Teresa Oberc-Dziedzic

Age constraints for the thermal evolution and erosional history of the central European Variscan belt: new data from the sediments and basement of the Carboniferous foreland basin in western Poland

Three Carboniferous-age detrital muscovites from the Variscan foreland basin of SW Poland and two muscovites from phyllites underlying the basement have been dated by the 40Ar/39Ar step-heating and single-crystal laser fusion method. 40Ar/39Ar analysis of the detrital micas defines step-heating preferred ages of 370.7 ± 1.4, 363.0 ± 1.9 and 355.0 ± 1.3 Ma. Single-crystal laser fusion data indicate little dispersion for the first of three samples, with an integrated age that closely matches the step-heating data, but the latter two describe inhomogeneous populations. The white mica concentrate from one phyllite yields a step-heating preferred age of 358.6 ± 1.8 Ma. The second phyllite sample displays an incremental discordant apparent age spectrum representing a mixture of white mica grains of varying ages. Our most important finding is that the Variscan foreland basin was supplied by source rocks that were exhumed and cooled in the Late Devonian, probably as a result of an early Variscan collisional event, previously largely undocumented. Although accessible exposures of the Variscan basement in SW Poland exhibit only a minor component of rocks exhumed before the Carboniferous, our work suggests that large tracts of rocks with a Devonian cooling signature are preserved at depth beneath the foreland basin.

Deciphering the geochronology of a large granitoid pluton (Karkonosze Granite, SW Poland): an assessment of U–Pb zircon SIMS and Rb–Sr whole-rock dates relative to U–Pb zircon CA-ID-TIMS

Granitoid plutons are often difficult to radiometrically date precisely due to the possible effects of protracted and complex magmatic evolution, crustal inheritance, and/or partial re-setting of radiogenic clocks. However, apart from natural/geological issues, methodological and analytical problems may also contribute to blurring geochronological data. This may be exemplified by the Variscan Karkonosze Pluton (SW Poland). High-precision chemical abrasion (CA) ID-TIMS zircon data indicate that the two main rock types, porphyritic and equigranular, of this igneous body were both emplaced at ca. 312 Ma, while field evidence points to a younger age for the latter. This is in contrast to the earlier reported SIMS (SHRIMP) zircon dates that scattered mainly between ca. 322 and 302 Ma. In an attempt to overcome this dispersion, at least in part caused by radiogenic lead loss, the CA technique was used before SHRIMP analysis. The 206Pb/238U age obtained in this way from a sample of porphyritic granite is 322 ± 3 Ma, ~16 Ma older than the untreated zircons; another porphyritic sample yielded a mean age of 319 ± 3 Ma, and the mean age was 318 ± 4 Ma for an equigranular granite sample – all three somewhat older than the age obtained by ID-TIMS. Older SIMS dates of ca. 318–322 Ma might indicate either faint inheritance or that zircon domains crystallized during earlier stages of Karkonosze igneous evolution. The ID-TIMS results have been used to re-assess the whole-rock Rb–Sr data. Excluding a porphyritic granite with excess radiogenic 87Sr, it appears that isotopic homogeneity was achieved for most samples during the 312 Ma event, as shown by a pooled 21-point isochron with an age of 311 ± 3 Ma and an initial 86Sr/86Sr of 0.7067 ± 4. Local crustal contamination by stopping of metapelitic material might account for the more radiogenic Sr isotope signature observed in biotite-rich schlieren. A critical re-evaluation of all available SHRIMP data using the ID-TIMS age of 312 Ma as a benchmark suggests that the observed scatter may be partly attributed to analytical and methodological problems, in particular failing to distinguish subtly discordant spots from truly concordant ones, which is a serious limitation of the microbeam analytical approach. Other likely pitfalls contributing to geochronological scatter are identified in the published Re–Os ages on molybdenite and the 40Ar/39Ar data on micas. A scenario postulating a 15–20 milliion year evolution of the Karkonosze Pluton cannot be established on the basis of available geochronological data, which rather supports a brief igneous event, although a more protracted pre-emplacement evolution is possible. A short timescale for crystallization of large igneous bodies, as suggested by the ID-TIMS data from the Karkonosze Granite, is in line with models of transport of granitic magmas through dikes to form large plutons.

The crust beneath the Polish Sudetes: evidence from a gneiss xenolith in Tertiary basanite from Paszowice

Xenoliths found in basaltic lavas provide useful information about the materials of the Earth crust and mantle sampled by the lava on its way to the surface, and they help to extend our interpretations based on geophysical data. A garnet-biotite-hornblende-gneiss xenolith (min. ca. 40 cm across) was drilled at a depth of ca. 18 m in a Tertiary basanite flow at Paszowice village near Jawor, in the easternmost part of the Kaczawa Mountains, central Sudetes (SW Poland). Based on petrography, geochemistry and thermobarometry, the xenolith is interpreted to have been formed at deep crustal levels from a metasedimentary rock. The maximum PT conditions recorded in the gneiss (T 700–740oC, P ca. 10 kbar) indicate that the main metamorphic event took place at a depth of 25–30 km, thus corresponding to the present-day lower crustal level defined on geophysical constraints. The gneiss xenolith contains four zircon populations, as revealed by U-Pb SHRIMP analyses: (1) 1.7 – 2.1 Ga, (2) 547 – 623 Ma, (3) 473 – 494 Ma, and (4) 354 – 437 Ma. The zircons of the youngest group (4) are interpreted to have originated during a metamorphic episode, at ca. 374±3 Ma, corresponding well with the HT-MP major metamorphic event in the neighboring Góry Sowie gneisses and migmatites. A range of features (e.g. the good preservation of the xenolith, lack of significant chemical and thermal interaction with the lava) suggest that the gneiss was sampled by the rising lava on the final path of the magma to the surface, probably from a depth of less than ca. 10 km. That means that the upper crust below this region (underlying the low-grade metamorphic Kaczawa Complex) contains gneisses originally derived from deep-crustal levels, and similar to those locally exposed in the neighborhood (e.g. in the Góry Sowie Massif to the south-east). This interpretation extends our knowledge about the structure and composition of the crust in the eastern part of the European Variscides, which otherwise is inferred only from geophysical data.

Occurrence of Sulphides in Sowia Dolina Near Karpacz (SW Poland) - An Example of ore Mineralization in the Contact Aureole of the Karkonosze Granite

Occurrence of Sulphides in Sowia Dolina Near Karpacz (SW Poland) - An Example of ore Mineralization in the Contact Aureole of the Karkonosze Granite The authors studied the poorly-known, uneconomic sulphide mineralization site in Sowia Dolina near Karpacz. Host rocks are hornfelses of the Velká Úpa schist series, which belongs to the Izera-Kowary Unit. Ore minerals assemblage includes: pyrrhotite, pyrite, chalcopyrite, arsenopyrite, sphalerite, galena and marcasite, accompanied by ilmenite and rutile. The oldest sulphide is high-temperature pyrrhotite crystallized at about 600°C, which is in good agreement with the temperature range of contact metamorphic conditions, revealed by muscovitesillimanite transformation. Low-temperature pyrrhotite and other sulphides formed at about 390°C (arsenopyrite geothermometer) down to 265°C (pyrrhotite geothermometer), whereas fluid inclusions studies of vein quartz demonstrated the temperature range 380-150°C. Mineralization in Sowia Dolina is similar to other ore hydrothermal deposits known from the proximal or distal contact zone of the Karkonosze granite. Wystąpienie siarczków w Sowiej Dolinie koło Karpacza - przykład mineralizacji kruszcowej w aureoli kontaktowej granitu Karkonoszy (Sudety, Polska) Hornfelsy Sowiej Doliny należą do jednostki izersko-kowarskiej i są częścią serii łupkowej grupy Velkej Úpy, przeobrażonej na kontakcie z waryscyjskim granitem Karkonoszy. W Sowiej Dolinie istnieją ślady dawnych robót górniczych, wyloty sztolni i hałdy, na których znaleźć można okazy z mineralizacją siarczkową. Okruszcowane hornfelsy odznaczają się dobrze zachowaną foliacją i lineacją. Przejawem metamorfizmu kontaktowego są poligonalne zarysy ziaren kwarcu oraz rozpad muskowitu na sillimanit, zgodnie z reakcją: muskowit + kwarc = Al2SiO5 + K-skaleń + H2O, która oznacza warunki metamorfizmu wysokiego stopnia i osiągnięcie temperatury powyżej 600°C, a także krystalizacja andaluzytu i kordierytu, całkowicie zamienionego w pinit. Efektem zmian kontaktowych jest również powstanie pseudomorfoz po granacie. Najbogatsze skupienia minerałów kruszcowych stwierdzone zostały w hornfelsach wzbogaconych w kwarc lub przecinanych żyłkami kwarcowo-skaleniowymi. Dominującym minerałem rudnym jest pirotyn, rzadziej pojawia się piryt. Minerały te tworząmasywne skupienia kilkucentymetrowej miąższości, niekiedy także żyłki lub struktury rozproszone. W mniejszych ilościach występują: chalkopiryt, galena, sfaleryt, arsenopiryt, bornit, markasyt oraz minerały Ti. Sukcesja minerałów kruszcowych została określona na podstawie przerostów mineralnych (tab. 2). Najstarsze minerały, ilmenit i rutyl, są związane przypuszczalnie z metamorfizmem regionalnym. Po minerałach Ti krystalizował pirotyn. Młodszy od niego jest chalkopiryt, którego starsza generacja tworzy zrosty z pirotynem, następna natomiast występuje jako odmieszania w sfalerycie. Po pirotynie i starszym chalkopirycie, w tym samym czasie powstawały sfaleryt, arsenopiryt i galena. Markasyt jest minerałem wtórnym, tworzącym się w początkowych stadiach procesu wietrzenia rud na hałdzie. Następstwo siarczków potwierdziła interpretacja geotermometryczna wyników analiz chemicznych w mikroobszarze. Wykazała ona, że temperatury powstawania pirotynu wahały się w zakresie temperatur 630-265°C, a arsenopiryt krystalizował w temperaturze około 390°C. Temperatury powstawania kwarcu żyłowego oznaczone za pomocą inkluzji ciekło-gazowych mieszczą się w zakresie temperatur 380-150°C. Porównanie obserwacji mikroskopowych rud z danymi chemicznymi i petrologicznymi pozwala na sugestię, że procesy metamorfizmu kontaktowego w temperaturach około 600°C odpowiadają krystalizacji wysokotemperaturowego pirotynu, natomiast pozostałe siarczki i kwarc żyłowy tworzyły się w procesach hydrotermalnych niższych temperatur, aż do około 150°C.

Ore mineralization in the Miedzianka area (Karkonosze-Izera Massif, the Sudetes, Poland): new information

Abstract The Miedzianka mining district has been known for ages as a site of polymetallic ore deposits with copper and, later, uranium as the main commodities. Although recently uneconomic and hardly accessible, the Miedzianka ores attract Earth scientists due to the interesting and still controversial details of their ore structure, mineralogy and origin. Our examination of the ore mineralization from the Miedzianka district was based exclusively on samples collected from old mining dumps located in the vicinity of Miedzianka and Ciechanowice, and on samples from the only available outcrop in Przybkowice. In samples from the Miedzianka field, chalcopyrite, pyrite, galena, bornite, chalcocite, digenite, arsenopyrite, magnetite, sphalerite, tetrahedrite-tennantite, bornite, hematite, martite, pyrrhotite, ilmenite, cassiterite and covellite are hosted in quartz-mica schists and in coarse-grained quartz with chlorite. In the Ciechanowice field, the ore mineralization occurs mainly in strongly chloritized amphibolites occasionally intergrown with quartz and, rarely, with carbonates. Other host-rocks are quartz-chlorite schist and quartzites. Microscopic examination revealed the presence of chalcopyrite, pyrite, sphalerite, galena, tetrahedrite-tennantite, bismuthinite, native Bi, arsenopyrite, löllingite, cassiterite, cobaltite, gersdorffite, chalcocite, cassiterite, bornite, covellite, marcasite and pyrrhotite. Moreover, mawsonite and wittichenite were identified for the first time in the district. In barite veins cross-cutting the greenstones and greenschists in Przybkowice, we found previously-known chalcopyrite, chalcocite and galena. The composition of the hydrothermal fluids is suggested to evolved through a series of consecutive systems characterized, in turn, by Ti-Fe-Sn, Fe- As-S, Fe-Co-As-S, Cu-Zn-S and, finally, Cu-Pb-Sb-As-Bi compositions.