Ore mineralization related to geological evolution of the Karkonosze–Izera Massif (the Sudetes,Poland) — Towards a model

The Karkonosze–Izera Massif is a large tectonic unit located in the northern periphery of the Bohemian Massif. It includes the Variscan Karkonosze Granite (about 328–304 Ma) surrounded by the following four older units:

• -Izera–Kowary (the Early Paleozoic continental crust of the Saxothuringian Basin),
• -Ještĕd (the Middle Devonian to Lower Viséan sedimentary succession deposited on the NE passive margin of the Saxothuringian Terrane), out of the present study area,
• -Southern Karkonosze (metamorphosed sediments and volcanics filling the Saxothuringian Basin), out of the present study area,
• -Leszczyniec (Early Ordovician, obducted fragment of Saxothuringian Basin sea floor).

The authors present a genetic model of ore mineralization in the Karkonosze–Izera Massif, in which ore deposits and ore minerals occurrences are related to the successive episodes of the geological history of the Karkonosze–Izera Massif:

• -formation of the Saxothuringian Basin and its passive continental margin (about 500–490 Ma)
• -Variscan thermal events:
  • -regional metamorphism (360–340 Ma)
  • -Karkonosze Granite intrusion (328–304 Ma)
• -Late Cretaceous and Neogene-to-Recent hypergenic processes.

The oldest ore deposits and ore minerals occurrences of the Karkonosze–Izera Massif are represented by pyrite and magnetite deposits hosted in the Leszczyniec Unit as well as by magnetite deposit and, presumably, by a small part of tin mineralization hosted in the Izera–Kowary Unit. All these deposits and occurrences were subjected to the pre-Variscan regional metamorphism.Most of the Karkonosze–Izera Massif ore deposits and occurrences are related to the Karkonosze Granite intrusion. This group includes a spatially diversified assemblage of small ore deposits and ore mineral occurrences of: Fe, Cu, Sn, As, U, Co, Au, Ag, Pb, Ni, Bi, Zn, Sb, Se, S, Th, REE, Mo, W and Hg located within the granite and in granite-related pegmatites, in the close contact aureole of the granite and within the metamorphic envelope, at various distances from the granite. Assuming world standards, all these deposits are now uneconomic. Various age determinations indicated that ore formation connected with the Karkonosze Granite might have taken place mostly between about 326 and 270 Ma.The last ore-forming episode in the Karkonosze–Izera Massif is related to hypergenic processes, particularly important in the northern part of the massif, in the Izera–Kowary Unit where some uranium deposits and occurrences resulted from the infiltration of ore solutions that originated from the weathering of pre-existing accumulations of uranium minerals. A separate problem is the presence of oxidation zones of ore deposits and occurrences, both the fossil and the recent.A full list of ore minerals identified in described deposits and occurrences of the Karkonosze–Izera Massif together with relevant, key references is presented in the form of an appendix.     

Comment on D?rr and Zulauf: Elevator tectonics and orogenic collapse of a Tibetan-style plateau in the European Variscides: the role of the Bohemian shear zone. Int J Earth Sci (Geol Rundsch) (2010) 99: 299–325

The present comment disproves the tectonic model of a late Devonian/early Carboniferous Tibetan-style collisional plateau in the Teplá-Barrandean (TB) part of the Bohemian Massif, which later collapsed by thermal weakening of the underlying crust. Contrary to this model, the TB neither reveals major crustal thickening nor uplift and erosion, and eastern continuations of the TB were, during the relevant time-span, areas of open marine sedimentation. Late Devonian/early Carboniferous marine sediments widespread also in the Armorican and Central Massifs of France testify to low topography in central parts of the Variscan orogen. Notional traces of a Permo-Carboniferous ice cap on the French Massif Central do not support the plateau model, because they are questionable and much younger than the inferred plateau stage of the TB. The relative uplift of high-grade metamorphic rocks to the NW and the SE of the TB is not due to sinking of an elevated TB, but, instead, to the hydraulic and buoyant expulsion of HP material from the Saxo-Thuringian and Moldanubian subduction channels. The rise of lower-grade HT rocks along the southwestern margin of the Bohemian Massif was effected by late Carboniferous transpression. The high temperature and the resulting low viscosity of the rising materials were probably not caused by Variscan mantle delamination, but relate to lithospheric thinning and heating at the tip of the westward propagating Tethys Rift.     

Uplift and late orogenic deformation of the Central European Variscan belt as revealed by sediment provenance and structural record in the Carboniferous foreland basin of western Poland

The Carboniferous foreland basin of western Poland contains a coherent succession of late Viséan through Westphalian turbidites derived from a uniform group of sources located within a continental magmatic arc. Detrital zircon geochronology indicates that two main crustal components were present in the source area of Namurian A sediments. They represent Late Devonian and Early Carboniferous ages, respectively. The detritus from Westphalian D beds is much more diversified and contains admixture of Late Carboniferous zircons suggesting rapid unroofing of Variscan igneous intrusions in the hinterland between Namurian A and Westphalian D times. Tectonic repetitions of tens of metres thick fault-bounded stratigraphic intervals, recorded in several wells, provide evidence for compressional regime that occurred in the SW part of the Carboniferous basin not earlier than during the Westphalian C and produced NW–SE trending folds, concordant with the structural grain of the adjacent, NE part of the Bohemian Massif.     

Geochronology of a composite granitoid pluton: a high-precision ID-TIMS U–Pb zircon study of the Variscan Karkonosze Granite (SW Poland)

Resolving time differences between successive magmatic pulses in composite granitoid plutons is often a difficult task. High-precision CA-ID-TIMS zircon ages obtained from such a pluton, the Variscan Karkonosze Granite (NE part of the Bohemian Massif), provide evidence that the crystallization of the two main granite facies, porphyritic and equigranular, happened between 312.5 ± 0.3 and 312.2 ± 0.3 Ma, thus unresolvable at the 0.08–0.1 % precision level of a single ²⁰⁶Pb/²³⁸U age. This finding is at odds with most other previous dating attempts and asks for a re-evaluation of the previous scattered geochronological data. The main reasons for the scatter of the earlier dates obtained by various techniques can include analytical causes, the presence of older inheritance and disturbance of the U–Pb isotopic system, due to zircon metamictization (enhanced by high-U content in zircon) or late- and post-magmatic alteration.     

The Tepla(?)/Saxothuringian suture in the Karkonosze–Izera massif, western Sudetes, central European Variscides

The southern and eastern Karkonosze-Izera massif (northern Bohemian Massif) exposes blueschist facies rocks and MORB-type magmatic complexes. During Late Devonian to Early Carboniferous times, these were overthrust within a nappe pile toward the NW onto the pre-Variscan Saxothuringian basement composed of the Izera-Kowary metagranitoids and their envelope. The lowermost nappe (or parautochthonous?) unit of the pile is the low-grade metamorphosed Jewt3d complex, comprising a Devonian to Early Carboniferous sedimentary succession of the Saxothuringian passive margin. This is tectonically overlain by the South Karkonosze complex, which represents Ordovician-Silurian volcano-sedimentary infill of the Saxothuringian basin, affected by Late Devonian HP metamorphism. The uppermost nappe is the Early Palaeozoic epidote-amphibolite grade Leszczyniec MORB-like complex, cropping out on the eastern margin of the Karkonosze-Izera massif. It probably represents a fragment of obducted Saxothuringian basin floor. The nappe pile was stacked beneath the overriding upper plate margin, now concealed below the Intra-Sudetic basin and hypothesized to represent a fragment of the Tepla-Barrandian terrane. The nappe stacking, triggered by buoyancy-controlled upward extrusion of the subducted continental slab, was the main mechanism for the exhumation of HP rocks. The final stages of the NW-ward nappe stacking were accompanied and followed by SE-directed Early Carboniferous extensional collapse. The lower plate of the suture zone was uplifted at that time and intruded by the ~330-Ma-old, nearly undeformed Karkonosze granite pluton. As a result of the collapse, the Tepla-Barrandian(?) upper plate was downthrown on shear zones and brittle faults and buried under several km-thick synorogenic Late Tournaisian(?) through Namurian and post-orogenic Late Carboniferous-Early Permian succession of the Intra-Sudetic basin. The south and east Karkonosze suture most probably is a fragment of the Tepla/Saxothuringian (Münchberg-Tepla) suture belt known from the western Bohemian Massif.     

Cadomian terranes,wrench faulting and thrusting in the central Europe Variscides: geophysical and geological evidence

Sixty five per cent of the Paleozoic basement of western and central Europe is hidden by a sedimentary cover and/or sea. This work aims to remove that blanket to detect new structures which could used to build a more comprehensive model of the Variscan orogeny. It is based on the interpretation of various forms of data: (a) published gravity maps corrected for the effects of the crust-mantle boundary topography and light sedimentary basins; (b) aeromagnetic maps; (c) measurements of densities; and (d) induced and remanent magnetizations on rocks from Paleozoic outcrops of the upper Rhenish area. From the northern Bohemian Massif to the eastern Paris Basin, the Saxothuringian is characterized by a 500 km long belt of gravity highs, the most important being the Kraichgau high. Most of the corresponding heavy bodies are buried under a post-early Viséan cover. They are interpreted as relics of Late Proterozoic terranes overlain by an Early to Middle Paleozoic sequence, equivalent to the Bohemian terrane in the Bohemian Massif. The most probable continuation of these dense Bohemian terranes toward the west is the Southern Channel-Northern Brittany Cadomian terrane. The gravity lows are correlated with Variscan granites and pre- and early Variscan metagranites.Gravity and magnetic maps demonstrate large-scale displacement in Devonian-Early Carboniferous times along the parallel and equidistant, NW-SE striking, Vistula, Elbe, Bavarian, Bray and South Armorican dextral wrench faults. In the Vosges-Schwarzwald and Central Massif the faults continue with the east-west striking Lalaye-Lubine-Baden-Baden and Marche faults and with south vergent thrusts. The Bavarian faults shift the Kraichgau terrane by 150 km relative to the Bohemian terrane, whereas the offset of the Northern Brittany Cadomian relative to the Northern Vosges-Kraichgau terranes is estimated at 400 km along the Bray fault. Sinistral wrench faults are the NE-SW striking Sillon Houiller, Rheingraben, Rodl, Vitis and Diendorf faults. The southern Vosges-Schwarzwald Devonian-Dinantian basin is interpreted as a pull-apart basin at the south-easterly extremity of the Bray fault. The Bohemian and Kraichgau body form allochthonous terranes which were thrust over the Saxothuringian crust. Thrusting to the north-west was accompanied by back-thrusting and led to the formation of pop-up structures. Contemporaneous dextral and sinistral wrench faulting resulted in transpressive strain during collision. The zonal structure of the Variscides in the sense of Kossmat (1927) is relevant only to the Rhenohercynian Foreland Belt. Kossmat (1927) already spoke of a Moldanubian Region because it displays no real zonal structure. The Saxothuringian Zone was formed by terrane accretion. Their apparent zonal structure is not a pre-collisional feature, but only the result of accretion and collision.     

Zircon dating of North Bohemian granulites, Czech Republic: further evidence for the Lower Carboniferous high-pressure event in the Bohemian Massif

U-Pb zircon and rutile multigrain ages and ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁶Pb zircon evaporation ages are reported from high-pressure felsic and metapelitic granulites from northern Bohemia, Czech Republic. The granulites, in contrast to those from other occurrences in the Bohemian Massif, do not show evidence of successive HT/MPLP overprints. Multigrain size fractions of nearly spherical, multifaceted, metamorphic zircons from three samples are slightly discordant and yield a U-Pb Concordia intercept age of 348 ± 10 Ma, whereas single zircon evaporation of two samples resulted in ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁶Pb ages of 339 ± 1.5 and 339 ± 1.4 Ma, respectively. A rutile fraction from one sample has a U-Pb Concordia intercept age of 346 ± 14 Ma. All ages are identical, within error, and a mean age of 342 ± 5 Ma was adopted to reflect the peak of HP metamorphism. Because rutile has a lower closing temperature for the U-Pb isotopic system than zircon, the results and the P-T data imply rapid uplift and cooling after peak metamorphism. The above age is identical to ages for high-grade metamorphism reported from the southern Bohemian Massif and the Granulite Massif in Saxony. It can be speculated that all these granulites were part of the same lower crustal unit in early Carboniferous, being separated later due to crustal stacking and subsequent late Variscan orogenic collapse.     

Partially retrograded eclogites of the Münchberg Massif, Germany: records of a multi-stage Variscan uplift history in the Bohemian Massif

Abstract Eclogites with a wide range in bulk composition are present in the Münchberg Massif, part of the Variscan basement of the Bohemian Massif in north-east Bavaria. New analyses of the primary phases garnet, omphacite, phengite and amphibole, as well as the secondary phases clinopyroxene II, various amphiboles, biotite/phlogopite, plagioclase, margarite, paragonite, prehnite and pumpellyite, reveal a complex uplift history. New discoveries were made of samples with very jadeite-rich primary omphacite as well as a secondary omphacite in a symplectite with albite. Various geothermobarometric techniques, together with thermodynamic databases (incorporating separately determined activity–composition values) and experimental data have clustered the minimum conditions for the primary assemblages to the P–T range 650 ± 60° C, 14.3 ± 1 kbar. However, jadeite (in omphacite)–kyanite–paragonite (in phengite) and zoisite–grossular (in garnet)–kyanite–quartz relationships suggests pressures of 25–28 kbar at the same temperatures. The fact that the secondary omphacite–plagioclase assemblage yields pressures within a few hundred bars of the minimum pressures for the plagioclase-free assemblages strongly suggests that the minimum values are serious underestimates.
Zoning, inclusion suites and breakdown reactions of primary phases, in addition to new minerals formed during uplift, define a polyphase metamorphic evolution which, from geochronological evidence, occurred solely within the Variscan cycle. The complex breakdown in other Bohemian Massif eclogites and the distinct variation in their temperatures during uplift suggest a multi-stage thrusting model for the regional evolution of the eclogites. Such an evolution has significance with respect to incorporation of mantle slices into crustal sequences and fluid derivation from successively subducted units, possibly driving the breakdown reactions.     

Provenance implications of Th–U–Pb electron microprobe ages from detrital monazite in the Carboniferous Upper Silesia Coal Basin, Poland

This paper reports the results of CHIME (chemical Th–U–Pb isochron method) dating of detrital monazites from Carboniferous sandstones in the Upper Silesia Coal Basin (USCB). A total of 4739 spots on 863 monazite grains were analyzed from samples of sandstone derived from six stratigraphic units in the sedimentary sequence. Age distributions were identified in detrital monazites from the USCB sequence and correlated with specific dated domains in potential source areas. Most monazites in all samples yielded ca. 300–320 Ma (Variscan) ages; however, eo-Variscan, Caledonian and Cadomian ages were also obtained. The predominant ages are comparable to reported ages of certain tectonostratigraphic domains in the polyorogenic Bohemian Massif (BM), which suggests that various crystalline lithologies in the BM were the dominant sources of USCB sediments.     

Evidence of glaucophane-schist facies metamorphism in the East Karkonosze complex,West Sudetes,Poland

In the East Karkonosze complex (Karkonosze = Riesengebirge), which occurs at the northern margin of the Bohemian massif, rocks of the glaucophane-schist facies and transitions between the glaucophane-schist facies, greenschist facies and epidote-amphibolite facies are present. They belong to the Leszczyniec Volcanic Formation (LVF) of Cambrian/Ordovician age and to the mainly metasedimentary Czarnów Schist Formation (CSF) of Ordovician/Silurian age. Similar high-pressure, low-temperature rocks occur in the southern Karkonosze and in the Kaczawa Mountains within metavolcanic formations of approximately the same age. Petrographic and electron probe studies show complex relationships between minerals including chemical zoning. In the East Karkonosze three stages of metamorphism pre-dating contact metamorphism by late Variscan (lowermost Upper Carboniferous) granite intrusion were distinguished [stage 1: ocean floor, amphibolite facies (observed only in part of the LVF); stage 2: high-pressure, low-temperature, variably glaucophane-schist facies, high-pressure greenschist facies and epidote-amphibolite facies; stage 3: medium-pressure greenschist facies accompanied by strong deformations]. Glaucophane-schist facies rocks formed in stage 2 survived the later stages of metamorphism only in the southern part of East Karkonosze, i. e. in Lasocki Range and Rýchory. Using the Maruyama et al. (1986) geobarometer the glaucophane-bearing rocks formed at 6.5–7 Kb, those with crossite at 5–6 Kb and rocks with magnesioriebeckite/riebeckite at 4–5 Kb. Other estimates for glaucophane-bearing rocks give somewhat higher values of pressure, i. e. 7–12 Kb at temperatures between 300 and 530°C. The highest temperatures are recorded in the glaucophane- and garnet-bearing rocks. Stilpnomelane may occur in all of these rocks. The subduction/obduction episode responsible for this high-pressure, low-temperature metamorphism is considered to have taken place in the early Variscan, although no geochronology is yet available to confirm this.     

A theory of concentric, kink and sinusoidal folding and of monoclinal flexuring of compressible, elastic multilayers: VI. Asymmetric folding and monoclinal kinking

One of the rules of thumb of structural geology is that drag folds, or minor asymmetric folds, reflect the sense of layer-parallel shear during folding of an area. According to this rule, right-lateral, layer-parallel shear is accompanied by clockwise rotation of marker surfaces and left-lateral by counterclockwise rotation. By using this rule of thumb, one is supposed to be able to examine small asymmetric folds in an outcrop and to infer the direction of axes of major folds relative to the position of the outcrop. Such inferences, however, can be misleading. Theoretical and experimental analyses of elastic multilayers show that symmetric sinusoidal folds first develop in the multilayers, if the rheological and dimensional properties favor the development of sinusoidal folds rather than kink folds, and that the folded layers will then behave much as passive markers during layerparallel shear and thus will follow the rule of thumb of drag folding. The analyses indicate, however, that multilayers whose properties favor the development of kink folds can produce monoclinal kink folds with a sense of asymmetry opposite to that predicted by the rule of thumb. Therefore, the asymmetry of folds can be an ambiguous indicator of the sense of shear.The reason for the ambiguity is that asymmetry is a result of two processes that can produce diametrically opposed results. The deformation of foliation surfaces and axial planes in a passive manner is the pure or end-member form of one process. The result of the passive deformation of fold forms is the drag fold in which the steepness of limbs and the tilt of axial planes relative to nonfolded layering are in accord with the rule of thumb.The end-member form of a second process, however, produces the opposite geometric relationships. This process involves yielding and buckling instabilities of layers with contact strength and can result in monoclinal kink bands. Right-lateral, layer-parallel shear stress produces left-lateral monoclinal kink bands and left-lateral shear stress produces right-lateral monoclinal kink bands. Actual folds do not behave as either of these ideal end members, and it is for this reason that the interpretation of the sense of layer-parallel shear stress relative to the asymmetry of folds can be ambiguous.Kink folding of a multilayer with contact strength theoretically is a result of both buckling and yielding instabilities. The theory indicates that inclination of the direction of maximum compression to layering favors either left-lateral or right-lateral kinking, and that one can predict conditions under which monoclinal kink bands will develop in elastic or elastic—plastic layers. Further, the first criterion of kink and sinusoidal folding developed in Part IV remains valid if we replace the contact shear strength with the difference between the shear strength and the initial layer-parallel shear stress.Kink folds theoretically can initiate only in layers inclined at angles less than to the direction of maximum compression. Here φ is the angle of internal friction of contacts. For higher angles of layering, slippage is stable so that the result is layer-parallel slippage rather than kink folding.The theory also provides estimates of locking angles of kink bands relative to the direction of maximum compression. The maximum locking angle between layering in a nondilating kink band and the direction of maximum compression is . The theory indicates that the inclination of the boundaries of kink bands is determined by many factors, including the contact strength between layers, the ratio of principal stresses, the thickening or thinning of layers, that is, the dilitation, within the kink band, and the orientation of the principal stresses relative to layering. If there is no dilitation within the kink band, the minimum inclination of the boundaries of the band is to the direction of maximum compression, or to the direction of nonfolded layers. Here α is the angle between the direction of maximum compression and the nonfolded layers. It is positive if clockwise.Analysis of processes in terminal regions of propagating kink bands in multilayers with frictional contact strength indicates that an essential process is dilitation, which decreases the normal stress, thereby allowing slippage and buckling even though slopes of layers are low there.     

The Palaeozoic evolution in the Alps: from Gondwana to Pangea

More than 50% of the Alps expose fragments of Palaeozoic basement which were assembled during the Alpine orogeny. Although the tectonic and metamorphic history of the basement units can be compared to that of the Variscan crust in the Alpine foreland, most of the basement pieces of the Alps do not represent the direct southern continuation of Variscan structural elements evident in the Massif Central, the Vosges–Black Forest or the Bohemian massif. The basement units of the Alps all originated at the Gondwana margin. They were derived from a Precambrian volcanic arc suture fringing the northern margin of Gondwana, from which they were rifted during the Cambrian–Ordovician and Silurian. A short-lived Ordovician orogenic event interrupted the general rifting tendency at the Gondwana active margin. After the Ordovician, the different blocks drifted from the Gondwana margin to their Pangea position, colliding either parallel to Armorica with Laurussia or with originally peri-Gondwanan blocks assembled presently in Armorica. From the Devonian onwards, many basement subunits underwent the complex evolution of apparently oblique collision and nappe stacking. Docking started in the External massifs, the Penninic and Lower and middle Austroalpine units in approximately Devonian/early Carboniferous times, followed by the Upper Austroalpine and the South Alpine domains, in the Visean and the Namurian times, respectively. Wrenching is probably the best mechanism to explain all syn and post-collisional phenomena since the Visean followed by post-orogenic collapse and extension. It explains the occurrence of strike-slip faults at different crustal levels, the formation of sedimentary troughs as well as the extrusion and intrusion of crustal and mantle-derived magmas, and allows for contemporaneous rapid uplift of lower crustal levels and their erosion. From the Stephanian onwards, all regions were deeply eroded by large river systems.     

The Moslavačka Gora crystalline massif in Croatia: a Cretaceous heat dome within remnant Ordovician granitoid crust

For a long time the Moslavačka Gora Massif in Croatia has been regarded as a major outcrop of Variscan crystalline basement of the South Tisia block. However, new geochronological data indicate that this massif consists of a Cretaceous S-type granite pluton intruding a Cretaceous low-pressure/high-temperature (LP/HT) metamorphic envelope. The age of the LP/HT metamorphism is estimated at ~90–100 Ma using the method of electron microprobe based monazite dating. The Central Granite was dated at 82 ± 1 Ma (LA-SF-ICP-MS zircon age). The metamorphic complex comprises mainly felsic anatexites and orthogneisses of granitic composition, some metapelites (paragneisses and mica schists) and amphibolites. Zircons from three different samples of metagranite were dated at 486 ± 6, 483 ± 6, and 491 ± 1 Ma, suggesting that most of the metamorphic complex represents an Early Ordovician granitic series. The Cretaceous regional metamorphism culminated in granulite facies conditions of ~750°C and 3–4 kbar. A retrograde metamorphic event at lower amphibolite facies conditions overprinted the metamorphic complex. This event is probably related to the intrusion of the Central Granite. The southeastern sector of the massif was additionally affected by post-granitic, predominantly NE oriented shearing at greenschist facies conditions. As yet there is no clear evidence for Variscan events in the Moslavačka Gora Massif. Mineral relics of a medium-pressure amphibolite facies metamorphism are preserved in amphibolites. They are older than the Cretaceous LP/HT regional metamorphism, but their age is presently unknown. Some indications for a Permian regional metamorphic event are provided by inherited zircons in the Central Granite that have been dated with a Permian age, and by Permian monazite relics in metapelites. The Cretaceous high heat flow regime recorded in the Moslavačka Gora Massif is unique in the subcrop of the Pannonian Basin and may be a local feature triggered by a mafic intrusion in the lower crust.     

Age and emplacement of late-Variscan granites of the western Bohemian Massif with main focus on the Hauzenberg granitoids (European Variscides, Germany)

The Variscan Hauzenberg pluton consists of granite and granodiorite that intruded late- to postkinematically into HT-metamorphic rocks of the Moldanubian unit at the southwestern margin of the Bohemian Massif (Passauer Wald). U–Pb dating of zircon single-grains and monazite fractions, separated from medium- to coarse-grained biotite-muscovite granite (Hauzenberg granite II), yielded concordant ages of 320 ± 3 and 329 ± 7 Ma, interpreted as emplacement age. Zircons extracted from the younger Hauzenberg granodiorite yielded a ²⁰⁷Pb–²⁰⁶Pb mean age of 318.6 ± 4.1 Ma. The Hauzenberg granite I has not been dated. The pressure during solidification of the Hauzenberg granite II was estimated at 4.6 ± 0.6 kbar using phengite barometry on magmatic muscovite, corresponding to an emplacement depth of 16-18 km. The new data are compatible with pre-existing cooling ages of biotite and muscovite which indicate the Hauzenberg pluton to have cooled below T = 250–400 °C in Upper Carboniferous times. A compilation of age data from magmatic and metamorphic rocks of the western margin of the Bohemian Massif suggests a west- to northwestward shift of magmatism and HT/LP metamorphism with time. Both processes started at > 325 Ma within the South Bohemian Pluton and magmatism ceased at ca. 310 Ma in the Bavarian Oberpfalz. The slight different timing of HT metamorphism in northern Austria and the Bavarian Forest is interpreted as being the result of partial delamination of mantle lithosphere or removal of the thermal boundary layer.     

The Central Iberian arc, an orocline centered in the Iberian Massif and some implications for the Variscan belt

An arcuate structure, comparable in size with the Ibero-Armorican arc, is delineated by Variscan folds and magnetic anomalies in the Central Iberian Zone of the Iberian Massif. Called the Central Iberian arc, its sense of curvature is opposite to that of the Ibero-Armorican arc, and its core is occupied by the Galicia-Trás-os-Montes Zone of NW Iberia, which includes the Rheic suture. Other zones of the Iberian Massif are bent by the arc, but the Ossa-Morena and South Portuguese zones are not involved. The arc formed during the Late Carboniferous, at final stages of thermal relaxation and collapse, and an origin related with right-lateral ductile transpression at the scale of the Variscan belt is proposed. The Central Iberian arc explains the width of the Central Iberian Zone, clarifies the position of the allochthonous terranes of NW Iberia, and opens new perspectives for correlations with the rest of the Variscan belt, in particular, with the Armorican Massif, whose central zone represents the continuation of the southwest branch of the arc detached by strike-slip tectonics.     

Lead isotope evolution of the Central European upper mantle:Constraints from the Bohemian Massif

The Pb isotope composition of the upper mantle beneath Central Europe is heterogeneous due to the subduction of regionally contrasting material during the Variscan and Alpine orogenies.Late Variscan to Cenozoic mantlederived melts allow mapping this heterogeneity on a regional scale for the last ca.340 Myr.Late Cretaceous and Cenozoic anorogenic magmatic rocks of the Bohemian Massif(lamprophyres,volcanic rocks of basanite/tephrite and trachyte/phonolite series) concentrate mostly in the Eger Rift.Cretaceous ultramafic lamprophyres yielded the most radiogenic Pb isotope signatures reflecting a maximum contribution from metasomatised lithospheric mantle,whereas Tertiary alkaline lamprophyres originated from mantle with less radiogenic ~(206)Pb/~(204)b ratios suggesting a more substantial modification of lithospheric source by interaction with asthenosphericderived melts.Cenozoic volcanic rocks of the basanite/tephrite and trachyte/phonolite series define a linear mixing trend between these components,indicating dilution of the initial lithospheric mantle signature by upwelling asthenosphere during rifting.The Pb isotope composition of Late Cretaceous and Cenozoic magmatic rocks of the Bohemian Massif follows the same Pb growth curve as Variscan orogenic lamprophyres and lamproites that formed during the collision between Laurussia,Gondwana,and associated terranes.This implies that the crustal Pb signature in the post-Variscan mantle is repeatedly sampled by younger anorogenic melts.Most Cenozoic mantle-derived rocks of Central Europe show similar Pb isotope ranges as the Bohemian Massif.     

Two-stage exhumation of subducted Saxothuringian continental crust records underplating in the subduction channel and collisional forced folding (Krkonoše-Jizera Mts., Bohemian Massif)

The Krkonoše-Jizera Massif in the northern part of the Variscan Bohemian Massif provides insight into the exhumation mechanisms for subducted continental crust. The studied region exposes a relatively large portion of a flat-lying subduction-related complex that extends approximately 50 km away from the paleosuture. wide extent of HP-LT metamorphism has been confirmed by new P-T estimates indicating temperatures of 400–450 °C at 14–16 kbar and 450–520 °C at 14–18 kbar for the easternmost and westernmost parts of the studied area, respectively. A detailed study of metamorphic assemblages associated with individual deformation fabrics together with analysis of quartz deformation microstructures and textures allowed characterisation of the observed deformation structures in terms of their subduction-exhumation memory. An integration of the lithostratigraphic, metamorphic and structural data documents a subduction of distal and proximal parts of the Saxothuringian passive margin to high-pressure conditions and their subsequent exhumation during two distinct stages. The initial stage of exhumation has an adiabatic character interpreted as the buoyancy driven return of continental material from the subduction channel resulting in underplating and progressive nappe stacking at the base of the Teplá-Barrandian upper plate. With the transition from continental subduction to continental collision during later stages of the convergence, the underplated high-pressure rocks were further exhumed due to shortening in the accretionary wedge. This shortening is associated with the formation of large-scale recumbent forced folds extending across the entire studied area.     

Nappe stacking and first evidence of Late Variscan extension in the Belledonne Massif (External Crystalline Massifs,French Alps)

In the southwestern part of the Belledonne Massif (External Crystalline Massifs, French Alps), superimposition of three distinct crustal units has been interpreted as the consequence of Late Devonian-Early Carboniferous thrusting toward the ENE under typical collisional metamorphic conditions (9-7 kbar, 600–650 °C). Structural relationships between the different units and the kinematic analysis of microstructures suggest that ductile extensional tectonics with a sinistral component towards the southwest is responsible for the late structure of this domain. Extensional tectonics are responsible for the exhumation of the deep level of the nappe pile (Allemont unit) that recorded an earlier HP-LT tectonometamorphic evolution ( 10 ± 1 kbar, 550 ± 50 °C and for the syn-kinematic adiabatic decompression path recorded in the two lowest units (Livet and Allemont). Such isothermal decompression may have been related to rapid thinning (~ 3mm y⁻¹) and led to local decompressional melting at the base of the nappe pile. The thinning is best explained by extensional tectonics processes affecting the previously thickened Variscan crust during the Upper Carboniferous prior to its restoration to normal thickness.     

Eclogite facies relics and a multistage breakdown in metabasites of the KTB pilot hole,NE Bavaria: implications for the Variscan tectonometamorphic evolution of the NW Bohemian Massif

Complex reaction textures in coronitic metagabbros and retrograded eclogites of the KTB pilot and an adjacent drilling provide evidence for a multistage metamorphic history in the Variscan basement of the NW Bohemian Massif. The eclogites show complete metamorphic recrystallization leaving no textural or mineral relics of their igneous precursors. In contrast, textural relics of the igneous protolith are still preserved in the metagabbros where the metamorphic overprint under high pressure conditions achieved only partial replacement of the initial assemblage plagioclase + augite + amphibole (+olivine or orthopyroxene?) + ilmenite to form the eclogite facies assemblage garnet + omphacite + kyanite + zoisite + quartz+rutile. The garnets in the metagabbros occur in the typical ‘necklace’ fashion at the borders between the original plagioclase and mafic phase domains. In the same rocks, omphacite formed by a topotactic reaction mechanism replacing igneous augite as well as in smaller grains at the margins of the texturally igneous clinopyroxene where it occurs without fixed orientation with respect to the relict phase. Both eclogites and metagabbros show a partial breakdown under high pressure granulite (transitional to high pressure amphibolite) facies conditions during which omphacite broke down to vermicular symplectites of diopside + plagioclase. A later pervasive medium pressure metamorphism under amphibolite facies conditions led to the development of assemblages dominated by hornblende + plagioclase+titanite: phases prevailing in the overwhelming majority of the surrounding metabasites. Subsequent vein-associated retrogression produced minerals typical of the greenschist to zeolite facies. All metamorphic stages may be represented in a single thin section but although the overall reaction sequence is apparent, the obvious disequilibrium in the rocks makes the use of conventional geothermobarometry difficult. However, calculations made by assuming an approach to domainal equilibrium show that both the eclogite facies and early breakdown occurred above 10 kb. As the metamorphic unit hosting these particular metabasites is generally characterized by pressures below 10 kb these results have important implications for understanding the tectonometamorphic evolution of the region. The relationship between the studied rocks and other units in the NW Bohemian Massif exhibiting a multistage metamorphic evolution is discussed and possible tectonic models evaluated.     

Apatite fission-track dating and low-temperature history of the Bavarian Forest (southern Bohemian Massif)

Apatite fission-track (AFT) dating applied to uplifted Variscan basement blocks of the Bavarian Forest is employed to unravel the low-temperature history of this segment of the Bohemian Massif. Twenty samples were dated and confined track lengths of four samples were measured. Most samples define Cretaceous APT ages between 110 and 82 Ma (Albian to Campanian) and three samples give older ~148–140 Ma (Jurassic–Cretaceous boundary) ages. No discernible regional age variations exist between the areas north-east and south-west of the Pfahl shear zone, but >500 m post-Jurassic and post-Cretaceous vertical offsets along this and other faults can be inferred from elevation profile analyses. The AFT ages clearly postdate the Variscan exhumation history of the Bavarian Forest. Thermal modeling reveals that the ages are best explained by a slight reheating of the basement rocks to temperatures within the apatite partial annealing zone during the middle and late Jurassic and/or by late Cretaceous marine transgression causing burial heating, which affected marginal low-lying areas of the Bohemian Massif and the Bavarian Forest. Late Jurassic period was followed by enhanced cooling through the 120–60 °C temperature interval during the subsequent exhumation phase for which denudation rates of ~100 m myr^?1 were calculated. On a regional scale, Jurassic–Cretaceous AFT ages are ubiquitous in marginal structural blocks of the Bohemian Massif and seem to reflect the exhumation of these zones more distinctly compared to central parts.