Fauna and flora of drilling and core data from the Ä°znik Lake: The Marmara and the Black Sea connection

Geochronological ages determined by the 14C method from the deposits occurring at 53-54 m above present sea level in the İznik Lake indicate the periods of connection via Iznik Lake during 33,630 to 32,920 cal BP (SK-1) and BP 27,335 to 27,070 cal BP (SK-2). When the position of the deposits is compared with the previously available Late Pleistocene 14C data obtained from the molluscs identified in the nearby Gemlik Gulf at −76 m present water depth and also with the early Khazarian (Middle Pleistocene) age data on the molusc fauna at 130-150 m heights of uppermost terraces above present sea level to NW of the lake, we suggest the influence of a neo-tectonic regime for the occurrence of comparable age deposits at different levels in the region. It may be proposed that a vertical displacement in the order of a 100 m occurred since the late Pleistocene in the İznik Lake area and the lake acquired its present features as a result of the tectonic movements.