RADIOLARIAN CHERTS FROM THE IZMIR-ANKARA-ERZINCAN SUTURE ZONE, SARIYAR, TURKEY

The Izmir-Ankara-Erzincan suture zone reveals an ophiolitic mélange containing pods of radiolarian chert, metabasalts, marbles, greywackes and blueschists in a serpentine matrix. This accretionary wedge accumulated on the northern hanging wall of the Sakarya microcontinent as a strand of the Neotethys Sea closed. Age determinations using radiolarian data combined with previous studies done within the Central Sakarya ophiolite complex suggest that opening of the Izmir-Ankara segment began in the Middle Triassic and suturing finalized in the Late Cretaceous to Early Paleocene. Samples of radiolarian chert were collected from the steep walls of the Sakarya River canyon exposed along the Mihaliccik Nallihan Yolu highway. The samples were prepared and photographed using a scanning electron microscope (SEM) where micrographs were analyzed to determine an age estimate for any radiolarians present. If this dating method yields identifiable radiolarians then results will provide data for further interpretations regarding the ophiolitic stratigraphy of the Izmir-Ankara mélange and the paleo-tectonic setting of the Neotethys Sea.