Abstract
The Hatrurim Basin, Israel, is located on the western border of the Dead Sea Transform. This is one of the localities of a unique pyrometamorphic complex whose genesis remains problematic. This paper deals with zeolite-bearing rock that is known in the Hatrurim Basin only. The strata subjected to zeolitization is called the “olive unit” and consists of anorthite–pyroxene (diopside–esseneite) hornfels. Zeolitization occurred in an alkaline environment provided by the interaction of meteoric water with Portland-cement-like rocks of the Hatrurim Complex. The resulting zeolite-bearing rocks contain 20–30% zeolitic material. The main zeolitic minerals are calcic: thomsonite-Ca ± Sr, phillipsite-Ca, gismondine-Ca, and clinoptilolite-Ca. The remainder is calcite, diopsidic pyroxene, garnets (either Ti-andradite and/or hydrogrossular), and less frequently, fluorapatite, opal, and others. Their major mineralogical and chemical compositions resemble carbonated zeolite-blended Portland mortar. Rocks show different values of porosity. Their mechanical characteristics are much better for samples with porosity values below 24%. The related parameters are like those of blended concretes. The minimal age of zeolitization is 5 Ka. The natural zeolite-bearing rocks are resistant to weathering in the Levant desert climate.
Highlights
Zeolites are generally low-temperature alteration products of volcanic and felspathic rocks
We describe the mineralogy, chemistry, and mechanical parameters of zeolite-bearing rocks sampled at Mt
Supporting pieces of evidence are relics of high-temperature minerals belonging to the olive unit and geochemical correlation between the hornfels and the zeolite-bearing rocks
Summary
Zeolites are generally low-temperature alteration products of volcanic and felspathic rocks. There are six major geological settings where zeolites form: alkaline saline lakes, percolating groundwater in a semi-arid climate, nearshore or deep-sea volcanoclastic rock sediments, shallow and deep burial diagenesis, low-grade metamorphic, and magmatic rocks [1,2,3,4]. Common zeolite minerals recorded in those settings are phillipsite, clinoptilolite, chabazite, erionite, mordenite, gismondine, analcime, heulandite, thomsonite, mesolite, scolecite, stilbite, laumontite, wairakite, and yugawaralite [1,2]. The diversity of zeolites is determined by chemical composition, grain size and permeability of protolith, and pH of flushing solution [5]. The zeolitization of protolith is radically enlarged with the increased alkalinity of the solution [6]. In different rock types of the Hatrurim Basin, a researcher determined Carich thomsonite, phillipsite, and gismondine were the most common or rock-forming
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