Eratosthenes Seamount: the possible spearhead of incipient continental collision in the Eastern Mediterranean

Abstract

We compare earlier works, based on available geophysical data and plate kinematic considerations, about the origin and evolution of the Eratosthenes structure within the Eastern Mediterranean tectonic framework, with data from Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Leg 160. The model under discussion is supported by the ODP data regarding the late evolution of the Eratosthenes Seamount; however, deeper drilling is needed for better understanding of the early history of this structure.Analysis of the available seismic reflection, seismic refraction, and magnetic data in view of the regional geologic history suggests that the deep structure of the Eratosthenes Seamount originated in early Mesozoic time. The ODP data confirm that the Eratosthenes structure, which was located a few hundred kilometers away from the Late Cretaceous/early Tertiary active plate boundary, was not affected by the major tectonic events of that period. The data also reflect the existence of the Eratosthenes structural high already in Late Cretaceous and Eocene times. The ODP data corroborate that the Africa-Anatolia plate boundary was reactivated as the Cypriot Arc, between Cyprus and the Eratosthenes structure, in the late Miocene, through subduction of remnant oceanic lithosphere of the Mesozoic Neotethys beneath Cyprus.The absence of Messinian evaporites on the Eratosthenes Seamount and within the surrounding depression was confirmed by Leg 160 data. Similar data led us to infer that this area formed a Messinian island, which subsided in post-Messinian time. The post-Messinian subsidence shaped the seamount and surrounding natural moat, which in turn are superimposed on the Eratosthenes structural high. The Miocene-Pliocene subduction along the Cypriot Arc changed into collision between Cyprus and the Eratosthenes structure after the elimination of oceanic lithosphere from this junction. The Cyprus-Eratosthenes collision triggered the extreme uplift of southern Cyprus at about 1.5−2 Ma. Pulsed uplift of Cyprus, apparently accompanied by pulsed subsidence of the Eratosthenes area, marks incipient continental collision in the Eastern Mediterranean. The Eratosthenes Seamount, therefore, is the possible spearhead of incipient continental collision and is the best candidate for the study of collisional processes in this area.

The Ayyubid Orogen: An Ophiolite Obduction-Driven Orogen in the Late Cretaceous of the Neo-Tethyan South Margin

“…most recently Tapponnier et al 2004). However, it has long been clear that the Eratosthenes seamount is a continental structure most likely torn from the AfroArabian margin as the eastern Mediterranean was opening (see Kempler 1998;Rybakov and Segev 2004 and the references therein). Here the Troodos was thrust for a very considerable distance and underwent an anticlockwise rotation for some 20° between the Turonian and the Campanian around a pole somewhere east of the present day Hatay, because it has recently turned out that the Hatay ophiolites have rotated in unison with the Troodos nappe (Morris et al 2006; Fig.…”

Early-to-mid Pleistocene Tectonic Transition Across the Eastern Mediterranean Influences the Course of Human History

“…The progressive subduction of the Sinai plate beneath the Cyprus Arc was significantly disrupted during the late Pliocene-early Pleistocene with the initiation of the Eratosthenes Seamount-Cyprus Arc collision (Kempler, 1998). On the verge of subduction, tectonic subsidence of Eratosthenes accelerated and the Seamount reached its current vertical position (Robertson, 1998).…”

“…Convergence across the central Cyprus Arc shifted from subduction to collision (Salamon et al, 2003;Hall et al, 2010) while its eastern part exhibits strike-slip motion (Ben-Avraham et al, 1995). Uplift of the island of Cyprus which persisted since the late Miocene accelerated during the early Pleistocene when the island completely emerged from the sea (Kempler, 1998;Harrison et al, 2004). The Troodos Massif and the Kyrenia Range were uplifted in accelerated rates (Robertson and Woodcock, 1986;Robertson et al, 1995;Robertson, 1991, 1998) while NW to NE trending strike-slip faulting became dominant in northern Cyprus (Harrison et al, 2004).…”

Morphology, bioacoustics and phylogeography of the Isophya major group (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae: Phaneropterinae): A species complex occurring in Anatolia and Cyprus

“…It has been suggested that there was a terrestrial connection between Anatolia and Cyprus during late Miocene, especially during the desiccation of the Mediterranean in the Messinian. Both lands were again isolated from each other by the beginning of the Pliocene (roughly around 5 My before present) due to reflooding of the Mediterranean (see Kempler, 1998;Robertson, 1998;Hadjisterkotis et al, 2000 for details). Thus, it is more logical to assume that I. mavromoustakisi evolved in a vicariant event from an ancestral stock that remained in Cyprus.…”

“…n. which are described here. The group has an interesting distribution pattern, occurring in Central/Mediterranean Anatolia and Cyprus, two areas that were isolated from each other by the reflooding of the Mediterranean in early Pliocene (Kempler, 1998;Robertson, 1998). Further, these species seem to prefer different altitudes.…”