Orogenic Volcanism in Eastern Kazakhstan: Composition,Age, and Geodynamic Position

Studies of volcanic rocks in orogenic troughs of Eastern Kazakhstan were carried out. The troughs were formed at late-orogenic stages of evolution of Hercynian Altai collision system. Volcanic rocks are represented by basalts, andesites, dacites and rhyolites. Based on geochemical and isotopic data, the basalts and andesites derived from mafic magmas that formed as a result of partial melting of garnet peridotites in the upper mantle under the orogen. U–Pb zircon data prove two volcanic stages: more-scaled Middle Carboniferous (~311 Ma) and less-scaled Early Permian (297–290 Ma). Basalts and andesites in lower parts of the orogenic troughs and independent dacite-rhyolite structures were formed at the Middle Carboniferous stage. Parental mafic magmas were formed as a result of partial melting of mantle substrates in local transtensional zones along large shear faults. The formation of dacites and rhyolites could have been caused by partial melting of crustal substrates under effect of mafic magmas. Transtensional movements in the lithosphere of orogenic belts may indicate the beginning of collapse of orogens. A smaller volume of basalts and andesites formed at the Early Permian stage. Geochemical data prove the independent episode of partial melting in upper mantle. Synchronous basalts and andesites also appeared at wide territory in Tian Shan, Central Kazakhstan, and Central and Southern Mongolia. Early Permian volcanism indicates general extension of the lithosphere at the postorogenic stages. Large-scaled Early Permian mafic and granitoid magmatism in Central Asia has been interpreted in recent years as the Tarim Large Igneous Province caused by Tarim mantle plume activity. Thus, the extension of the lithosphere and associated volcanism in the Early Permian can be an indicator of the onset of the plume–lithosphere interaction process.

     

Speleothem-based chronology and environmental context of deposits from the Mishin Kamik Cave,NW Bulgaria – A contribution to the archaeological study of the Late Pleistocene human occupation in the Balkans

The Balkan Peninsula represents one of the most important human pathways into and out of Europe during the Pleistocene. Mishin Kamik cave, located in the karst region of Western Stara Planina, has a rich faunal content and shows promising features indicating a human occupation site with the discovery of potential bone artefacts and an intriguing accumulation of bear skulls and bones. Petrographic study and U-series dating of a stalagmite and other calcite deposits in the cave provide an absolute chronological frame for the detrital infillings and their archaeological content and inform the environmental and climatic context of the cave evolution. Most detrital deposits in the cave were probably deposited before Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5 and the cave morphology and sedimentary deposits display current morphologies since ~135 ka. Consequently, the palaeontological and archaeological findings are older than ~135 ka. Calcite dated on and under the accumulation of bear skulls and bones suggests deposition during MIS 7. A first depositional contextualization of the bone accumulation does not allow us to discriminate between a natural or anthropogenic origin. The study emphasizes the added value of speleothem studies in archaeological sites and particularly in bringing a well-constrained chronological and environmental framework.