An Andean type Palaeozoic convergence in the Bohemian Massif

The geological inventory of the Variscan Bohemian Massif can be summarized as a result of Early Devonian subduction of the Saxothuringian ocean of unknown size underneath the eastern continental plate represented by the present-day Teplá-Barrandian and Moldanubian domains. During mid-Devonian, the Saxothuringian passive margin sequences and relics of Ordovician oceanic crust have been obducted over the Saxothuringian basement in conjunction with extrusion of the Teplá-Barrandian middle crust along the so-called Teplá suture zone. This event was connected with the development of the magmatic arc further east, together with a fore-arc basin on the Teplá-Barrandian crust. The back-arc region – the future Moldanubian zone – was affected by lithospheric thinning which marginally affected also the eastern Brunia continental crust. The subduction stage was followed by a collisional event caused by the arrival of the Saxothuringian continental crust that was associated with crustal thickening and the development of the orogenic root system in the magmatic arc and back-arc region of the orogen. The thickening was associated with depression of the Moho and the flux of the Saxothuringian felsic crust into the root area. Originally subhorizontal anisotropy in the root zone was subsequently folded by crustal-scale cusp folds in front of the Brunia backstop. During the Visean, the Brunia continent indented the thickened crustal root, resulting in the root's massive shortening causing vertical extrusion of the orogenic lower crust, which changed to a horizontal viscous channel flow of extruded lower crustal material in the mid- to supra-crustal levels. Hot orogenic lower crustal rocks were extruded: (1) in a narrow channel parallel to the former Teplá suture surface; (2) in the central part of the root zone in the form of large scale antiformal structure; and (3) in form of hot fold nappe over the Brunia promontory, where it produced Barrovian metamorphism and subsequent imbrications of its upper part. The extruded deeper parts of the orogenic root reached the surface, which soon thereafter resulted in the sedimentation of lower-crustal rocks pebbles in the thick foreland Culm basin on the stable part of the Brunia continent. Finally, during the Westfalian, the foreland Culm wedge was involved into imbricated nappe stack together with basement and orogenic channel flow nappes.     

Exhumation, strain localization, and emplacement of granitoids along the western part of the Central Bohemian shear zone (Bohemian Massif)

Emplacement of granitoid magmas and simultaneous exhumation of deeply buried rocks has been investigated along the western part of the Central Bohemian shear zone (CBSZ, Bohemian Massif). Combined structural, petrological and geochronological data of the steeply dipping shear zone suggest complex uplift and exhumation of deeply buried, high-temperature Moldanubian rocks, resulting in the juxtaposition against the supracrustal Teplá-Barrandian unit. Uplift of Moldanubian rocks from depths of probably more than 30 km was initiated after crustal stacking in Upper Devonian times. Syntectonic Lower Carboniferous emplacement of the Klatovy pluton into the pre-existing shear zone led to melt-controlled strain softening and localization. However, the major part of the total displacement of the CBSZ was accommodated within a late- to post-intrusive high-temperature shear zone in the uprising Moldanubian unit and a post-intrusive unexposed fault zone in the Klatovy pluton, respectively. During uplift of the Moldanubian rocks, strain was strongly partitioned into melt-bearing zones (Klatovy pluton, migmatites of the Moldanubian unit) resulting in a repeated shift of deformation in space and time.     

Ocean floor basalt, not continental gabbro: a reinterpretation of the Hoher Bogen amphibolites, Teplá-Barrandian, Bohemian massif

At its southern margin along the Hoher Bogen mountain, the Teplá-Barrandian (Bohemian massif, Central Europe) is made up of a 1- to 4-km wide belt of amphibolites. An upper amphibolite/lower granulite facies Variscan metamorphism has brought forth coarse-grained, weakly foliated rocks with hbl+pl±cpx±opx±grt parageneses. Since the beginning of this century, these rocks, together with fine-grained or mylonitized amphibolites, have been regarded as metamorphic gabbros (gabbro amphibolites) of the Neukirchen-Kdyne igneous complex. Relics of magmatic textures, however, cannot be found anywhere. The amphibolites are therefore reinterpreted as metamorphic basalts. The Hoher Bogen amphibolites (HBA) derive from N-type MORB. The most primitive samples have Mg#s between 60 and 65. Locally occurring (garnet-)hornblendites and leucodioritic mobilisates are the products of partial melting of amphibolites during the Variscan metamorphism and do not belong to the primary magmatic rock association. Ultramafic rocks are tectonically emplaced between the HBA belt and the metapelitic rocks of the Moldanubian. At the very least, the metapyroxenites among them seem to have a cumulus origin. Together with the ultramafic rocks, the HBA belt may be regarded as a metaophiolite, comparable to the Mariánské Lazne complex. The reinterpretation of the former "gabbro amphibolites" as a metaophiolite has consequences for the geology of the Teplá-Barrandian: the size of the Neukirchen-Kdyne igneous complex is reduced. The HBA belt is a piece of oceanic crust which is possibly younger than the Precambrian metasedimentary/metavolcanic country rock of the Neukirchen-Kdyne igneous complex.     

P–T evolution and reaction textures in retrogressed eclogites from Svetlik, the Moldanubian Zone (Czech Republic)

Summary Lenses and pods of mafic rocks from the Monotonous Unit near Svetlik are characterized by eclogite facies mineral assemblages; however some inclusion patterns (oriented quartz rods in clinopyroxene and cuboids of disordered graphite in garnet) that are usually known from ultra-high pressure rocks were also observed in one sample. Conventional thermobarometry yielded maximum P–T conditions of 2.0–2.5 GPa and 750 °C. Decompression and heating at amphibolite and granulite facies conditions resulted in the formation of at least five distinct types of symplectites. These include symplectitic intergrowth of ilmenite and clinopyroxene after titanite, described here for the first time from the Moldanubian Zone. In addition, symplectites of plagioclase and biotite with accessory amounts of spinel after tabular pseudomorphs (after phengite?) are also reported here. Mass balance relations indicate that symplectites of diopside + plagioclase after omphacite and plagioclase + spinel (sapphirine) after kyanite + garnet, formed by nearly isochemical reactions. All other symplectite-forming reactions were allochemical and were accelerated by the presence of fluid in the primary phases. Preserved zoning pattern in garnet with high compositional gradient in some samples suggests that the rocks were affected briefly by granulite facies overprint.     

Variscan vs Cadomian tectonothermal activity in northwestern sectors of the Teplá-Barrandian zone, Czech Republic: constraints from 40Ar/39Ar ages

Five muscovite concentrates from high-grade, pelitic metasedimentary basement rocks exposed in northwestern sectors of the Teplá-Barrandian zone (Czech Republic) record ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar mineral plateau ages which range between ca. 376 and 362?Ma. Hornblende concentrates from metagabbro (Mariánské Lánzě complex) and fine-grained basement amphibolite display plateaux which define ³⁶Ar/⁴⁰Ar vs ³⁹Ar/⁴⁰Ar isotope-correlation ages of ca. 370 and ca. 375 Ma. The mineral ages are interpreted to date relatively rapid cooling through appropriate argon retention temperatures following early phases of Variscan (Early Devonian) regional metamorphism. A slate/phyllite basement sample collected within lower-grade metasedimentary rocks in southeastern portions of the Teplá-Barrandian zone is characterized by an internally discordant ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar whole-rock age spectrum which suggests partial Variscan rejuvenation of intracrystalline argon systems which had cooled through appropriate argon retention temperatures following an initial regional metamorphism at or prior to ca. 500 Ma (Cadomian). Hornblende from undeformed diorite of the Kdyn? complex records a well-defined ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar age plateau which corresponds to an isotope-correlation age of ca. 516?Ma. This is interpreted to date post-magmatic cooling following emplacement.     

One- and two-dimensional thermal modelling of orogenic crustal extension in the Tormes Gneissic Dome, NW Iberian Massif, Spain

 Situated in the inner zone of the Variscan Iberian Massif, the Tormes Gneissic Dome offers a good opportunity for thermal modelling of orogenic crustal extension, because the P–T–t loops are well constrained by an extensive set of thermobarometric, structural and geochronological data. As an example of feedback between forward and inverse methods, the aim of this study was to establish one- and two-dimensional thermal models that reproduce the contrasting petrological P–T paths of two structural units separated by an extensional tectonic contact in the metamorphic complex, and to explain the spatial and temporary development of the low-pressure metamorphism in the rocks located just above this contact. In one dimension, the syn-extension path of the lower unit resulting from modelling is characterized by an isothermal decompression phase, followed by near isobaric cooling, which is typical of exhumed rocks. The upper unit path records a syn-extension near isobaric heating, more important in rocks just above the tectonic contact. Condensed isograds of low-pressure/high-temperature metamorphism in the basal upper unit are thus interpreted as a consequence of advective crustal extension and conductive upward heat transfer. In two dimensions, the delaminated simple shear geometric model of crustal extension explains the observed temperature rise in excess of 500  °C in the basal upper unit and is consistent with the spatial distribution of M2 low-pressure/high-temperature isograds. This demonstrates the important role of extensional structures produced during the collapse of the thickened crust in the thermal evolution. The heating phase, well explained with intermediate dip angle for extensional fault in the upper crust (45°) and finite extension of 75 km, is followed by cooling, thus reflecting normal erosional process. Received: 1 September 1998 / Accepted: 29 June 1999     

Ductile normal faulting along the West Bohemian Shear Zone (Moldanubian/Tepla-Barrandian boundary): Evidence for late Variscan extensional collapse in the Variscan Internides

Structural and kinematic investigations of the West Bohemian Shear Zone (WBS) clearly indicate late Variscan orogen-parallel (WSW-ENE) extension within the Variscan internides. Along the WBS the western part of the Tepla-Barrandian (TB) was downthrown to the east against the adjacent Moldanubian. According to seismic data, the steeply east-dipping WBS flattens with depth, forming a prominent detachment zone. The western part of the TB was tilted along this zone, producing the patterns of metamorphic isograds, the age of which is probably Cadomian. Cross-cutting relationships of WBS mylonites and Carboniferous granites, as well as the overall cooling ages of hornblende and mica, suggest that ductile normal faulting along the WBS was active from about 330 to 310 Ma.Geothermobarometric data, derived from WBS mylonites, prove that during the extensional movements relatively cold crust of the TB (medium pressure greenschist facies) was juxtaposed to relatively hot Moldanubian crust (low pressure amphibolite facies). Thus mylonites which originate from TB rocks show a first-stage prograde development reaching the lower amphibolite facies under medium pressure conditions. This stage was followed by further (uplift-related) retrograde shearing under low pressure greenschist facies conditions.Extensional movements and the emplacement of granitoids along the WBS, as well as the strong low pressure/high temperature metamorphism of the Moldanubian rocks are remarkably similar in age (Middle Carboniferous). Therefore, a close relationship and mutual dependence of all these features is suggested. Rapid advective thinning of the deeper part of the previously thickened lithosphere and associated rapid crustal uplift are the most probable processes to explain the high Middle Carboniferous heat flow as well as magmatism and extension.     

Bottom to top lithosphere structure and evolution of western Eger Rift (Central Europe)

We present model of the structure and development of the entire lithosphere beneath the western Eger Rift (ER). Its crustal architecture and paths of volcanic products are closely related to sutures/boundaries of uppermost mantle domains distinguished by different orientations of olivine fabric, derived from 3-D analysis of seismic anisotropy. Three different fabrics of the mantle lithosphere belong to the Saxothuringian (ST), Teplá-Barrandian (TB) and Moldanubian (MD) microplates assembled during the Variscan orogeny. Dipping fossil (pre-assembly) olivine orientations, consistent within each unit, do not support any voluminous mantle delamination. The variable rift structure and morphology depend on the character of the pre-rift suture between the northern ST unit and the TB/MD units in the southern rift flank. The proper rift with typical graben morphology has developed above the steep lithosphere-scale suture between the ST and TB units. This subduction-related boundary originated from the closure of the ST Ocean. Parts of the crust and mantle lithosphere were dragged there into asthenospheric depths and then rapidly uplifted. The suture is marked by abrupt change in the mantle fabric and sharp gradients in regional gravity field and in metamorphic grade. The secular TB-side-down normal movement is reflected in deep sedimentary basins, which developed since the Carboniferous to Cenozoic and in topography. The graben morphology of the ER terminates above the “triple junction” of the ST, TB and MD mantle lithospheres. The junction is characterized by offsets of surface boundaries of the tectonic units from their mantle counterparts indicating a detachment of the rigid upper crust from the mantle lithosphere. The southwest continuation of the rift features in Bavaria is expressed in occurrences of Cenozoic sediments and volcanics above an inclined broad transition zone between the ST and MD lithospheres. Schematic scenario of evolution of the region consists mainly of a subduction of the ST lithosphere to depths around 140 km, exhumation of HP-HT rocks and the post-tectonic granitoid plutonism.     

Polymetamorphism of the Variscan Basement of the Moldanubian Black Forest （Germany） Documented in Zircon and Garnet Minerals from Gneisses

High-grade metamorphic Variscan basement is exposed in the Moldanubian zone of the Black Forest (BF), being the internal zone of the European Variscan belt. Zircon grains from K-rich felsic orthogneisses and an anatectic paragneiss in the Moldanubian Black Forest demonstrate a multi-stage crystallization at ～ 600 Ma, ～ 480 Ma, ～ 400 - 380 Ma, and ～350 Ma. The last three stages of crystallization probably represent metamorphic overprint during pre-Variscan and Variscan metamorphism.Using stepwise leaching procedures, garnet minerals from felsic orthogneisses as well as paragneisses in the Moldanubian Black Forest yielded Early Carboniferous Sm-Nd ages (～ 330- 340 Ma), which are consistent with the well-constrained Variscan HT metamorphic event,and Early Palaeozoic ( ～480 Ma) to Devonian ( ～400 - 370 Ma) Pb-Pb ages. The coincidence of growth time for zircon and garnet minerals at Early Palaeozoic is interpreted as dating a metamorphic event. These garnet data demonstrate that the Moldanubian BF basement underwent at least two metamorphic events during the Early Palaeozoic and Early Carboniferous.During the Variscan HT metamorphism, the Sm-Nd system of garnet was disturbed, but not the U-Pb system, implying the peak metamorphic temperature was lower than ～800℃.     

Magmatic to solid state fabrics in syntectonic granitoids recording early Carboniferous orogenic collapse in the Bohemian Massif

The ∼354–336 Ma Central Bohemian Plutonic Complex is a Variscan magmatic arc that developed in the central Bohemian Massif in response to subduction of the Saxothuringian lithosphere beneath the Teplá–Barrandian microplate. Magmatic to solid state fabrics in the most voluminous portion of this arc (the ∼346 Ma Blatná pluton) record two superposed orogenic events: dextral transpression associated with arc-parallel stretching and arc-perpendicular shortening, and normal shearing associated with exhumation of the high-grade core of the orogen (Moldanubian unit). This kinematic switch is an important landmark in the evolution of this segment of the Variscan belt for it marks the cessation of subduction-related compressive forces in the upper crust giving way to gravity-driven normal movements of the Teplá–Barrandian hanging wall block relative to the high-grade Moldanubian footwall. We use thermal modeling to demonstrate that the emplacement of huge volumes of arc magmas and their slow cooling produced a thermally softened domain in the upper crust and that the magmatic arc granitoids may have played a major role in initiating the orogenic collapse in the Bohemian Massif through lubrication and reactivation of a pre-existing lithospheric boundary and decreasing the overall strength of the rigid orogenic lid.     

The P–T evolution of ultra high temperature garnet‐bearing ultramafic rocks from the Saxonian Granulitgebirge Core Complex,Bohemian Massif

Garnet‐bearing ultramafic rocks (GBUR) enclosed in granulite or high‐grade gneiss are rare, yet typical constituents of alpine‐type collisional orogens. The Bohemian Massif of the European Variscides is exceptional for the occurrence of a large variety of mantle‐derived rocks, including GBUR (garnet peridotite and garnet pyroxenite). GBUR occur in several metamorphic units belonging to both the Saxothuringian and the Moldanubian zones of the Bohemian Massif. The northernmost outcrops of GBUR in the Bohemian Massif are situated in the Saxonian Granulitgebirge Core Complex in the Saxothuringian zone and are the subject of this study. Thermobarometric results and exsolution textures imply that the Granulitgebirge GBUR belong to the ultra high temperature group of peridotites. They experienced a decompression‐cooling path being constrained by the following four stages: (i) ～1300–1400 °C and 32 kbar, (ii) 1000–1050 °C and 26 kbar, (iii) 900–940 °C and 22 kbar, and (iv) 860 °C and 12–13 kbar. Occasional layers of garnet pyroxenite within GBUR lenses are interpreted as high pressure cumulates that crystallized at 32–36 kbar by cooling below 1400 °C. The GBUR were most probably derived from upwelling asthenosphere and came in contact with crustal granulite at ～60 km depth. Slab break‐off is suggested here as the most probable cause for: (i) asthenosphere upwelling and cooling of the latter as well as (ii) ultra high temperature granulite facies metamorphism of the crustal host rocks. The Granulitgebirge‐type peridotite is very similar to the Mohelno‐type peridotite from the Gföhl unit, Moldanubian zone, in the southern part of the Bohemian Massif. In contrast, peridotite from the adjacent Erzgebirge (also within the Saxothuringian zone) is derived from the subcontinental mantle and much resembles the Nove Dvory‐type peridotite from the Gföhl unit (Moldanubian zone). The fact that the Saxothuringian and Moldanubian zones host the same types of mantle rocks (asthenospheric and lithospheric) of the same metamorphic ages suggests that the classic distinction into the Saxothuringian and Moldanubian zones cannot be supported, at least as far as high‐grade units hosting GBUR are concerned.     

Cretaceous–Tertiary structures and kinematics of the Serbomacedonian metamorphic rocks and their relation to the exhumation of the Hellenic hinterland (Macedonia, Greece)

 The kinematic pattern and associated metamorphism of the predominant ductile deformation and the subsequent deformational stages of the Serbomacedonian metamorphic rocks and granitoids are presented in terms of peri-Tethyan tectonics. A systematic record of structural and metamorphic data gives evidence of a main top-to-ENE to ESE ductile flow of Cretaceous age (120–90 Ma) associated with a crustal stretching and unroofing. A subordinate WSW to WNW antithetic sense of movement of the tectonic top is observed in places. The associated metamorphic conditions are estimated at 4.5–7.5 kbar and 510–580  °C. During Eocene to Miocene times these fabrics were successively deformed by low-angle extensional D_e ductile shear zones with top-to-NE and SW sense of movement and brittle shear zones of similar kinematic pattern, suggesting a transition from ductile to brittle deformation. D_e deformation was accompanied during its later stages by NW/SE-directed shortening. We also discuss the relation of this Cretaceous–Tertiary deformation of the Serbomacedonian metamorphic rocks with the Eocene to Miocene ductile, top-to-southwestward crustal shear of the adjacent Rhodope crystalline rocks. We regard the Serbomacedonian and the Rhodope metamorphic rocks to represent related metamorphic provinces, the most recent exhumation and cooling history of which is bracketed between the Eocene and Neogene. Received: 8 December 1998 / Accepted: 19 April 1999     

Olivine‐bearing symplectites in fractured garnet from eclogite,Moldanubian Zone (Bohemian Massif) – a short‐lived,granulite facies event

Recent petrological studies on high‐pressure (HP)–ultrahigh‐pressure (UHP) metamorphic rocks in the Moldanubian Zone, mainly utilizing compositional zoning and solid phase inclusions in garnet from a variety of lithologies, have established a prograde history involving subduction and subsequent granulite facies metamorphism during the Variscan Orogeny. Two temporally separate metamorphic events are developed rather than a single P–T loop for the HP–UHP metamorphism and amphibolite–granulite facies overprint in the Moldanubian Zone. Here further evidence is presented that the granulite facies metamorphism occurred after the HP–UHP rocks had been exhumed to different levels of the middle or upper crust. A medium‐temperature eclogite that is part of a series of tectonic blocks and lenses within migmatites contains a well‐preserved eclogite facies assemblage with omphacite and prograde zoned garnet. Omphacite is partly replaced by a symplectite of diopside + plagioclase + amphibole. Garnet and omphacite equilibria and pseudosection calculations indicate that the HP metamorphism occurred at relatively low temperature conditions of ~600 °C at 2.0–2.2 GPa. The striking feature of the rocks is the presence of garnet porphyroblasts with veins filled by a granulite facies assemblage of olivine, spinel and Ca‐rich plagioclase. These minerals occur as a symplectite forming symmetric zones, a central zone rich in olivine that is separated from the host garnet by two marginal zones consisting of plagioclase with small amounts of spinel. Mineral textures in the veins show that they were first filled mostly by calcic amphibole, which was later transformed into granulite facies assemblages. The olivine‐spinel equilibria and pseudosection calculations indicate temperatures of ~850–900 °C at pressure below 0.7 GPa. The preservation of eclogite facies assemblages implies that the granulite facies overprint was a short‐lived process. The new results point to a geodynamic model where HP–UHP rocks are exhumed to amphibolite facies conditions with subsequent granulite facies heating by mantle‐derived magma in the middle and upper crust.     

Ultrahigh-pressure metamorphism and exhumation of garnet peridotite in Pohorje, Eastern Alps

New evidence for ultrahigh‐pressure metamorphism (UHPM) in the Eastern Alps is reported from garnet‐bearing ultramafic rocks from the Pohorje Mountains in Slovenia. The garnet peridotites are closely associated with UHP kyanite eclogites. These rocks belong to the Lower Central Austroalpine basement unit of the Eastern Alps, exposed in the proximity of the Periadriatic fault. Ultramafic rocks have experienced a complex metamorphic history. On the basis of petrochemical data, garnet peridotites could have been derived from depleted mantle rocks that were subsequently metasomatized by melts and/or fluids either in the plagioclase‐peridotite or the spinel‐peridotite field. At least four stages of recrystallization have been identified in the garnet peridotites based on an analysis of reaction textures and mineral compositions. Stage I was most probably a spinel peridotite stage, as inferred from the presence of chromian spinel and aluminous pyroxenes. Stage II is a UHPM stage defined by the assemblage garnet + olivine + low‐Al orthopyroxene + clinopyroxene + Cr‐spinel. Garnet formed as exsolutions from clinopyroxene, coronas around Cr‐spinel, and porphyroblasts. Stage III is a decompression stage, manifested by the formation of kelyphitic rims of high‐Al orthopyroxene, aluminous spinel, diopside and pargasitic hornblende replacing garnet. Stage IV is represented by the formation of tremolitic amphibole, chlorite, serpentine and talc. Geothermobarometric calculations using (i) garnet‐olivine and garnet‐orthopyroxene Fe‐Mg exchange thermometers and (ii) the Al‐in‐orthopyroxene barometer indicate that the peak of metamorphism (stage II) occurred at conditions of around 900 °C and 4 GPa. These results suggest that garnet peridotites in the Pohorje Mountains experienced UHPM during the Cretaceous orogeny. We propose that UHPM resulted from deep subduction of continental crust, which incorporated mantle peridotites from the upper plate, in an intracontinental subduction zone. Sinking of the overlying mantle and lower crustal wedge into the asthenosphere (slab extraction) caused the main stage of unroofing of the UHP rocks during the Upper Cretaceous. Final exhumation was achieved by Miocene extensional core complex formation.     

Zircon ages and Nd isotopic and chemical compositions of orthogneisses from the Black Forest, Germany: evidence for a Cambrian magmatic arc

 Single zircon U–Pb dating combined with ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁶Pb ages obtained by the evaporation method constrains the emplacement of tonalitic, trondhjemitic, and granodioritic orthogneisses of the Moldanubian zone in the Black Forest between 500 and 510 Ma. Two detrital zircon populations of 1.9 and 1.6 Ga indicate Early-Middle Proterozoic material in the former setting of the basement. The initial e_Nd values range from –0.1 to –3.4 and mean crustal residence ages of 1.0–1.4 Ga are consistent with involvement of Early-Middle Proterozoic crust, and a subordinate juvenile component probably originating from subduction-related melting of the mantle. The orthogneisses have fractionated REE patterns and slightly higher K₂O/Na₂O ratios than typical low-K tonalite–trondhjemite–granite suites. The chemical data are interpreted as evidence for melting of amphibolite and contributions from evolved crust. The emplacement of the orthogneisses was superceded by a high-temperature metamorphic event at ∼480 Ma which we interpret as a result of lithospheric thinning in a marginal basin behind a Cambrian magmatic arc. Received: 29 March 1999 / Accepted: 25 August 1999     

Metamorphic evolution of garnet-spinel peridotites from the Variscan Schwarzwald (Germany)

Garnet-spinel peridotites form small, isolated, variably retrogressed bodies within the low-pressure high-temperature gneisses and migmatites of the Variscan basement of the Schwarzwald, southwest Germany. Detailed mineralogical and textural studies as well as geothermobarometric calculations on samples from three occurrences are presented. Two of the garnet-spinel peridotites have equilibrated at 680–770°C, 1.4–1.8 GPa within the garnet-spinel peridotite stability field, one of the samples having experienced an earlier stage within the spinel peridotite stability field (790°C, <1.8 GPa). The third sample, with only garnet and spinel preserved, probably equilibrated within the garnet peridotite stability field at higher pressures. These findings are in line with the distinction of two groups of ultramafic garnet-bearing high-pressure rocks with different equilibration conditions within the Schwarzwald (670–740°C, 1.4–1.8 GPa and 740–850°C, 3.2–4.3 GPa) which has previously been established (Kalt et al. 1995). The equilibration conditions of 670–770°C and 1.4–1.8 GPa for garnet-spinel peridotites from the Central Schwarzwald Gneiss Complex (CSGC) are similar to those for eclogites of the Schwarzwald and also correspond quite well to those for garnet-spinel peridotites from the Moldanubian zone of the Vosges mountains and of ecologites from the Moldanubian s.str. of the Bohemian Massif.     

A Late Jurassic–Early Cretaceous metamorphic core complex,Strandja Massif,NW Turkey

In the eastern part of the Strandja Massif constituting the east end of the Rhodope Massif, the amphibolite facies basement rocks intruded by Permian metagranites are juxtaposed against the greenschist facies cover metasediments of Triassic-Middle Jurassic protolith age. The distinct metamorphic break between the basement and cover rocks requires a missing metamorphic section. The boundary between the two groups of rocks is a ductile to brittle extensional shear zone with kinematic indicators exhibiting a top to the E/NE shear sense. Footwall rocks are cut by weakly metamorphosed and foliated granite bodies which are clearly distinguished from the Permian metagranites by their degree of deformation, cross-cutting relations and syn-tectonic/kinematic character. Also, hangingwall rocks were intruded by unmetamorphosed and weakly foliated leucogranites. ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar data indicate that the ductile deformation from 156.5 to 143.2 Ma (Middle Oxfordian-Earliest Berriasian) developed during the syn-tectonic plutonism in the footwall. Deformation, and gradual/slower cooling-exhumation survived until to 123 Ma (Barremian). The mylonitic and brittle deformation in the detachment zone developed during Oxfordian-Earliest Berriasian time (155.7–142.6 Ma) and Early Valanginian-Aptian time (136–118.7 Ma), respectively. Our new field mapping and first ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages demonstrate the existence of an extensional core complex of Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous age not previously described in the Rhodope/Strandja massifs.     

Heavy mineral-based provenance analysis of Mesozoic continental-marine sediments at the western edge of the Bohemian Massif,SE Germany: with special reference to Fe–Ti minerals and the crystal morphology of heavy minerals

During the Mesozoic, the epicontinental Germanic Basin and the Regensburg Strait the latter being an embayment of the Tethys Ocean that had subsided into the Moldanubian Zone of the Central European Variscides were filled with terrigenous continental-marine sediments. Both sediments’ heavy mineral (HM) grains and aggregates have been studied in a drill section in the Wackersdorf area, SE Germany. The majority of them belong to the (semi)opaque group of Fe–Ti minerals. In Wackersdorf, the entire stratigraphy of the basin fill, which occurred between the Triassic and the Late Cretaceous, is well exposed. In addition to the chemical composition of HM, the morphology and texture of zircon, apatite and Fe–Ti compounds have been studied in a provenance-related mineral classification. Provenance analysis has yielded five discrete source rock lithologies: (1) Moldanubian H-T-metamorphics, (2) late Paleozoic (sub)volcanic rocks, (3) gneisses of the Tepla-Barrandian unit, (4) ophiolites of the Tepla-Barrandian unit, (5) silicified shear zones and quartz cores of pegmatites. The detrital minerals include zircon, tourmaline (dravite-schoerl), apatite, monazite (Ce–Th–La–Nd), xenotime, biotite, rutile, ilmenite, “nigrine” (ilmenite-rutile intergrowth), sphene, amphibole, staurolite, garnet and spinel (Cr–Mg–Al). Based on the allogenic Ti and Fe minerals, a magnetite-type source area (Eh > 0, near-surface felsic to intermediate (sub)volcanic rocks) was distinguished from an ilmenite-type source area (Eh < 0), deeply eroded crystalline basement rocks (gneiss, granite, shear zones). The latter may be subdivided into “nigrine –I” (deep) and “nigrine-II” (intermediate) subtypes, according to the level of erosion in the source area. At the Jurassic–Cretaceous transition, extrabasinal erosion provoked a noticeable variation of allogenic heavy minerals with the incisions of rivers into source rock lithologies (4) and (5). Uplift and erosion along the western edge of the Bohemian Massif took place contemporaneously with spreading and closure in the central parts of the adjacent Tethys Ocean.     

Petrology and geochemistry of granulite xenoliths beneath the Nógrád-Gömör Volcanic Field, Carpathian-Pannonian Region (N-Hungary/S-Slovakia)

Summary Abundant upper mantle and rare lower crustal xenoliths have been found in the Plio-Pleistocene alkali basalts of the Nógrád-G?m?r Volcanic Field, situated in the northern Pannonian Basin, on the border between northern Hungary and southern Slovakia. A few lower crustal granulite xenoliths have been found in a small basaltic pyroclastic cone at Baglyaskő. The mafic granulite xenoliths are plagioclase-bearing hornblende clinopyroxenites, plagioclase-bearing clinopyroxene hornblendites and plagioclase-bearing clinopyroxenites. They contain unusual symplectites, composed of spinel feldspar and clinopyroxene. These symplectites are interpreted as the product of garnet breakdown. Following the breakdown reaction, the symplectite underwent in situ partial melting. Mineral constituents of these granulite xenoliths have chemical compositions similar to those of other granulite xenoliths worldwide. However, a distinctive positive Pb and Ce anomaly in mineral constituents of these granulites is characteristic. Granulite xenoliths from the Nógrád-G?m?r Volcanic Field must have experienced granulite facies metamorphism at pressures that correspond to the ‘original’ thickness of the crust (>1.1 GPa; >∼30 km), whereas the breakdown reaction of garnet and subsequent melting and recrystallization of clinopyroxenes in the symplectites happened at shallower depths close to the present-day MOHO (0.6–0.7 GPa; ∼16–19 km). Present address: Research School of Earth Sciences, Australian National University, Australia     

U–Pb zircon ages and structural development of metagranitoids of the Teplá crystalline complex: evidence for pervasive Cambrian plutonism within the Bohemian massif (Czech Republic)

U–Pb zircon dating of three metagranitoids, situated within a tilted crustal section at the northwestern border of the Teplá Barrandian unit (Teplá crystalline complex, TCC), yields similar Cambrian ages. The U–Pb data of zircons of the Teplá orthogneiss define an upper intercept age of 513 +7/–6?Ma. The ²⁰⁷Pb/²⁰⁶Pb ages of 516±10 and 511±10?Ma of nearly concordant zircons of the Hanov orthogneiss and the Lestkov granite are interpreted to be close to the formation age of the granitoid protolith. Similar to the Cambrian granitoids of the southwestern part of the Teplá Barrandian unit (Doma?lice crystalline complex, DCC) the Middle Cambrian emplacement of the TCC granitoids postdates Cadomian deformation and metamorphism of the Upper Proterozoic country rocks, but predates Variscan tectonometamorphic imprints. Structural data as well as sedimentological criteria suggest a dextral transtensional setting during the Cambrian plutonism, related to the Early Paleozoic break-up of northern Gondwana. Due to strong Variscan crustal tilting, the degree of Variscan tectonometamorphic overprint is strikingly different in the dated granitoids. It is lowest in the weakly or undeformed Lestkov granite, located in the greenschist-facies domain. The Teplá orthogneiss in the north underwent pervasive top-to-NW mylonitic shearing under amphibolite-facies conditions. There is no indication for a resetting of the U–Pb isotopic system of the Teplá orthogneiss zircons that could be attributed to this imprint. Radiation damages accumulated until recent have probably caused lead loss.