Microstructures of deformed grains in the augen gneisses of southern Menderes Massif (western Turkey) and their tectonic significance

A detailed fabric and microstructural analysis of the granitic mylonites was carried out on the southern side of Bes,parmak Mountain north of Selimiye (Milas). The mylonitic augen gneisses have?a blastomylonitic texture characterized by large retort-shape porphyroclasts or augen of feldspars, around which a more ductile, medium to fine-grained matrix of muscovite, biotite, quartz and feldspar is deflected. Feldspars behave in both plastic and brittle fashion, because size reduction occurs through grain boundary migration and/or subgrain rotation, and also through fracturing. Typical “core-and-mantle” structure, characterized by a large feldspar core surrounded by a mantle of fine recrystallized grains, is very characteristic. The majority of plagioclase twins obey the albite-twin law; however, the association with pericline-law twinning suggests that many of the twins are mechanical. Evidence of strain, such as deformation twins, bent or curved twins, undulatory extinction, deformation bands and kink bands occur characteristically in plagioclase. Myrmekite is ubiquitous at K-feldspar grain boundaries, most notably on the long sides of inequant grains parallel to the S-foliation direction, which invariably face the maximum finite shortening direction. Deformation of quartz in mylonitic augen gneisses commonly results in the development of core-and-mantle structure and “type-4” quartz ribbons of elongated, preferably oriented, newly recrystallized quartz aggregates suggesting a primary dynamic recrystallization. Undulatory extinction, deformation bands and lamellae are the strain-related features associated with quartz porphyroclasts. Micas, especially biotite, undergo internal deformation by bend gliding and kinking. Most of the micas are completely attenuated and aligned such that their (001) planes are subparallel or parallel to the margins of quartz ribbons and define the foliation in the rock. These microstructures of feldspars, quartz and mica in the mylonitic augen gneisses in this part of the southern Menderes Massif are broadly consistent with fabric development under upper-greenschist- to lower-amphibolite-facies conditions, rather than almandine–amphibolite facies, as was previously believed. This supports the previous contention of the authors that the protoliths of augen gneisses are younger granitoids and do not represent an exposed Precambrian Pan-African basement in the Menderes Massif.     

The ancient water system at the Upper city of Hasankeyf,Turkey

In this paper, the water distribution system at the Upper city of a well-preserved medieval town of Hasankeyf near the Tigris is questioned and its relation to the urban settlement pattern is assessed. The discussions are based on the cistern-intensive and available canal data collected within the residential borders of the Upper city in 2005. Being the third level features of the water system, the cisterns the majority of which are now attributable to the “conical, small and individual” typology, have shown that they were actively operated through the open rock-cut canals which were fed by the backbone of the distribution network—namely the siphon system, until recent times. Although a considerable number of converted cisterns hallmark shifts in the function of the water system and the changing conjectures over time, the blue prints of such a big “hydro-design” reveal the competence of semi-arid occupational environments in Upper Mesopotamia in showing how to cope with the topographical constraints and climatic disadvantages and turn these into an opportunity through the efficient use of terrain along with a carefully designed settlement area. That the Upper city now offers numerous water features makes this piece of land quite a representative of the regional works and shows the apex of the perception of ancient technology achieved with the siphon that could have been launched in the Roman era, and the state of art of planning ancient natural and man-made habitats.     

The determination of present and possible environmental risks in solid waste dumping site,Tunceli, Turkey

Leachate was a major cause of high risk classification. This landfill was set as one with highest possible risk classification due to high vulnerability of private water wells to contamination from leachate flows. The aim of this study is to determine the present and possible environmental risks of the leachate spreading from solid waste dumping site in Tunceli and offer solutions for those determined environmental risks. For this purpose, the characteristics of the leachate were monitored at two station points detected in the solid waste dumping site for 7 months. The characteristics of the leachate were found for pH between 7.9 and 8.7. Oxidation reduction potential (ORP) occurred between ??143 and ??48 mV while conductivity was between 2.8 and 2.6 mS. Total solid matter (TSM) and suspended solid matter (SSM) were between 1000 and 7000 mg/l, 0.2–22.5 mg/l, respectively, while total volatile solids (TVS) occurred between 300 and 1800 mg/l for the two stations. Alkalinity was approximately between 290 and 5210 mg/l, while biological oxygen demand (BOD₅) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) results were 15–606 mg/l and 60–1160 mg/l, respectively, for two stations in all sampling time. In both stations, orthophosphate, ammonium nitrogen, nitrate, sulfate, and chloride analyses stayed between 3.04 and 921.1 mg/l; 0.29–619.36 mg/l; 8.94–135.04 mg/l; 125.9–1360.9 mg/l and 99.9–1249.9 mg/l, respectively, in 6 months. As a result of the characterization studies obtained from the leachate, it was found that the amounts of water entering into the waste mass and the retention period of the water in the mass were very effective in the temporal character change of the leachate. According to the Discharge Standards for Solid Waste Assessment and Disposal Facilities and Discharge to Waste Water Infrastructure Facilities of waste management regulation, the results were found to be risky. Consequently, the site in question needs to be urgently rehabilitated when considering the environmental risks of the leachate spreading from the site.     

Precipitable water vapor (PWV) estimations from the site of the Eastern Anatolia Observatory<Superscript>∗</Superscript> (DAG), a new astronomical observatory in Turkey

We present preliminary statistics on the precipitable water vapor (PWV) content over the Karakaya Hills in Erzurum city, where the largest optical and near-infrared astronomical telescope in Turkey will be operated. Since the observatory will observe in the near-infrared (NIR), it is intended to perform PWV measurements of the atmosphere above the site by using signal delays in Global Positioning System (GPS) communication. The analysis of the GPS data recorded on the summit for almost one year shows that the atmosphere over the site of the observatory, which has an altitude of 3170 m, has favorable conditions for NIR observations. From GPS measurements, we report that the site had an average PWV of 3.2 mm and a median PWV of 2.7 mm between October 6, 2016, and June 15, 2017. We also present the time dependency of the PWV content and the correlations between the amount of PWV and the other meteorological records gathered from radiosonde flights and ground-based measurements.     

Late Alpine evolution of the central Menderes Massif, western Turkey

The central Menderes Massif (western Turkey) is characterized by an overall dome-shaped Alpine foliation pattern and a N-NNE-trending stretching lineation. A section through the southern flank of the central submassif along the northern margin of Büyük Menderes graben has been studied. There, asymmetric non-coaxial fabrics indicate that the submassif has experienced two distinct phases of Alpine deformation: a top-to-the N-NNE contractional phase and a top-to-the S-SSW extensional event. The former fabrics are coeval with a regional prograde Barrovian-type metamorphism at greenschist to upper-amphibolite facies conditions. This event, known as the main Menderes metamorphism, is thought to be the result of internal imbrication of the Menderes Massif rocks along south-verging thrust sheets during the collision of the Sakarya continent in the north and the Anatolide-Tauride platform in the south across the Gzmir-Ankara suture during the (?)Palaeocene-Eocene. Top-to-the S-SSW fabrics, represented by a well-developed ductile shear band foliation associated with inclined and/or curved foliation, asymmetric boudins, and cataclasites, were clearly superimposed on earlier contractional fabrics. These fabrics are interpreted to be related to a low-grade (greenschist?) retrogressive metamorphism and a continuum of deformation from ductile to brittle in the footwall rocks of a south-dipping, presently low-angle normal fault that accompanied Early Miocene orogenic collapse and continental extension in western Turkey. A similar tectono-metamorphic history has been documented for the northern flank of the dome along the southern margin of the Gediz graben with top-to-the N-NNE extensional fabrics. The exhumation of the central Menderes Massif can therefore be attributed to a model of symmetric gravity collapse of the previously thickened crust in the submassif area. The central submassif is thus interpreted as a piece of ductile lower-middle crust that was exhumed along two normal-sense shear zones with opposing vergence and may be regarded as a typical symmetrical metamorphic core complex. These relationships are consistent with previous models that the Miocene exhumation of the Menderes Massif and Cycladic Massif in the Aegean Sea was a result of bivergent extension.     

Determination of crustal movements in Turkey by terrestrial geodetic methods

In Turkey, neotectonic activity originated from the collision of the Arabian and Anatolian land masses during the Middle Miocene. As a result of the collision, westward escape of the Anatolian block introduced E-W compression in Western Turkey which began to be relieved by N-S extension. The North Anatolian Fault (NAF) is the major active strike-slip fault that was formed under the neotectonic regime. The rates of the motion along this fault estimated by several authors are in the range of 0.4–2.9 cm/a according to kinematic data. In Turkey, the first studies of crustal movements by geodetic methods were started in the west section of the NAF in 1972. So far, individual activities and studies coordinated by multidisciplinary projects have been realized in this region. The results obtained from available geodetic data indicate the motion of the Anatolian block relative to Eurasia.     

Quality control and homogeneity of Turkish precipitation data

Outlier trimming and homogeneity checking/correction were performed on the monthly precipitation time series of various lengths from 267 stations in Turkey. Outlier values are usually found during dry summer months, and are concentrated mostly over the southern parts of the country, where the dry period is most pronounced, implying natural extremes rather than wrong measurements. Homogeneity analysis was done using the Standard Normal Homogeneity Test, on an individual monthly basis, which led to many non‐testable series due to lack of reference stations, especially during summer months. Yet, remaining testable months were usually helpful for the assessment of homogenity, revealing a well distributed set of stations that proved to be homogeneous. There were still a number of stations which either could not be tested efficiently, or were classified as inhomogeneous. Lack of metadata is argued to be largely responsible for inefficient homogeneity testing. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Change detection and visualization of acid mine lakes using time series satellite image data in geographic information systems (GIS): Can (Canakkale) County,NW Turkey

Can, a county in the province of Canakkale, is one of the most prominent coal mining districts in Turkey. Many mining companies have been operating coal deposits for power generation and district heating in this region since 1980. Generally, small and medium-scale mining companies operate for short periods and abandon the operational land without providing any rehabilitation. Human intervention in the natural structure and topography of the earth surface causes large holes and deterioration in these areas. Artificial lakes occur because of surface discharge and underground leakage into abandoned open pit mines with high lignite sulfur content (0.21–14.36 wt %). Furthermore, these lakes gain acidic character due to acid generation from pyrite oxidation. Acid mine lakes are highly acidic (pH < 3.05) and have elevated concentrations of \({\text{SO}}_{4}^{2 - }\) , Fe and some metals. The main objective of this study is to evaluate the environmental conditions and demonstrate the development of a monitoring system for their possible changes in the acid mine lakes of the open cast lignite mining area on a regional scale. For this purpose, the data received from remote sensing satellites were used. Areal change detection and perimeter changes of nine acid mine lakes caused by coal mining companies in Can from 1977 to 2011, were determined using Landsat, Quickbird and Worldview satellite images. As a case study, an area of 9 km² was chosen for the variety of acid mine lakes. Using GIS software, satellite images were analyzed in time series, borders of acid mine lakes were digitized and converted into vector data format. At this stage, prior to the digitization, in order to create contrast on the satellite images, “stretch type” and “stretch values” were changed. The areal and perimeter changes were computed and presented via tables and graphics. In addition, thematic maps of the acid mine lakes were created and visualized. The results show that the number of acid mine lakes increased and these caused environmental risks due to their hydrochemical properties and areal increments.