Seismic stratigraphy of Late Quaternary deposits on the continental shelf of Antalya Bay, Northeastern Mediterranean

The Late Quaternary sedimentation and structural features of the continental shelf of Antalya Bay (SW Turkey) have been investigated using a single channel high-resolution shallow profiling system. Two seismic units denoted as unit 1 and unit 2 bounded by two major unconformities (R1 and R2) have been identified. R1 and R2 are type-1 sequence boundaries that formed under sub-aerial conditions during the Late Quaternary sea level lowstands. An acoustic basement (AB) is recognized in the study region; it is the oldest unit in the area and is overlain by seismic units 1 and 2. The seismic unit 2 deposited on R2 prior to the Last Glacial Maximum lowstand of the sea level and consists of two subunits (2A and 2B). Subunit 2A is interpreted as a lowstand systems tract. The upper sediments of subunit 2B appear to have been truncated by erosion. Seismic unit 1, the uppermost unit formed on R1 during the Last Glacial Maximum lowstand of the sea level and the following post glacial transgression, is comprised of three subunits 1A, 1B, and 1C. These subunits form the lowstand, transgressive and highstand systems tracts of unit 1, respectively. Off the Aksu River mouth, where the maximum sedimentation occurs, lowstand delta facies (Δ1 and Δ2) formed in both unit 1 and unit 2. Sediment supply and tectonic uplift that interact with glacio-eustatism have also controlled temporal and spatial distributions of Late Quaternary deposits in the shelf of Antalya Bay.