On the origin of the Bosphorus

Gokasan E., Demirbag E., Oktay F., Ecevitoglu B., Simsek M., Yuce H.

MARINE GEOLOGY, vol.140, pp.183-199, 1997 (SCI-Expanded) identifier identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 140
  • Publication Date: 1997
  • Doi Number: 10.1016/s0025-3227(97)00022-4
  • Journal Name: MARINE GEOLOGY
  • Journal Indexes: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus
  • Page Numbers: pp.183-199
  • Istanbul University Affiliated: No

Abstract

The Palaeozoic-Upper Cretaceous basement palaeomorphology of the Bosphorus (the Strait of Istanbul) bears the evidence of a valley of a palaeostream running to the Black Sea in the north, a palaeobasin deeper than -160 m opening to the Sea of Marmara in the south, and a barrier between these two features. This suggest that the northern part of the Bosphorus was formed mainly by fluvial activity, whereas the southern part developed as a basin by faulting. The recent sediment thickness exceeds 130 m in the basin, indicating that the southern part of the Bosphorus was once essentially depositional rather than an erosional.