Corina Ionescu

Cumulates and gabbros in southern Albanian ophiolites: their bearing on regional tectonic setting

Abstract The western belt of the southern Albanian ophiolites consists of six major ophiolite massifs (Voskopoja, Rehove, Morava, Devolli, Vallamara, Shpati) and two smaller ones (Luniku and Stravaj). Each massif has a distinct sequence of mantle tectonites, ultramafic cumulates (plagioclase-bearing peridotites and wehrlites), cumulate gabbros, troctolites and isotropic gabbros. Voskopoja, Rehove and Morava have predominantly lherzolites as mantle tectonites, Shpati lherzolites and harzburgites, and Devolli and Vallamara almost exclusively harzburgites. A volcanic section together with volcanogenic sediments occurs only in the Voskopoja and Rehove massifs as well as in the smaller Luniku and Stravaj massifs. Whole-rock geochemistry and mineral chemistry suggest a mid-ocean ridge setting for the origin of the cumulates and gabbros from the Voskopoja, Rehove and Morava massifs, with only a minor suprasubduction zone (SSZ) influence. The Shpati massif and the small Luniku massif show mid-ocean ridge (MOR) and SSZ signatures in their plutonic sequences. Cumulates and gabbros from Devolli and Vallamara formed in an SSZ setting. The predominance of MOR-generated crustal rocks and the relatively minor occurrence of SSZ-generated plutonic rocks together with the volcanogenic sediments in the Voskopoja and Rehove massifs are indicative of a back-arc basin origin of the western belt ophiolites above a westward-dipping subduction zone.

Emplacement of the Jurassic Mirdita ophiolites (southern Albania): evidence from associated clastic and carbonate sediments

Sedimentology can shed light on the emplacement of oceanic lithosphere (i.e. ophiolites) onto continental crust and post-emplacement settings. An example chosen here is the well-exposed Jurassic Mirdita ophiolite in southern Albania. Successions studied in five different ophiolitic massifs (Voskopoja, Luniku, Shpati, Rehove and Morava) document variable depositional processes and palaeoenvironments in the light of evidence from comparable settings elsewhere (e.g. N Albania; N Greece). Ophiolitic extrusive rocks (pillow basalts and lava breccias) locally retain an intact cover of oceanic radiolarian chert (in the Shpati massif). Elsewhere, ophiolite-derived clastics typically overlie basaltic extrusives or ultramafic rocks directly. The oldest dated sediments are calpionellid- and ammonite-bearing pelagic carbonates of latest (?) Jurassic-Berrasian age. Similar calpionellid limestones elsewhere (N Albania; N Greece) post-date the regional ophiolite emplacement. At one locality in S Albania (Voskopoja), calpionellid limestones are gradationally underlain by thick ophiolite-derived breccias (containing both ultramafic and mafic clasts) that were derived by mass wasting of subaqueous fault scarps during or soon after the latest stages of ophiolite emplacement. An intercalation of serpentinite-rich debris flows at this locality is indicative of mobilisation of hydrated oceanic ultramafic rocks. Some of the ophiolite-derived conglomerates (e.g. Shpati massif) include well-rounded serpentinite and basalt clasts suggestive of a high-energy, shallow-water origin. The Berriasian pelagic limestones (at Voskopoja) experienced reworking and slumping probably related to shallowing and a switch to neritic deposition. Mixed ophiolite-derived clastic and neritic carbonate sediments accumulated later, during the Early Cretaceous (mainly Barremian-Aptian) in variable deltaic, lagoonal and shallow-marine settings. These sediments were influenced by local tectonics or eustatic sea-level change. Terrigenous sediment gradually encroached from neighbouring landmasses as the ophiolite was faulted or eroded. An Aptian transgression was followed by regression, creating a local unconformity (e.g. at Boboshtica). A Turonian marine transgression initiated widespread Upper Cretaceous shelf carbonate deposition. In the regional context, the southern Albania ophiolites appear to have been rapidly emplaced onto a continental margin in a subaqueous setting during the Late Jurassic (Late Oxfordian-Late Tithonian). This was followed by gradual emergence, probably in response to thinning of the ophiolite by erosion and/or exhumation. The sedimentary cover of the south Albanian ophiolites is consistent with rapid, relatively short-distance emplacement of a regional-scale ophiolite over a local Pelagonian-Korabi microcontinent.

Firing-induced transformations in Copper Age ceramics from NE Romania

The Copper Age Cucuteni-Tripolye (Trypillian) Cultural Complex extended from central and northern present-day Romania to the east, into Moldavia and Ukraine. Elegant-shaped light red to orange pots, painted with white, dark red and brown-black geometric patterns are characteristic of this culture. We studied 46 potsherds from Ruginoasa, 60 km west of Iasi (Romania) in terms of mineralogy and petrography. Polarized-light microscopy shows a red, porous body, with fine to semifine microstructure and more or less oriented microtexture. The ceramic consists of a microcrystalline to amorphous/vitreous matrix and non-plastic clasts e.g . quartz, plagioclase, K-feldspar, muscovite, some chloritized biotite, heavy minerals and various lithoclasts, including calcareous ones. Backscattered electron (BSE) images revealed, in addition to large non-plastic clasts, a highly inhomogeneous and porous matrix, consisting of fine-grained clasts of quartz, feldspar and muscovite, some CaAl silicates and glass, all embedded in a fine-grained mass of clay minerals. Electron microprobe analyses (EMPA) indicate that several processes took place on a small scale during the firing. Upon softening and possible partial melting, quartz rims incorporate variable amounts of Al, K, Fe, Mg, Na, Ca and Ti. The alkali feldspar ranges from pure K-feldspar to albite, including anorthoclase. Plagioclases are rare. Several unusual compositions that plot in the feldspar immiscibility domain point to newly-formed phases. Frequently, former clasts of albite or plagioclase are replaced by K- or NaK-feldspars at the rims or inside the grains. Muscovite ranges from Al-rich composition to Si-rich phengite and is locally partially melted. The clay-rich part of the matrix is characterized by a loss of K and incorporation of Ca leading to compounds between K-illite and a hypothetical Ca-illite. The transformation processes, assisted by a fluid phase, indicate a temperature interval between 850 °C and 950 °C for the firing. Our results show that the thermal reactions did not reach equilibrium, most likely due to the short time of firing. At a small scale the resultant material consists of an inhomogeneous mix of various micro-domains.

Geochemistry of Neogene quartz andesites from the Oaş and Gutâi Mountains, Eastern Carpathians (Romania): a complex magma genesis

The Neogene quartz andesites from the Oaş and Gutâi Mountains (Romania) are mid-K calc-alkaline rocks and contain plagioclase-orthopyroxene-clinopyroxene-amphibole-magnetite phenocrysts as well as quartz crystals. They are associated with a volcanic sequence ranging from basalts and basaltic andesites to dacites and rhyolites, but form a separate magma group, mostly in respect to the trace elements. Based on the geochemical data combined with inferences from complex zoning patterns in plagioclase and pyroxene, the evolution of quartz andesites is interpreted in terms of fractional crystallization, AFC and magma mixing. A parental magma deriving from a MORB- or OIB-type source modified by fluids and melts originating from sediments is envisaged.

Early Medieval ceramics from the Viile Tecii archaeological site (Romania): an optical and XRD study

Mineralogical and petrographic studies of Early Medieval potshards exhumed in the Viile Tecii archaeological site (North Transylvania, Romania) show a ceramic body composed of a microcrystalline to amorphous matrix, various clasts and voids. The microscopical features and XRD patterns indicate that illitic- kaolinitic clays were used as raw materials, together with quartzitic sands as tempering material. The ceramic vessels were obtained with the potters wheel, but the fabric is only slightly oriented, due either to the fast modeling or to the coarseness of the clayish paste. The thermal alteration of mineral phases points to relatively high firing-temperatures, between 800 and 900°C.

Mineralogical Sciences and Archaeology Preface

During the last decade, the archaeometric community has matured, both in quantity and in quality. This is evidenced by the high impact-factor values reached by the most important archaeometric journals, comparable to those of some outstanding mineralogical and petrographical journals. In this community, the number of geoscientists, mostly mineralogists, has also increased, because they are intrinsically dealing with complex systems such as the natural geological materials utilized to produce artifacts. Ceramics, glassy materials, metal objects, and lithic tools have stored during their production a lot of information about the history they underwent. Geoscientists, probably more than chemists and physicists, are able to decipher this information in the same way they reconstruct the geological history of rocks through the study of chemical and physical properties of minerals. The reconstruction of the “history” of artifacts (in the field of art and archaeology) implies the identification and provenance of raw materials and the definition of various aspects of production technology. Mineralogy is well equipped to face the methodological and …