The studied contact metamorphic rocks from the metamorphic belt of the Karawanke magmatic zone and the slates from Magdalensberg formation represent parts of the Paleozoic basement that were extruded and outcrop in the Northern Karawanke area in Slovenia. In this work we have characterized the rocks petrographically and geochemically and using the acquired data, determined provenance and tectonic setting of their protoliths.
The results of optical microscopy revealed that contact metamorphic rocks, represented by phyllites and cordierite slates, contain the highest content of quartz, followed by micas, cordierite, and plagioclase. Slates from the Magdalensberg formation mainly consist of a fine–grained matrix of sericite with inclusions of plagioclase, quartz and micas.
Calculations based on the CIA, CIW and PIA suggest that the protolith of both contact metamorphic rocks and slates underwent moderate weathering, following a weathering trend similar to that of granodiorite. The element ratios of immobile elements indicate a felsic protolith for both contact metamorphic rocks and slates. The felsic provenance of these lithologies is further supported by steep LREE segments with high (La/Yb)N ratios, unfractionated HREE, and distinct negative Eu anomalies.
Comparison of the geochemical data from contact metamorphic rocks and slates with data from rocks of various provenance types revealed that the deposited material comprised a mixture derived from the old upper continental crust and material originating from a young differentiated arc. Ternary discrimination diagrams of La–Th–Sc and Th–Sc–Zr/100, as well as a comparison of trace elements in the studied rocks with values from different tectonic environments, indicate that the source sediments of contact metamorphic rocks and magdalensberg slates were deposited in an environment close to a continental magmatic arc.
Based on previous research and obtained data, the source sediments of phyllites and cordierite slates were deposited from the Upper Cambrian to the Lower Ordovician on the passive margin of North Gondwana. The sediments that formed the magdalensberg slates were deposited later, based on biostratigraphic data, from the Lower to the Upper Devonian. The sedimentary environment represented a deepening back–arc basin in the area of Galatian terrains.
|