Premium
Oligocene uplift of the Western Greater Caucasus: an effect of initial Arabia–Eurasia collision
Author(s) -
Vincent Stephen J.,
Morton Andrew C.,
Carter Andrew,
Gibbs Samantha,
Barabadze Teimuraz G.
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
terra nova
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.353
H-Index - 89
eISSN - 1365-3121
pISSN - 0954-4879
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-3121.2007.00731.x
Subject(s) - geology , subaerial , paleontology , sedimentary depositional environment , provenance , hiatus , range (aeronautics) , collision zone , margin (machine learning) , mountain range (options) , series (stratigraphy) , collision , tectonics , subduction , structural basin , materials science , computer security , machine learning , computer science , financial economics , economics , composite material
The Greater Caucasus is Europe's largest mountain belt. Significant uncertainties remain over the evolution of the range, largely due to a lack of primary field data. This work demonstrates that depositional systems within the Oligocene–Early Miocene Maykop Series on either side of the Western Greater Caucasus (WGC) display a similar provenance and divergent palaeocurrents away from the range, constraining a minimum age for the subaerial uplift of the range as early Early Oligocene. An Eocene–Oligocene hiatus, basal Oligocene olistostromes and a marked increase in nannofossil reworking also point to initial deformation in the earliest Oligocene. The initial uplift of the WGC occurred during the final assembly of the Tethysides to its south. Uplift commenced after the Late Eocene final suturing of northern Neotethys and during the initial collision of Arabia with the southern accreted margin of Eurasia. This suggests that compressional deformation was rapidly transferred across the collision zone from the indenting Arabian plate to its northern margin.