Silesian Ridge in the light of petrological analyses and LA-ICP MS U-Pb analyses of the cohesive debrites from the Istebna Formation (Silesian Nappe, Outer Western Carpathians, Poland)

Abstract

Exotic clasts present in flysch deposits of the Western Outer Carpathians enable investigation and reconstruction of the eroded crystalline basement of the Silesian Ridge. The flysch rocks of the Istebna Formation (Jasnowice Member: Paleocene) in the Silesian Nappe contain magmatic and metamorphic clasts derived from the Silesian Ridge basement. The crystalline rock fragments acquired from cohesive debrites were analyzed petrographically and geochemically, and zircon and rutile crystals were subject to LA-ICP-MS U-Pb dating. Granitoid clasts yielded Meso-Variscan U-Pb zircon ages (325.7 and 330.6 Ma), with older (Neoproterozoic to Paleoproterozoic) inherited cores and eN 330 = –12.0 (TDM age of 1.98 Ga). The orthogneiss clast yielded a protolith age of 1635 Ma and fingerprint of thermal reworking at ~288 Ma. Zircon crystals from the detrital clasts yielded similar U-Pb zircon ages to the granitoid clasts (311.5 to 391 and 331 Ma). The rutile crystals from sandstone yielded concordia age of 344.7 Ma. Zircon crystals from paragneiss, interpreted as a granitoid envelope, yielded 238 U/ 206 Pb ages between 557 and 686 Ma and include an inherited core of age ~1207.4 ±33.8 Ma. Age data from exotic clasts and the detrital zircon and rutile fraction suggest the core part of the Silesian Ridge was a Neoproterozoic to Mesoproterozoic envelope intruded by Meso-Variscan granitoid plutons