Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Keskin M.(Yürütücü), Koral H., Aysal N., Yılmaz İ., Hanilçi N., Kasapçı C., et al.
TÜBİTAK Uluslararası İkili İşbirliği Projesi, 2555 - Gürcistan Shota Rustaveli Gürcü Ulusal Bilim Vakfı (SRGNSF) ile İkili İşbirliği Programı, 2020 - 2022
The Erzurum‐Kars (NE Anatolia) and the Samtskhe‐Javakheti (SW Georgia) Plateaus are parts
of the same extensive volcanic province, formed by the eruptions during the Late Cenozoic
period in response to the continental collision processes between Arabia and Eurasia after
the closure of the Neo Tethys Ocean ~20 Ma. They span a distance almost over 300 km from
the city of Erzurum in E Anatolia to the SW of the Lesser Caucasus mountain range in Georgia,
covering a great portion of the region with a ~20,000 km2 area. They unconformably sit on all
the formations older than Middle Miocene. It should be noted from the outset that the
Erzurum‐Kars (EKP) and the Samtskhe‐Javakheti (SJP) plateaus have not been studied
thoroughly as a single unit*. Recent studies on the SJP by the Georgian researchers have
revealed the presence of gold mineralization in high concentrations in hydrothermally
altered pyroclastic layers, which are thought to be erupted from a large caldera structure.
Interestingly, this caldera structure is located almost on the Turkish‐Georgian state border.
Mehmet Keskin (i.e. The Turkish Principle investigator of the proposed project) had noticed
the continuation of the products of that caldera close to the Georgian border in Turkey during
his previous field studies, but did not have a chance to study it in detail. There are several
caldera structures in NE Anatolia, which produced extensive ignimbrite layers. Some of them
are partly or completely buried by Pliocene basaltic plateaus. One of the well‐exposed
calderas is located between Ağrı and Erciş, named as the Ağırkaya caldera*. We aim to study
volcano‐stratigraphy, petrography and geochemistry of the extensive volcanic plateaus and
volcanoes on both sides of the Turkish‐Georgian State border, with a special focus on the
distribution of the unitsin time and space, to reveal the underlying magmatic and geodynamic
processes. Within the scope of this project we also aim to define the type and relative
importance of magma chamber processes in order to understand the link between the
formation of ores and these processes with special reference to the “gold mineralization” in
the region, as well as to determine the role of neotectonic structures in the localisation of
eruptions and deformation of volcanic units. Our final goal in this project is to test competing
geodynamic models proposed for the region, which governed magma evolution and crustal
deformation. The proposed project will be the first collaborative cross‐border study on
collision‐related magmatism, and the related ore mineralisation across NE Turkey and SW
Georgia on the Erzurum‐Kars, the Samtskhe‐Javakheti volcanic plateaus and the neighbouring
areas by the Georgian and Turkish research groups. As the members of the Georgian and
Turkish research teams, we believe it is high time that we started a joint project on these
issues.