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

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, mineralo...

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Published inGeofluids Vol. 14; no. 4; pp. 459 - 480
Main Authors Győri, O., Orbán, R., Mindszenty, A., Fodor, L., Poros, Zs, Erőss, A., Benkó, Zs, Molnár, F.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Chichester Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.11.2014
Hindawi Limited
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Summary: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. Bauxite minerals, such as hematite, gibbsite and boehmite, found as solid inclusions in red calcite, hosted by fractures and cavities in Triassic and Cretaceous carbonates of the Transdanubian Range (Hungary), indicate that the calcite represents a speleothem that precipitated in a karst system below a bauxitic unconformity. Therefore, presence or absence of this type of red calcite may be used as distinguishing criteria between karst episodes with or without bauxite formation, even if the bauxite has been later removed by erosion.
Bibliography:ark:/67375/WNG-K089B14D-C
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ArticleID:GFL12088
ObjectType-Article-1
SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1
ObjectType-Feature-2
content type line 23
ISSN:1468-8115
1468-8123
DOI:10.1111/gfl.12088