The Development of Croatian Geoscience as Reflected by the Study of Dinaridic Ophiolites

For approximately 120 years since the beginning of European geology up to the present day, Croatian geoscience has included intensive geological research of the Dinaride Ophiolite zone. Research results can be grouped into several periods depending on the basic predominant approaches of European and World geology. (1) During the flysch period, ophiolites were spatially connected with the flysch formations. (2) During the geosynclinal period ophiolites were classified into the “Diabas-Hornstein Formation”. (3) During the transitional period, characterized by the elaboration of the Basic Geological Map, a voluminous data were collected which could not be incorporated in geosynclinal ideas. (4) The last period is characterized by modern geodynamic interpretations resulting from global tectonics

Palynological and Organic-Petrographic Data on Very Low- and Low-grade Metamorphic Rocks in the Slavonian Mountains (Northern Croatia)

The palynological data suggest a Late Silurian to ?Early Carboniferous sedimentation age for the weakly metamorphosed rocks from the Mts. Psunj, Papuk and Krndija (Slavonija, North Croatia). Palynofacies and organo-petrographic data indicate that the protolithic sedimentary rocks were deposited in comparatively calm, anoxic to suboxic depositional environments. The vitrinite reflectance data for the same samples indicate the coal rank of meta-anthracite or anchimetamorphic zone grading into the coal rank of meta-anthracite/semigraphite or anchimetamorphic/epimetamorphic zone

Cenozoic granitoids in the Dinarides of southern Serbia: age of intrusion, isotope geochemistry, exhumation history and significance for the geodynamic evolution of the Balkan Peninsula

Two age groups were determined for the Cenozoic granitoids in the Dinarides of southern Serbia by high-precision single grain U–Pb dating of thermally annealed and chemically abraded zircons: (1) Oligocene ages (Kopaonik, Drenje, Z ˇ eljin) ranging from 31.7 to 30.6 Ma (2) Miocene ages (Golija and Polumir) at 20.58–20.17 and 18.06–17.74 Ma, respectively. Apatite fission-track central ages, modelling combined with zircon central ages and additionally, local structural observations constrain the subsequent exhumation history of the magmatic rocks. They indicate rapid cooling from above 300°C to ca. 80°C between 16 and 10 Ma for both age groups,  induced by extensional exhumation of the plutons located in the footwall of core complexes. Hence, Miocene magmatism and core-complex formation not only affected the Pannonian basin but also a part of the mountainous areas of the internal Dinarides. Based on an extensive set of existing age data combined with our own analyses, we propose a geodynamical model for the Balkan Peninsula: The Late Eocene to Oligocene magmatism, which affects the Adria derived lower plate units of the internal Dinarides, was caused by delamination of the Adriatic mantle from the overlying crust, associated with post-collisional convergence that propagated outward into the external Dinarides.  Miocene magmatism, on the other hand, is associated with core-complex formation along the southern margin of the Pannonian basin, probably associated with the W-directed subduction of the European lithosphere beneath the Carpathians and interfering with ongoing Dinaridic–Hellenic back-arc extension