Turbidites and contourites of the Palaeogene Lefkara Formation, southern Cyprus

Deposition of the Palaeogene to early Neogene calcareous and siliceous deep-water sediments of the Lefkara Formation in Cyprus was successively dominated by pelagic, turbidity current, a return to pelagic and then bottom-current processes. Sedimentation occurred on the distal parts of a carbonate slope-apron to basin plain setting located in the western arm of the Tethys Ocean. The early phase of sedimentation directly overlying ocean crust, ridge-derived volcaniclastics and chemogenic sediments, was dominated by pelagic deposition of marl, marly chalk and radiolarian-rich calcilutite. This was followed by a gradual increase in the influx of biogenic turbidites (forming both chalk and chert deposits) from the north during the Early and Middle Eocene period, primarily as a response to tectonic uplift of the Kyrenia Range. Slower rates of sedimentation returned during the Late Eocene to Early Miocene, together with significant hiatuses in the sedimentary record. Together these reflect the cessation of turbidity current input, continued pelagic deposition and the onset of bottom-current influence on sedimentation. A combination of subtle features and supporting evidence allows the recognition of contourites in all the sections studied, together with the interaction of turbidity current and bottom-current processes in parts of the Lefkara Formation.