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Dating Quaternary volcanism and incision by the River Tigris at Diyarbakır, southeast Turkey
Author(s) -
Bridgland David R.,
Demi̇r Tuncer,
Seyrek Ali̇,
Pringle Malcolm,
Westaway Rob,
Beck Anthony R.,
Rowbotham George,
Yurtmen Sema
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
journal of quaternary science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.142
H-Index - 94
eISSN - 1099-1417
pISSN - 0267-8179
DOI - 10.1002/jqs.1074
Subject(s) - geology , quaternary , basalt , chronology , terrace (agriculture) , pleistocene , river terraces , ridge , volcano , plateau (mathematics) , paleontology , geomorphology , magnetostratigraphy , geochemistry , fluvial , archaeology , structural basin , geography , mathematical analysis , mathematics
New high‐precision Ar‐Ar dating of basalt underlying the city of Diyarbakır, southeast Turkey, constrains the Quaternary incision history of the River Tigris, strengthening the pre‐existing chronology based on magnetostratigraphy and K‐Ar dates. The basalt, which overlies Tigris terrace gravel 70 m above the river, is part of the Karacadağ shield volcano complex centred ca. 60 km to the southwest. The reverse‐magnetised Diyarbakır basalt, one of relatively few flow units to reach the Tigris valley axis, has been dated to 1196 ± 19 ka (±2 σ ). Two lower terraces have been recognised in the Diyarbakır area, 46 and 32 m above the present river, with at least one other further downstream. From this evidence the rate of Middle‐Late Pleistocene incision by the Tigris can be estimated; it probably reached ca. 0.07 mm a −1 , reflecting the characteristic global increase in uplift rates observed at that time. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.