U-Pb dating of igneous and metamorphic rocks from the Mersin ophiolite

The Mersin ophiolite, situated in southern Turkey, is tectonically bounded by the Ecemiş fault to the east and the Bolkardağ metamorphics to the north and in turn unconformably covered by the Miocene carbonates in the south and west. The tectonostratigraphy from bottom to top, is characterized by the Tauride carbonate platform, ophiolitic mélange, metamorphic sole and oceanic lithospheric remnants. In the frame of MSc study, U-Pb SIMS dating has been performed on the metamorphic and magmatic rocks of the Mersin ophiolite. On the basis of the zircon and rutile U-Pb dating; duration of the magmatism ranges from 98.9 to 80.2 Ma and the metamorphism from 108 to 80 Ma. Similar ages obtained from the magmatic and metamorphic rocks suggest that they formed in a steady state subduction in an oceanic environment. All the data suggest that the Mersin ophiolite formed in suprasubduction zone setting within the Inner Tauride Ocean in Late Cretaceous and was emplaced onto the Tauride platform.