Comparison of quantitative petrographic, stable isotope and cathodoluminescence data for fingerprinting Czech marbles

Various marbles from both historic quarries and historical artefacts of the Czech Republic were examined in order to make determinations of their provenance. The methodology used was based upon a combination of petrographic image analysis (PIA) of thin sections, stable isotope geochemistry of carbonates, and cathodoluminescence. Multivariate statistical methods (i.e. cluster analysis and discriminant analysis) confirmed the geoscientific relevance of the marble’s different characteristics with a high degree of consistency as well as the enhanced significance of stable C and O isotopes in correlation with the petrographic data. The qualitative cathodoluminescence data provided a useful additional tool to help recognise the fingerprinting of marbles with similar petrographic and/or geochemical characteristics.     

Marbles and carbonate rocks from central Morocco: a petrographic,mineralogical and geochemical study

Petrographic, mineralogical, and stable isotopes (δ¹³C, δ¹⁸O values) compositions were used to characterise marbles and sedimentary carbonate rocks from central Morocco, which are considered to be a likely source of ornamental and building material from Roman time to the present day. This new data set was used in the frame of an archaeometric provenance study on Roman artefacts from the town of Thamusida (Kenitra, north Morocco), to assess the potential employment of these rocks for the manufacture of the archaeological materials. A representative set of samples from marbles and other carbonate rocks (limestone, dolostone) were collected in several quarries and outcrops in the Moroccan Meseta, in a region extending from the Meknes–Khenifra alignment to the Atlantic Ocean. All the samples were studied using a petrographic, mineralogical and geochemical methods. The petrographic and minerological investigations (optical microscopy, electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction) allowed to group the carbonate rocks in limestones, foliated limestone, diagenetic breccias and dolostone. The limestones could be further grouped as mudstones, wackestones–packstones, crinoid grainstones, oolitic grainstone and floatstones. Textural differences allowed to define marbles varieties. The stable carbon and oxygen isotope composition proved to be quite useful in the discrimination of marble sources, with apparently less discriminatory potential for carbonate rocks.     

Marbles from Roman Hispania: stable isotope and cathodoluminescence characterization

Pure white marble has been considered a valuable ornamental and architectural material since ancient times. Many scientific techniques have been used to create an extensive data base of “finger-prints” characterizing white marbles from the major classical quarries. However, determining the provenance of white marbles is a difficult task due to their similarity in physical and chemical parameters. Three techniques (petrography, cathodoluminescence and stable C and O isotopes) have been used to characterize white marbles from the ancient quarries of the Iberian Peninsula. Maximum grain size, texture and isotopic composition can be used to identify the different quarries. Each area is generally represented by several cathodomicrofacies, but quantitative CL analysis is also helpful in distinguishing those quarries for which the data provided by other techniques are not sufficiently diagnostic. The database and the discriminating criteria presented in this study have been tentatively applied to some ancient sculptures from the National Museum of Roman Art in Merida (Spain).     

40Ar/39Ar hornblende dating of a microgranodiorite dyke: implications for early Permian extension in the Moldanubian Zone of the Bohemian Massif

Laser fusion ⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar ages of titanian pargasite from a microgranodiorite dyke swarm in the southern Bohemian Massif effectively date the early Permian (late Autunian) emplacement of dykes into a cool Moldanubian crust. This intrusion represents the youngest magmatic phase recorded in this part of the Moldanubian Zone. Strontium and neodymium isotopic ratios of microgranodiorites point to magma derivation from re-melting the lower crustal rocks with a possible component of upper mantle composition. Spatial and temporal association of the dykes with movements on a major N-S (NNE-SSW) tectonic discontinuity (Blanice-Kaplice-Rödl fault zone) suggests that their emplacement corresponds to the maximum age of fault movements associated with the E/W-oriented extension in this part of the Bohemian Massif.     

Decorative marbles from the Krkonoše-Jizera Terrane (Bohemian Massif,Czech Republic): provenance criteria

Marbles from western part of the Krkonoše-Jizera Terrane (northern part of the Bohemian Massif) have been studied to obtain mineropetrographic and chemical reference data for provenance studies. Samples from six different quarries were analysed by mineralogical-petrographic and geochemical methods (optical microscopy, X-ray diffraction, stable isotope ratio analysis, cathodoluminescence, bulk magnetic susceptibility). Petrographic characteristics permit a distinction between fine-grained to medium-grained marbles from the Jizera Mts (amphibolite metamorphic facies) and fine-grained marbles from the Ještěd Mts (low-grade greenschist facies). The samples studied are mainly calcitic, with the exception of those from Raspenava in which dolomite is abundant in two types. The mineralogical composition of the insoluble residues is clinochlore ± serpentine ± tremolite ± diopside ± pyrite + magnetite in case of the locality Raspenava and clinochlore + muscovite ± quartz ± pyrite ± rutile ± haematite in case of the localities from the Ještěd Mts. δ¹³C and δ¹⁸O variations in primary and secondary carbonate phases allow to distinguish genetically different carbonate veins and permit quarry separation in one case (Raspenava, Jizera Mts). The δ¹³C and δ¹⁸O values of the groundmass range from −1 to +3‰ and from −8 to −20‰ (PDB), respectively. The δ¹³C and δ¹⁸O values of secondary carbonate veins decrease to −3‰ and reach more negative values up to −26‰ in case of δ¹⁸O. The fabric of cathodomicrofacies allows the distinction between calcite and dolomite, except three localities (Pilínkov, Horní Hanychov, Jitrava—rose type) with majority of quenchers (high content of iron in carbonate). The genetically different calcite is characterised by a pale and dark orange luminescence distribution. Serpentine, tremolite, forsterite, opaque minerals and quartz have no luminescence and very dull luminescence, respectively. The majority of studied marbles exhibits low values of the bulk magnetic susceptibility, with the exception of those from Raspenava rich in magnetite.     

Petrographical and geochemical investigation of the Triassic marbles associated with Menderes massif metamorphics,Kavaklıdere,Muğla,SW Turkey

Vast marble deposits occur in a cover sequence of the Menderes Massif, SW Turkey. Four major marble deposits are recognized in Mu?la province based on the stratigraphic levels. These are Permo-Carboniferous aged black marbles (1), Triassic aged marbles (2), Upper Cretaceous aged marbles (3), and Paleocene aged pelagic marbles (4). This study deals with Triassic aged marbles of the southern part of the Menderes Massif. The Triassic marbles from SW Turkey consist of two big marble horizons in the Çayboyu (ÇM) and Kestanecik (KM) regions. The characteristic samples are collected from different stratigraphic levels in marble deposits in the ÇM and KM horizons. Mineralogical and major, trace, and rare earth element (REE) analyses of marble, limestone, and schist were conducted on these samples to reveal their petrographical and geochemical characteristics. The ÇM horizon is represented by calcitic marble layers. Nickel, cobalt, manganese, and iron elements filled in fractures, fissures, and intergranular spaces of calcite crystals and these elements give the pinky colour to the marble from the ÇM horizon. KM marbles were deformed, metamorphosed, and recrystallized under greenschist facies P–T conditions. As a result of the metasomatic reaction of magnesium and manganese rich fluids with marbles, dolomite, and manganese, minerals such as rhodochrosite and pyrolusite have crystallized along vein walls and layers in the KM horizon. Dolomitization was determined in KM marbles, whereas ÇM marbles show the character of limestone. MgO, MnO, Fe₂O₃, Ni, and Zn contents of marbles from the KM horizon are higher than those of ÇM marbles due to metasomatic reactions. The Sr content in white coloured marbles ranges between 11.20 ppm and 112.20 ppm and this concentration reaches up to 272.70 ppm due to metasomatic reactions and fluid intake. The REE content of Triassic marbles is independent of the abundance of carbonate and the REE enrichment observed due to syn-metamorphic fluid flow. The significant negative Eu anomaly in REE patterns indicates that the protoliths of Triassic marbles are carbonate rocks of sedimentary origin.     

Boron isotopic variations in tourmaline from metacarbonates and associated calc-silicate rocks from the Bohemian Massif: Constraints on boron recycling in the Variscan orogen

Various metacarbonate and associated calc-silicate rocks form minor but genetically significant components of the lithological units in the Bohemian Massif of the Variscan orogen in Central Europe.These rocks vary in terms of their lithostratigraphy,chemical composition and mineral assemblage(dolomite/calcite ratio,silicate abundance).Tourmaline is present in five paragenetic settings within the metacarbonate and calc-silicate units.TypeⅠcomprises individual,euhedral,prismatic grains and grain aggregates in a carbonate-dominant(calcite±dolomite)matrix poor in silicates.TypeⅡis characterized by euhedral to subhedral grains and coarse-to fine-grained aggregates in silicate-rich layers/nests within metacarbonate bodies whereas typeⅢoccurs as prismatic grains and aggregates at the contact zones between carbonate and associated silicate host rocks.TypeⅣis in veins crosscutting metacarbonate bodies,and typeⅣtourmaline occurs at the exocontacts of elbaite-subtype granitic pegmatite.Tourmaline from the different settings shows distinctive compositional features.Typical for typeⅠare Mg-rich compositions,with fluor-uvite>dravite>>magnesio-lucchesiite.Tourmalines from typeⅡsilicate-rich layers/nests are highly variable,corresponding to oxy-schorl,magnesio-foitite,Al-rich dravite and fluor-uvite.Typical for typeⅢtourmalines are Ca,Ti-bearing oxy-dravite compositions.The typeⅣveins feature dravite and fluor-uvite tourmaline compositions whereas typeⅤtourmaline is Li,F-rich dravite.Tourmaline is the only Bbearing phase in paragenetic typesⅠ-Ⅳ,where it is characterised by two principal ranges of B-isotope composition(δ^11B=-13‰to-9‰and-18‰to-14‰).These ranges correspond to regionally different units of the Moldanubian Zone.Thus,the Svratka Unit(Moldanubian Zone s.l.)contains only isotopically lighter tourmaline(δ^11B=-18‰to-14‰),whereas metacarbonates in the Poli?ka unit(Teplá-Barrandian Zone)and Olesnice unit(Moravicum of the Moravo-Silesian Zone)has exclusively isotopically heavier tourmaline(δ^11B=-9‰to-13‰).Tourmalines from metacarbonates in the Variegated Unit cover both ranges of isotope composition.The isotopically light end of the B isotope range may indicate the presence of continental evaporites within individual investigated areas.On the other hand,variations in the range of~8δ-units is consistent with the reported shift in B isotopic composition of metasedimentary rocks of the Bohemian Massif due to the prograde metamorphism from very-low grade to eclogite facies.In contrast to the metacarbonate-hosted settings,tourmaline of paragenetic type V from the exocontact of granitic pegmatites displays a significantly heavier range ofδ^11B(as low as-7.7‰to-0.6‰),which is attributed to partitioning of 10 B to cogenetic axinite and/or different B-signature of the source pegmatite containing tourmaline with heavyδ^11B signature.     

Micronized Calcite Potential,Production and Principle Characteristics of Nigde (Turkey)

Marble that exploited for micronized calcite production in Nigde area (South Central Turkey) occur in the Upper Cretaceous Gümü ler, A gedi i, and Kaleboynu Formations of the Nigde Massif. Although there are a few marble producing quarries in the area, it is long been known that the marbles of this area are generally highly fractured and don’t yield large blocks or suitable slabs meeting the industrial demands. Thus, most of the production is currently carried out mainly as building stone, crushed stone and micronized calcite. Due mainly to high demand, micronized calcite has been becoming very significant export product to the state’s economy. Because the Nigde marbles are coarse grained with high CaCO3 content, high purity and whiteness, they are considered to be the highest quality micronized calcite quarries in the country. Consequently, the area drew many national and international investors resulting in significant increase in the number and extent of micronized calcite plants in the area. In early 1980’s, the city of Nigde had only one or two plants, it is now well over 5 including foreign investors and joint ventures. Annual production is also considerably increased from 20,000-30,000 tones to almost half a million tones and it is still in increasing trend.     

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.     

Dating granulite-facies structures and the exhumation of lower crust in the Moldanubian Zone of the Bohemian Massif

Deformation of granulite-facies rocks in the Moldanubian Zone of the southern Bohemian Massif is expressed in two intersecting planar fabrics - steeply disposed (S₁) and flat-laying (S₂) - which correspond to two deformation stages (D₁) and (D₂). The existing Sm-Nd garnet ages from banded granulite gneisses, new U-Pb zircon data from deformed granite intrusions within the granulite gneisses, and the P-T and field structural relations constrain the ages and P-T conditions of the two deformation phases. The early deformation (D₁) was associated with a HP-HT metamorphic stage with a minimum age of ca. 354 Ma which was followed by a near-isothermal decompression. A concordant U-Pb zircon age of 318ǃ Ma dates the emplacement of intrusions of deformed granite into the granulite gneisses and constrains deformation phase (D₂). This phase was associated with an LP-HT metamorphism dated in the region at ca. 340-330 Ma. The available structural and isotopic data indicate that granulites in the southern Bohemian Massif were exhumed from lower to middle crust during compression. The structural relations and P-T-t data for the studied granulites are consistent with their exhumation by near-vertical extrusion of the softened orogenic root.     

Geological parameters affecting the marble production in the quarries along the southern flank of the Menderes Massif, in SW Turkey

The Mugla province is one of the major marble producing regions located in the southern flank of the Menderes Massif in SW Turkey. The Menderes Massif is a regionally metamorphosed massif with an old Pan-African core and cover successions from the Permo–Carboniferous to Paleocene. There are four major metamorphic carbonate horizons in the cover successions exploited for the marble production. These horizons are located within the Permo–Carboniferous, Triassic, Upper Cretaceous and Paleocene successions along the southern flank of the Menderes Massif. Here the world wide known marbles with names such as the Mugla Black, the Milas White, Veined, Pearl, Aubergine, Lilac and Lemony, the Mugla White and the Aegean Bordeaux are found.

Detailed geological studies were carried out in selected marble quarries representing the different stratigraphic levels to determine the geological parameters affecting the marble production in the southern flank of the Menderes Massif in SW Turkey. The geological parameters such as bedding, joints, schist interlayers and mica filled joints affecting the block production from the marble beds are considered to be primary features. The presence of dolomite bands and lenses, abnormal sized calcite crystals and emery minerals which affect the slab and the production qualities and appearances are considered to be secondary geological parameters. The primary and secondary geological parameters affecting the marble productions at different stratigraphical levels in SW Turkey, are determined and the practical aspects of these findings are discussed.     

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.     

Carbonate-hosted talc deposits in the contact aureole of an igneous intrusion (Hwanggangri mineralized zone,South Korea): geochemistry,phase relationships,and stable isotope studies

Many talc deposits occur in the Hwanggangri Mineralized Zone (HMZ) in dolomitic marbles of the Cambro-Ordovician Samtaesan Formation within 1 km of the contact with the Cretaceous Muamsa Granite. Talc commonly forms fine-grained, fibrous aggregates, or pseudomorphs after tremolite; abundant tremolite is included as impurities in the talc ore. Talc generally was derived from tremolite in calc-silicate rock within the dolomitic marble. Calc-silicate rock, consisting mainly of tremolite and diopside, was generated from silicic metasomatism during the prograde stage, which promoted decarbonation reactions until dolomite was exhausted locally. Hydrothermal alteration of calc-silicate rock to talc is marked by the addition of Mg and Si, and the leaching of Ca; Cr, Co, and Ni were relatively immobile during the retrograde stage. Contact metamorphism related to the granite intrusion generated the successive appearance of tremolite, diopside, and forsterite, or wollastonite-bearing assemblages in the marble, depending on the bulk rock composition. The X_CO2 content of the metamorphic fluids rose initially above X_CO2=0.6, and decreased steadily toward a water-rich composition with increasing temperature above 600 °C in the calcitic marble, while buffered reaction of the dolomitic marble occurred at higher X_CO2 conditions above 600 °C. Talc mineralization developed under metastable conditions with infiltration of large amounts of igneous fluids along a fault-shattered zone during the retrograde stage and is characterized by the loss of Ca²⁺ with the addition of Mg²⁺. Oxygen and carbon isotopic variations of carbonate and calc-silicate minerals are in agreement with theoretical relationships determined for decarbonation products of contact metamorphism. Talc formation temperatures obtained from oxygen isotope fractionation, T–X_CO2 relationships, and activity diagrams range from 380 to 400 °C.     

Fluid-rock interaction and thermal evolution during thrusting of an Alpine metamorphic complex (Tinos island, Greece)

This study examines the fluid-rock interaction and thermal evolution along a thrust that juxtaposes calcite-rich marbles of high P-T metamorphic unit of the Attic-Cycladic Massif (Greece) on top of a lower-grade dolomite marble unit. The Tertiary thrust represents a major phase of tectonic movement related to the decompression of the Alpine orogen in the Hellenides. The stable isotope signatures of the thrust plane and adjacent sections of the footwall and hanging wall rocks are characterized by significant carbon and oxygen isotope depletions. The depletion is most pronounced in calcite, but is almost entirely missing in coexisting dolomite. The isotopic patterns in the thrust zone can be explained by the infiltration of an externally derived water-rich H₂O-CO₂-CH₄ fluid [X _C (=X _{CO 2}+X _{CH 4})<0.05] at water-rock ratios on the order of 0.1 to 0.5 by weight. The fluid-induced calcite recrystallization is viewed as an important rheological control during thrusting. The temperature evolution of the footwall, hanging wall and mylonitic tectonic contact was determined by calcite-dolomite solvus thermometry. Histograms of calcite-dolomite temperatures are interpreted as indicating a heating of the footwall dolomite marble during the thrusting of the hotter upper plate. Conversely, the hanging wall marble unit was cooled during the thrusting. The calcite-dolomite thermometry of the thrust plane gives temperatures intermediate between the initial temperatures of the lower and upper marble units, and this leads to the conclusion that conductive heat transfer rather than fluid infiltration controlled the thermal evolution during thrusting. Received: 14 April 1998 / Accepted: 9 December 1998     

Cordierite from a high-temperature low-pressure shear zone of the south-western Bohemian Massif (Moldanubian terrain,Austria)

A medium-scale shear zone exposed in the gneiss rocks of the South-western Bohemian Massif (Moldanubian Zone) contains cordierite, whose Na p.f.u. is subject to a significant increase from the centre to the edge of the deformation area, whilst other elements only show negligible variations. Coexisting mineral phases of cordierite include garnet, biotite, and sillimanite. According to the results obtained from the garnet-cordierite Fe²⁺/Mg²⁺-exchange thermometer a decrease of peak temperature from 639 °C in the central mylonite to 593 °C in the marginal mylonite can be observed, which indicates significant shear heating. Lithological pressures were estimated by considering the position of cordierite-forming reactions in the P-T field and the stability of coexisting sillimanite. They are subject to a reduction from 0.35 GPa in the highest deformed mylonite to 0.31 GPa at the margin of the shear zone. According to the results of comprehensive petrographic and mineralogical studies the investigated shear zone underwent a Variscan HT-LP metamorphic event implying the formation of cordierite and an Alpine MT-LP event entailing the rotation and decomposition of the cordierite phase.     

Vanadio-pargasite NaCa2(Mg4V)(Si6Al2)O22(OH)2: a New Mineral of the Amphibole Supergroup

Geology of Ore Deposits - A new mineral was discovered in Cr–V-bearing marbles of the Sludyanka Complex from the Pereval marble quarry, Sludyanka district, southern Baikal region, Russia. It...     

Anhydrite-bearing rocks from the Rožná district (Moldanubian zone,Czech Republic): high-grade metamorphosed exhalites?

Several types of anhydrite-bearing rocks have been found in the amphibolite-facies metamorphosed rocks at the north-eastern margin of the Moldanubian Zone. Anhydrite either forms monomineralic bands up to 40 cm thick, or occurs in the form of disseminated grains in surrounding calc-silicate gneiss together with feldspar, scapolite, amphibole, pyroxene, epidote and pyrite. The isotopic composition of sulphur ('³⁴S=30.6 to 32.3‰) and strontium (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr=0.70797 to 0.70781) in anhydrite may indicate a marine source of sulphate. The isotopic ratio of strontium is in the same range as that of metamorphosed strata-bound barite-sulphide ores, which have been previously described in the same area. The '³⁴S values of coexisting pyrite range from 21.4 to 22.5‰, the (³⁴S_{anhydrite-pyrite} corresponding to the metamorphic temperature of 600 to 660 °C. In contrast to many submarine-exhalative deposits, the oxygen isotopic compositions of anhydrite ('¹⁸O=9.3 to 10.2‰) are lighter than that of barite ('¹⁸O=10.4 to 13.8‰). This indicates that the both minerals are not in isotopic equilibrium. Therefore, it is probable that anhydrite and barite from the Ro—ná district were deposited from fluids that contained different proportions of seawater and hydrothermal fluids or from hydrothermal fluids that underwent variable extent of oxygen isotope exchange with seafloor rocks. The '¹³C values in calcite ('¹³C=-17.2 to -18.7‰) from anhydrite-bearing rock are lower than those in distant marbles. As graphite is absent in anhydrite- and calcite-bearing rocks, impoverishment in the ¹³C isotope cannot be attributed to the graphite-carbonate isotopic exchange during metamorphism. It is proposed that low '¹³C values in carbonates are caused by pre-metamorphic oxidation of organic matter in course of hydrothermal processes. Anhydrite and anhydrite-bearing calc-silicate gneiss from the north-eastern part of the Moldanubian Zone are interpreted to be the high-grade metamorphosed analogue of anhydrite-rich exhalites commonly found in submarine-exhalative hydrothermal deposits.     

Controls on the mechanisms of fluid infiltration and front advection during regional metamorphism: a stable isotope and textural study of retrograde Dalradian rocks of the SW Scottish Highlands

Vein-controlled retrograde infiltration of H₂O-CO₂ fluids into Dalradian epidote amphibolite facies rocks of the SW Scottish Highlands under greenschist facies conditions resulted in alteration of calcite-rich marble bands to dolomite and spatially associated ¹⁸O enrichment of about 10%. on a scale of metres. Fluid inclusion data indicate that the retrograde fluid was an H₂O-salt mixture with a low CO₂ content, and that the temperature of the fluid was about 400d? C. Detailed petrographic and textural (backscattered electron imaging) studies at one garnet-grade locality show that advection of fluid into marbles proceeded by a calcite-calcite grain edge flow mechanism, while alteration of non-carbonate wall-rock is associated with veinlets and microcracks. Stable isotopic analysis of carbonates from marble bands provides evidence for advection of isotopic fronts through carbonate wall-rocks perpendicular to dolomite veins, and fluid fluxes in the range 2.4–28.6 m³/m² have been computed from measured advection distances. Coincidence of isotope and reaction fronts is considered to result from reaction-enhanced kinetics of isotope exchange at the reaction front. Front advection distances are related to the proportion of calcite to quartz in each marble band, with the largest advection distance occurring in nearly pure calcite matrix. This relationship indicates that fluid flow in carbonates is only possible along fluid-calcite-calcite grain edges. However, experimental constraints on dihedral angles in calcite-fluid systems require that pervasive infiltration occurred in response to calcite dissolution initiated at calcite-calcite grain junctions rather than to an open calcite pore geometry. The regional extent of the retrograde infiltration event has been documented from the high δ¹⁸O of dolomite-ankerite carbonates from veins and host-rocks over an area of least 50 × 50 km in the SW Scottish Highlands. Isotopically exotic ¹⁸O-rich retrograde fluids have moved rapidly upwards through the crust, inducing isotopic exchange and mineral reaction in wall-rocks only where lithology, pore geometry or mineral solubilities, pressure and temperature have been appropriate for pervasive infiltration to occur.     

Material properties of the Menderes Massif Marbles from SW Turkey

Marbles are extensively quarried at four different stratigraphical levels from Permo-Carbonifereous to Paleogene in the southern flank of the Menderes Massif in SW Turkey. These marbles differ in color, texture and pattern depending on their stratigraphical levels and are well known in the international trade as the Mugla Black (Permo-Carbonifereous), Mugla White (Cretaceous), Milas Lemon, Lilac, Aubergine, Pearl, Veined and White (Triassic) and Aegean Bordeaux (Paleogene) marbles. The mineralogical, chemical, physical and mechanical properties of the representative marbles samples obtained from the quarries working in four major metamorphic carbonate horizons in the cover successions of the Menderes Massif's southern flank in SW Turkey are determined and the results of over 1700 tests carried out on the selected marble samples are presented. The mean test values of the physical and mechanical tests are in general, found to be above the threshold acceptance values suggested by the American and Turkish Standards for the use of marbles as a building stone and in the same order as the properties of Italian (Carrara) and Greek marbles reported in the literature. Additionally, the mean test values of the marbles have given high correlations with one another and the relations obtained between the index test results determined by simple techniques requiring minimal sample preparation effort and the mean values of the more elaborate engineering tests results are presented as tables and graphs for wider use.     

Pre-Variscan geological events in the Austrian part of the Bohemian Massif deduced from U–Pb zircon ages

In an attempt to elucidate the pre-Variscan evolution history of the various geological units in the Austrian part of the Bohemian Massif, we have analysed zircons from 12 rocks (mainly orthogneisses) by means of SHRIMP, conventional multi-grain and single-grain U–Pb isotope-dilution/mass-spectrometry. Two of the orthogneisses studied represent Cadomian metagranitoids that formed at ca. 610 Ma (Spitz gneiss) and ca. 580 Ma (Bittesch gneiss). A metagranite from the Thaya batholith also gave a Cadomian zircon age (567±5 Ma). Traces of Neoproterozoic zircon growth were also identified in several other samples, underlining the great importance of the Cadomian orogeny for the evolution of crust in the southern Bohemian Massif. However, important magmatic events also occurred in the Early Palaeozoic. A sample of the Gföhl gneiss was recognised as a 488±6 Ma-old granite. A tonalite gneiss from the realm of the South Bohemian batholith was dated at 456±3 Ma, and zircon cores in a Moldanubian metagranitic granulite gave similar ages of 440–450 Ma. This Ordovician phase of magmatism in the Moldanubian unit is tentatively interpreted as related to the rifting and drift of South Armorica from the African Gondwana margin. The oldest inherited zircons, in a migmatite from the South Bohemian batholith, yielded an age of ca. 2.6 Ga, and many zircon cores in both Moravian and Moldanubian meta-granitoid rocks gave ages around 2.0 Ga. However, rocks from the Moldanubian unit show a striking lack of zircon ages between 1.8 and 1.0 Ga, reflecting an ancestry from Armorica and the North African part of Gondwana, respectively, whereas the Moravian Bittesch gneiss contains many inherited zircons with Mesoproterozoic and Early Palaeoproterozoic ages of ca. 1.2, 1.5 and 1.65–1.8 Ga, indicating a derivation from the South American part of Gondwana.