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Timing of K-alkaline magmatism in the Balkan segment of southeast European Variscan edifice: ID-TIMS and LA-ICP-MS study

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Abstract

The Variscan orogen in southeast Europe is exposed in isolated remnants, affected by a subsequent Alpine tectono-magmatic overprint. Unlike the central European Variscides, in SE Europe the juxtaposition and correlation of the events and products are impeded by the scarcity of Variscan domains with preserved magmatic, metamorphic, sedimentological and structural characteristics. To reveal the particular evolution of the Variscan orogen in Balkan Mts, we present the results of ID-TIMS and LA-ICP-MS dating of three potassic-alkaline intrusions: Svidnya, Buhovo–Seslavtsi and Shipka. The age determinations from the plutons do not permit to establish their unequivocal ages, but they bracket the time interval of emplacements. Based on geochronological, tectonic and stratigraphic evidence the emplacement interval for plutons could be: 317–310 Ma for Svidnya, 330–310 Ma for Buhovo–Seslavtsi and 320–303 Ma for Shipka. These results show that the generation of potassic-alkaline magmas was post-Visean and is contemporaneous with the adjacent numerous calc-alkaline granitoid plutons. Thus, the Variscan orogen in the Balkan Mts is not characterized by a time-dependent geochemical evolution of magma generation. Hence, the observed differences in the rocks’ compositions can be interpreted solely by distinction between the magma sources. The available data for both potassic-alkaline and calc-alkaline rocks indicate that the major episodes of crustal stacking and shearing in the Balkan part of the Variscan edifice are pre-Visean (~330 Ma). The present study reveals that the potassic-alkaline rocks from the Balkan Mts are younger than the central European potassic granitoids (durbachites). It suggests that melting of enriched mantle source took place at different times throughout the Variscan orogen. In spite of the alkaline character of the magmas, the studied zircons show a complex nature, with inherited cores and magmatic overgrowths. The observed heterogeneities in the zircons imply the presence of much older materials in the petrogenesis of the rocks from the potassic-alkaline plutons.

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(modified after Kostov 1950)

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Acknowledgements

This paper benefited constructive comments of N. Georgiev and one anonymous reviewer. Editorial help and constructive suggestions of Wolf-Christian Dullo greatly improved the manuscript. M. D. acknowledge Sofia University—Geneva University bilateral cooperation for scientific exchange which made possible M. D. stay at Geneva University.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Geology and Geography, Sofia University ‘St. Kliment Ohridski”, Tsar Osvoboditel Blvd. 15, 1504, Sofia, Bulgaria

    Momchil Dyulgerov

  2. Département de la Terre et de l’environnement, Université de Genève, Rue des Maraichers 13, 1205, Geneva, Switzerland

    Maria Ovtcharova-Schaltegger & Urs Schaltegger

  3. Institute des sciences de la Terre, Universite de Lausanne, Bâtiment Géopolis 3875, 1015, Lausanne, Switzerland

    Alexey Ulianov

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  1. Momchil Dyulgerov
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Dyulgerov, M., Ovtcharova-Schaltegger, M., Ulianov, A. et al. Timing of K-alkaline magmatism in the Balkan segment of southeast European Variscan edifice: ID-TIMS and LA-ICP-MS study. Int J Earth Sci (Geol Rundsch) 107, 1175–1192 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00531-017-1527-0

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