Field Trips
Field trips will be hosted on either side of the 2017 AAPG European Regional Conference. Details of trips below.
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Brief introduction to the Geology of CyprusThe island attracted a lot of attention during the 1960’s when Gass and Smith (1964) reported on a large positive anomaly beneath Troodos which Gass (1968) later interpreted as a piece of Tethyan oceanic crust. Nevertheless, the island of Cyprus consists of a mosaic of topographic terranes which are very much controlled by four distinct geological terrains and their associated tectonic structures: the Troodos Terrane, an autochthonous bedrock terrane which consists of Middle - Upper Turonian to uppermost Santonian ophiolite sequence, the Arakapas Transform Sequence, an off-axis ophiolite sequence, the Mamonia Terrane consisting of Upper Triassic – Cretaceous sedimentary rocks and basalts and finally the Keryneia Terrane, consisting of Carboniferous – Cretaceous limestones and Cretaceous – Pliocene carbonate sediments and greywackes. All four terranes are covered by autochthonous sediments, commonly referred to as the Circum-Troodos sedimentary succession. |
Fig. 1. Major geological terranes of Cyprus. |
Cyprus is no doubt one of the first, if not the first, copper producers in the world, where metallic copper was produced through mining and smelting of cupriferous sulphide deposits. Early archeological investigations at Ambelikou, in the Skouriotissa mining area dated mining activities back to 2760 B.C. whereas the first copper artefact found on the island, a hair ornament, dates to around 2.800 B.C.. Ample ancient historical references and archaeological findings evident the early development and gradual expansion of the copper industry in Cyprus which lasted for more than 3,000 years. Ancient mining workings such as shafts and galleries can be found scattered across the island. However, the most impressive evidence of the extent of the ancient copper industry in Cyprus is the widespread occurrence of ancient slag heaps. More than 110 such heaps have been found, scattered mostly on the pillow lava outcrops in the periphery of the Troodos Ophiolite. |
Fig. 2. Simplified geological map of Cyprus |
Fig 3. Simplified cross section from Pafos (left) to Lefkosia (right) through Troodos |
rachel |
Field Trip 1: The Circum - Troodos Sediments |
Tuesday 17th January | 08:00 - 17:30
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Map of field trip route and stops |
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Map of field trip route and stops |
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Field Trip 2: The Troodos Ophiolite Complex |
Friday 20th January | 08:00 - 17:30
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Map of field trip route and stops |
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Field Trip 3: The allochthonous Mamonia Complex and some important autochthonous sediments |
Friday 20th January | 08:00 - 18:30
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Map of field trip route and stops |
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Register now!! |