Miocene Volcanism in the Slovenský Raj Mountains: Magmatic, Space, and Time Relationships in the Western Carpathians

Abstract

The Miocene volcanic-intrusive complex in the Slovenský Raj Mountains, middle Slovakia, comprises a swarm of subalkaline basalts and basaltic andesites with alkaline basalts, trachybasalts and basaltic trachyandesites. Basaltic to doleritic feeder dykes and sporadic hyaloclastite lavas are exposed in contact with the Triassic Bódvaszilas Formation of the Silica Nappe. The primary clinopyroxene, plagioclase, and Fe-Ti oxide assemblage also contains calcite spheroids inferred to represent carbonatitic melt. These spheroids are associated with subsolidus chlorite, actinolite, magnetite, titanite, calcite, and epidote. Micropoikilitic clinopyroxene, albite, and Ti-magnetite formed due to rapid quenching. There was an incorporation of host rock carbonate during the eruption. The erupted products are the result of magmatic differentiation of the parental basaltic tholeiitic magma with a redox of ∆QFM = +1 to +3, affected by varying degrees of 0%–50% fractionation and the assimilation of carbonate material in a shallow magmatic reservoir. REE geochemistry shows N-MORB-like type patterns with both LaN/YbN and LaN/SmN < 1 at near constant Eu/Eu* (~0.9). This is supported by εNd(t=13 Ma) values of +8.0 to +7.4 determined from the basaltic rocks. The REE values can be modeled by 1% fractional melting of garnet peridotite mixed with 7% melting of spinel peridotite of PM composition (1:9 proportions). SIMS and LA-ICP-MS U/Pb analysis of zircons yields a concordant age of 12.69 ± 0.24 Ma and a 13.3 ± 0.16 Ma intercept (Serravallian) age. The Middle Miocene volcanic activity was related to subduction-collision processes along the boundary of the Cenozoic ALCAPA (Alps–Carpathians–Pannonia) microplate and the southern margin of the European plate.