Geology of the Marmara Sea between Tekirdag and Mid-Marmara basins and correlation with thrace basin

In this thesis, seismic stratigraphy of the sea region between Tekirdağ and Central Basins was established and correlated with Thrace Basin?s sedimentary succession on land and in boreholes. This correlation showed that Tekirdağ Basin and Western Marmara Ridge had developed on the Oligocene sequence of Thrace Basin. It has been suggested that the Western Marmara Ridge was made up mainly of sedimentary sequences over 1500 meters thick Middle- Upper Miocene to Upper Pliocene and 50-300 meters thick Quaternary cover. The Northern part of the ridge rested on Eocene- Oligocene sediments over a reverse fault. The Western Marmara Ridge was elevated by strike slip faults with reverse component in northeast-southwest direction. The area of investigation including the Tekirdağ Basin, Western Marmara Ridge and shelf of Western Marmara Sea was a part of the Thrace Basin. Therefore, the evolution of morphological structures investigated was considered within the evolutionary framework of Thrace Basin. Starting with the medial Miocene onward a dextral shear zone developed on the ancient structures of the Thrace Basin. This shear zone constituted the widest part of the North Anatolian Shear Zone. Dextral movements on the shear zone developed a number of tectonic structures within the Thrace Basin. Evolution of these structures starting during the medial Miocene are represented by the pre-peak, peak, post-peak and pre-residual stages based on the basis of the stress-displacement behaviour and structures in the Riedel Experiment. West Marmara Ridge and its surrounding basins growth by the development of the North Anatolian Shear Zone during the pre-peak stage and formed Pliocene to Pleistocene along a variety of Riedel, anti-Riedel and P-shears of the post-peak and pre-residual structural stages.