Abstract

The Eastern Anatolia region is one of the best examples of a continental collision zone in the world. It also comprises one of the high plateaus of the Alpine-Himalaya mountain belt with an average elevation of ~2 km above sea level (Fig. 1). It displays shallow and diffuse seismicity (Fig. 2), indicating that the lithosphere is still being actively deformed as a result of diffuse north-south shortening. This implies that the collision is still in progress. Previous studies have shown that the Arabian plate made its initial contact with the Eurasian plate during the Late Eocene. The region underwent compressional tectonic evolution subsequently, but most of it lay beneath sea level during a period between the Late Eocene (~50 Ma) and Serravalian (~13 Ma). At about 13 Ma, the region was subjected to abrupt block uplift and consequently elevated above sea level. Uplift was followed  by subaerial volcanic activity. Volcanism intensified and had became widespread all over the region by about 7-8 Ma, while the region gradually acquired a regional domal shape comparable to that of the Ethiopian High Plateau. However, the dome structure in Eastern Anatolia has a north-south shortened asymmetrical shape, due to the compressional tectonic regime created by collision, in contrast to that of the Ethiopian High Plateau. At present, it is difficult to recognise the dome in topographic maps since the topography of the region has been strongly modified by volcanoes and river drainage systems.

Volcanism migrated to the south/southeast over time. Great volumes of volcanic material (i.e. lavas and pyroclastic units) reaching over 1 km in thickness in places were erupted onto the surface between 8 and 1.5 Ma, forming volcano-sedimentary successions, and covering almost two-thirds of the region. Thus, the Eastern Anatolia region can be regarded as the site of a "melting anomaly" or "hotspot" resembling closely the setting proposed for mantle plumes. However, geologic and geochemical data provide evidence against a plume origin. In addition, the results of new geophysical studies, coupled with geologic and geochemical findings, support the view that both domal uplift and extensive magma generation can be linked to the mechanical removal of a portion or the whole thickness of the mantle lithosphere, accompanied by passive upwelling of normal-temperature asthenospheric mantle to a depth as shallow as 50 km. This process is argued to have occurred either by delamination, slab-steepening and breakoff, or a combination of both. Therefore, magma generation beneath Eastern Anatolia may have been controlled by adiabatic decompression of the asthenosphere. The presence of a subduction component and thus water in the asthenospheric mantle wedge whould have played an important role in this melting process. In addition, material derived from previously subducted slabs might have contributed to the fertility of the mantle source region.

The Eastern Anatolian example is important in showing that not only plumes but also shallow plate tectonic processes have the potential to generate regional domal structures in the Earth's lithosphere as well as large volumes of magma, as proposed by a number of recent studies.

Introduction

Orogenic belts formed by collisions between continents contain invaluable records of the geological history of the Earth and therefore have always attracted the attention of Earth scientists. The Eastern Anatolia Region, exhibiting plateau morphology with an elevation 1500 – 2000 m above sea level, is one of two regions where active continent-continent collision is currently taking place, the other being the Tibetan Plateau (Fig. 1). Therefore, the Eastern Anatolia region is a spectacular natural laboratory where the early stages of a continent-continent collision and their effects can be thoroughly studied.

Figure 1. Plateaus in the Alpine/Himalayan mountain belt. Black: thrust belts; yellow: foreland and hinterland basins. Numbers refer to the average height of the plateaus. 1: Western Anatolian plateau (1 km); 2: Eastern Anatolian Plateau (2 km); 3: Tien Shan (3 km);  5: Tibet (5 km) [Fig. 1 from Dewey et al., 1986].

Figure 2. Distribution of earthquake epicentres, magnitudes and depths across the Eastern Anatolia region. The map includes recorded earthquakes from 1^st December 1999 to 23^rd March 2005. The figure is a screenshot from the Earthquake Monitor program of Gezdirici [2001]. Red circles are hypocentres which are shallower than 20 km (see figure legend).

Previous studies to date [e.g., Sengor & Kidd, 1979; Dewey et al., 1986] have shown that collision occurred between the Eurasian and Arabian continents, resulting in the formation of an extensive (~ 150,000 km²)  high plateau with an average elevation of 2 km above sea level (Fig. 3). These studies also revealed that the region has reached this elevation as a block since the Serravalian (~ 13-11 Ma: Gelati, 1975), when the terminal collision of Arabia with Eurasia started [Sengor & Kidd, 1979].

Figure 3. Topographic map showing the Eastern Anatolian plateau with an average elevation of 2 km above sea level. See Figs. 4, 5 and 6 for the main tectonic lines and stratigraphic units.

Volcanic activity initiated immediately after the rapid block uplift of Eastern Anatolia and became widespread all over the region, producing subaerial lava flows and pyroclastic products which are very variable in their composition and eruptive style [Pearce et al., 1990; Keskin et al., 1998; Yilmaz et al., 1998]. The volcanic activity initiated in the north around the Erzurum-Kars Plateau and migrated to the south-southeast [Keskin, 2003] (Fig. 7). A vast volume of volcanic material was produced by this activity, covering almost two thirds of the region and reaching over 1 km in thickness in some localities (Figs. 4, 5 and 6).

Figure 4. Simplified geological map of the Eastern Anatolia region showing tectonic units, collision-related volcanic products and volcanic centres (compiled by Keskin, 2003). A-A’: direction of the cross section given in Fig. 8.    E-K-P: the Erzurum-Kars Plateau; NATF and EATF: North and East Anatolian Transform Faults. Volcanic centers: Ag: Mt. Agri (Ararat), Al¹: Mt. Aladag (SE of Agri), Al²: Mt. Aladag (NW of Horasan), Bi: Mt. Bingol, Bl: Mt. Bilicandagi, D: Mt. Dumanlidag, E: Mt. Etrusk, H: Mt. Hamadag, K: Mt. Karatepe, Ki: Mt. Kisirdag, M: Mt. Meydandag, N: Mt. Nemrut, S: Mt. Suphan, T: Mt. Tendürek, Y: Mt. Yaglicadag, Z: Mt. Ziyaretdag.

Although fissure eruptions dominated the volcanic activity, there are over 20 volcanic centres (e.g., Mt. Nemrut, Mt. Ararat, Mt. Tendurek) in the region, corresponding basically to central eruption sites (Figs. 4 and 9). The erupted volumes may represent only a small fraction of the melt generated beneath the region, because a greater proportion presumably was emplaced deeper in the crust as plutonic intrusions. Thus, there must have been enormous magma generation beneath the whole region related to the collision of Arabia with Eurasia. As a result, Eastern Anatolia can be regarded as one of the Earth's major “hotspots” or a "melting anomalies".

Figure 5. Major tectonic blocks of the Eastern Anatolia region. The borders are modified from Sengor et al. [2003].  I: Rhodope-Pontide fragment, II: Northwest Iranian fragment, III: Eastern Anatolian Accretionary Complex (EAAC), IV: Bitlis-Poturge Massif, V: Arabian foreland. Dark green areas: outcrops of ophilitic melange, Pink and red areas: collision-related volcanic units, white areas: undifferentiated units or young cover formations. EKP: the Erzurum-Kars Plateau in the north.

Figure 6. Topographic map of the Eastern Anatolia Collision Zone (EACZ) over which the main tectonic units as well as collision-related volcanics are superimposed. NIF: Northwest Iranian Fragment, BPM: Bitlis-Poturge massif, EAAC: Eastern Anatolian Accretionary Complex, AF: Arabian Foreland. For more explanation, see Figs. 4 and 5.

Figure 7. Distribution of the oldest radiometric ages of the volcanic units. Ages are from Pearce et al. [1990], Ercan et al. [1990] and Keskin et al. [1998]. Initiation ages of the volcanism are contoured in 1-Myr intervals. PS: Pontide suture, BPS: Bitlis-Poturge suture, CS: inferred cryptic suture between the EAAC and BPS. Figure from Keskin [2003].

Figure 8. Cross section summarizing the crustal structure and petrologic/geochemical properties of the collision-related volcanic units across the Eastern Anatolia Region [Keskin, 2003]. The crustal and lithospheric thicknesses are from Sengor et al. [2003] and Zor et al. [2003]. The direction of the cross section (A-A’) is shown in Fig. 4 . Source of geochemical data: *Ercan et al. [1990], **Pearce et al. [1990], ***Keskin et al. [1998]. SC: subduction component, AFC: Assimilation combined with fractional crystallization process, r: ratio of the rates of mass assimilation and mass crystallization. F: strike-slip faults.

Figure 9. MrSID satellite view of (a) Mt. Nemrut volcano in the south, (b) Mt. Ararat: a double-peaked strato-volcano in the northeast, and (c) the Erzurum-Kars Plateau (EKP) in the northernmost part of the Eastern Anatolia region. On the Erzurum-Kars Plateau (i.e. c) Reddish coloured areas marked EKP correspond to volcanic units, while purple to pinkish areas are either basement units (e.g., areas in the northwest) or young sedimentary cover formations. Vegetation is represented by green areas. For the exact regional locations of Mt. Nemrut and Mt. Ararat, see Fig. 4.

The East Anatolian topographic uplift resembles the Tibetan Plateau and has been viewed as a younger version of it in many studies [e.g., Sengor & Kidd, 1979; Dewey et al., 1986; Barazangi, 1989]. In these studies, the Eastern Anatolian lithosphere is thought to have doubled in thickness (to ~ 250-300 km) as a result of collision (Fig. 10). However, recent geophysical studies have revealed that the mantle lithosphere is almost completely absent beneath a greater portion of the region [Gök et al., 2000, 2003; Al-Lazki et al., 2003] (Fig. 8). Moreover, studies of receiver functions indicate that the crust beneath the region ranges in thickness between 38 and 50 km, averaging ~ 40–45 km [Zor et al., 2003]. This indicates that an almost normal-thickness crust is underlain by an extremely thin mantle lithosphere or perhaps almost directly by the asthenosphere. Such a lithospheric thickness can be considered to be normal in extensional areas, such as Iceland, but unusual in a continental collision setting with a compressional tectonic regime.

Figure 10: Continental collision and subsequent thickening of the Anatolian crust/lithosphere [Dewey et al., 1986].

On the basis of these results and the geology of the region, Sengor et al. [2003] proposed that the East Anatolian high plateau is a mantle-supported, north-south shortened domal structure, whose E-W topographic profile along the 40°N parallel is very similar to that of the Ethiopian High Plateau (Fig. 11).

When these findings and interpretations are taken into account, it can be argued that Eastern Anatolia represents a tectonically-deformed, N-S shortened lithospheric dome structure, supported by an asthenospheric upwelling (see cross section in Fig. 8). Thus, Eastern Anatolia closely resembles a mantle plume setting. However, geologic and geochemical data indicate that a mantle plume setting cannot be a viable model for the region as I discuss in the following sections.

The rest of this web-page deals with a number of problems including:

• how great volumes of collision-related magma were generated in the region,
• how and why the region gained its elevation and the aforementioned domal shape in the absence of a mantle plume, and
• what tectonic processes are responsible for both magma generation and the regional uplift.

It is organized as follows:

• Section I focuses on the geology of the region,
• Section II deals with the geochemical characteristics of the collision-related volcanic units,
• Section III describes the results of the Eastern Turkey Seismic Experiment project,
• Section IV discusses ten competing geodynamic models proposed for the region with emphasis on the inherent discrepancies in each model.
• Section V is a discussion.

1. Geology

There are two main plateaus in the Alpine-Himalayan collision system (Fig. 1):

1. The Anatolian – Iranian plateau (1 and 2 in Fig. 1),
2. The Tibetan plateau (5 in Fig. 1) [Sengor & Kidd, 1979; Dewey et al., 1986].

The Anatolian – Iranian Plateau extends from Eastern Anatolia to Eastern Iran, and typically has an elevation of about 1.5 – 2 km in Eastern Anatolia. The basement of the Anatolian – Iranian Plateau is made up of micro-continents, accreted to each other during the Late Cretaceous to Early Tertiary [Sengor, 1990]. These micro-continents are separated from each other by ophiolite belts and accretionary complexes.

Five different tectonic blocks are recognised in North-Eastern Anatolia (Fig. 5):

1. The Eastern Rhodope-Pontide fragment in the northwest of the region (I in Fig. 5). It underlies the south-western and north-eastern parts of the Erzurum Kars Plateau (i.e. EKP in Fig. 5).
2. The Northwest Iranian fragment (II in Fig. 5). The eastern part of the Erzurum-Kars Plateau (i.e. Horasan, Aladag, Kagizman, Kars areas and Mt. Ararat) overlies this tectonic block  [Keskin et al., 1998],
3. The Eastern Anatolian Accretionary Complex in the middle of the region located between the Aras River and the Bitlis-Poturge Massif (III in Fig. 5),
4. The Bitlis-Pötürge unit which is exposed along the Taurus belt (IV in Fig. 5), and
5. Autochthonous units of the Arabian continent or foreland (V in Fig. 5).

Except for the EAAC, all the tectonic blocks correspond to the aforementioned micro-continents.

The Eastern Rhodope-Pontide unit is located in the northernmost part of the region. Its basement is represented by a metamorphic massive named the Pulur Complex [Topuz et al., 2004]. The Pulur complex is composed of a heterogeneous set of granulite facies rocks, ranging from quartz-rich mesocratic gneisses to silica- and alkali-deficient, Fe-, Mg- and Al-rich melanocratic rocks [Topuz et al., 2004]. A thick volcano-sedimentary arc sequence overlies this metamorphic basement. This sequence is regarded as an ensialic, south-facing magmatic arc, formed by north-dipping subduction under the Eurasian continental margin [Yilmaz et al., 1997] in a period between the Albian and Oligocene [Sengor et al., 2003].

The Northwest Iranian fragment is masked by collision-related volcanic units in Eastern Anatolia. It is exposed in Armenia around the Tsakhkuniats basement outcrop and Hankavan-Takarly and Agveran massifs [Karapetian et al., 2001]. The unit is composed of a heterogeneous rock sequence, consisting of trondhjemitic, phyillitic, albite-plagiogranitic, plagiogranite- and granite-migmatitic lithologies [Karapetian et al., 2001].

The Eastern Anatolian Accretionary Complex (EAAC) forms a 150-180 km wide, NW-SE extending belt in the middle of the region. It represents the remnant of a huge subduction-accretion complex formed on a north-dipping subduction zone located between the Rhodop-Pontide in the north and the Bitlis-Poturge microcontinent in the south in a period between the Late Cretaceous and Oligocene [Sengor et al., 2003]. It consists of two contrasting rock units:

1. An ophiolitic melange of Late Cretaceous age, and
2. Paleocene to Late Oligocene flysch sequences incorporated into the ophiolitic melange as north-dipping tectonic slices. These flysch slices become younger from north to south and shallower from the Cretaceous to the Oligocene [Sengor et al., 2003]. This observation is consistent with the polarity of the subduction zone that is thought to have created the Eastern Anatolian accretionary prism by underthrusting.

The Bitlis-Poturge Massif is exposed in a NW-SE extending belt along the Eastern Taurus mountain range. It is regarded as the easternmost extremity of the Menderes-Taurus block. It consists of medium-to-highly metamorphosed units.

Shallow marine deposits of Oligocene to Middle Miocene age unconformably overlie these tectonic blocks in some places (not shown in Figs. 4 and 5). Collision-related volcanic units, on the other hand, unconformably overlie both these five tectonic blocks and the aforementioned marine deposits, masking the basement units over great distances (Figs. 4, 5 and 6). These volcanic units become younger to the south/southeast [Keskin, 2003] (Fig. 7).

Results from the Eastern Turkey Seismic Experiment project [ETSE project: Al-Lazki et al., 2003; Gök et al., 2000; 2003; Sandvol et al., 2003] reveal that the mantle lithosphere is either very thin or absent beneath a considerable portion of the region between the Aras river (broadly corresponding to the southern border of the EKP) in the north and the Bitlis-Poturge Massif in the south (Fig. 12). Moreover, crustal thicknesses obtained from receiver function studies indicate a gradual change from < 38 km in the southeast around the southern part of the Bitlis suture zone to 50 km in the north beneath the Erzurum-Kars Plateau [Zor et al., 2003], averaging some 45 km. This indicates that an almost normal-thickness crust overlies an extremely thin mantle lithosphere or perhaps it directly overlies the asthenosphere (see also the cross section in Fig. 8).

These results are also consistent with the study of Hearn & Ni [1994], Maggi et al. [2002] and Maggi & Priestley [2005], suggesting that the temperature of the mantle significantly increased beneath this area. What all these findings may imply is that a huge portion of the mantle lithosphere was lost beneath Eastern Anatolia. As the collision-related volcanic activity is almost coeval with the rapid regional block uplift at ~ 11–13 Ma, catastrophic delamination might have been responsible [Keskin et al., 1998].

3. Geochemical characteristics of the collision-related volcanic units

One of the most striking aspects of Eastern Anatolia is the volume and the compositional variability of collision-related volcanic products erupted during the Neogene and Quaternary. Over half of the region is covered with young volcanic units (Figs. 4, 5 and 6), exceeding 1 km in thickness in places and ranging in age from 11 Ma to present (Figs. 7 and 8).

3.1. Classification

Collision-related volcanic rocks across the region span the whole compositional range from basalts to rhyolites. There is significant variation in lava chemistry in the N-S direction between the Erzurum-Kars Plateau (EKP) in the north and the Mus-Nemrut-Tendurek volcanoes in the south (Figs. 13 and 14). Volcanic units of the Erzurum-Kars Plateau are calc-alkaline (they follow a calc-alkaline trend on the AFM diagram, which is not shown here), while those of the Mus-Nemrut-Tendurek volcanoes are alkaline to mildly alkaline in character. Lavas of the Bingol and Suphan volcanoes display transitional chemical characteristics [Pearce et al., 1990].

Figure 14. Classification of the volcanic units of the Eastern Anatolia region on the K₂O vs silica diagram of Peccerillo & Taylor [1976]. Data for Erzurum-Kars Plateau are from Keskin et al. [1998] and the rest are from Pearce et al. [1990].

3.2. Multi-element patterns

Calc-alkaline volcanic units on the EKP and Mt. Ararat display MORB-normalised patterns typical of continental arc volcanics. They are likely to have been derived from an enriched mantle source containing a distinct subduction signature (SC) (Figs. 15 and 16). This signature decreases to the south and diminishes around Mus-Nemrut-Tendurek volcanoes (Figs. 16 and 8), where the lavas are alkaline and display an intraplate signature [Pearce et al., 1990].

Figure 16. Th/Yb vs. Ta/Yb diagram [after Pearce, 1983] for basic and intermediate lavas (SiO₂ < 60%) from the Eastern Anatolia Collision Zone. Data from the Mus-Nemrut-Tendurek volcanoes are from Pearce et al. [1990]. MM: mantle metasomatism array; SZE: subduction zone enrichment; WPE: within-plate enrichment; UC: upper crustal composition of Taylor & McLennan [1985]; FC: fractional crystallsation vector; AFC: assimilation combined with fractional crsytallisation curve. The FC curve has been modelled for 50% crystallsation of an assemblage consisting of 50% plagioclase and 50% amphibole from a basic magma. The AFC vector has been drawn for an "r" value of 0.3.  Note that lavas of the Erzurum-Kars Plateau contain a distinct subduction zone enrichment (SZE) signature.

3.3. Petrologic modelling

3.3.1. Modelling of source-enrichment

On a Ta/Yb vs. Th/Yb diagram, calc-alkaline lavas of the Erzurum-Kars Plateau display a consistent displacement from the mantle metasomatism array towards higher Th/Yb ratios, forming a sub-parallel trend to the main MM array (Fig. 16a).  This suggests that there was a contribution of a subduction component to the EKP mantle source region. The alkaline basic lavas of the Mus-Nemrut-Tendurek volcanoes show a progressive shift from the MM array with increasing SiO₂ (Fig. 16b). This implies that these lavas might have been derived from an enriched source with or without a slight subduction signature and then evolved through combined assimilation-fractional crystallisation (AFC).

3.3.2. Modelling fractional crystallisation

Crystallization assemblages in the collision-related lavas of the Eastern Anatolia region also display variations across the region. Lavas in the north contain hydrous assemblages (e.g., amphibole) as well as anhydrous minerals, whereas those in the south are dominated by anhydrous minerals. This indicates that lavas are richer in water in the north than in the south, consistent with their subduction signature. Geochemical data are also consistent with these petrographic observations: the lavas containing hydrous minerals (e.g., amphiboles) display distinct depletion with increasing Rb (Fig. 17a) in contrast to the lavas of the southern areas (i.e. Mus-Nemrut-Tendurek; Fig. 17b) which contain anhydrous minerals that exhibit positive to flat gradients [Pearce et al., 1990].

Phase combinations for the vectors:
1. plg_.5+cpx_.3+olv_.2 (B);  2. plg_.5+cpx_.5 (B) or ~plg_.5+cpx_.3+olv_.2 (I);  3. plg_.5+amp_.5 (B) or plg_.5+cpx_.5 (I)
4. plg_.2+opx_.1+cpx_.6+olv.1 (I);  5. plg_.5+cpx_.5 (A);  6. plg_.5+amp_.5 (I);  7. plg_.4+amp_.4+gt_.2 (I);  8. plg_.5+amp_.5 (A);  9. plg_.4+amp_.4+gt_.2 (A).   

3.3.3. Modelling AFC process

AFC modelling results indicate that the degree of magma-crust interaction is larger in the south than in the north (Fig.18). Radiometric dating results indicate that volcanic activity began earlier in the north than in the south, migrating south over time (Figs. 7 and 8).

Figure 18. Diagrams showing the results of assimilation-fractional crystallisation (AFC) modelling. The modelling was conducted using the AFC equations of De Paolo  [1981]. Bulk partition coefficients are inset in the diagrams. Parental magma compositions correspond to the basaltic sample MK139 (Erzurum-Kars Plateau; Keskin et al., 1998) and sample 2362 (Mus-Nemrut-Tendurek: Pearce et al., 1990), and the average crustal composition of Taylor & McLennan [1985].

3.3.4. Modelling partial melting process

Melting modelling (Fig. 19) was carried out using the fractional and batch melting equations of Shaw [1970], the bulk partition coefficient values given in the inset of Fig. 19 (for the source of K_d values, see the caption of Fig. 19) and modal mineralogy of spinel- and garnet-peridotites proposed by Wilson [1989] (see the caption of Fig. 19). The trace element composition of the garnet-peridotite is taken from Frey [1980], while the composition of the spinel-peridotite is the average composition of spinel peridotite xenoliths (see C₀ values in the inset of Fig. 19) in young (i.e., Miocene-Pliocene) alkaline basalts from the Thrace region, NW Turkey [Esenli & Genc, submitted]. Most of the lavas of the EKP plot on the batch-melting curve of the spinel peridotite, while two of them (MK144: the oldest, 11 Ma, sample from the bottom of the Horasan area, and three lava samples from the Middle Stage in the Dumlu area) fall close to the beginning of the fractional melting curve. Therefore, magmas that fed the volcanism on the Erzurum-Kars Plateau seem to have been generated by partial batch melting of a spinel peridotite mantle source. The degree of melting might be quite high for the lavas clustering around the end of the batch-melting curve.

Figure 19. La/Sm vs. Sm/Yb plot showing theoretical melting curves plotted along with the basic samples (SiO₂<57%) from the Erzurum-Kars Plateau. Fractional and batch melting equations of Shaw [1970] were used to construct the melting model. F: weight fraction of melt produced. Modal mineralogy for the spinel- and garnet-peridotites are taken from Wilson [1989], and ol_.66+opx_.24+cpx_.08+sp_.02 and ol_.63+opx_.30+cpx_.02+gt_.05 respectively (ol: olivine, opx:orthopyroxene, cpx: clinopyroxene, sp: spinel, gt: garnet). Trace element composition of the spinel-peridotite (C₀ values) is the average composition of spinel peridotite xenoliths in young (Miocene) alkaline basalts of the Thrace region, NW Turkey [Esenli & Genc, submitted], while that of garnet peridotite is from Frey [1980]. K_ds between the basaltic melts and minerals given in the inset are compiled from Irving & Frey [1978], Fujimaki et al. [1984], McKenzie & O'Nions [1991] and Rollinson [1993]. Bulk partition coefficient (Ds) of each element has been calculated for garnet and spinel peridotite source rock compositions by taking the modal mineralogy of these end members into consideration. The coefficients are given in the inset.

Coherence of the data points from different stages of the volcanism in Fig. 19 indicates that the nature of the mantle source and the mode of the melting process varied little with time. This is also consistent with the results obtained from chondrite-normalized REE and MORB-normalized multi-element patterns (see Fig. 15); basic lavas erupted during the early and late stages display similar patterns all over the EKP. Similar modelling was conducted for the lavas of the Karacadag and Tendurek volcanoes in the south by Sen et al. [2004], and produced similar results.

3.4. Summary of the geophysical and geochemical findings

The geochemical and geophysical findings are presented together in the cross section in Fig. 8. The geochemical evidence presented so far indicates that volcanic products in the north around the EKP and Mt. Ararat are calc-alkaline in character and likely to have been derived from an enriched mantle source containing a distinct subduction signature (Fig. 8). This signature decreases to the south and diminishes around the Mus-Nemrut-Tendurek volcanoes, where the lavas are alkaline and display an intraplate signature. Results from AFC modelling show that the degree of magma-crust interaction is larger in the south than in the north (Fig. 18). Radiometric dating results indicate that volcanic activity begin earlier in the north than in the south, and migrated south over time (Fig. 7).

The striking results of the Eastern Turkey Seismic Experiment project along with the geochemical findings discussed above lead us to question the validity of geodynamic models proposed for the Eastern Anatolian Collision Zone in a number of studies reported in the literature. Therefore, prior to focusing on the issue of what process was responsible for the loss of mantle lithosphere, I first review the competing geodynamic models and their discrepancies.

4. Competing geodynamic models & their discrepancies

Ten different geodynamic models have been proposed for the genesis of collision-related magmatism beneath the Eastern Anatolian collision zone.

Some of the earlier studies [e.g., the tectonic escape model of McKenzie, 1972, and the lithospheric thickening model of Dewey et al., 1986] did not address the problem of why and how huge volumes of magmas were generated beneath the region. Any geodynamic model proposed for the Eastern Anatolian collision zone should, however, answer this critical question since the topographic expression, tectonic elements and magma generation are clearly all associated with the same mechanism.

There appear to be inconsistencies in all models except for the delamination and the slab-steepening & breakoff models. In what follows, each model is discussed thoroughly with its weaknesses and strengths.