Structure and tectonics of the eastern Cyprean Arc

The geometry and nature of the eastern segment of the Cyprean Arc are little understood. Several hypotheses have been put forward to explain the tectonic situation there. Recent marine geophysical data for this region mapped several deep and shallow structural elements. The most prominent element is a ridge, the Latakia Ridge, which extends from the Syrian coast near Latakia south-westward, to meet with an east-west trending bathymetric escarpment east of the Hecateus Ridge. The new seismic profiles suggest that these two elements mark the present plate boundary along the eastern Cyprean Arc. The Latakia Ridge is a young and still active feature. It was formed by southward migration of the plate boundary. The ridge probably originated as a large thrust sheet, which later, when the convergence direction was changed, became a zone of wrench faulting. The ridge is still forming today and serves as a dam to the sediments north of it. The wrench faulting activity is more pronounced in the eastern segment of the ridge.