D–H evidence for the timing of kaolinization in Northeast Bavaria, Germany

The δD_SMOW values of sedimentary kaolins from the western border of the Bohemian Massif, northeast Bavaria, that did not suffer a deep burial (less than 1000 m) nor a hydrothermal overprint, change systematically from Late Triassic (−50‰) to Mid-Jurassic and Late Cretaceous (−56‰ to −66‰) to Upper Oligocene–Mid-Miocene (−77‰ to −90‰). All analyzed clays are far from hydrogen isotope equilibrium with present-day meteoric waters. Combined oxygen and hydrogen isotope data of selected samples indicate low temperatures of formation (<30°C) and no evidence for preferential D/H exchange with younger waters. The hydrogen isotopic evolution of kaolins is interpreted as reflecting a systematic isotopic change of paleo-meteoric waters in that region. This can be related mainly to the northward drift of stable Europe after the break-up of Gondwana. Increasing continentality, surface uplift and global cooling are additional factors responsible for decreasing δD_SMOW values since the Mid-Cretaceous.

Kaolinite hydrogen isotope ratios of two large residual economic deposits (Tirschenreuth: δD_SMOW=−80‰ to −76‰; Hirschau–Schaittenbach: δD_SMOW=−70‰ to −63‰) can be used in combination with additional geological evidence to constrain the timing of weathering in these areas. A late Early Cretaceous kaolinization age is suggested for the Early Triassic sandstone-hosted deposits near Hirschau–Schnaittenbach, whereas a Late Oligocene to Mid-Miocene age is indicated for the Carboniferous granite-hosted Tirschenreuth deposits.