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The Aue-Schwarzenberg Granite Zone (ASGZ), in the western Erzgebirge of Germany, is composed of small, late- Variscan F-poor biotite and two-mica granites. The biotite granites (Aue granite suite, Beierfeld, Bernsbach) are weakly to mildly peraluminous (A/CNK = 1.07-1.14; 70-76 wt% SiO2), display similar Sr-87/Sr-86 initial ratios (0.7065-0.7077; t = 325 Ma), and exhibit a narrow range in epsilon Nd-325 (-2.6 to -3.5). They are closely affiliated compositionally with the biotite granites in the distant, more voluminous Nejdek massif (Czech Republic). The two-mica granites (Schwarzenberg granite suite, Lauter) are Si-rich (74-77 wt% SiO2) and mildly to strongly peraluminous (A/CNK = 1.17- 1.26). The granites from Schwarzenberg Lire distinctly higher in their Sr(i)ratios (0.709-0.713; t = 325 Ma) and possess lower values of epsilon Nd-325 (-4.9 to -5.2) relative to the biotite granites. The Lauter granites have a Nd-isotopic composition between -3.6 and -4.0 (t = 325 Ma). Mean Th-U-total Pb uraninite ages (Ma +/- 2 sigma) obtained for the granites from the Aue Suite (324.3 +/- 3. 1), Beierfeld (323.7 +/- 3.1), Bernsbach (320.7 +/- 2.9), Schwarzenberg (323.3 +/- 2.4), and the Kirchberg granite al Burkersdorf (322.7 +/- 3.5) indicate that magmatism in the ASGZ commenced in the Namurian and took place early within the major episode of granite formation in the Erzgebirge-Vogtland zone (327-318 Ma). Geochemical and mineralogical patterns of variably altered samples imply that the ASGZ granites are unlikely to have significantly contributed to the formation of spatially associated metalliferous ore deposits (Sn, W, Mo, Ph, Zn, Bi, Co, Ni), except for uranium. In particular the Aue granite suite should have served as major Source for U accumulated in the economically important post-granitic deposits of Schneeberg and Schlema-Alberoda.
"Hastite", the orthorhombic dimorph of CoSe2, formerly considered as a valid mineral species occurring in the Trogtal quarries, Harz Mountains, Germany, is discredited as being identical with ferroselite, orthorhombic FeSe2. The discreditation has been unanimously approved by the IMA Commission on New Minerals, Nomenclature and Classification (CNMNC) (IMA No. 07-E). We also provide observations on the composition, homogeneity, and origin of trogtalite (cubic CoSe2) from its type locality.
Accessory minerals of the Caledonian Rumburk granite are investigated to gain insight into its magmatic and post-magmatic evolution history. Recent geothermometers calibrated for trace elements in rutile (Zr), zircon (Ti), and quartz (Ti) were used to determine mineral-formation temperatures, which are compared with T data obtained from melt and fluid-inclusion Studies on quartz. Improved electron-microprobe analytical conditions allowed distinguishing several generations of rutile. Submicron-sized rutile needles included in quartz crystallized at around 739 +/- 13 degrees C and, thus, are evidently magmatic. Simultaneous crystallization of the high-T rutile and quartz is the favoured concept compared with an exsolution model for the needles. Th-U-total Pb dating of xenotime-(Y) by electron microprobe yielded a bimodal age distribution of 494 +/- 8 Ma (2 sigma; n = 44) and 311 +/- 8 Ma (2 sigma; n = 48), which is missing in monazite-(Ce). The older age correlates with the early Ordovician granite emplacement age Suggested by earlier isotopic Studies. The younger Carboniferous age also may be geologically reasonable, because the granite experienced a minor tectonothermal overprint during the Variscan orogenesis. However, whether this event has caused the resetting of the isotopic system in the xenotime is uncertain. This also holds for the age of the partial breakdown of monazite and xenotime into reaction coronas composed of fluorapatite, allanite-(Ce), epidote +/- clinozoisite. This alteration assemblage was likely produced already during autometasomatic reworking of the solidifying magma in Ordovician time, but it cannot be excluded that it relates to a Carboniferous fluid imprint connected with late-Variscan processes.
Fault zones are the locations where motion of tectonic plates, often associated with earthquakes, is accommodated. Despite a rapid increase in the understanding of faults in the last decades, our knowledge of their geometry, petrophysical properties, and controlling processes remains incomplete. The central questions addressed here in our study of the Dead Sea Transform (DST) in the Middle East are as follows: (1) What are the structure and kinematics of a large fault zone? (2) What controls its structure and kinematics? (3) How does the DST compare to other plate boundary fault zones? The DST has accommodated a total of 105 km of left-lateral transform motion between the African and Arabian plates since early Miocene (similar to 20 Ma). The DST segment between the Dead Sea and the Red Sea, called the Arava/Araba Fault (AF), is studied here using a multidisciplinary and multiscale approach from the mu m to the plate tectonic scale. We observe that under the DST a narrow, subvertical zone cuts through crust and lithosphere. First, from west to east the crustal thickness increases smoothly from 26 to 39 km, and a subhorizontal lower crustal reflector is detected east of the AF. Second, several faults exist in the upper crust in a 40 km wide zone centered on the AF, but none have kilometer-size zones of decreased seismic velocities or zones of high electrical conductivities in the upper crust expected for large damage zones. Third, the AF is the main branch of the DST system, even though it has accommodated only a part (up to 60 km) of the overall 105 km of sinistral plate motion. Fourth, the AF acts as a barrier to fluids to a depth of 4 km, and the lithology changes abruptly across it. Fifth, in the top few hundred meters of the AF a locally transpressional regime is observed in a 100-300 m wide zone of deformed and displaced material, bordered by subparallel faults forming a positive flower structure. Other segments of the AF have a transtensional character with small pull-aparts along them. The damage zones of the individual faults are only 5-20 m wide at this depth range. Sixth, two areas on the AF show mesoscale to microscale faulting and veining in limestone sequences with faulting depths between 2 and 5 km. Seventh, fluids in the AF are carried downward into the fault zone. Only a minor fraction of fluids is derived from ascending hydrothermal fluids. However, we found that on the kilometer scale the AF does not act as an important fluid conduit. Most of these findings are corroborated using thermomechanical modeling where shear deformation in the upper crust is localized in one or two major faults; at larger depth, shear deformation occurs in a 20-40 km wide zone with a mechanically weak decoupling zone extending subvertically through the entire lithosphere.