Provenance of the Malužiná Formation sandstones (Western Carpathians, Slovakia): constraints from standard petrography, cathodoluminescence imaging, and mineral chemistry of feldspars

Abstract

Petrographic, cathodoluminescence, and phase chemistry studies of detrital grains were carried out on sandstones from the Permian Malužina Formation in the Male Karpaty Mts. (Hronic Unit, Western Carpathians, Slovakia) to determine their provenance and tectonic setting during the Permian. The results of the present study suggest derivation of the Malužina Formation sandstones from multiple source areas. Major source lithologies were acid (felsic) plutonic rocks and low- to high-grade metamorphic rocks (probably metamorphosed igneous rocks and metasedimentary rocks), but notable amounts of detritus were also derived from felsic and mafic volcanic rocks. There was only a minor contribution from sedimentary rocks. Detritus was stripped rapidly from broken, high-relief source areas before weathering processes could destroy unstable framework constituents, as documented by the relatively high content of unstable rock fragments and the high feldspar content in the sandstones investigated. The provenance characteristics indicate that deposition of the sandstones of the Malužina Formation occurred in a rifted continental margin environment supplied from an uplifted area on a thick continental crust composed of rocks of older fold belts.