ABSTRACT
The Ankara volcanics comprise a small volcanic field immediately to
the north of Ankara, Turkey. This volcanic field is composed of a mixture
of flows, tuffs, and agglomerates, with the flows ranging in composition
from high-K basaltic andesite to rhyolite. Dacitic flows are the most common.
A potassium-argon date gives a Middle Eocene age of 42.0 ± 1.6 m.y.
The volcanics unconformably overlie Paleozoic sediments of the "Cimmerian
continent" to the south and Mesozoic rocks of the Ankara melange to the
north.
Results of analyses on 25 samples for major elements and Y, Sr, Rb,
Ni, Cr, V, Co, Zn, Cu, Nb, and Zr are presented. Major elements and most
trace elements show well defined trends when plotted on SiO2 variation
diagrams, indicating a chemical consanguinity. The processes of partial
melting, fractional crystallization, and mixing/contamination are evaluated
in terms of the roles they may have played in the generation of these magmas.
A model based on fractional crystallization best explains the observed
chemical trends; xenocrystic phases and disequilibrium phenomena in plagioclase
indicate that mixing/contamination processes may have played a lesser role.
Comparison of major and trace element abundances of the Ankara rocks
to those of other suites of calc-alkaline rocks reveals that these volcanic
rocks most resemble those that have been produced by magmatic arcs built
upon continental basement. This is consistent with the hypothesis that
these rocks are related to the Eocene subduction and convergence which
closed the northern branches of Neo-Tethys.
Ach, J.A., 1982. The Petrochemistry of the Ankara Volcanics, Central
Turkey.
Unpublished MSc. thesis, State University of New York at Albany. 146
pp., +x; 1 folded plate (map)
University at Albany Science Library call number: SCIENCE Oversize
(*) QE 40 Z899 1982 A34
Return to MS Theses completed in the Geological
Sciences Program, University at Albany