Paleoenvironmental Features and Ostracod Investigation of Paleogene-Neogene Sequences in Babaeski̇- Lüleburgaz- Muratli-Çorlu Region (Southeastern Thrace, Turkey)

Abstract

Aim of the study is to evaluate the Paleogene-Neogene sequences of Babaeski-Lüleburgaz-Muratlı-Çorlu (Southeastern Thrace, Turkey) region using the micropaleontological analysis on two borehole samples collected by Mineral Research and Exploration (MTA), measured sections and point samples taken from the neighborhood of Silivri, Türkmenli-Çorlu, Babaeski-Lüleburgaz, Edirne -Babaeski regions and Tekirdağ-Hayrabolu road. There the lignite sandstone, siltstone (Early Oligocene aged Danişmen Formation) and silts (Late Miocene-Pliocene aged Ergene Formation) with well-preserved ostracod fauna obtained from the the upper levels of the sequence along with some micro-Mollusca at some levels. The study results showed that lacustrine and lagoonal ostracods including marine species were generally found in the claystone, siltstone and marl of the lower and upper levels of lignite cuts in borehole. The ostracod assemblages identified in the study were compared with other ostracod studies in the Thrace Basin and other parts of Turkey as well as in the Oligocene in Paris, the Akiten Basin, Belgium. In the Early Oligocene sediments, the presence of the Tethys effect was observed in the investigated area. In addition, the ostracod species defined in the Late Miocene-Pliocene are compared with other ostracod studies carried out in the Thrace Basin and other parts of Turkey as well as in the Western and Eastern Carpathians, Caspian Basin and Baltic Sea. According to obtained fauna, the Paratethys effect was determined more than in Tethys in Late Miocene-Pliocene in the studied region.