Standardisation, calibration and correlation of the Kübler-index and the vitrinite/bituminite reflectance: an inter-laboratory and field related study

A multiple inter-laboratory calibration with illite Kübler?CFrey?CKisch ??crystallinity?? index and related standards is presented and compared with CIS standards used in the last two decades in very low-grade metamorphic studies. Comparing CIS values with KI standards the CIS values show a higher full width at half-high maximum peak intensity. In all cases due to broadening effects on the Kübler-index, zone-limits, specifically the diagenetic zone/anchizone boundary, a shift is produced in geographical dimensions in a metamorphic map-view. Combining standardised Kübler-index and vitrinite?Cbituminite reflectance measurements a coherent data set for compilation studies can be generated from the data of different research groups. This attempt to establish a unified database of independent measures to determine diagenetic/metamorphic zones with different analytical instrumental methods are indispensable to present metamorphic maps at very low-grade conditions. Given that the Kübler?CFrey?CKisch standards are difficult to preserve for the future and presumably they will be replaced with ongoing time by the CIS standards, a rescue of the laboratory settings from Frey, Kübler and others is done. After having compiled the Kübler-index??vitrinite reflectance zones in the Alps for the ??New Metamorphic Map of the Alps??, the presented calibration and inter-laboratory correlation gives a chance to save the KI values obtained by very different preparation procedures applied. This is an important step for further studies in an area like the Central Alps with a very high data grid. This correlation study will also make it possible that nearly 90?% of Kübler-index data from Switzerland can be compared in future work. Using the same calibration and preparation technique no fundamental problem in data comparison is achieved for the vitrinite/bituminite reflectance data operation. The main problem arises when rock maturity is compared with CIS calibrated Kübler-index values. Kübler-index values obtained by the so-called CIS calibration are not compatible with Kübler?CFrey?CKisch (árkai, Aprahamian, Brime, Ferreiro M?hlmann, H. Krumm, Leoni, Petschick) calibrated Kübler-Indices. Applying both standardisation approaches for field studies, partially different results are obtained.     

Estimates of current and historical fluxes of N, Ca, and K in the forest ecosystem Möhlin

Data on element fluxes (Ca, K, N) are presented which were obtained in the course of an extended project on element-cycling in a forested ecosystem near Möhlin, northwestern Switzerland. Current fluxes of Ca, K, and N could be compared with historical fluxes (1969–1993) with the help of soil chemistry inventories since 1969, data on the forest management, and atmospheric deposition. Since 1969, soil chemistry has significantly changed due to a distinct disintegration of humus. The decomposition of organic matter influenced strongly the element cycling. Due to this mineralization high amounts of N were released. It is, however, not fully clear in which chemical form N has been transferred out of the system. Two possible hypotheses on the N losses are defined. According to the calculated proton budget and measured element changes in the soil, it is hypothized that a large part of the mineralized organic N presumably was transformed into N₂ or more likely into N₂O. A complete nitrification of organically bound N to NO₃ ^– is also discussed but is, however, considered as less probable. In contrast to K, Ca proved to be a very sensitive element: the exchangeable Ca stock has been decreased sharply. The analysis of the current fluxes of Ca, K, and N reveals that nitrogen is abundantly present in the forest system with the consequence that the ecological balance is shifted in favour of N. Accordingly, the supply of base cations is rather scarce for the plants. Furthermore, the influence of forest management on element fluxes seems to be substantial, especially on the fluxes of base cations, but can be reduced with simple measures (e.g. removal of the bark of coniferous trees).     

Assessment of water quality and pollution of the Lake Seyfe basin, Kırşehir, Turkey

Lake Seyfe is located in a closed basin near K?r?ehir in the central Anatolian region, Turkey. The aim of this study is to evaluate the groundwater quality and effects of lithogenic contamination carried out in the Lake Seyfe basin, which is represented by various lithologies and groundwater types. Seyfe, Horla and Akp?nar springs are recharged through marbles at the western and southwestern of the basin are ultimately and discharged into the K?z?l?rmak Formation and Lake Seyfe. The waters of deep wells drilled into the marbles are of bicarbonate type (type I) in the Ca²⁺–Mg²⁺–HCO₃ ^? and Ca²⁺–HCO₃ ^? facies. Özlühüyük spring and waters from most of trenches and shallow wells, which are fed by the K?z?l?rmak Formation, have a mixed (type II) composition in the Ca²⁺–Mg²⁺–HCO₃ ^?–Cl^? facies. Groundwater in the alluvium and K?z?l?rmak Formation along Lake Seyfe has a salty (type III) character in the Na⁺–Cl^? facies. The main reasons of formation and change of the groundwater salinity and hydrochemical facies in the Seyfe basin are causing the various (a) lithogenic pollution and heterogeneity of the K?z?l?rmak Formation, (b) salinity of the upper soil zones, and (c) evaporation of the trench and channel waters open to the atmosphere. Considering parameters such as sodium hazard, specific conductivity, bicarbonate and carbonate hazards, waters in the study area are generally suitable for agricultural usage.     

Data Analysis of Chang’E-1 Gamma-Ray Spectrometer and Global Distribution of U, K, and Th Elemental Abundances

Gamma-ray spectrometer (GRS) is one of the main payloads on the Chang’E-1 (CE-1) lunar probe, mainly aimed to detect the elemental abundances and distributions on the lunar surface. At 03:58 on 28 November 2007, it performed the first observation of the lunar gamma rays. As of 24 October 2008, 2105?h of effective gamma rays spectra had been acquired by CE-1 GRS, which covers the whole surface of the moon. This paper mainly describes the data processing procedures and methods of deriving the elemental abundances by using the CE-1 GRS time series corrected spectra: first, to bin data into pixels for mapping; then, to perform a background deduction of the cumulative spectra and obtain a peak area of the elements; and finally, to use the elemental abundances inversion model to produce the elemental abundances. Based on these processing methods, the global abundance maps of U, K, and Th at a 5°×5° equal-area pixel are acquired by CE-1 GRS data. The paper gives a preliminary analysis of the uncertainties of the elemental abundances     

K–Ar ages of granitoids unravel the stages of Neo-Tethyan convergence in the eastern Pontides and central Anatolia,Turkey

K–Ar dating of mineral separates extracted from various granitoid rock units of the eastern Pontides and central Anatolia, Turkey, has provided some new insights unravelling various stages of the Neo-Tethyan convergence system, which evolved with northward subduction between the Eurasian plate (EP) to the north and the Tauride-Anatolide platform (TAP) to the south along the İzmir-Ankara-Erzincan suture (IAES) zone. Arc-related granitoid rocks are only encountered in the eastern Pontides and yield K–Ar cooling ages of both Early Cretaceous (138.5 ± 2.2 Ma) (early arc), and Late Cretaceous, ranging from 75.7 ± 0.0 to 66.5 ± 1.5 Ma (mature arc), respectively. The multi-sourced granitoids of the eastern Pontides, with a predominant mantle component and K–Ar ages between 40 and 50 Ma, are considered to be a part of post-collisional slab break-off magmatism accompanied by tectonic denudation of pre-Late Cretaceous granitoid rocks following juxtaposition of the EP and the TAP around 55–50 Ma in the eastern Pontides. The K–Ar cooling ages of collision-related S-, I- and A-type granitoids in central Anatolia reflect good synchronism between 80 and 65 Ma, suggesting a coeval genesis in a unique geodynamic setting but with derivation from various sources—namely, purely crustal, purely mantle and/or of mixed origin. This sort of simultaneous generation model for these S-I-A-type intrusives seems to be consistent with a post-collisional lithospheric detachment related geodynamic setting. I-type granodioritic to tonalitic intrusives with K–Ar cooling ages ranging from 40 to 48 Ma in east-central Anatolia are interpreted to have been derived from a post-collisional, within-plate, extension-related geodynamic setting following the amalgamation of the EP and the TAP in east-central Anatolia.     

Chemico-mineralogical attributes of clays from the late Cretaceous–early Palaeogene succession of the Um Sohryngkew river section of Meghalaya,India: Palaeoenvironmental inferences and the K/Pg boundary

A continuous shallow marine 10 m thick succession within the Langpar Formation in the Um Sohryngkew river section of Meghalaya, containing late Maastrichtian through early Danian planktonic foraminiferal zones – CF4, CF3, CF2, CF1, P0, Pα and P1a and the K/Pg boundary (between CF1 and P0) that makes unique of its kind. The section has been re-studied and sampled for clay mineralogy to understand the palaeoenvironmental conditions prevalent in the region and to assess the K/Pg transition. The relative abundances of the clay mineral phases permitted a threefold sub-division of the studied section with a illite, illite/ smectite dominated lower part, illite, kaolinite and abundance of montmorillonite dominated middle part and kaolinite–montmorillonite dominated upper part. Enriched HREEs in the lower part of the succession suggest variations in the pH of alteration solutions. Most of the samples show positive cerium (δCe) and europium (δEu) anomalies, the former reflecting oxidizing conditions at the time of clay formation. Illite dominated clays present a positive Eu anomaly, formed at relatively higher temperatures than the clays with less illite and without Eu anomalies, whereas clays occurring in the lower and upper parts exhibit a prominent negative Eu anomaly. Shifts in the redox condition found in this section are more or less similar to the foraminiferal changes and Au, Pt, Pd anomalies. Clay mineralogical attributes and REE patterns, comparable to those of the known K/Pg boundaries, appeared within the CF3 and CF2 zones in the Um Sohryngkew river section. The sample at the boundary between CF3 and CF2 is marked by a negative <delta>Ce anomaly, high La/Yb and TOC values, suggesting that sea level rise during the upper part of CF3 was caused by tectonism rather than warming. The similar characteristics of clay minerals and REE patterns, attributed to the initiation of tectonic events during the CF3 zone, indicate environmental changes that affected the shelf area and the provenance of these sediments.     

Geochemistry and Nd,Sr isotopes of the Pohrenk fluorites (Kırsehir-Turkey)

The Pohrenk fluorite mineralisation which makes up Central Anatolia’s most extensive fluorite region is Lutetian aged, and hosted in carbonate rocks that have undergone occasional karstification and silicification along a N–S fault trend. Fluid inclusion values and the position of fluorites in the Tb/La–Tb/Ca diagram show that mineralisation occurred in a hydrothermal environment with homogenisation temperatures ranging from 78.1–363°C. The presence of fluorite as a space filler in carbonate rocks and its association with silicification indicates that the solutions contained considerable amounts of Si alongside F (fluorine). The Pohrenk fluorite samples have ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd values of between 0.512349 and 0.512497, whilst ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr values vary between 0.708161 and 0.708772. These values indicate a mantle origin where continental contamination could occur. When the Nd–Sr values are compared to magmatic and young volcanics, the Pohrenk fluorites are seen to be enriched and exhibit similar isotopic signatures to Upper Cretaceous aged magmatics, Early-Middle Miocene volcanics and Mio-Quaternary volcanics.     

Interdiffusion of Na,K,and Ca Between Granitic Melts and NaCl Liquid

This study is aimed at determining the diffusion coefficient of net-work modifiers (mainly Na, K, and Ca) in a two-phase melt-NaCl system, in which the melts are granitic and the system is NaCl-rich in composition. The diffusion coefficients of Na, K, and Ca were measured at the temperatures of 750 – 1400°C, pressures of 0.001 × 10⁸ – 2 × 10⁸ Pa, and initial H₂O contents of 0 wt% –6.9 wt% in the granitic melts. The diffusion coefficients of Fe and Mg were difficult to resolve. In all experiments a NaCl melt was present as well. In the absence of H₂O, the diffusion of net-work modifiers follows an Arrhanious equation at 1 × 10⁵ Pa: lgD_ca=−3. 88−5140/T, lgD_k =−3. 79−4040/T, and lgD_Na, =−4.99−3350/T, where D is in cm² /s andT is in K. The diffusion coefficients of Ca, Na, K, and Fe increase non-linearly with increasing H₂O content in the melt. The presence of about 2 wt% H₂O m the melt will lead to a dramatical increase in diffusivity, but higher H₂O content has only a minor effect. This change is probably the result of a change in the melt structure when H₂O is present. The diffusion coefficients measured in this study are significantly different from those in previous works. This may be understood in terms of the “transient two-liquid equilibrium” theory. Element interdiffusion depends not only on its concentration, but also on its activity co-efficient gradient, which is reflected by the distribution coefficient, of the two contacting melts.     

Mineralogical and geochemical characteristics of hydrothermal alteration and episyenitization in the Königshain granites, northern Bohemian Massif, Germany

The late-Hercynian granites of Königshain underwent multistage hydrothermal processes. Extensive high-temperature late-magmatic alteration is, for example, indicated by low Zr/Hf and an REE pattern displaying the tetrad effect. Intensive post-magmatic alteration of the granite occurred along brittle structures. At least two main stages of post-magmatic hydrothermal alteration are involved. The first high-temperature stage, which is characterized by albitization and/or quartz leaching (episyenitization), resulted from fluid–rock interaction with late-magmatic fluids that very probably mixed with external low-salinity fluids. Quartz dissolution was triggered by vapour condensation and/or the cooling of these fluids (below 450??°C) along brittle structures. The high porosity resulting from quartz leaching during stage 1 assisted subsequent circulation of low-temperature fluids at stage 2; the latter is characterized by the chloritization and illitization of episyenites. Almost all major and trace elements were enriched or depleted during one of the main alteration stages. However, Zr, Hf, Th, and Ti were immobile during post-magmatic alteration. The significant depletion of LREE and the enrichment of HREE in albitized samples is controlled by the dissolution of monazite and the new formation of HREE-rich polycrase-(Y) or aeschynite-(Y) during post-magmatic stage 1. Negative Ce anomalies of episyenites are associated with illitization and suggest oxidizing conditions during stage 2.     

Interaction of model F-bearing silicic melt with chloride fluid,uraninite, and columbite at 750°C and 1000–2000 bar and its implications for estimation of the ore-forming capability of the upper crustal magma chamber beneath the Strel’tsovka caldera,eastern Transbaikalia

The experimental study of an F-bearing silicic melt—U, Nb, Ta minerals—chloride-fluoride fluid system is focused on ascertaining the origin of uranium deposits spatially related to intraplate silicic volcanism. The first series of experiments on uranium solubility in silicic melts close in composition to ore-bearing rhyolite of the unique Strel’tsovka Mo-U ore field has been performed in order to determine more precisely the ore genesis. As starting solid phases, model homogeneous glass of the chemical composition (wt %) 72.18 SiO₂, 12.19 Al₂O₃, 1.02 FeO, 0.20 MgO, 0.33 CaO, 4.78 Na₂O, 3.82 K₂O, 1.44 Li₂O, and 2.4 F (LiF, NaF, KF, CaF₂, MgF₂); synthetic UO₂ and UO₃·0.33H₂O; and natural columbite were used. The starting solutions contained 1.0 m Cl and 10⁻² m F. The runs were conducted in a gas vessel at a pressure of 1000 bar and in a high-pressure hydrothermal vessel at 2000 bar. The O₂ (H₂) fugacity was set by Ni-NiO, Co-CoO, Fe₃O₄-Fe₂O₃, and Cu-Cu₂O buffers. The equilibrium between melt and solution for major elements is reached during the first day, whereas 5–7 days are required for ore elements (U, Nb, Ta) to come into equilibrium. The solubility of Nb and especially Ta in Cl-F solutions equilibrated with F-bearing melt is extremely low. The solubility of U is much higher (10⁻⁴−10⁻⁵ mol/kg H₂O). The energy dispersive spectroscopy of run products allowed us to establish that columbite dissolved incongruently with formation of U- and F-bearing pyrochlores. The performed experiments have shown that a silicic melt close to the rhyolitic magma of the Strel’tsovka caldera in composition is not able to generate postmagmatic ore-forming solutions containing more than 10⁻⁶−10⁻⁵ mol U/kg H₂O under the relatively low pressure necessary for the existence of the first type of fluid. The amount of uranium that could have precipitated from this fluid in the zone of ore deposition is estimated at 216–9000 t. This estimate is two orders of magnitude lower than the total uranium resources of the deposits localized in the Strel’tsovka caldera. Thus, the upper crustal silicic magma chamber hardly was a source of uranium for Mo-U deposits of the Strel’tsovka ore field.     

Geochemistry of О, Н, C,S, and Sr isotopes in the water and sediments of the Aral basin

The paper presents original authors' data on the O, H, C, S, and Sr isotopic composition of water and sediments from the basins into which the Aral Sea split after its catastrophic shoaling: Chernyshev Bay (CB), the basin of the Great Aral in the north, Lake Tshchebas (LT), and Minor Sea (MS). The data indicate that the δ¹⁸О, δD, δ¹³C, and δ³⁴S of the water correlate with the mineralization (S) of the basins (as of 2014): for CB, S = 135.6‰, δ¹⁸О = 4.8 ± 0.1‰, δD = 5 ± 2‰, δ¹³C (dissolved inorganic carbon, DIC) = 3.5 ± 0.1‰, δ³⁴S = 14.5‰; for LT, S = 83.8‰, δ¹⁸О = 2.0 ± 0.1‰, δD =–13.5 ± 1.5‰, δ¹³C = 2.0 ± 0.1‰, δ³⁴S = 14.2‰; and for MS, S = 9.2‰, δ¹⁸О =–2.0 ± 0.1‰, δD =–29 ± 1‰, δ¹³C =–0.5 ± 0.5‰, δ³⁴S = 13.1‰. The oxygen and hydrogen isotopic composition of the groundwaters are similar to those in MS and principally different from the artesian waters fed by atmospheric precipitation. The mineralization, δ¹³С, and δ³⁴S of the groundwaters broadly vary, reflecting interaction with the host rocks. The average δ¹³С values of the shell and detrital carbonates sampled at the modern dried off zones of the basins are similar: 0.8 ± 0.8‰ for CB, 0.8 ± 1.4‰ for LT, and –0.4 ± 0.3‰ for MS. The oxygen isotopic composition of the carbonates varies much more broadly, and the average values are as follows: 34.2 ± 0.2‰ for CB, 32.0 ± 2.2‰ for LT, and 28.2 ± 0.9‰ for MS. These values correlate with the δ¹⁸O of the water of the corresponding basins. The carbonate cement of the Late Eocene sandstone of the Chengan Formation, which makes up the wave-cut terrace at CB, has anomalously low δ¹³С up to –38.5‰, suggesting origin near a submarine methane seep. The δ³⁴S of the mirabilite and gypsum (11.0 to 16.6‰) from the bottom sediments and young dried off zone also decrease from CB to MS in response to increasing content of sulfates brought by the Syr-Darya River (δ³⁴S = 9.1 to 9.9‰) and weakening sulfate reduction. The ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratio in the water and carbonates of the Aral basins do not differ, within the analytical error, and is 0.70914 ± 0.00003 on average. This value indicate that the dominant Sr source of the Aral Sea is Mesozoic–Cenozoic carbonate rocks. The Rb–Sr systems of the silicate component of the bottom silt (which is likely dominated by eolian sediments) of MS and LT plot on the Т = 160 ± 5 Ma, I₀ = 0.7091 ± 0.0001, pseudochron. The Rb–Sr systems of CB are less ordered, and the silt is likely a mixture of eolian and alluvial sediments.     

Paleontological,mineralogical and chemical studies of syngenetic and epigenetic Pb–Zn–Ba–P mineralizations at the stratotype of the K/P boundary (El Kef area,Tunisia)

The El Kef area, Tunisia, is host of the official stratotype of the K/P boundary and of a complex metallic and non-metallic mineralization at Djebel Sekarna, encompassing syn(dia)genetic shale- and carbonate-hosted Zn–P and epigenetic Pb–Zn–Ba ore mineralizations. Micropaleontological, geological, mineralogical, and chemical studies (major and minor elements, C- and O-isotopes) of Upper Santonian to Lower Eocene calcareous-siliciclastic sediments resulted in a subdivision of this mineralization into eight mineralizing stages. Stages 1 and 2 (late Cretaceous–early Paleogene) are representative of syn(diagenetic) shale- and carbonate-hosted sulfidic and siliceous (Fe)–Zn–P mineralization deposited in shallow marine to slightly brackish sediments. Stages 3–5 (early Eocene respectively—pre- and post-Nummulites involutus-exilis zones) are representatives of epigenetic sulfidic and sulfatic (Fe)–Zn–Pb–Ba mineralizations at temperatures as high as 170/200°C and stages 6 and 7 (early Eocene respectively—post-Alveolina oblonga zone) cover the non-sulfidic Zn–(Pb) mineralization at temperatures as high as 60°C which is transitional from hypogene into supergene mineralization (“epithermal calamine deposits”). Stage 8 represents alteration of the pre-existing mineral assemblages in course of the Holocene weathering. The Cretaceous through Paleogene aquatic system is characterized by a poisoning of the sea with base metals, mainly Zn, and the atmosphere was chocked with clouds of fine-grained volcanic ejecta. Both processes contributed to the build-up of Zn–(Pb) deposits and vast, but uneconomic bentonitic clay deposits around the K/P boundary. Ore mineralization in the El Kef area is a multiple-phase process which reached its climax during the early Eocene as indicated by the large foram zones. These inorganic concentration processes resulting in the formation of mineral deposits had obviously also a negative effect on the long-term course of regional Earth’s biological history during the late Cretaceous–early Eocene period with lethal consequences for some species. The joint studies of inorganic and organic data reveal that such extraordinary metallogenetic processes close to the K/P boundary in its stratotype area in Tunisia were “strictly terrestrial”.     

The Early Precambrian Rocks,Their Ages,Division and Correlation of the Taihang-Wutai Region, the Yanshan Region and the Eastern Sector of the Yinshan Mountains

According to differences of the protolith formations, the early Precambrian strata in the northern part ofthe North China platform may be divided into the stable stratigraphic region in the west and the mobilestratigraphic region in the east. Based on unconformities, either stratiragphic or tectonic, as well as significantmetamorphic thermal events, the two regions may be stratigraphically defined as follows: 1) the middleArchaean Fuping Supergroup composed of the Chenzhuang and Wanzi Groups (stable areas), and the middleArchaean Qianxi Group (mobile area), whose upper limits are all dated at 2800 Ma; and 2) the upper ArchaeanWutai Supergroup composed of the Longquanguan, Shizui and Taihuai Groups (stable areas), and the upperArchaean Zunhua, Dantazi and Zhuzhangzi Groups (mobile areas). whose upper limits are all dated at 2500Ma. A correlation of the above-mentioned units is also made. The lower Proterozoic Hutuo Group of the sta-ble region is adjusted to comprise the Gaofan, Doucun, Dongye and Guojiazhai Groups. The upper limit of theGaofan Group is placed at 2350 Ma, Dongye 1850 Ma and Guojiazhai (the lower limit of the Changcheng Sys-tem) 1700 Ma.     

The Effects of Applying the Association of Al, K, and Sn in Stream Sediments for Gold Exploration in Different Landscapes

Geochemical data of altered wall rocks are important for the metallogenic prognosis of hydrothermal gold deposits. Indicator elements of altered wall rocks such as K, Al, As, Sb, and Hg have been successfully used to assess gold anomalies in lithogeochemical survey. However, such researches have rarely been done in stream sediment survey for the exploration of gold from various landscapes. On the basis of the geochemical analysis of altered wall rocks of gold deposits in the cold desert areas of Gansu (甘肃) Province in Northwest China, it is found that the combination of Al, K, and Sn could serve as an important indicator of hydrothermal gold deposits and can be used to evaluate the metallogenic prospective of gold anomalies in stream sediments. More studies performed in the cold grassland areas and the moderate-low relief mountainous areas showed that, both weak and strong geochemical anomalies can be extracted, if strictly abiding by the ways of calculation and addition of the binary values of the indicator elements with equal weight, and this provides the sound delineation of metallogenic perspective areas.     

Timing of low-temperature metamorphism and cooling of the Paleozoic and Mesozoic formations of the Bükkium,innermost Western Carpathians,Hungary

K-Ar ages of illite-muscovite and fission track ages of zircon and apatite were determined from various lithotypes of the Bükkium, which forms the innermost segment of the Western Carpathians. The stratigraphic ages of these Dinaric type formations cover a wide range from the Late Ordovician up to the Late Jurassic. The grade of the orogenic dynamo-thermal metamorphism varies from the late diagenetic zone through the anchizone up to the epizone (chlorite, maximally biotite isograd of the greenschist facies). The K-Ar system of the illite-muscovite in the < 2 m grain-size fraction approached equilibrium only in epizonal and high-temperature anchizonal conditions. The orogenic metamorphism culminated between the eo-Hellenic (160-120 Ma) phase connected to the beginning of the subduction in the Dinarides, and the Austrian (100-95 Ma) phase characterized by compressional crustal thickening. No isotope geochronological evidence was found for proving any Hercynian recrystallization. The stability field of fission tracks in zircon was approached using the thermal histories of the different tectonic units. A temperature less than 250°C and effective heating time of 20–30 Ma had only negligible effects on the tracks, whereas total annealing was reached between 250 and 300°C. Apatite fission track ages from the Paleozoic and Mesozoic formations show that the uplift of the Bükk Mountains occurred only in the Tertiary (not earlier than ca. 40 Ma ago). Thermal modeling based on apatite fission track length spectra and preserved Paleogene sediment thickness data proved that the Late Neogene burial of the recently exhumed plateau of the Bükk Mountains exceeded 1 km.     

Prevenance,preservation, and transport of the detrital “coffee grounds” of the Mississippi Delta

Detrital organic fragments or “coffee grounds”, common in the swash zone, and in the lee of barrier islands off the Mississippi Delta consists of up to 40% high-volatile bituminous coal particles of medium to coarse sand size (0.25–1 mm). These coal fragments produce both a well preserved Cretaceous-Paleocene flora and a less well preserved Pottsville (Early Pennsylvanian) flora. This Pottsville flora has close affinities with one described by Kosanke (1950) from the Early Pennsylvanian Illinois Basin coals. If the provenance assignment is correct, these coal particles were transported by the Mississippi River a minimum of 1000 miles from the Interior Coal Province to their present locality in the south Pass area of the Mississippi Delta. However, spillage contamination during a century of barge transport within the Mississippi drainage cannot be ruled out as a possible source for the “coffee grounds” coal.High-volatile coals crop out in the Black Warrior Basin in Alabama to the northeast of the delta. If this is a source of the coal, then an entirely different drainage-transport system would be involved. It would invoke drainage from the Appalachian Province southward, with subsequent longshore current transport, westward — along the Gulf Coast shoreline.Heavy-mineral differences exist between these two sedimentary provinces, with the Appalachian-derived heavy minerals dominated by kyanite, staurolite, and tourmaline; and the Mississippi River Canadian Shield source dominated by amphiboles and pyroxenes. The heavy-mineral assemblage recovered from the “coffee grounds” material is more like those of the Mississippi River Province, and dominated by green hornblende.Vitrinite particles of the coals show no evidence of oxidation rims although they have been in oxygenated waters for an extended period of time during transport. The spore preservation is adequate for specific identification, and is further evidence of minimal oxidation.Coal rank analysis and palynoflora identifications provide a dual approach in reconstructing provenance, transport history, and origin of these detrital organic deposits.