**1. Introduction**

The marine and terrestrial geological settings influence each other in the coastal areas [1, 2]. The Aegean Sea and its onshore areas have raised a substantial interest of the geologists and geomorphologists, since this region is under a north–south tectonic extension, with the formation of hosts and grabens and occurrence of high seismic activity [3]. These very active tectonics, together with postglacial sea level rise, modified the geomorphological evolution of the Aegean coastal area, driving intensive sediment transport along the main river systems (e.g., Büyük Menderes), high amount of sediment accumulation with delta formations, and progradational deltaic processes [4, 5]. Accordingly, the late Quaternary geomorphological development of the eastern coast of the sea witnessed the formation of various inland or transitional basins.

**Figure 1.** *Lake Bafa bathymetric map showing the piston core and drill core locations.*

As a Middle to Late Holocene age coastal lacustrine basin formed in this specific geological area, Lake Bafa shows a complicated paleoenvironmental and paleoecological history [6, 7] (**Figure 1**). The lake evolved by the progradation of the Büyük Menderes River (Maiandros, Maeander) delta and the closure of the former Latmian Gulf during the late glacial-Holocene transgression [6]. It was subjected to ecological changes from a coastal marine inlet to a lagoon and finally to a completely isolated lake [6, 8, 9]. From this point of view, Lake Bafa provides an important sedimentary archive of these ecosystem changes and associated physical–chemical shifts, which are the main objectives of this study. To achieve these objectives, we carried out lithological descriptions and sedimentological and geochemical analyses of various sediment cores from the lake. The use of specific element concentrations and their ratios and organic geochemical analyses allowed us to reconstruct the past organic matter productivity-preservation rates, the water column chemistry, and the clastic material supply signals [10–12].

Pyrolysis VI measurements are performed in Turkish Petroleum Cooperation Lab-

From a geologic point of view, Western Anatolia and the Aegean Regions repre-

, and a maximum depth of 20 m. The

**Conventional age 2 Sigma calibration**

Cal AD 780 to 1065 (Cal BP 170 to 885)

(Cal BP 2310)

Cal BC 30 to AD 295 (Cal BP 1980 to 1655)

Cal BC 910 to 655 (Cal BP 2860 to 2605)

Cal BC 645 to 230 (Cal BP 2595 to 2180)

1570 +/ 30 BP (1457 70 adjusted for local reservoir correction)

2330 +/ 30 BP (2217 70 adjusted for local reservoir correction)

(2957 70 adjusted for local reservoir correction)

(2667 70 adjusted for local reservoir correction)

1.6 2345 BP+/ 30 BP Cal BC 360

sent a broad extensional zone [16], stretching from Bulgaria to the north to the Hellenic arc to the south [17]. The Western Anatolian region is characterized by several approximately E-W trending, subparallel, normal fault zones, bordering a set of grabens and intervening horst blocks. The Lake Bafa is located on the Büyük Menderes Graben zone [18], which is a seismically active depositional basin [19]. The graben was opened in the Paleozoic–Mesozoic rocks of the Menderes Massif and Lycian Nappes during the Early Miocene [19–21]. The catchment mainly consists of metamorphic bedrocks belonging to the Menderes Massif. The basin-fill deposits, partly Early Miocene lacustrine limestones and the overlying units of Pliocene and Quaternary clastics, overlie the bedrocks [19]. The Lake Bafa formed as an alluvial set lake in the Western Anatolia because of the closure of the ancient Latmos Gulf, caused by the delta progradation of the Büyük Menderes River [6, 16]. The Holocene deposits of the Büyük Menderes River form an alluvial delta plain, separating the Lake Bafa from the Aegean Sea at around A.D. 1500 [6, 22]. The present- day lacustrine basin is currently at 2 m above sea level (masl) (**Figure 1**). The modern basin of the lake has a

, a volume of 692 hm3

lake is oligo-mesotrophic with annual average values of total nitrogen 0.45 mg/L, total phosphorus 1.3 mg/L, and total dissolved oxygen 7.49 mg/L [23, 24]. Additional to surface inflows, the main recharging inlet is Büyük Menderes River [22, 25].

Based on visual observations, such as lithology, color, water content, grain size distributions, and fossil content, sediment core and swamp section were subdivided into several lithostratigraphical units (BAF37, five litho-zones; BS, four litho-zones).

oratories.

**Table 1.**

**Submitter Nr.**

BAF37/2 72– 73cm

BAF37/P3– 96

BAF37/4 19–20cm

BS-FM/9 K-BS 14–7 cm

BS-9 K- 65– 67 cm

**Material pretreatment**

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.85589*

(Shell): acid etch

(Shell): acid etch

(Shell): acid etch

(Shell): acid etch

(Shell): acid etch

**Measured age**

1220 +/ 30 BP

2250+/ 30 BP

1980 +/ 30 BP

2450+/ 30 BP

*AMS radiocarbon ages, calibrated ages, and description of the related sediment samples.*

**13C/ 12C**

*"Geo-archives of a Coastal Lacustrine Eco-system": Lake Bafa (Mediterranean Sea)*

3.9 o/oo

3.6 o/oo

2710 3.1 3070 +/ 30 BP

4.7 2780 +/ 30 BP

surface area of 315 km2

**4. Lithostratigraphy**

**31**

**3. Geological setting and limnology**
