Detrital supply from subduction/accretion complexes to the Eocene-Oligocene post-collisional southern Thrace Basin (NW Turkey and NE Greece)

The application of detailed petrographic observations for discriminating paleo- vs. neovolcanic and penecontemporaneous vs. noncoeval terrigenous sands lead to a substantial revision of the geodynamic interpretation of the Thrace Basin, formerly considered a forearc basin. A significant penecontemporaneous volcanic component is common in the Upper Eocene-Lower Oligocene section and can be related to extensive post-collisional volcanism following the closure of the Vardar-Ä°zmir-Ankara ocean. The coexistence of pure neovolcanic layers (crystal tuffs and cinerites) and hybrid arenites rich in penecontemporaneous carbonate grains with sands derived from a continental basement and ophiolitic suites indicates the presence of episutural basins where shallow-water carbonates were deposited on top of the exhuming subduction-accretion prism. These carbonates were mixed with penecontemporaneous neovolcanic and terrigeneous components and redeposited in deeper marine environments.