Field Program: is contingent on funding by the U.S. National Science Foundation.
The field workshop to the Menderes Massif of Turkey will be hosted by Pamukkale University in Denizli Turkey in the late summer.
Day 1-2 (Ankara): Participants would fly into Ankara, where they will be greeted by Dr. Elizabeth Catlos, Dr. Ibrahim Cemen, or Ms. Courteney Baker (graduate student). Link here for visa requirements.
Day 3-4 (Ankara-Denizli): All participants will drive from Ankara to Denizli, which takes anywhere from 6 to 10 hours, depending on the number of stops. One stop will be made to see the Afyon volcanic field. Afyon is an important Turkish historical center, and the well-developed tourist road passes through remnants of rock monuments and caves.
The participants would arrive at Pamukkale University guesthouse the evening. They would share rooms that are equipped with air conditioning, private bathroom, refrigerator, ample water bottles, phone, internet access, Turkish television, hair dryer, and daily housekeeping. A fitness center is located nearby, and includes a track with tennis and basketball courts, Olympic style pool, and weight room. The participants can walk around the track or choose to stroll around the well-maintained university grounds.
During the afternoon day 4, the participants would visit Pamukkale (Cotton Palace) and the ancient city of Hierapolis. Pamukkale is known for its thermal waters that circulate through faults and are heated by magmatic intrusions. At the end of the 2nd century B.C. the dynasty of the Attalids, the kings of Pergamon, established the thermal spa of Hierapolis. The ruins of the baths, temples and other monuments will be visited. The carbonate accumulations provide an excellent opportunity to see different state-of-aggregations that can be photographed and later shown in geology courses. The site also provides a starting point for discussions regarding environmental issues and natural resources. The site was unprotected for many years and threats to its preservation include climate change, natural disasters, and tourism. More than one million tourists every year constitute a danger for conservation of the site (UNESCO, 2006).
Day 5 (Simav and Usak): Detachment faults are central to the workshop, because they represent the main exhumation mechanism. The participants would drive to the northern Menderes Massif to examine the Simav Detachment and associate structures. The drive will be ~6 hours from Denizli. Metamorphic rocks in the footwall of the detachment will be examined. A major discussion topic will be the comparison of the Simav structure to major detachments of the US Basin and Range (e.g., Whipple Mountain Detachment in Arizona, Black Mountain and Boundary Canyon Detachments of the Death Valley). We will also examine extensional sediments in the north-trending Usak-Gure, Selendi, and Gordes, and Demirci basins of the northern Menderes Massif. We will compare these syn-extensional sediments to those of the southern US Basin and Range.
On the evening of day 5, the participants will stay in the city of Usak in the Otel Dulgeroglu. This historical hotel was designed by a French architect inaugurated in 1898. Participants will enter the hotel through what was once an entrance for carriages. The hotel is large, and sets on a triangular city block. The interior columns are beautifully ornamented granite and have been restored to their original form in 1996. The hotel is ideal for continuing conference participation well through the evening hours, and allows the participants to discover Turkish history. Rooms are well equipped, beautifully restored, and air-conditioned.
Day 6 (Alasehir-Denizli): The participants will travel to the Central Menderes Massif to examine north-dipping Alasehir Detachment . The participants can photograph well-developed extensional folds on the hanging wall of the Alasehir detachment. These photographs can be used for a variety of geosciences courses (e.g., structural geology, tectonics, elementary petrology, introductory geology). These structures will be compared to their counterparts in the Basin and Range. We will also examine the metamorphic and igneous rocks in the footwall of the Alasehir detachment, including the Salihli and Turgutlu granites, two best-developed extensional granites in the Menderes Massif.
The detachment is located in close proximity to the historical site of Sardis, once the capitol of the ancient Kingdom of Lydia, ruled by King Croesus (560-546 BC). This city is considered one of the most important archaeological sites of western Turkey. Its proximity to the Alasehir detachment leads to speculation about its demise and discussions about the importance of understanding historical seismicity. Big earthquakes destroyed the city, the one of 17 AD being the most historically recorded. After the visit to Sardis, we can briefly visit the south dipping Buyuk Menderes detachment. This will lead to discussions about rolling hinge models of the extension as they apply to the Central Menderes Massif and the southern Basins and Ranges. The participants will spend the evening at Pamukkale University Guesthouse in Denizli.
Day 7-8 (Southern Menderes, Gulluk): This day will be spent traveling to the South West Anatolia Shear Zone, which is similar in its tectonic setting to the Eastern California Shear Zone. Blueschists and ophioloites are well-exposed on the eastern side of the South West Anatolia Shear Zone.
The next two evenings will be spent at the Corinthia Labranda Hotel in Gulluk. This superb hotel is located on the coast of the Aegean and has all of the amenities of a 4 star property at a reasonable cost. The hotel includes facilities for a conference, and the ability to provide gala dinners and special events with a beautiful view of Mandalya Bay.
Day 8 will be spent developing ideas for research proposals and projects. We anticipate creating four different working groups that would meet for ½ day: 1) Structural geology + field geology, 2) Metamorphic and igneous mineralogy + petrology + geochronology, 3) Tectonics + geophysics, and 4) Sedimentary geology. These groups will be tasked with developing ideas for future submissions to NSF using information developed during the Harrington Symposium as a starting point for discussion. During the afternoon, the groups would meet to discuss and evaluate their future plans.
Day 9 (Ankara): The participants would return this day to Ankara to fly back to their home institutions. However, if the participants choose, they visit other field destinations or book expeditions to other tourist destinations nearby (e.g., Ephesus, Bodrum castle, etc). The Bodrum International airport is only 8 km from Gulluk.