Heavy minerals in sediments from the Mošnica Cave: Implications for the pre-Quaternary evolution of the middle-mountain allogenic karst in the Nízke Tatry Mts., Slovakia

The cave deposits from the Mošnica Cave located on the northern slope of the Nízke Tatry Mts. were analysed by sedimentological, petrographical and mineralogical methods. Based on mineralogical study the cave sediments are composed of dolomite, quartz, muscovite, amphibole, chlorite, calcite, Kfeldspar and plagioclase. Heavy mineral assemblage is formed by garnet, zircon, apatite, monazite, tourmaline, staurolite, rutile, titanite, epidote, sillimanite, allanite, andalusite and barite. Opaque minerals are represented by ilmenite, pyrite, magnetite, Cr-spinel, Fe-oxyhydroxides and chalcopyrite. Detailed research of chemical composition of the heavy minerals points to their source rocks formed by granitoids, amphibolites and amphibolite gneisses representing the crystalline basement and probably by Triassic cover sediments of the Lúžna Formation. Presence of the allochthonous minerals in the cave from metamorphic complex recently occurred on the opposite southern slope of the Nízke Tatry Mts. indicates a past larger catchment area of the allogenic karst of Mošnica Valley on the pre-Quaternary less dissected terrain. A change of watershed boundary leading through the central range of the Nízke Tatry Mts. was probably connected with the tilting of this mountain range towards the north, in the compression regime during the Late Tertiary

Is Cr-Spinel Geochemistry Enough for Solving the Provenance Dilemma? Case Study from the Palaeogene Sandstones of the Western Carpathians (Eastern Slovakia)

The provenance of the Proč and Strihovce sandstones is crucial for understanding the relationship between the Pieniny Klippen (PKB) and Flysch (FB) belts in the easternmost part of the Western Carpathian realm. Detrital Cr-spinels in these tectonic units were assertively interpreted as sourced from the southern sources representing the Meliata mélange. In this study, we use the geochemistry of detrital chromian spinels to identify the mafic and ultramafic source of the sediments and to compare them each other. Simultaneously, we compare their chemical compositions with those from the different Western Carpathian geological units, which could feed the Proč and Krynica basins during the Paleogene, where the Proč and Strihovce formations (fms), respectively, were deposited. Chromian spinels from the Proč and Strihovce fms exhibit similar geochemical characteristics (Cr# = 0.44⁻0.88 and 0.29⁻0.89, Mg# = 0.17⁻0.68 and 0.2⁻0.72, TiO2 = 0.0⁻3.67 and 0.01⁻2.08 wt.%, respectively). The spinels show both supra-subduction zone (SSZ) peridotite signatures and volcanic origin. Whereas volcanic spinels from the Proč Formation (Fm.) were formed under an ocean island basalt (OIB) and back-arc basin basalt (BABB) geodynamic setting, those from the Strihovce Fm. suggest a predominantly mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB) origin. To avoid mistakes in the provenance interpretations, the data from garnet geochemistry of both formations is supplied. The analysed Cr-spinels do not absolutely overlap with spinels reported from the Meliata Unit, and their composition indicates at least two independent sources

Heavy minerals in sediments from the Mošnica Cave: Implications for the pre-Quaternary evolution of the middle-mountain allogenic karst in the Nízke Tatry Mts., Slovakia

The cave deposits from the Mošnica Cave located on the northern slope of the Nízke Tatry Mts. were analysed by sedimentological, petrographical and mineralogical methods. Based on mineralogical study the cave sediments are composed of dolomite, quartz, muscovite, amphibole, chlorite, calcite, Kfeldspar and plagioclase. Heavy mineral assemblage is formed by garnet, zircon, apatite, monazite, tourmaline, staurolite, rutile, titanite, epidote, sillimanite, allanite, andalusite and barite. Opaque minerals are represented by ilmenite, pyrite, magnetite, Cr-spinel, Fe-oxyhydroxides and chalcopyrite. Detailed research of chemical composition of the heavy minerals points to their source rocks formed by granitoids, amphibolites and amphibolite gneisses representing the crystalline basement and probably by Triassic cover sediments of the Lúžna Formation. Presence of the allochthonous minerals in the cave from metamorphic complex recently occurred on the opposite southern slope of the Nízke Tatry Mts. indicates a past larger catchment area of the allogenic karst of Mošnica Valley on the pre-Quaternary less dissected terrain. A change of watershed boundary leading through the central range of the Nízke Tatry Mts. was probably connected with the tilting of this mountain range towards the north, in the compression regime during the Late Tertiary