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Red calcite : an indicator of paleo-karst systems associated with bauxitic unconformities

Győri, Orsolya and Orbán, Richárd and Mindszenty, Andrea and Fodor, László and Erőss, Anita and Benkó, Zsolt and Molnár, Ferenc (2014) Red calcite : an indicator of paleo-karst systems associated with bauxitic unconformities. Geofluids, 14. pp. 459-480.

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Abstract

A unique red calcite generation, which fills fractures/cavities, is hosted by Mesozoic carbonates in the Transdanubian Range, Hungary. Solid inclusions are located along growth zones of calcite. Hematite, the most abundant solid inclusion, gives the red colour of it. Outcrop-scale geometry, mineralogical features and detrital mineral assemblage (hematite, gibbsite, goethite, kaolinite, smectite, illite, Cr-spinel, monazite, xenotime, zircon, apatite and Ti-oxide) of calcite precipitates suggest strong correlation between the calcite and nearby karst bauxite deposits. Fluid inclusion petrography and microthermometry (T < 50°C; salinity from 0 to 0.17 NaCl eq. w%) of primary fluid inclusions, and the stable isotope trend of the calcite, following the meteoric water line, clearly indicate vadose and phreatic meteoric origin in a near-surface karst system. The late Cretaceous to mid-Eocene unconformity-related cavity-filling deposits occur close to the surface; indicating that the most recent Quaternary exhumation re-exposed those surfaces that existed at the time of calcite mineralization. Thus, red calcite precipitates are interpreted as being speleothems, vestiges of the subterranean part of the pre-Middle Eocene karst. The infiltrated, fine bauxite particles enclosed by the calcite are the witnesses of the once areally extensive pre-Middle Eocene bauxitic blanket that became partially eroded by the time of the deposition of the cover beds. Red calcite when found in core samples may provide good evidence on bauxite formation associated with the overlying unconformity, even if it was later removed by erosion. Therefore, presence or absence of red calcite may be used as distinguishing criteria between karst episodes with or without bauxite formation.

Item Type: Article
Subjects: Q Science / természettudomány > QE Geology / földtudományok
Depositing User: Orsolya Győri
Date Deposited: 16 Jan 2015 08:35
Last Modified: 16 Jan 2015 08:35
URI: http://real.mtak.hu/id/eprint/20531

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