through
two main shelf-break canyons. Location of study areas
of Kaplankaya Formation: (1) Carkipare; (2) Musa
merli; (4) Cukurkoy.
Hacili; (3) Molla O
by the Taurus Orogenic belt, to the east by the
Misis Structural High and to the west by the
Ecemis Fault Zone. To the south, it continues
under the Mediterranean as the Cilicia Basin as far
as northern Cyprus. Two major sedimentary basin
complexes (Antalya and Cukurova) existed in the
Late Cenozoic epoch in southern Turkey (Kelling
et al., 1987). The Cukurova Basin comprises the
Adana and Iskenderun sub-basins (Fig. 1A), which
are separated by the Misis structural high (Kelling
et al., 1987; Gokcen et al., 1988). The Cukurova
Basin Complex is contained between two major
tectonic elements: the East Anatolian fault system
to the south-east (of which the Amanos Moun-
tains is an extension) and the Tauride Orogenic
Belt to the north-west. These elements marked the
closure of the Neo-Tethys, collision of the Afro-
Arabian and Eurasian continents and the creation
of the present eastern Mediterranean Sea (Kelling
et al., 1987). Several models have been constructed
for the evolution of the Adana Basin (Sengor et al.,
nlugenc & Demirkol,
1985; Gokcen et al., 1988; U
1991). It is not the purpose of this paper to debate
the tectonic setting. However, as it is generally
accepted that the subsidence that formed the
Adana Basin commenced in the early Miocene,
and that the inception of the Eastern Anatolian
Fault System is thought to be no earlier than early
Pliocene, the model adopted in this paper is that
the basin originated as a peripheral foreland basin
and then subsequently behaved as a transpres-
sional basin complex related to the creation of the
Kahramanmaras triple junction to the east (U nlu-
genc, 1993).
Stratigraphy
The Cenozoic stratigraphy of the Adana Basin
was originally constructed by Schmidt (1961),
and subsequently by Yetis (1988) and was
 A carbonate deep-water slope 803

2000 International Association of Sedimentologists, Sedimentology, 47, 801824

804 B. T. Cronin et al.
reviewed by Yetis et al. (1995). The basement of
the Tertiary ll of the Adana Basin comprises
folded and weakly metamorphosed Palaeozoic
and Mesozoic sedimentary units. The Palaeozoic
is represented by Devonian limestones and clas-
tics and Permo-Carboniferous carbonates. The
Mesozoic comprises Upper Triassic to Cretaceous
platform carbonates and Upper Cretaceous deep-
water clastics (Schmidt, 1961; Kelling et al.,
1987). Tectonic emplacement of an ophiolitic
melange was initiated during and after the Late
Maastrichtian (Schmidt, 1961). Continued devel-
opment of a fold-and-thrust system led to loading
from the north during the Tauride Orogeny, as a
result of collision between the Arabian and
Anatolian Plates, and creation of the Adana Basin
as a foreland basin (Gokc
en et al., 1988; Williams
et al., 1995). The Cenozoic ll comprises Tertiary
units on the northern side of the basin and
Quaternary units to the south, with strata gener-
ally dipping gently to the south (Yalcin & Gorur,
1984). The Tertiary succession unconformably
overlies the thrust-emplaced Mesozoic and Pal-
aeozoic units. The succession has recently been
subdivided into 12 lithostratigraphic units (Yetis
Fig. 2. Adana Basin stratigraphic column and sea-level curve (from Gurbuz, 1993).
2000 International Association of Sedimentologists, Sedimentology, 47, 801824
& Demirkol, 1986; Yetis, 1988) in which Yetis
et al. (1995) recognized a succession passing
upwards from continental to transgressive and
then regressive deposits.
The base of the post-orogenic ll of the Adana
Basin (the `pretransgressive deposits' of Yetis
et al., 1995) is represented by OligoceneEarly
Miocene alluvial fan, uvial and lacustrine suc-
cessions known as the Karsanti and Gildirli
formations (Lagap, 1986; Yetis, 1988; Gurbuz,
1993). The Karsanti Formation is found in the
relatively isolated Karsanti Basin, which is situ-
ated within the Taurides immediately to the north
of the Adana Basin (Fig. 1B). Recent dating of
parts of the Karsanti Formation indicate an
Oligocene age (Fig. 2). The Karsanti Formation
is thus interpreted as representing the ll of an
intermontane basin formed in the Oligocene as a
precursor half-graben to the Adana Basin (Yetis
et al., 1995). The overlying Kaplankaya Forma-
tion consists mainly of pebbly sandstones, sand-
stones and sandy limestones. This formation
represents a variety of subenvironments, ranging
from shallow-marine to slope deposits. These
sediments pass laterally and vertically (Fig. 2)

into the Gildirli redbeds, the reefal Karaisali
Formation (Gorur, 1979) and the basal part of
the turbiditic Cingoz Formation (Gurbuz, 1993;
Gurbuz & Kelling, 1993).
VERTICAL AND LATERAL VARIATIONS
IN SLOPE FACIES
The Kaplankaya Formation is exposed almost
continuously for at least 50 km on the northern
margin of the Adana Basin (Fig. 1B), between the
Cingoz Formation submarine fans to the south,
which have a regional dip of 510 towards the
south, and the Karaisali Formation reefal carbon-
ates to the north, which internger with the lower
parts of the slope succession. The Cingoz Forma-
tion submarine fans comprise a large, axial, deep-
water clastic system with axial palaeocurrents to
1 the east and south-east (Satur et al., 2000), and
not two distinct submarine fans as interpreted
previously (Yetis, 1988; Gurbuz, 1993). This
system had two major, axial and many smaller,
tributary, feeder conduits bypassing the reefal
carbonates of the Karaisali Limestone Formation
2 into deeper water (Satur et al., 2000) directly from
alluvial fan and fan-delta clastic systems, which
were in turn directly rooted in the emergent
Tauride orogenic belt.
The present-day physiography of the area
reects the Miocene topography, with the eroded
southern Taurides giving way to a Miocene
succession that retains much of its ancient
basin-oor topography, with a regional dip to
the south. The Miocene shelf-break is largely
preserved as a series of regional `benches' of
Fig. 3. Schematic cross-section showing relationships between Karaisali Limestone, Kaplankaya and Cingoz For-
mations (after Gurbuz, 1993). See Fig. 1B for location of section. Note the interngering of Karaisali and Kaplankaya
Formations. The Cingoz Formation turbidites are laterally contemporaneous with the upper parts of the Karaisali
Limestone in this section.
2000 International Association of Sedimentologists, Sedimentology, 47, 801824
A carbonate deep-water slope 805
Karaisali Limestone at present-day altitudes of up
to 1500 m, with steeply dipping fore-reef clino-
forms dipping to the south, giving way to talus
slopes at their distal ends (Figs 3 and 4). Much of
the Kaplankaya Formation slope sequence has
been eroded because of its higher shale content,
and the Cingoz Formation deep-water clastic
system is preserved as a 350-m-high plateau of
stacked sandstones and conglomerates. Thus, the
present-day basin margin physiography reveals
the exact spatial relationships between the clastic
bypass zones, the shelf-break, the reefal carbon-
ates, the deep-water slope sediments and submar-
ine clastic elements. This provides a possibly
unique opportunity to study the broader strati-
graphic and environmental relationships between
a deep-water slope sequence and the contempora-
neous along-strike variability of the carbonate and
deep-water clastic systems.
Here, four outcrop areas are described that are
easily accessible, well-exposed and illustrate the
vertical and lateral stratigraphic variations in the
Kaplankaya Formation slope sediments over a 50-
km-wide transect (Fig. 1B). Locality 1 at Carki-
pare is presented as an example of part of the
slope sequence that shows considerable evidence
for synsedimentary sliding of thick sections of
both the slope and onlapping turbidite sediments;
Locality 2 at Musa Hacili is presented as an
example of the most distal lateral parts of the
turbidite system, where they onlap against a
lower angle slope that faced west as well as
south, indicating restriction of basin accommo-
dation progressively towards the east; Locality 3
at Molla O merli is presented as a classic section
of slope sediments 20 and 30 km away from the
806 B. T. Cronin et al.
main western and eastern clastic bypass zones
through the carbonate system, respectively,
which is characterized by signicant mass wast-
ing of slope sediments; and Locality 4 at
Cukurkoy is presented as an example of slope
succession characteristics near the most shallow
and proximal parts of the slope sequence to the
western clastic bypass feeder system.
Locality 1: Carkipare
Description
The Carkipare area is situated on the north-
eastern margin of the `Eastern Fan' (Gurbuz,
1993), the furthest eastern extent of coarse sedi-
ment within the Cingoz Formation (Fig. 5). Struc-
tural mapping of the area was undertaken by
U nlugenc & Demirkol (1988, 1991). In this study,
the area near Carkipare village at the contact was
remapped between the Kaplankaya and Cingoz
2000 International Association of Sedimentologists, Sedimentology, 47, 801824
Fig. 4. View to east of Karaisali
Limestone clinoforms, dipping to
the south towards co-eval slope
(Kaplankaya) and deep-water fan
(Cingoz) sediments, equivalent to
Fig. 3. The faulted nature of the
basement Cretaceous limestones is
readily apparent. The direction of
view is from the top of the Karaisali
Limestone palaeo-shelf break,
equivalent to that seen in the centre
of the gure. The low level of tec-
tonic deformation of Miocene sedi-
ments at this northern margin of the
basin allows remarkable viewing of
the different parts of the shelf, slope
and deep-water systems from this
perspective.
Formations. Photomosaics, supplemented by line
drawings, vertical sedimentary logs and both
palaeontological and petrological study of strata
above and below the contact were collected to
investigate: (i) the amount of synsedimentary
deformation; (ii) the age and timing of the onset
of clastic deposition; and (iii) the effects of local
palaeotopography on the geometry and vertical
and lateral extent of sediment accumulation at
this part of the margin.
The area is characterized by signicant synse-
dimentary slumping and sliding of both the
Kaplankaya Formation and parts of the onlapping
Cingoz Formation turbidites. A line drawing of a
large photomosaic of a northsouth oriented
exposure is shown in Fig. 6. The section shows
a rapid thickening of the Kaplankaya Formation
away from the footwall talus of the Karaisali
Limestone Formation to the right of the gure.
A close-up of the relationships between onlap-
 A carbonate deep-water slope 807

Fig. 5. Structural map of study area 1 Carkipare-Akoren (from U nlugenc & Demirkol, 1988). The inset shows the
location of the larger, boxed area in this gure (also shown in Fig. 1B). This part of the basin margin has been subject
to later faulting. The detailed study area corresponds to area 1 in the text.

Fig. 6. Mosaic of turbidite lobe-slope onlap and slumped sequences at Carkipare. Note: the `marker bed' indicates the
BurdigalianLanghian boundary in logs AK01 and AK07 (Fig. 8A). The gure shows the rapid thinning to the right of
the entire Kaplankaya (slope) section. The onlap of the Cingoz Formation turbidites (which prograded towards the
direction of view), is shown by the dashed line.

ping Cingoz turbidites, which onlap from the The contact between the slope and the turbid-
south-west, and the Kaplankaya Formation is ites can be mapped for 8 km continuously, from
shown in Fig. 7. The Cingoz turbidites are rela- Kelerbasi village in the north-west to behind
tively undeformed on this scale, but the large- Egner village (Fig. 5). A schematic gure illus-
scale mass wasting of the slope marls and trating these relationships is shown in Fig. 8B.
siltstones of the Kaplankaya, with spectacular The contact between the Kaplankaya Formation
inlled slump scars, is clearly seen. (slope facies) and the Karaisali Limestone For-
2000 International Association of Sedimentologists, Sedimentology, 47, 801824
808 B. T. Cronin et al.
Fig. 7. Close-up of slumped Kaplankaya Formation sediments onlapped by Cingoz Formation turbidites (see Fig. 6
for location) (from Gurbuz, 1993). Unlike other locations along the margin, the Cingoz Formation turbidites are also
slumped near the margin.
mation (reef and talus facies) interdigitates,
primarily because much of the slope section is
contemporaneous with the reef facies. The con-
tact between the Kaplankaya and the onlapping
Cingoz is more abrupt, with turbidites generally
onlapping an eroded or graded surface. The
contact is easily seen as the turbidites are yellow
and the slope facies weather grey or purplish in
colour.
Representative sedimentary sections are shown
in Fig. 9. These logs show two main features:
(i) the rapid thickening of the onlapping turbidites
away from the slope; and (ii) the signicant
amount of small-scale synsedimentary deforma-
tion within many of the turbidites, indicative of
creep or slurrying of the sandstones, causing
slumping and dewatering on an intrabed scale
and destruction of much of the primary sedimen-
tary structure.
Two long sedimentary logs were taken through
the entire succession: logs AK01 and AK07
(Figs 6, 8A and B). Figure 8A shows the attenu-
ated section within the Kaplankaya Formation.
Log AK07, taken closest to the Karaisali fore-reef
talus facies, and log AK01, taken 1 km downdip,
2000 International Association of Sedimentologists, Sedimentology, 47, 801824
encountered different thicknesses of Kaplankaya
Formation, the red `marker bed', which can be
mapped continuously in all Kaplankaya sections
east of the `Eastern Fan' bypass zone, and the
onlap contact between Cingoz turbidites and
upper Kaplankaya Formation.
Log AK01
Log AK-01 is 38 m thick. The lowest 20 m are
characterized by interbedded grey marls and
olive-grey shales and ne sandstones and silt-
Fig. 8. (A) Simplied measured sections sampled for
age determinations (from Gurbuz et al., 1998). The
central section of log AK-07 only is shown, to indicate
the rapid expansion of the Kaplankaya Formation deep-
water slope away from the basin margin. Palaeonto-
logical sampling for foraminifera, shown in Table 1, are
indicated on the AK-07 section. (B) Schematic diagram
of Cingoz turbidite onlap onto Kaplankaya slope sedi-
ments at Carkipare (area 1) (modied after Gurbuz,
1993). The gure shows the increase in slumping of
turbidites at the basin margin, the rapid thinning of
slope sediments, and the interngering of slope with
distal reefal sediments.
 A carbonate deep-water slope 809

2000 International Association of Sedimentologists, Sedimentology, 47, 801824

810 B. T. Cronin et al.

Fig. 9. High-resolution correlation of pre-slump turbidites immediately above the Cingoz Formation/Kaplankaya
Formation contact at Carkipare. Note the extensive slumping and variation in palaeocurrents. See Fig. 6 for locations.
Slumps (marked with prex DF), can be mapped away from the margin for several hundred metres. Measurement of
slump fold vergence from these units did not give any indication of palaeoslope direction.

2000 International Association of Sedimentologists, Sedimentology, 47, 801824


stones. The ne sandstones and siltstones are
00504 m thick, graded and have small-scale
current ripples at their tops. Over this 20-m
section, the coarser beds get thinner, and the grey
marls become thicker (041 m thick) and more
bioturbated. The section is characterized by low-
angle synsedimentary glide planes that are now
lined with calcite. Displacement across these
surfaces is of the order of 055 m. The red
marker bed is found at 20 m (Fig. 8A), and is
not petrographically distinguishable from the
overlying and underlying siltstones and shales,
although it retains a reddish colour. The section
from 20 m to 40 m is characterized by grey marls,
grey-blue shales and olive-grey ne sandstones
with rippled tops, bioturbation (vertical burrows)
and broken-up fossil detritus (shelfal fauna,
including corals). Grey shales and orange calcar-
eous rippled ne sandstones and siltstones be-
come more common towards the top of the
section, with palaeocurrents to the east (Fig. 9).
A major discordance of up to 20 at 40 m marks
the onset of turbidite onlap (Fig. 8B). The turbid-
ites are either (i) orange siltstones or ne sand-
stones (mainly calciturbidites), both comprising
reworked shelfal material, with palaeocurrent
directions from the north, or (ii) thin light brown
sandstones and siltstones with a westerly and
south-westerly provenance. The red marker bed
and a change in stratal dip across it corresponds
to an intra-Kaplankaya discordance dated as the
BurdigalianLanghian boundary (Table 1).
Log AK-07
Log AK-07 is 57 m thick (only 20 m is shown in
Fig. 8A for clarity). The lowest 10 m encountered
the uppermost Karaisali limestone facies. Crys-
talline limestones are found at the base (<2 m
thick) with carbonate pebbles, black pebbles of
the Oligocene Karsanti Formation (Fig. 2) and
local talus breccia. These are heavily bioturbated,
and broken-up shelfal detritus is very common.
These limestones are underlain and overlain by a
variety of carbonate facies, including bioclastic
limestones (<05 m thick) with broken fragments
of shelfal fauna, including bivalves and corals,
blue marls with local mudclasts and carbonate
pebbles, blue/grey/beige silty marls and local
brown siltstones. The interval 1017 m comprises
interbedded blue-grey marls and packages
(<15 m thick) of thin-bedded, often amed sand-
stones (<01 m thick), which have attened bra-
chiopods and other shell fragments; 1736 m
comprises interbedded shales and siltstones with
2000 International Association of Sedimentologists, Sedimentology, 47, 801824
A carbonate deep-water slope 811
local coal and plant fragments, and local current
ripples indicate a northerly provenance; 3654 m
is characterized by interbedded marls, siltstones
and shales with very common low-angle glide
planes, slump scars (which are inlled) and
repeated red marker bed levels (at 41, 48, 49, 50
and 51 m), which imply a repeated stratigraphy
though this part of the section as a result of
slumping.
At 55 m, the Cingoz turbidites onlap onto a
20 discordance at the top of the Kaplankaya
sequence. These medium-grained sandstone
beds are structureless, with plumose and other
tool marks, a south-westerly provenance and
interbedded siltstones and ner sandstones.
They are orange in colour, have yielded no
fossils, contain quartz grains, ophiolite fragments
and ferromagnesium silicate minerals and are
unrelated to the previous bioclastic limestones,
which have common fossils and no quartz
grains or ferromagnesium silicate minerals. Very
uncommon thin beds of calcarenite are found
in the Cingoz turbidites with the same charac-
teristics as those found in the underlying
Kaplankaya Formation, indicating occasional
contribution of sediment from the north. How-
ever, the dominant sediment accumulating with-
in the Cingoz had a westerly and south-westerly
provenance, swamping any calciturbidite input
from the north.
Age-dating within the Kaplankaya
Previous dating of western parts of the Kaplan-
kaya Formation showed that parts of the forma-
tion were Burdigalian (Nazik & Gurbuz, 1992),
although no evaluation of lateral variations in age
were undertaken. Sampling through the Kaplan-
kaya Formation was undertaken to determine the
timing of onlap of the Cingoz turbidites. Plank-
tonic foraminifera were found in abundance in
non-indurated shales and were extracted from all
measured sections at a spacing of 5 m. The
BurdigalianLanghian boundary was recognized
at the red marker level discordance within the
Kaplankaya Formation in all areas east of the
Eastern Fan bypass zone (Table 1; Gurbuz et al.,
1998). Sampling conrms that the timing of the
onlap of the Cingoz onto the Kaplankaya Forma-
tion is later than Burdigalian and was marked by
the last appearance of Praeorbulina glomerosa
curva (Blow), and the start of the Langhian is
marked by the rst appearance of Orbulina
sturalis Bronniman. This was found in both logs
AK-01 and AK-07.
 9
Table 1. Range chart of planktonic Foraminifera at Carkipare (Area 1), from log AK07, showing the logs shown in Figs. 6, 8A and B.

812
Late Burdigalian Langian AGE

B. T. Cronin et al.
Praeorbulina glomerosa curva Orbulina universa Biozones

AF-24 AF-25 AF-26 AF-27 AF-28 AF-29 AF-30 AF-31 AF-32 AF-33 AF-34 AF-35 AF-36 AF-37 Sample numbers/Planktonic Foraminifera

0m 2m 4m 9m 10.75 m 12.7 m 14.5 m 18.4 m 23.5 m 27.3 m 30.85 m 39.2 m 41.1 m 48.1 m Position on log AK-07 (Figure 8A)

Praeorbulina sicana Blow

*

Praeorbulina glomerosa curva Blow

*

*
Praeorbulina transitora Blow
*

*
2000 International Association of Sedimentologists, Sedimentology, 47, 801824

Globigerinoides trilobus immaturus Le Roy

*

Globigerinoides trilobus trilobus Reuss

*

*
Globigerionoides bisphericus Todd
*

Globigerionoides trilobus succulifer Brady

*

Globigerionoides ruber d'Orbigny

*

*
Globigerina foliata Bolli
*

*
Globigerina venezuelana Hedberg
*

*
Globorotalia obesa Bolli
*

*
Globigerinanus tokerae Nazik G
urb
uz
*

*
Goboquadrina dehiscens Chapman, Parr and Colli
*

*
Goboquadrina alispira Cushman and Jarvis
*

* Orbulina suturalis Bronniman

*

*
Orbulina bilobata d'Orbigny
*

Orbulina universa d'Orbigny

*

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Summary locality 1
The entire section from Karaisali Limestone
Formation to Cingoz turbidites is exposed at the
Carkipare locality. Distal Karaisali forereef talus
and calcarenites internger with Kaplankaya
slope facies. The Kaplankaya Formation thickens
downdip dramatically from < 20 m to >60 m over
several hundred metres. This formation is
characterized by interbedded marls, shales and
calciturbidites with a northerly provenance,
extensive mass wasting and inlled slump scars.
The onlapping Cingoz turbidites are at least 20
oblique to the Kaplankaya regional dip. The
contact is marked by an erosive discordance.
They have a westerly and south-westerly prov-
enance and consist predominantly of quartz
grains with subordinate ferromagnesian and
ophiolite grains. Caliciturbidites with a northerly
provenance occasionally interrupt the Cingoz
clastics, but their contribution is minor.
Interpretation of succession at Carkipare
The stratigraphy at Carkipare is interpreted as
distal forereef talus breccia giving way downslope
to slope accumulation of marls and siltstones.
Minor calciturbidite beds indicate local turbidity
currents from the shelf to the north. The extensive
slumping and mass wasting within the upper
Kaplankaya Formation indicates slope instability,
which was probably triggered by tectonic over-
steepening of the margin (as the foreland basin
subsided differentially) and produced a thick
proximal slope apron basinwards of the foreslope
clinoforms. The LanghianBurdigalian hiatus is
succeeded by an increase in clastic input from the
west and south-west, corresponding to lateral
encroachment of the Cingoz deep-water clastic
system. Turbidites in this system onlap onto an
eroded upper Kaplankaya surface, and continued
instability of the margin led to subsurface lique-
faction of unlithied sandstone and incorporation
of some of the turbidites into low-angle slides or
creep. This probably represents a combination of
steep, unstable, deep-water slope and loading of
the deep-water clastic pile.
Locality 2: Musa Hacili
Description
The Musa Hacili location is 3 km east of the
village of Akoren, which is 1 km east of the
hamlet of Carkipare (Locality 1; Fig. 5). This is at
2000 International Association of Sedimentologists, Sedimentology, 47, 801824
A carbonate deep-water slope 813
the eastern limit of exposure of the Cingoz
Formation deep-water clastic system. Further to
the east of Musa Hacili, the Cingoz turbidites are
overlain by the Guvenc Formation (Fig. 2). The
entire section between the Karaisali Limestone
Formation and the Cingoz Formation is exposed
at several localities near Musa Hacili. The onlap
surface between the Cingoz turbidites and the
Kaplankaya slope sediments is well exposed
(Fig. 10) and can be mapped for several kilo-
metres, as at Locality 1.
A logged section through the entire sequence
is shown in Fig. 11. The Karaisali facies include
pebbly marly sandstones (<05 m thick) with
rock fragments, red matrix-supported conglom-
erates with rounded pebbles of the Karsanti
Formation and angular blocks of reefal intra-
clasts (0520 m thick), limestones (<07 m
thick) and calcarenites (0105 m thick). There
is a gradual vertical, and interngering lateral,
transition into the beige silty marls and greenish-
grey shales of the overlying Kaplankaya Forma-
tion, which is 70 m thick at this locality. The
prominent red marker horizon is found at a
major discordance in the middle of the Kaplan-
kaya Formation at 40 m (Figs 10 and 11). Age
dating, similar to the data shown in Table 1,
again places this discordance at the Langhian
Burdigalian boundary, which is in agreement
with the same surface at Carkipare, 6 km to the
south-west. Above this discordance, there is a
progressive increase in clay content, and grey
shales are more common than light-grey marls.
The transition between Kaplankaya shales and
Cingoz turbidites is marked here not by direct
onlap of the turbidites onto an eroded upper
Kaplankaya, but by 23 m of slump and debrite
on top of an eroded upper Kaplankaya and onlap
of the turbidites onto the upper surface of the
debrite. The turbidites are all ne-grained sand-
stones, some with rippled tops (indicating a
south-westerly provenance), and all less than
015 m thick. Slurried sandstone facies seen at
the Carkipare onlap are absent.
Interpretation
The stratigraphy at Musa Hacili is interpreted as
forereef talus breccia giving way distally to
relatively quiescent slope sedimentation of marls
and, after the LanghianBurdigalian hiatus, a
gradual increase in non-carbonate clay and silt
deposition from the south-west, corresponding to
progressive lateral encroachment of Cingoz deep-
water clastics from that direction. The onlap is
814 B. T. Cronin et al.
preceded by minor debrites, which suggests
progressive loading of the turbidites onto a lower
angle slope prole, and this observation is sup-
ported by the lack of slumping and sliding within
the upper parts of the Kaplankaya Formation.
merli
Locality 3: Molla O
Description
The Molla O merli locality is situated near the
distal end of the Western Fan system (sensu
Gurbuz, 1993), 26 km south-west of Locality 1
(Fig. 1B). The KaraisaliKaplankayaCingoz
succession is well exposed in a number of river-
bank cuts and roadside exposures. The Kaplankaya
Formation is known to be signicantly thicker in
this area, where the Cingoz Formation is thinner,
and these shales were given the local name Kopekli
shales. The Molla O merli area was thought to
correspond to the area between the previously
interpreted Western and Eastern fans (Gurbuz,
1993). Reinvestigation of the Molla O merli to
Kopekli area, with the building of new forestry
roads, has led to the discovery of signicant
thicknesses of mass-wasting deposits from the
north, which has resulted in the local thickening
2000 International Association of Sedimentologists, Sedimentology, 47, 801824
Fig. 10. Musa Hacili (area 2): the
most easterly exposure of the
KaplankayaCingoz contact, north-
east of Akoren (Fig. 5). Here, turbi-
dites are thinner, ner and not
slumped, indicating a subdued,
lower gradient slope in this area.
The vertical stratigraphy is similar
to other areas, if attenuated, and
lacking in debris ows and slumps.
of the lower parts of the Kaplankaya Formation.
Large blocks of Karaisali Limestone (3050 m in
diameter) are found at many locations. The section
between the Karaisali forereef talus breccias and
the top of these debrites and slumps is 150 m
thick. Most of this section is interpreted as repeated
stratigraphy (a base-of-slope apron slide sheet
complex, cf. Cronin et al., 1998).
The stratigraphic section under consideration
here extends from the top of the debrites to the
base of the onlapping Cingoz turbidites. Figure 12
shows a superb section of the Kaplankaya slope
facies. A 10-m-thick debrite is overlain by a 50-m
succession of interbedded marls, siltstones,
shales and sandstones. The debrite at the base at
this locality (Fig. 12B) contains reworked shelfal
fauna, blocks of Karaisali Limestone, rafts of
lithied slope marls and clays up to a metre in
length, and subordinate amounts of pebbles of
ophiolite and Karsanti Formation. The slope
marls and clays onlap the surface of the debrite.
The Kaplankaya slope facies above this corres-
pond to a series of inlled slump scars and slide
sheets. Sandstone lenses up to 2 m thick pinch
out rapidly laterally and are most common where
low-angle discordances are found within the
sequence. The sandstones and siltstones are
 A carbonate deep-water slope 815

Fig. 11. Musa Hacili section (area 2),

northeastern Adana Basin, as indi-
cated on Fig. 10. The red marker
corresponding to the Langhian/
Burdigalian boundary, is present
here. The onlapping turbidites are
very thin-bedded and onlap the
single debris ow in the section.

rippled, with south-directed palaeocurrents (205 Above the section shown in Fig. 12A, the
218) and comprise reworked shelfal material and marls, clays and siltstones that characterize the
mudchips only. lower parts of the Kaplankaya sequence are
2000 International Association of Sedimentologists, Sedimentology, 47, 801824
816 B. T. Cronin et al.

Fig. 12. (A) Sand distribution within the Kaplankaya Formation at Molla O merli (area 3). Note that the sands are
controlled, in geometry and stratigraphy, by slump and slide morphology. Lenticular sand bodies are thought to
represent short-lived gullies on the slope, which acted as conduits for downslope turbidites between slump and slide
events. (B) Debrites at the base of the cliff section in Fig. 12A above. Debrites are up to 15 m thick at this locality, and
found at the base of the exposed Kaplankaya Formation. Debrites are always overlain by slump and slide packages.
Debrites contain a variety of clasts, but dominantly blocks of intrabasinal limestone (from the nearby slope) and slabs
of intrabasinal shale up to 1 m in diameter.

overlain by a 60-m-thick, monotonous succession
of marls and clays with local low-angle discor-
dances. These are onlapped by thick (13 m)
gravelly and pebbly turbidites of the Cingoz
turbidites, which have a westerly provenance.
Interpretation
merli is interpreted as
The stratigraphy at Molla O
an expanded, downslope equivalent of the sec-
2000 International Association of Sedimentologists, Sedimentology, 47, 801824
tions measured at Carkipare and Musa Hacili. The
forereef talus of the Karaisali Formation gives way
distally to a series of thick debrites, which
probably correspond to tectonically triggered
collapses of a steep forereef and slope to the
north. Synsedimentary faults are known from this
area (U nlugenc, 1993). These are followed by a
series of slide sheets. Slump scars are lled with
several calciturbidites or shelly turbidites
sourced from the north. The spectacular exposure
 A carbonate deep-water slope 817

of this part of the section indicates that the sea-
oor topography generated by slump, slide and
creep processes acted as conduits and foci for
subsequent turbidity current pathways. The
geometry of these sandstones is discussed below.
Locality 4: Cukurkoy
Description
The Cukurkoy location is situated 12 km south-
west of the Molla O merli area, near the head of
the `Western Fan' (Gurbuz, 1993). West of this
location, the turbidite sandstones and conglom-
erates of the Western Fan pass updip into fan
delta sediments and terrestrial redbeds and allu-
vial fan sediments of the Gildirli Formation,
which is now thought to be partially laterally
contemporaneous with the Cingoz Formation
3 (Satur et al., 2000), unlike the stratigraphic
column shown in Fig. 2. This transition can be
observed from the same locality from which
Fig. 4 was photographed, from the top of the
reefs of the Karaisali Limestone Formation.
At Cukurkoy, the KaraisaliKaplankayaCingoz
transition is also well exposed (Fig. 13).
Thin-bedded limestones and talus breccias of
the Karaisali Limestone Formation are exposed at
the bottom of the cliff section (Fig. 13) and are at
least 25 m thick at this location. These are
interbedded with marls of the Kaplankaya For-
mation. The lower part of the Kaplankaya For-
mation above this comprises a 40-m succession of
stacked siltstones, marls, clays and sandstones
with multiple discordances and low-angle slip
planes lined with calcite, as observed at Molla
O merli and Carkipare. Sandstones in the succes-
sion are thin-bedded, medium-grained, shelly
calciturbidites with a northerly and north-easterly
provenance. A log of the section showing the
contact with the overlying Cingoz turbidites is
shown in Fig. 14. The upper part of the Kaplan-

Fig. 13. Photograph and line-draw-

ing interpretation of the vertical
sequence at Cukurkoy (area 4),
showing debris ow at the contact
between the Kaplankaya and Cingoz
Formations, found on top of an
erosional truncation. Note also the
inlled slump scars and the shelly
turbidites above the debris ow,
which were sourced from the north,
and not the west, like the major
`Western Fan' sediments at the top of
the photograph.

2000 International Association of Sedimentologists, Sedimentology, 47, 801824

818 B. T. Cronin et al.
kaya Formation is truncated and overlain by a
15-m-thick debrite, which contains rafts of lithi-
ed slope shale and local blocks of Karaisali
Limestone and pebbles of older sediments (Kar-
santi and ophiolite). This debrite is clearly seen
in Fig. 13. The debrite is onlapped by at least two
thick shelly turbidites, which have a northerly
provenance. The turbidites are separated by two
thin muddy debrites, which contain pebbles.
These are overlain by 30 m of Kaplankaya marls
and shales, which become increasingly terrigen-
ous upsection, as seen in the other localities. The
Cingoz turbidites that onlap these are thick-
bedded coarse sandstone and pebbly turbidites,
with a westerly and north-westerly provenance.
2000 International Association of Sedimentologists, Sedimentology, 47, 801824
Fig. 14. Cukurkoy (area 4) logged
section through Kaplankaya and
lower Cingoz Formations. The sec-
tion is marked on Fig. 13. Note the
thickness of the debris ow between
the Kaplankaya and Cingoz Forma-
tions, in comparison to that in
Fig. 11.
Interpretation
The stratigraphy of the succession documented at
Cukurkoy is very similar to that of the thicker
section measured at Molla O merli. Forereef talus
of the Karaisali Limestone Formation gives way
downdip into a series of slide sheets and inlled
slump scars that are equivalent to a more prox-
imal updip section than that measured at Molla
O merli. The top of the slide sheet section is
marked by a signicant debrite, onto which early
shelfal turbidites onlap. These are followed by a
relatively quiescent (thick section of hemipelagic
sediment) and probably lower angle, deep-water
slope, which becomes increasingly clastic

towards its top, corresponding to rapid lateral
encroachment of the Cingoz deep-water clastic
system.
DISCUSSION
Age and compositional variations
Age dating using planktonic foraminifera and
petrological investigation of compositional varia-
tions within the Kaplankaya Formation have
revealed a number of striking features. The
BurdigalianLanghian boundary occurs in areas
1 and 2 to the east of the study area, where it is
marked by a discordance and a red marker
horizon, between 10 and 30 m below the onlap
of the Cingoz turbidites (Gurbuz et al., 1998).
This marker horizon is not found in areas 3 and 4,
but the BurdigalianLanghian transition occurs
below the debrites and slide sheets documented
in Figs 12 and 13 (Nazik & Gurbuz, 1992). This
implies that the BurdigalianLanghian boundary
was followed by periods of tectonic instability,
which led to mass wasting in the west on a large
scale, forming a thick Kaplankaya base-of-slope
apron and a stratigraphic discordance to the east
with only local mass wasting.
The planktonic foraminiferal assemblages
through the Kaplankaya Formation indicate an
upwards-deepening from the Karaisali Limestone
talus breccias to the Cingoz onlap, supporting the
relative sea-level curve shown in Fig. 2, although
this curve was constructed using facies associa-
tion (Gurbuz, 1993), which suggests a rise and
highstand towards and at the BurdigalianLangh-
ian boundary. The resolution of these palaeonto-
logical investigations did not allow us to chart
differential onlap of the Cingoz turbidites in the
west from that in the east.
Compositional variations through the upper
parts of the Kaplankaya were investigated in
areas 1 and 2, as discussed above. The rapid
upwards-deepening of the Kaplankaya is also
marked by a progressive upwards decrease in
marl sedimentation in all sections. Interbedded
marls are succeeded by interbedded marls and
siltstones and, nally, siltstones, before the onlap
of turbidites from the south-west. This is also
seen in the western areas, although terrigenous
material is generally more common through the
western sections than those measured in the east.
The only interruptions of the monotonous slope
stratigraphy in the eastern areas, apart from local
synsedimentary tectonic activity, are the occur-
2000 International Association of Sedimentologists, Sedimentology, 47, 801824
A carbonate deep-water slope 819
rences of northerly derived calciturbidites or
shelly turbidites. All this information supports
the view that the Karaisali Limestone Formation
foreslope becomes gradually more clastic as the
Cingoz turbidites encroach axially from the west
in front of this very laterally extensive (>120 km)
carbonate platform. The foreslope was already
very steep (35, estimated from present-day
dips) and tectonically unstable and, thus, the
accumulation of so much ne-grained terrigenous
material led to extremely oversteepened clastic
slopes that wasted southwards at frequent
intervals.
Model for the evolution
of the Kaplankaya slope
The Karaisali Limestone Formation is interpreted
as a carbonate platform, which was at least 5 km
wide and exposed continuously along the north-
ern margin of the Adana Basin for over 120 km.
The platform margin forms a perfect rim corres-
ponding to the palaeoshelf break, and this is
50 m in width (e.g. Fig. 4). The foreslope
extends southwards for at least 15 km and
comprises a series of basinward-dipping clino-
forms, which have angles of 3540 to the
bedding of limestones on the platform (Fig. 4).
These have been called clinothems (cf. Goldham-
mer & Harris, 1989) and are predominantly 2- to
4-m-thick sheets of breccia, comprising blocks of
Karaisali platform limestone in a mud matrix.
The toe-of-slope (Fig. 4) is lower in angle,
around 10, and contains slivers of talus breccia,
which include debrites with extrabasinal clasts of
older lithologies (Karsanti Formation and Creta-
ceous ophiolite). The Kaplankaya slope is inter-
preted as a base-of-slope carbonate apron, which
onlaps and backsteps over much of the Karaisali
Limestone platform and apron described above.
Many of these facies associations thus correspond
to classic carbonate apron models (Mullins &
Cook, 1986).
The facies model of Mullins & Cook (1986)
shows a vertical transition from basin-oor pela-
gic and periplatform oozes with thin turbidites,
through base-of-slope apron, lower slope with
debrites, turbidites, creep lobes and slide masses
to upper slope with gullies, slide scars, megab-
reccias, debrites and slumps (Fig. 15A). The
evolution of the KaraisaliKaplankaya margin
described in this paper shares some of these
features, but departs markedly with the introduc-
tion of the Cingoz turbidites from the west, which
encroach laterally upon, and trigger instability in,
820 B. T. Cronin et al.

2000 International Association of Sedimentologists, Sedimentology, 47, 801824


Fig. 15. (A) Base-of-slope apron model of Mullins and
Cook (1986). (B) Block models of areas 4 and 3. These
are the areas most proximal to the main feeder to the
Cingoz Formation turbidites. In area 4, the slope is
characterized by multiple sand- and mud-lled slump
scars, gullies and occasional debris ows. The Cingoz
Formation turbidites are preceded by debris ows from
the margin, against which they are seen to onlap.
Locally, debris ows are deposited onto the marginal
parts of the turbidite sand bodies. In area 3, there is a
considerable thickening of the debris ow and slump
sheets, with a thick base-of-slope-apron sequence of
stacked sheets of wasted material developing. The
wasted units contain many very large blocks, up to
30 m in diameter, of intrabasinal reefal material. The
slope sediments comprise many sand-lled scours.
(C) Block model of areas 2 and 1. These areas are over
30 km away from the main feeder system. Area 1 is
characterized by slumping of the turbidites away from
the margin of the basin, indicating syndepositional
earthquake activity, or oversteepening/loading of the
slope by the advancing turbidites. Slump scars and
slide sheets are also seen within the slope sequence.
Area 2 is characterized by distal turbidites onlapping a
subdued slope.
the slope and base-of-slope apron. What is par-
ticularly remarkable is the lateral stratigraphic
repeatability of the slope succession over 50 km
of almost continuous exposure, indicating that
there is stratigraphic order in this type of sedi-
mentary environment and tectonic setting, con-
trary to previous models (cf. Mutti & Ricci Lucchi,
1972; Stow, 1986; Pickering et al., 1989).
Although this has already been suggested for
clastic slope sequences (Lomas, 1999), to our
knowledge, this is the rst time that it has been
described in a carbonate setting.
All four vertical sections measured from the
four localities are compared with the carbonate
base-of-slope apron models of Mullins & Cook
(1986) and Stow (1986) in Fig. 15A. Figure 15B
shows block models from areas 4 and 3, Cukurkoy
and Molla O merli (Fig. 1B). These locations are
situated at the most westerly exposure of the
Cingoz Formation. The Cingoz Formation
bypassed the Karaisali carbonate platform as an
alluvial fanfan deltaturbidite fan and dog-
legged to the east to prograde axially in front of
the carbonate foreslope into deeper water. The
deection of the clastic system is interpreted to
reect sea-oor topography. These western areas
were characterized by highly irregular sea-oor
topography, corresponding to the basin margin
block-faulting that preceded the late Burdigalian
relative sea-level rise in this area. Thick debrites
and slump and slide masses become more com-
2000 International Association of Sedimentologists, Sedimentology, 47, 801824
A carbonate deep-water slope 821
mon to the east at Molla O merli, where the
Kaplankaya Formation increases dramatically;
26 km further east, and past the major bypass
zone that corresponds to the `Eastern Fan' of
previous workers, the slope was also extremely
unstable and frequently triggered to collapse as a
result of local tectonism. The onlapping of the
Cingoz caused slumping of parts of the turbidite
sequence, because of loading at the base of an
already very unstable slope. At Musa Hacili, the
turbidites ponded against a progressively lower
angle slope, which also faces west, indicating
connement of the basin in that direction. It is not
known what happens to Cingoz Formation sedi-
ments to the south, as they dip into the subsurface.
Controls on the architecture
of the Kaplankaya Formation
There is a paucity of documented examples of
carbonate deep-water slopes that are encroached
laterally by deep-water clastic systems. There are
many examples of turbidite systems that bypass
deep-water slopes, and the transition from a
series of sand-starved, blue-coloured marls to
yellow-coloured, obliquely onlapping turbidites
is a classic foreland basin signature in the
Alpine belt. Examples include the onlapping of
Hecho Group Campodarbe Formation turbidites
onto marls and limestones of the Boltana Anti-
cline in the Eocene of the south-central Pyrenean
Foreland Basin (Mutti & Ricci Lucchi, 1972;
Cronin et al., 1998), which was a carbonate-
capped structural high that diverted turbidite
pathways during the lling of the latest stages of
the Ainsa Basin. Further examples are the
transition from the Calcaires Nummulitiques
Marnes BleuesAnnot Sandstone in the various
EoceneOligocene basin remnants in the Mari-
time Alps of SE France (Stanley & Bertrand,
1973; Sinclair, 1993, 1994; Hurst et al., 1999)
and the Tortonian type area in northern Italy
(Clari & Ghibaudo, 1979). Deep-water slopes
incised by canyons that are fed directly from
fan deltas are also common (Cronin & Kidd,
1998), as are deep-water clastic slopes incised by
deep-water channels that are capped by down-
lapping encroaching carbonate systems once the
clastic supply is disconnected (Cronin et al.,
4 2000a,b). Slope marls and shales marginal to
any of these systems are, however, rarely
documented. The specic geometric and strati-
graphic relationships between incoming clastics
and lateral/distal carbonates remain a largely
untouched area of research (Cronin, 1994).
822 B. T. Cronin et al.

In contrast, much is known about carbonate
slopes, in particular those slopes on which clastic
pulses come from the carbonate platform itself
(Saller et al., 1989). Block diagrams of the
exceptionally well-exposed Kaplankaya system
(Fig. 15) look in their simple form like the model
of Mullins & Cook (1986). However, models
suggesting that slope sequences have a strati-
graphic randomness with little vertical predict-
ability are not borne out by our work:
increasingly more terrigenous and silty in char-
acter, corresponding to the lateral encroach-
ment of the deep-water clastic Cingoz system
from west to east. In the west, turbidite onlap is
preceded by local debris ow deposition and, in
the east, the onlap is against a low-angle discord-
ance. All the vertical sections documented here
are remarkably similar, which suggests that
much can be deduced from vertical sections
through slope sequences in this type of setting.

1 Mass wasting and, in particular, the accumu-

CONCLUSIONS
lation of stacked base-of-slope slide sheets is
generally succeeded by inlled slump scars
An organized stratigraphy is recognized in a car-
and offset stacking of sandstone bodies. Shelly
bonate slope succession, unlike the stratigraphic
turbidites exploit the topography produced by
randomness that is recorded in current models of
the slump scars that produced the slide sheets
deep-water slopes. The slope facies association
and slumps, and inll the surfaces of the slide
occurs in three lithostratigraphic units, the Karai-
sheets, which are highly irregular. This asso-
sali Limestone Formation, marls of the Kaplankaya
ciation implies that signicant collapse of a
Formation and turbiditic sandstones of the Cingoz
slope will produce a base-of-slope apron fol-
Formation, which, unlike in previous interpreta-
lowed by deposition of sand, which will either
tions, are interpreted to be largely contemporane-
ll, or further erode and ll, the irregular
ous. The stratigraphy can be demonstrated along a
topography on top of the apron.
50-km section that is slightly oblique to the ancient
2 Slump scars and sliding are found near the
slope margin and includes sections that are prox-
steepest slopes, and this relationship can be
imal and distal to zones of clastic sediment bypass.
compared laterally over 50 km to investigate
The stratigraphy of the slope succession is typied
local slope oversteepening, tectonic activity
by a basal interval of mass wasting, including slide
and sediment bypass. The most signicant
sheets that form a base-of-slope apron. This is
wasting is found at locality 3 (Fig. 15B), where
followed by sand deposition that forms offset
thick packages of debrite overlain by inlled
stacked sand bodies, which inll the irregu-
slump scars are found, and the Kaplankaya
lar, slumped topography. Fine-grained slope
Formation is thickest. Synsedimentary faulting
sediments drape the sandstones and become
is known to have been signicant in this part
increasingly terrigenous in character as the Cingoz
of the study area, and the basement is not seen.
deep-water clastic system encroaches from the
Slumping and sliding of slope sediment is
west. Moving along the slope away from the area of
least common at locality 2 (Fig. 15C), where
shelf bypass where the Cingoz Formation is
the Kaplankaya Formation is thinnest, and
developed, there is a progressive decrease in
synsedimentary faulting is rare. The onlap of
foreslope slumping, sliding and debris ow activ-
turbidites is progressive, and these beds shin-
ity, the periodicity of shelfal shelly and calcitur-
gle out over long distances, which is taken as
bidites derived from the north, the degree of slope
further evidence for a lower slope to the east
instability and evidence for local tectonic activity
and north-east. Moderate slumping and sliding
and the gradient of the deep-water slope.
in area 1 (Fig. 15B) is the result of synsedi-
mentary tectonism and proximity to the toes of
the forereef clinoforms. The continued synse- ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
dimentary tectonism in this area is attested to
by slumping of the lowest parts of the turbidite The authors would like to acknowledge Atike
succession to the south and by the occurrence Nazik, Huriye Demircan, Professor Gilbert Kelling,
of extensive debrites within the Cingoz For- OBE, and Simon Lomas for useful discussion in the
mation up to 10 km to the south (Fig. 15C). eld. B. T. Cronin, A. Hurst and N. Satur thank the
3 The inlled slump scars are draped with ne- Mesostratigraphy of Deep-water Sandstones Con-
grained slope sediments. In all sections on a 50- sortium (Amerada Hess, BP-Amoco, Conoco, Elf
km transect from Cukurkoy in the west to Musa and Enterprise) for nancial support. Many thanks
Hacili in the east, these slope sediments become to Ian Jarvis, John Underhill and Dorrik Stow for
2000 International Association of Sedimentologists, Sedimentology, 47, 801824

thoughtful and considered reviews of the manu-
script.
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