Provenance analysis of Eocene–Oligocene turbidite deposits in Pindos Foreland Basin, fold and thrust belt of SW Greece: constraints from framework petrography and bulk-rock geochemistry

Abstract

The provenance of Eocene–Oligocene turbidites from the Pindos Foreland Basin, SW Greece, has been constrained using petrographical and geochemical techniques. Modal petrographic analysis of the studied sandstones shows that the source area comprises sedimentary, metamorphic, and plutonic igneous rocks deposited in a recycled orogenic environment and in magmatic arc province. The relative proportions of the detrital components indicate that the Late Eocene–Early Oligocene sandstones of West Peloponnesus are quartz-rich and were primarily derived from granitic and metamorphic basement rocks typically of a tectonically active area. Major, trace, and rare earth element (REE) concentrations in both sandstones and mudstones complement the petrographical data indicating an active continental margin/continental island arc signature. All the samples are light REE, enriched relative to heavy REE (HREE), with flat HREE pattern and positive Eu anomalies, suggesting that the processes of intra-crustal differentiation (involving plagioclase fractionation) were not of great importance. The results derived from the multi-element diagrams also suggest an active margin character and a mafic/ultramafic source rock composition.