SASA Guest: lecture by Prof. Celâl Şengör

As part of the SASA Guest program, Prof. Celâl Şengör of the Istanbul Technical University, a SASA foreign associate member, delivered the lecture, “The Geology of the Altaids”, at the SASA Grand Hall on Monday, Dec. 24.

“The Altaids are one of the largest superorogens in the world, comprising closely connected geological complexes that generated the major part of northern Asia during the Paleozoic and the early and middle Mesozoic. This superorogen complex developed as a result of the creation of two large systems of island arcs, called Kipchak and Tuva Mongol, respectively. Based on analyses of over 1,000 pieces of data on the age of zircons in magmatic and some metamorphic rocks in the Altaids, it has been concluded that there was constant activity of the island arcs from the Ediacaran (end of Proterozoic) to the early Cretaceous period. The Altaids were one of the key factors in the generation of the continental crust in the first half of the Phanerozoic”, explains Academician Vidojko Jović, president of the organizing committee of the event.