Influence of regional tectonics and geological structures on marble quarry operation: An example from Antalya region

In the study area, Korkuteli and surrounding is away from 40-50 km SW of Antalya region, nowadays, there are more than ten marble quarries are being operated. These quarries occupy between Menderes massif and Bey Dağları units in where Lycian Nappes have been observed. In the past and present, origin of the alloch-thon Lycian nappes and its movement direction have been studied and discussed by different researchers. Ly-cian nappes have an important spot to study for scientists from the scope of geological and tectonic point. In-vestigated area has demonstrated heavily and different active tectonics events in the past. These activities are as chronologically; Lycian nappes have been overlaid on West Tauride from NW to SE in Late Cretaceous-Late Miocene. There were contractional deformation in West and SW of Turkey and since Miocene, continen-tal extension tectonics have been occurred. Geological and tectonic situation of the region was formed by these events that caused to breaking and crashing of the occupied rock masses.
Even though Lycian nappes mainly consist of five units, in the study area, two units of Lycian nappes have been observed. One of them is Ophiolitic mélange (Upper Cretaceous) and Mesozoic carbonates overlaid on these mélange as tectonically. Ophiolitic mélange composed of neritic limestone and siliceous pelagic lime-stone, mudstone, serpentinite, amphibolite, basalts, gabbro and volcano-clastic rocks. Ages of neritic lime-stones and pelagic limestones within ophiolitic mélange are Middle Triassic-Jurassic and Jurassic-Cretaceous in order. In the area, Mesozoic carbonates have usually been observed massif with gray color but also they could be seen in thick bedded as regionally. Origin of Mesozoic carbonates comes from Bey Dağları carbonate plat-forms. In the investigated area, quarry operations are being performed on these two different carbonate. Oph-iolite, underlying Mesozoic carbonate, became highly serpentinization along the two units contact. Especially where the slope angle is high, big carbonate blocks break off and sliding through toe of the slope due to gravi-tational action. Additionally, climatic problems obstacle for quarrying of limestone, since Mesozoic carbonates units have quite higher elevation. Carbonate units that occupies in ophiolitic mélange demonstrates heavily tectonics affects. In investigated area, direction of joints and joint sets are NW-SE and NE-SW that have sig-nificant affect on tectono-morphological development of the region. These joint sets and systems have worst affect on lithology of quarries and causes of jointed structures in the area.