Heavy mineral contents of Tuzla Stream delta dunes (Gülpinar?Çanakkale) and their origin

The study area is located within southwestern part of Biga Peninsula, NW Turkey and covers an area of approximately 650 km2. In this study, focus will be given to the heavy mineral descriptions of current sediments of Tuzla Creek and relationships between these current sediments and host rocks into the catchment area.The basement of the study area is made up high grade metamorphic rocks (granitic gneiss-amphibolite-mica schist and marble lenses) of Kazdağ Group. Low grade metamorphosed Çamlıca Metamorphics overlie Kazdağ Group, Elliayak eclogite, consisting of garnet mica schist and eclogite, also overlies Kazdağ Group as tectonic slice. In addition, strongly deformed Çetmi Melange overlies Kazdağ Group with a tectonic contact. Kazdag metamorphic rocks are cut by Oligo-Miocene aged Evciler Pluton. Early-Middle Miocene aged Doyran-Ezine volcanites that represent the equal period volcanism, has a wide distribution in study area.Neogene deposits of the study area are represented by Küçükkuyu formation which is consist of sandstone and shales intercalated with volcanic rocks and İlyasbaşı formation which included conglomerate, sandstone and mudstone situated unconformably with Kirazlı, Bayramiç and Gülpınar formations. Miocene and Pliocene aged these formations are generally consist of clastics, lacustrine carbonates and shallow marine limestones. All units in the study area are overlain with unconformably by Quaternary alluvium deposits which included pebble, sand, silt and clay. Alluvium is generally seen along the Tuzla Creek and in the floors which forms Tuzla delta.Tuzla Creek which forms Tuzla delta comes from Kazdag and it pours out Aegean Sea. The length of Tuzla Creek is nearly 52 km. In this study, systematic sediment sampling is made in Tuzla Creek, catchment area, its all branches and the rocks that interpreted as a source rock of heavy minerals in the catchment area. Source rock minerology is tried to be explained with the samplings of surrounding rocks which are found in the catchment area.Heavy minerals such as rutile, turmaline, zircon, garnet, disten, epidote, sfen, amphibole, magnetite, ilmenite, pyrite, hematite, olivine, zoisite and rock forming minerals such as plagioclase, quartz, biotite, hornblend that useful for determination of the source rock have been found.The zircon images that obtained, the source rocks of euhedral zircons and rounded zircons can be Kazdag Metamorphites and Küçükkuyu Formation; serpentinized ultrabasic and basic rocks of Çetmi Melange are the source rocks of olivine, epidote and pyroxene minerals.