Seismic Stratigraphy of Offshore Esenköy, Eastern Sea of Marmara; Türkiye

Year 2025, Volume: 12 Issue: 2, 58 - 66, 30.06.2025

Hande Aykurt Vardar

Abstract

This study presents a high-resolution seismic stratigraphic and structural interpretation of the Esenköy offshore which located at the northern margin of the Armutlu Peninsula in the Sea of Marmara. Four distinct seismic units (U1–U4) were identified based on variations in reflection characteristics, continuity, depositional and truncation geometries. Unit U1 is characterized by weak, parallel reflections, thinning northward, while U2 displays sigmoid clinoforms that thicken in the same direction. Unit U3 shows parallel to semi-parallel reflections and is marked by high-amplitude boundaries, whereas the lowermost unit, U4, exhibits chaotic to discontinuous reflectors indicative of older or tectonically influenced deposits. Seismic profiles reveal marked changes from south to north, including the development of canyon head structures that incise into the upper surface of U3 without affecting deeper units. Depth structure and thickness maps indicate that tectonic activity, sediment input variability, and slope morphology play key roles in controlling the distribution and depositions of these units. The results highlight the combined influence of tectonic structuring, sedimentary processes, and morphological evolution in shaping the stratigraphy of this tectonically active marine margin.

Keywords

Seismic Stratigraphy, Western Marmara Sea, Submarine Canyon

References

• Aiello, G., Giordano, L., and Giordano, F. (2016). High-resolution seismic stratigraphy of the Gulf of Pozzuoli (Naples Bay) and relationships with submarine volcanic setting of the Phlegrean Fields volcanic complex. Rendiconti Lincei. Scienze Fisiche e Naturali, 27, 775–801. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12210-016-0573-z
• Aksu, A. E., Hiscott, R. N., and Yaltırak, C. (2016). Early Holocene age and provenance of a mid-shelf delta lobe south of the Strait of Bosphorus, Turkey, and its links to vigorous Black Sea outflow. Marine Geology, 380, 113–137.
• Aksu, A. E., Hiscott, R. N., and Yaşar, D. (1999). Oscillating Quaternary water levels of the Marmara Sea and vigorous outflow into the Aegean Sea from the Marmara Sea–Black Sea drainage corridor. Marine Geology, 153(1–4), 275–302.
• Alavi, S. N., Okyar, M., and Timur, K. (1989). Late Quaternary sedimentation in the Strait of Bosphorus: High resolution seismic profiling. Marine Geology, 89, 185–205. Alp, H., Vardar, D., Alpar, B., and Ustaömer, T. (2018). Seismic evidence for change of the tectonic regime in Messinian, northern Marmara Sea, Turkey. Journal of Asian Earth Sciences, 151, 40–53.
• Çağatay, M. N., Eriş, K., Ryan, W. B. F., Sancar, Ü., Polonia, A., Akçer, S., Biltekin, D., Gasperini, L., Görür, N., Lericolais, G., and Bard, E. (2009). Late Pleistocene–Holocene evolution of the northern shelf of the Sea of Marmara. Marine Geology, 265, 87–100.
• Çağatay, M. N., Görür, N., Algan, O., Eastoe, C., Tchapalyga, A., Ongan, D., Kuhn, T., and Kuşcu, İ. (2000). Late glacial-Holocene palaeoceanography of the Sea of Marmara: Timing of connections with the Mediterranean and Black Seas. Marine Geology, 167, 191–206.
• Çağatay, M. N., Görür, N., Polonia, A., Demirbağ, E., Sakınç, M., Cormier, M. H., Copotondi, L., McHugh, C., Emre, Ö., and Eriş, K. (2003). Sea-level changes and depositional environments in the İzmit Gulf, eastern Marmara Sea, during the late glacial-Holocene period. Marine Geology, 202, 159–173. Çağatay, M. N., Wulf, S., Sancar, Ü., Özmaral, A., Vidal, L., Henry, P., and Gasperini, L. (2015). The tephra record from the Sea of Marmara for the last ca. 70 ka and its palaeoceanographic implications. Marine Geology, 361, 96–110.
• Cattaneo, A., and Steel, R. J. (2003). Transgressive deposits: A review of their variability. Earth-Science Reviews, 62(3–4), 187–228. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0012-8252(02)00134-4
• Covault, J. A. (2011). Submarine fans and canyon-channel systems: A review of processes, products, and models. Nature Education Knowledge, 3(10), 4. Eriş, K. K., Çağatay, M. N., Akçer, S., Gasperini, L., and Mart, Y. (2011). Late glacial to Holocene sea-level changes in the Sea of Marmara: New evidence from high resolution seismics and core studies. Geo-Marine Letters, 31, 1–18. Eriş, K. K., Ryan, W. B. F., Çağatay, M. N., Sancar, Ü., Lericolais, G., Menot, G., and Bard, E. (2007). The timing and evolution of the post-glacial transgression across the Sea of Marmara shelf south of Istanbul. Marine Geology, 243, 57–76.
• Gökasan, E., Algan, O., Tur, H., Meriç, E., Türker, A., and Şimşek, M. (2005). Delta formation at the southern entrance of Istanbul Strait (Marmara Sea, Turkey): A new interpretation based on high-resolution seismic stratigraphy. Geo-Marine Letters, 25, 370–377.
• Gökasan, E., Ustaömer, T., Gazioğlu, C., Yucel, Z. Y., Öztürk, K., Tur, H., Ecevitoğlu, B. & Tok, B. (2003). Morpho-tectonic evolution of the Marmara Sea inferred from multi-beam bathymetric and seismic data. Geo-Marine Letters, 23, 19-33.
• Gong, C., Wang, Y., Zhu, W., Li, W., Xu, Q., and Zhang, J. (2011). The Central Submarine Canyon in the Qiongdongnan Basin, northwestern South China Sea: Architecture, sequence stratigraphy, and depositional processes. Marine and Petroleum Geology, 28(9), 1690–1702. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpetgeo.2011.03.010
• Hiscott, R. N., Aksu, A. E., Yaşar, D., Kaminski, M. A., Mudie, P. J., Kostylev, V. E., MacDonald, J. C., Isler, F. I., and Lord, A. R. (2002). Deltas south of the Bosphorus Strait record persistent Black Sea outflow to the Marmara Sea since 10 ka. Marine Geology, 190, 95–118. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0025-3227(02)00344-4
• Köprülü, K., Alpar, B., and Vardar, D. (2016). Last Glacial–Holocene stratigraphic development at the Marmara Sea exit of the Bosphorus Strait, Turkey. Marine Geophysical Research, 37, 21–35.
• Li, X. S., Zhou, Q. J., Su, T. Y., Liu, L. J., Gao, S. and Zhou, S. W. (2016). Slope-confined submarine canyons in the Baiyun deep-water area, northern South China Sea: variation in their modern morphology. Marine Geophysical Research, 37, 95–112. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11001-016-9269-0 Marathon Petroleum Turkey (1976) Marmara–1. Final well report, p 26
• NASA/METI/AIST/Japan Spacesystems, and U.S./Japan ASTER Science Team. (2011). ASTER Global Digital Elevation Model V2 (GDEM). NASA EOSDIS Land Processes DAAC. https://doi.org/10.5067/ASTER/ASTGTM.002
• Nasıf, A., Dondurur, D., and Vardar, D. (2019). Stratigraphical and morphological aspects of the northern Marmara shelf based on seismic data. Journal of Earth System Science, 128, 54.
• Normark, W. R., and Posamentier, H. (1993). Turbidite systems: State of the art and future directions. Reviews of Geophysics, 31, 91–116.
• Posamentier, H. W., and Vail, P. R. (1988). Eustatic controls on clastic deposition II—Sequence and systems tract models. In C. Wilgus et al. (Eds.), Sea-level changes: An integrated approach (pp. 125–154). Society of Economic Paleontologists and Mineralogists (SEPM).
• Rangin, C., Demirbağ, E., Imren, C., Crusson, A., Normand, A., Le Drezen, E., and Le Bot, A. (2002). Marine Atlas of the Sea of Marmara (Turkey). IFREMER. ISBN: 2-84433-068-1.
• Stevenson, C. J., Jackson, C. A.-L., Hodgson, D. M., Hubbard, S. M., and Eggenhuisen, J. T. (2015). Deep water sediment bypass. Journal of Sedimentary Research , doi: 10.2110/jsr.2015.
• Vardar, D. (2019). Morphological definition of the North Mral Canyon in the Sea of Marmara. Arabian Journal of Geosciences, 12, 3.
• Vardar, D., Alp, H., and Alpar, B. (2018). Seismic stratigraphy and depositional history of the Büyükçekmece Bay since latest Pleistocene, Marmara Sea, Turkey. Journal of Earth System Science, 127, 13.
• Vardar, D., Alp, H., Demirel, S., Aykurt Vardar, H., and Alpar, B. (2021). Seismic stratigraphy of the north-western Sea of Marmara shelf along the North Anatolian Fault system. Annals of Geophysics, 64(2).
• Vardar, D., and Aykurt Vardar, H. (2014). Plio-Quaternary sandy deposits and microbial buildups at the southern Marmara shelf near shoreface area, Turkey. International Journal of Environmental Geoinformatics, 1, 40–47.
• Vardar, D., and Aykurt Vardar, H. (2024). Seismic stratigraphy of the Bandırma Bay since sea-level lowstand, Sea of Marmara, Türkiye. Geo-Marine Letters, 44(3).
• Vardar, D., Öztürk, K., Yaltırak, C., and Tur, H. (2014). Late Pleistocene–Holocene evolution of the southern Marmara shelf and sub-basins: Middle strand of the North Anatolian Fault, southern Marmara Sea, Turkey. Marine Geophysical Research, 35, 69–85.
• Vidal, L., Menot, G., Joly, C., Bruneton, H., Rostek, F., Çağatay, M. N., Major, C., and Bard, E. (2010). Hydrology in the Sea of Marmara during the last 23 ka: Implications for timing of Black Sea connections and sapropel deposition. Paleoceanography, 25.