Spatial distribution of some elements and elemental contamination in the sediments of Köyceğiz Lake (SW Turkey)

Elemental accumulation, distribution and relationship profiles for sediment samples taken at 81 localities in the Köyce?iz Lake were investigated. Spatial distribution maps for ten elements (Cu, Pb, Zn, Ni, Cr, Co, Mn, Mo, Al, Fe) were created using the ordinary kriging interpolation method. Statistical tests revealed that the sediments taken from areas close to the Namnam (NamSM) and Karg?cak (KarSM) stream mouths have the highest element content. In addition, sediments close to NamSM have the highest contamination, according to contamination degree and modified contamination degree values. On the other hand, sediments close to KarSM have the highest value on the pollution load index. The enrichment factor and contamination factor values of Cr and Co, and especially Ni, close to NamSM are striking and have significantly higher values compared to the rest of the lake. There are strong correlations between these three elements, which were also confirmed by cluster analysis. Ni is the element having the highest value on the geoaccumulation index. In addition, according to the toxic unit results, it was found that 84–89% of the element-based toxic effect in the lake is due to Ni alone. According to the mean effect range median quotient values, the sediments of Köyce?iz Lake have a potential to show toxic effects of at least 76% in living organisms, which is due to the high levels of Ni. According to the mean probable effect low quotient value, it has been determined that Köyce?iz Lake is at a “highly impacted” level, which is the worst possible value on the quality scale.     

Discrimination of Different Erosion Levels of Porphyry Cu Deposits using ASTER Image Processing in Eastern Iran: a Case Study in the Maherabad, Shadan, and Chah Shaljami Areas

The Lut block, eastern Iran, is one of the most extensive Cenozoic magmatic rocks, that show suitable targets for porphyry Cu-Au and high-sulfidation epithermal Au related to porphyry Cu-Au mineralization. In this study, Advanced Spaceborne Thermal Emission and Reflection Radiometer （ASTER） was used to identify different erosion levels of three porphyry Cu deposits, including Maherabad, Shadan, and Chah Shaljami, located in the Lut block volcanic-plutonic belt. Alteration minerals, including kaolinite, dickite, alunite, jarosite, epidote, chlorite, montmorillonite, muscovite, biotite, orthoclase, gypsum, and quartz, are selected to map different alteration zones and erosion levels. Distributions of end-members are mapped by using the SAM and MTMF in VNIR and SWIR of ASTER bands and the results are evaluated against the field studies. For some end-members, the results of SAM processing are more reliable compared to the MTMF because the latter looses field spectra. The use of angle threshold in the SAM, and MF-score and infeasibility value in the MTMF or low abundance of some end-members, and finally comparison of output images of spectral processing show good correlation with alteration maps. Differentiation and explanation of various erosion levels of porphyry Cu deposits are done successfully by using the ASTER sensor data.     

Assessment of spatial distribution and possible sources of heavy metals in the soils of Sariseki-Dörtyol District in Hatay Province (Turkey)

In this study, total heavy metal content of soil and their spatial distribution in Sar?seki-Dörtyol district were analyzed and mapped. Variable distance grids (0.5, 1.0 and 2.0 km) were established, with a total of 102 soil samples collected from two different soil depths (0–5 and 5–20 cm) at intersections of the grids (51 sampling point). Soil samples were analyzed for heavy metals (Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Pb, Zn, Mn, Fe, and Ni). The most proper variogram models for the contents of all heavy metal were spherical and exponential ones. The ranges of semivariograms were between 1.9 and 31.1 km. According to the calculated geoaccumulation (I _geo) values, samples from both soil depths were classified as partly to highly polluted with Cd and Ni and partly polluted with Cr and as partly polluted-to-not polluted with Pb and not polluted with Cu, Fe and Mn. Similar results were also obtained when evaluated by the enrichment factor. The contamination levels of the heavy metals were Ni > Cd > Cr > Pb > Zn > Cu > Co > Fe > Mn in decreasing order. The soils in the study area are contaminated predominantly by Cd and Ni, which may give rise to various health hazards or diseases. Cadmium pollution results primarily from industrial activities and, to a lesser extent, from vehicular traffic, whereas Ni contents in the study area result from parent material, phosphorus fertilizer, industries, and vehicles.     

Geochemical constraints on petrogenesis of Late Cretaceous alkaline magmatism in east-central Anatolia (Hasancelebi–Basören, Malatya), Turkey

Late Cretaceous alkali magmatic rocks occur widely in the Hasancelebi and Basören regions (Malatya). The Hasancelebi and Basören intrusive rocks are mainly peralkaline and alkaline-oversaturated. The Hasancelebi intrusive rocks are made up of syenite to quartz monzonite. On the other hand the Basören intrusive rocks mainly contain feldspathoidal syenites that are cut by feldspathoid-bearing dykes. The Hasancelebi intrusive rocks show comparable field, petrographic and geochemical characteristics with A-type rocks. All intrusive rocks show enrichment in LILE and LREE relative to HFSE. The Th/Yb versus Ta/Yb diagram indicates that all magmatic rocks formed from an enriched mantle source region(s). The parental magma for the Basören rocks has a higher intraplate component than that from the Hasancelebi rocks which could be attributed to mantle source heterogeneity before collision in east-central Anatolia. Either delamination of the thermal boundary layer or slab-breakoff are likely mechanisms for the initiation of post-collisional magmatism in the Hasancelebi–Basören areas.     

Study of the Stacking Sequences of an Irregular Mixed-Layer Illite/Smectite (I/S) Clay Mineral—with a Discussion on the Existence of Minerals with Two-Dimentional Lattice and One-Dimentional Quasi-Lattice

There are two aspects in the study of irregular mixed-layer clay minerals: one is the kinds and ratios of their basic structural unit layers and the other is the junction probabilities of the unit layers. Irregular mixed-layer illite/smectite clay minerals (I/S) are widespread in nature. While studying the clay minerals from the Permian-Triassic (P/T) boundary bed, the authors found that I/S clay minerals are developed in all P/T boundary clay layers in areas from the northwest to southeast of China. Systematic mineralogical studies of the I/S clay minerals from Hunan, Hubei, Sichuan and Zhejiang were made by means of X-ray, infrared spectroscopic, electron microscopic and chemical analyses and a deepened study of the stacking sequences of their structural unit layers was conducted by the MacEwan one—dimentional direct Fourier transform. It was found that the stacking of the illite and smectite crystal layers along the c axis can be derived from Fibonacci sequences. Hence, the authors propose that such I/S clay minerals are possessed of two—dimentional crystal lattice and one—dimentional quasicrystal lattice.     

Kizilcaören ore-bearing complex with carbonatites (northwestern Anatolia,Turkey): Formation time and mineralogy of rocks

The results of isotope-geochronological and mineralogical studies of the rocks making up the Kizilcaören fluorite-barite-REE deposit, northwestern Anatolia, Turkey are discussed in the paper. The ore is a constituent of the subvolcanic complex localized in a large fault zone. The complex combines (from earlier to later rocks): (1) phonolite and trachyte stocks, (2) carbonatite and carbonate-silicate dikelike bodies; and (3) fluorite-barite-bastnaesite ore in the form of thick homogeneous veins and cement in breccia. The K-Ar dating of silicate igneous rocks and carbonatites shows that they were formed in the Chattian Age of the Oligocene 25–24 Ma ago. Mineralogical observations show that the ore is the youngest constituent in the rock complex. Supergene alteration deeply transformed ore-bearing rocks, in particular, resulting in leaching of primary minerals, presumably Ca-Mn-Fe carbonates, and in cementation of the residual bastnaesitefluorite framework by Fe and Mn hydroxides. Most of the studied rocks contain pyrochlore, LREE fluorocarbonates, Nb-bearing rutile, Fe-Mg micas, and K-feldspar. The genetic features of the deposit have been considered. In general, the ore-bearing rock complex is compared in the set of rocks and their mineralogy and geochemistry with deposits of the Gallinas Mountains in the United States, the Arshan and Khalyuta deposits in the western Transbaikalia region, and Mushugai-Khuduk deposit in Mongolia. The Kizilcaören deposit represents a variant of postmagmatic mineralization closely related to carbonatite magmatism associated with alkaline and subalkaline intermediate rocks.     

Geochemistry,mineralogy and genesis of the Ayazmant Fe–Cu skarn deposit in Ayvalik, (Balikesir), Turkey

The Ayazmant Fe–Cu skarn deposit is located approximately 20 km SE of Ayval?k or 140 km N of Izmir in western Turkey. The skarn occurs at the contact between metapelites and the metabasites of the Early Triassic K?n?k Formation and the porphyritic hypabyssal intrusive rocks of the Late Oligocene Kozak Intrusive Complex. The major, trace, and rare earth-element geochemical analysis of the igneous rocks indicate that they are I-type, subalkaline, calc-alkaline, metaluminous, I-type products of a high-level magma chamber, generated in a continental arc setting. The ⁴⁰Ar–³⁹Ar isochron age obtained from biotite of hornfels is 20.3 ± 0.1 Ma, probably reflecting the age of metamorphic–bimetasomatic alteration which commenced shortly after intrusion into impure carbonates. Three stages of skarn formation and ore development are recognized: (1) Early skarn stage (Stage I) consisting mainly of garnet with grossular-rich (Gr_75–79) cores and andradite-rich (Gr_36–38) rims, diopside (Di_94–97), scapolite and magnetite; (2) sulfide-rich skarn (Stage II), dominated by chalcopyrite with magnetite, andraditic garnet (Ad₈₄–₈₉), diopside (Di₆₅–₇₅) and actinolite; and (3) retrograde alteration (Stage III) dominated by actinolite, epidote, orthoclase, phlogopite and chlorite in which sulfides are the main ore phases. ⁴⁰Ar–³⁹Ar age data indicate that potassic alteration, synchronous or postdating magnetite–pyroxene–amphibole skarn, occurred at 20.0 ± 0.1 Ma. The high pyroxene/garnet ratio, plus the presence of scapolite in calc-silicate and associated ore paragenesis characterized by magnetite (± hematite), chalcopyrite and bornite, suggests that the bulk of the Ayazmant skarns were formed under oxidized conditions. Oxygen isotope compositions of pyroxene, magnetite and garnet of prograde skarn alteration indicate a magmatic fluid with δ¹⁸O values between 5.4 and 9.5‰. On the basis of oxygen isotope data from mineral pairs, the early stage of prograde skarn formation is characterized by pyroxene (Di_94–97)-magnetite assemblage formed at an upper temperature limit of 576 °C. The lower temperature limit for magnetite precipitation is estimated below 300 °C, on the basis of magnetite–calcite pairs either as fracture-fillings or massive ore in recrystallized limestone-marble. The sulfide assemblage is dominated by chalcopyrite with subordinate molybdenite, pyrite, cubanite, bornite, pyrrhotite, galena, sphalerite and idaite. Gold–copper mineralization formed adjacent to andradite-dominated skarn which occurs in close proximity to the intrusion contacts. Native gold and electrum are most abundant in sulfides, as fine-grained inclusions; grain size with varying from 5 to 20 µm. Sulfur isotope compositions obtained from pyrrhotite, pyrite, chalcopyrite, sphalerite and galena form a narrow range between ? 4.8 and 1.6‰, suggesting the sulfur was probably mantle-derived or leached from magmatic rocks. Geochemical data from Ayazmant shows that Cu is strongly associated with Au, Bi, Te, Se, Cd, Zn, Pb, Ni and Co. The Ayazmant mineralizing system possesses all the ingredients of a skarn system either cogenetic with, or formed prior to a porphyry Cu(Au–Mo) system. The results of this study indicate that the Aegean Region of Turkey has considerable exploration potential for both porphyry-related skarns and porphyry Cu and Au mineralization.     

Petrographic and geochemical features of the dolostones at the Gölboğazı Formation (Upper Devonian), Southwest Konya,Turkey

This paper describes the occurrence of dolostone and the mechanism of dolomitization of the Upper Devonian Gölbo?az? Formation in the allochthonous Taurus Mountains Alada? unit in Turkey. The Upper Devonian Gölbo?az? Formation carbonates, with dominant ostracod-bearing mudstone and wackestone, formed tidal and subtidal environments, and some of these rocks were dolomitized from shallow to deep burial. On the basis of the field, the petrographic and geochemical features, four different replaceable and cement dolostone phases have been recognized. The replacive dolostones contain (1) very fine to fine crystalline planar-s dolostone (df1), (2) medium to coarse crystalline planar-s to planar-e dolostone (df2), (3) coarse to very coarse crystalline non-planar-a dolostone (df3), and (4) coarse to very coarse crystalline planar dolostone cement (df4). The replacive dolostones are disordered to moderate the ordered and calcium-rich. They are non-stoichiometric and have 46–59 mol% CaCO₃ and 41–54 mol% MgCO₃ total contents. The df1 dolostones have MgCO₃ contents of 41–54 mol%, the df2 dolostones have 41–53 mol%, the df3 dolostones have 49 mol%, and the df4 dolostones have 49–50 mol%, respectively. The Gölbo?az? dolostones have δ¹⁸O values of ?9.44 to ?2.20‰ Vienna Pee Dee Belemnite (VPDB) and δ¹³C values of ?1.58 to +2.52 VPDB. Sr, Na, Mn, and Fe concentrations of replacive dolostones are 74–184, 148–593, below detection level (bdl)–619, and 1049–9233 ppm, respectively. The petrographic and geochemical data demonstrate that the replacive dolostones occurred prior to the chemical compaction at shallow to intermediate burial depths from Late Devonian seawater and/or seawater lightly modified by water–rock interaction process and later recrystallized by basinal brines at increasing burial depths and temperature. The North American Shale Composite-normalized rare earth element values of both limestone and dolostone show very similar rare earth element patterns characterized by slightly or considerably negative cerium (Ce) anomalies and a clear depletion in all rare earth element species. The dedolomitization observed in the Gölbo?az? Formation is thought to occur by the oxidizing effect of the meteoric water in the shallow burial environment during the telodiagenesis.     

Hydrochemical characteristics of shallow groundwater in aquifer containing uranyl phosphate minerals, in the Köprübaşı (Manisa) area, Turkey

The concentrations of uranium, iron and the major constituents were determined in groundwater samples from aquifer containing uranyl phosphate minerals (meta-autunite, meta-torbernite and torbernite) in the Köprüba?? area. Groundwater samples from wells located at shallow depths (0.5–6 m) show usually near neutral pH values (6.2–7.1) and oxidizing conditions (Eh = 119–275 mV). Electrical conductivity (EC) values of samples are between 87 and 329 μS/cm^?1. They are mostly characterized by mixed cationic Ca dominating bicarbonate types. The main hydrogeochemical process is weathering of the silicates in the shallow groundwater system. All groundwater in the study area are considered undersaturated with respect to torbernite and autunite. PHREEQC predicted UO₂(HPO₄) ₂ ^2? as the unique species. The excellent positive correlation coefficient (r = 0.99) between U and PO₄ indicates the dissolved uranium in groundwater would be associated with the dissolution of uranyl phosphate minerals. The groundwater show U content in the range 1.71–70.45 μg/l but they are mostly lower than US EPA (2003) maximum contaminant level of 30 μg/l. This low U concentrations in oxic groundwater samples is attributed to the low solubility of U(VI) phosphate minerals under near neutral pH and low bicarbonate conditions. Iron closely associated with studied sediments, were also detected in groundwater. The maximum concentration of Fe in groundwater samples was 2837 μg/l, while the drinking water guidelines of Turkish (TSE 1997) and US EPA (2003) were suggested 200 and 300 μg/l, respectively. Furthermore, iron and uranium showed a significant correlation to each other with a correlation coefficient (r) of 0.94. This high correlation is probably related to the iron-rich sediments which contain also significant amounts of uranium mineralization. In addition to pH and bicarbonate controlling dissolution of uranyl phosphates, association of uranyl phosphates with iron (hydr) oxides seems to play important role in the amount of dissolved U in shallow groundwater.     

Geochemistry, mineralogy and genesis of pyrophyllite deposits in the Pötürge Region (Malatya, Eastern Turkey)

In the Pötürge (Malatya, Turkey) area pyrophyllite occurrences are common in the shear zones, mostly in the form of lenses along faults. Mineralogical investigations (XRD, FTIR and SEM) revealed that pyrophyllite, kaolinite (dickite) and quartz are present in the form of major phases and muscovite (sericite), kyanite, chlorite, and alunite are only present in the form of minor phases. This study revealed that the existence of the kyanite phase points out to high pressure and temperature conditions which the rocks were underwent. On the other hand, the minerals such as pyrophyllite, kaolinite, and alunite are products of a low degree metamorphism (retrograde). The mineral paragenesis in the pyrophyllite deposits suggests that the formation of minerals took place in two ways: (1) the transformation of kyanite into pyrophyllite and quartz through retrograde metamorphism by a high degree temperature, (2) then pyrophyllite and probably muscovite were transformed into kaolinite and alunite through reactions with relatively low temperature hydrothermal fluids. The geochemical data indicate that during the retrograde metamorphism the elements K, Rb, Sr, Ba, S, and Fe were mobile, the elements Si, Al, P moderately mobile to immobile and the HPS elements (Zr, Ti, and Nb) were immobile. It was shown that the formation of pyrophyllite, kaolinite and alunite was associated with depletion in alkalis, Mg, Fe and enrichment of elements including Sr, Ba, and S. Mineralogical and geochemical data suggest that parent rocks (pre-metamorphism) of the Pötürge pyrophyllite were probably kaolinite, Al-rich clays or bauxites.     

Sedimentological,mineralogical and geochemical characteristics of the ooids in Cleopatra (Sedir Island,Gökova Bay,SW Turkey) and Alexandria (NW Egypt) Beach sediments: A comparison and reality of myth of the love

According to the myth, ooid-rich sediments in Cleopatra Beach (Sedir Island, Turkey) were brought by ships from Alexandria Beach (Egypt) by the Roman leader, Marcus Antonius, for his lover Cleopatra. Ooids of both beaches have been compared in terms of sedimentology, mineralogy and geochemistry to determine reality of the myth of love. Sieve analyses exhibit that sediments of Cleopatra Beach are slightly better sorted than Alexandria Beach sediments, and have relatively smaller sized ooids, interpreted to represent a relatively less agitated environment. All ooids are composed mainly of aragonite characterized by high Sr contents (>8600 mg/kg). Hierarchical Cluster Analysis, the cross-plot of δ¹⁸Oaragonite versus δ¹³C_aragonite values of ooids, and the presence of detrital grains such as gneiss and schist hint on two distinct groups of samples that correspond to the Cleopatra and Alexandria Beach ooids. These results suggest that the myth may not be realistic, and the ooids on the shore of Sedir Island were formed in-situ, e.g., during the Late Holocene.     

Interaction of U(VI) with Äspö diorite: A batch and in situ ATR FT-IR sorption study

Pristine diorite drill cores, obtained from the Äspö Hard Rock Laboratory (HRL, Sweden), were used to study the retention properties of fresh, anoxic crystalline rock material towards the redox-sensitive uranium. Batch sorption experiments and spectroscopic methods were applied for this study. The impact of various parameters, such as solid-to-liquid ratio (2–200 g/L), grain size (0.063–0.2 mm, 0.5–1 mm, 1–2 mm), temperature (room temperature and 10 °C), contact time (5–108 days), initial U(VI) concentration (3 × 10⁻⁹ to 6 × 10⁻⁵ M), and background electrolyte (synthetic Äspö groundwater and 0.1 M NaClO₄) on the U(VI) sorption onto anoxic diorite was studied under anoxic conditions (N₂). Comparatively, U(VI) sorption onto oxidized diorite material was studied under ambient atmosphere (pCO₂ = 10^−3.5 atm). Conventional distribution coefficients, K_d, and surface area normalized distribution coefficients, K_a, were determined. The K_d value for the U(VI) sorption onto anoxic diorite in synthetic Äspö groundwater under anoxic conditions by investigating the sorption isotherm amounts to 3.8 ± 0.6 L/kg which corresponds to K_a = 0.0030 ± 0.0005 cm (grain size 1–2 mm). This indicates a weak U sorption onto diorite which can be attributed to the occurrence of the neutral complex Ca₂UO₂(CO₃)₃(aq) in solution. This complex was verified as predominating U species in synthetic Äspö groundwater by time-resolved laser-induced fluorescence spectroscopy (TRLFS). Compared to U sorption at room temperature under anoxic conditions, U sorption is further reduced at decreased temperature (10 °C) and under ambient atmosphere. The U species in aqueous solution as well as sorbed on diorite were studied by in situ time-resolved attenuated total reflection Fourier-transform infrared (ATR FT-IR) spectroscopy. A predominant sorbing species containing a UO₂(CO₃)₃⁴⁻ moiety was identified. The extent of U sorption onto diorite was found to depend more on the low sorption affinity of the Ca₂UO₂(CO₃)₃(aq) complex than on reduction processes of uranium.     

Petrographic and Geochemicial Characteristics of the K?z?loren Formation (Upper Triassic-Lower Jurassic) in the Akp?nar (Konya, Turkey) Area

This paper describes the occurrence of dolomite and the mechanism of dolomitization of the Upper Triassic-Lower Jurassic K?z?loren Formation in the autochthonous Bolkardag? unit of the middle Taurus Mountains in south western Turkey. Dolomites were analyzed for geochemical, isotopic and crystallographic variation. Dolomites occur as a replacement of precursor carbonate and cement. The dolomite crystals range from <10 to ~1000 μm existing as both replacements and cements. Sr concentrations range between 84 and 156 ppm, and the molar Sr/Ca ratios of dolomitizing fluids are estimated to range between 0.0066 to 0.013 ratios. Dolomites are Ca-rich (with average CaCO3 and MgCO3 equal to 56.43 and 43.57 mol%, respectively) and they are non-stoichiometric, with an average Sr=116 ppm, Na=286 ppm, Mn=81 ppm, Fe=1329 ppm, and δ18O and δ13C ranges from –0.6‰ to –6.1‰ Pee Dee Belemnite [PDB], and +1.2 to +3.9‰ PDB. The North American Shale Composition [NASC]-normalized rare earth element (REE) values of the both limestone and dolomite sample groups show very similar REE patterns characterized by small positive Eu (mean=1.32 and mean=1.42, respectively) and slightly or considerably negative Ce (mean=0.61 and mean=0.72, respectively) anomalies and a clear depletion in all REE species. The K?z?loren Formation dolomites have been formed as early diagenetic from mixing zone fluids at the tidal-subtidal environment and at the late diagenetic from basinal brines at the shallow-deep burial depths.     

Recognition and implication of tectonic loading-induced reheating in the northern Variscan front (Belgium and northern France), based on an illite Kübler index and oxygen isotope study

Illite Kübler index (KI) and oxygen isotope (brachiopods and micrites) investigations have been performed on more than 300 Frasnian limestones sampled in one borehole and numerous outcrops in the Dinant Synclinorium (Belgium, northern France) of the northern Variscan front. The illite Kübler index and ¹⁸O data of a 3-km-thick, tectonically repeated Frasnian series from the Focant borehole are compared with their surrounding surface correspondents and document in-situ reheating induced by Variscan tectonic loading, which post-dated sedimentary burial alteration. The boundary between these two thermal processes (sedimentary burial and tectonic loading) on the Focant profile corresponds to an important location where the heat induced by the tectonic loading was equivalent to that Frasnian strata suffered during maximum sedimentary burial. Mainly based on this knowledge and on a former conodont colour alteration index study, the thickness of the eroded thrust sheet in the Focant area is estimated to be around 3,000 m. Oxygen isotopic exchange in these Frasnian closed carbonate systems, occurring under highest-grade diagenesis and anchimetamorphism, records two events. Brachiopods present a quite different and more homogeneous pattern, due to their higher resistance to heat alteration. These thermal events caused both ¹⁸O records to become increasingly lighter than the presumed original seawater signature. The comparison between KI and ¹⁸O profiles indicates that illite KI analysis is more appropriate than ¹⁸O in highlighting the temperature variations in the burial metamorphism at the periphery of orogenic belts.     

Geochronology,geochemistry, and tectonic setting of the Oligocene magmatic rocks (Marmaros Magmatic Assemblage) in Gökçeada Island,northwest Turkey

Through the ?zmir–Ankara–Erzincan and the Vardar oceans suture zones, convergence between the Eurasian and African plates played a key role in controlling Palaeogene magmatism in northwestern Anatolia, northern Aegean, and eastern Balkans. LA-ICP-MS dating of U and Pb isotopes on zircon separates from the tuffs of the Harmankaya Volcanic Rocks, which are inter-fingered with the lower-middle Eocene deposits of the Gaziköy Formation to the north of the Ganos Fault and the Karaa?aç Formation in the Gelibolu Peninsula, yielded a late Ypresian (51 Ma) age. The chemical characteristics suggest that the lavas and tuffs of the Harmankaya Volcanic Rocks are products of syn- or post-collision magmas. These volcanic rocks show also close affinities to the subduction-related magmas. In addition to the already known andesitic volcanic rocks, our field observations in Gökçeada Island indicate also the existence of granitic and rhyolitic rocks (Marmaros Magmatic Assemblage). Our U–Pb zircon age data has shown that the newly discovered Marmaros granitic plutons intruded during late Oligocene (26 Ma) into the deposits of the Karaa?aç Formation in Gökçeada Island. LA-ICP-MS dating of U and Pb isotopes on zircon separates from the Marmaros rhyolitic rocks yielded a late Oligocene (26 Ma) crystallization age. Geochemical characteristics indicate that the more-evolved Oligocene granitic and rhyolitic rock of the Marmaros Magmatic Assemblage possibly assimilated a greater amount of crustal material than the lower Eocene Harmankaya Volcanic Rocks. Geochemical features and age relationships suggest increasing amounts of crustal contamination and a decreasing subduction signature during the evolution of magmas in NW Turkey from the early Eocene to the Oligocene. The magmatic activity developed following the northward subduction of the ?zmir–Ankara–Erzincan oceanic lithosphere and the earliest Palaeocene final continental collision between the Sakarya and Anatolide–Tauride zones.     

The mineralogical,isotope (K–Ar), structural,and textural features of the Jurassic siliciclastic complex in various tectonic environments (Greater Caucasus,Chechnya, and Georgia)

The variations in the structural, textural, mineralogical, and geochemical (isotope) features of Lower to Middle Jurassic siliciclastic sediments along the Chanty-Argun River in Mountainous Chechnya and Georgia are discussed. This profile transects areas with various types of deformed sediments, from the northern comparatively weakly deformed and altered zone, to the southern zone of intense deformation and cleavage. Southward along the profile, these alterations are accompanied by the evolution of clay mineral assemblages, as well as polytypic modifications of micas and their crystallinity index. Increasing intensity of rock alteration and cleavage leads to a change of the K–Ar system, which results in a substantially rejuvenated isotope age of the sediments with a simultaneous increase of their stratigraphic age.     

Remarks on sequence stratigraphy and taphonomy of the Malvinokaffric shelly fauna during the KAČÁK Event in the Apucarana Sub-basin (Paraná Basin), Brazil

The Eifelian–Givetian (Middle Devonian) transition constituted an important paleoenvironmental event for the Malvinokaffric Realm in the Apucarana Sub-basin (Paraná Basin). This study highlights integration between taphonomy and sequence stratigraphy, and four depositional sequences are identified during the transition. In Sequence 1, the presence of a typical normal-sized Malvinokaffric fauna is recorded. In the transgressive systems tract (TST) of Sequence 2, no benthic fossils are present, and this is interpreted as a stratigraphic marker of an event of significant paleoenvironmental change (KA?ÁK Event). In Sequence 3, the TST has abundant bioclasts, which become rarer toward the top of the section, i.e., within the transgressive systems tract. The original habitat of this autochthonous to parautochthonous fauna was a low-energy environment between the fair weather wave base and the storm wave base of the Devonian epicontinental sea. In the highstand systems tract of this sequence, the presence of normal-sized Pennaia paulianna and lingulids demonstrates the return of more ambient conditions. Sequence 4 is of Carboniferous age. Its limit is a second-order sequence boundary recording a lowstand systems tract formed by a fluvial depositional system. The low diversity and the disappearance of taxa are not the result of a taphonomic bias, but reflect the post-KA?ÁK Event.