Heavy-mineral analysis and clinopyroxene geochemistry applied to provenance analysis of lithic sandstones from the Azuero–Soná Complex (NW Panama)

Abstract

The volcaniclastic sandstones of the Middle Eocene to Lower Miocene Tonosı́ Formation were deposited within the forearc realm of an island arc system which today is part of the southern Central American landbridge. Both heavy-mineral analyses and geochemical analyses of clinopyroxenes clearly reveal differences in the composition between sediments of the Lower and Upper Tonosı́ Formation, indicating changes within the tectonic setting as well as island arc evolution during time of deposition. Based on characteristic heavy-mineral suites three lithogroups can be determined and assigned to the Lower and Upper Tonosı́ Formation, respectively. Provenance analyses indicate that the sandstones of the Tonosı́ Formation were generally derived from an island arc setting. The abundance of a mafic heavy-mineral suite relative to heavy-minerals derived from metamorphic and sialic intrusive rocks indicates a convergent plate boundary setting for provenance of the Lower Tonosı́ Formation. This result is supported by the chemistry of clinopyroxenes within the heavy-mineral suite, which indicates evolved basaltic magma types sourced the detrital grains. Within the Hb–Ol + Id + Cpx brown–Opx + Cpx green-diagram most samples of the Upper Tonosı́ Formation plot in the field for divergent plate boundaries. The geochemical analyses also show that clinopyroxenes of the Upper Tonosı́ Formation additionally exhibit affinities to within-plate alkaline magma types. As an integration of our results we present a provisional two-stage model for the tectono-sedimentary evolution of the western Panamanian forearc area during the deposition of the Tonosı́ Formation.