Original scientific paper
SECONDARY MINERAL PARAGENESIS IN THE MAFIC EXTRUSIVE ROCKS FROM THE MT. MEDVEDNICA OPHIOLITE MÉLANGE (CROATIA)
Damir Slovenec
Boško Lugović
Dragutin Slovenec
Abstract
The samples of partly or completely altered basaltic extrusive rocks from Mt. Medvednica ophiolite mélange were analysed by the optical microscopy and by X-ray powder diffraction (XRD). The chemical composition of minerals from different paragenetic assembleges were determinated by electron probe microanalysis (EPMA) and the measured microdomains were documented by back-scattered electrons (BSE) imagery. The most widespread alteration processes that affected analysed rocks are albitization, chloritization, epidotization, prehnitization, pumpellyitization, zeolitization and titanitization. Subordinate processes that include formation of limonite, calcite, zoisite, siderite, hematite, Mn-oxydes, pyrite and SiO2-phases were not constrained in this paper. Albitization is fairly dominant alteration process in all rock and its progradation throughout a plagioclase grain is clearly documented by BSE microphotographs and microprobe chemical analysis. Prehnite and laumontite are sporadic alteration products of plagioclases. The chemical components released during the alterations of plagioclases and/or clinopyroxenes along with components from circulating and percolating heated see water and fluids enable formation of chlorites, epidote and pumpellyite. Chlorites and pumpellyite formed also by devitrification of volcanic glass in vitric rim of pillow lavas. Small patches of leucoxene, that is abundant in all samples, represent dense aggregates of titanite nanocrystals replacing ilmenite and/or Ti-magnetite. Epidote-bearing paragenesis in the analyzed rocks record comparatively the highest alterations grade that correspond to the middle grade of greenschist facies metamorphism typical of upper sequence of a see floor crust.
Keywords
secondary minerals; hydrothermal alterations; basaltic extrusives; ophiolite mélange; Mt. Medvednica
Hrčak ID:
107898
URI
Publication date:
4.12.2012.
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