The Temperature of Halite Crystallization in the Badenian Saline Basins, in the Context of Paleoclimate Reconstruction of the Carpathian Area

Anatoliy R Galamay,Krzysztof Bukowski,Igor M Zinchuk,Fanwei Meng

doi:10.3390/min11080831

Abstract

Currently, fluid inclusions in halite have been frequently studied for the purpose of paleoclimate reconstruction. For example, to determine the air temperature in the Middle Miocene (Badenian), we examine single-phase primary fluid inclusions of the bottom halites (chevron and full-faceted) and near-surface (cumulate) halites collected from the salt-bearing deposits of the Carpathian region. Our analyses showed that the temperatures of near-bottom brines varied in ranges from 19.5 to 22.0 °C and 24.0 to 26.0 °C, while the temperatures of the surface brines ranged from 34.0 to 36.0 °C. Based on these data, such as an earlier study of lithology and sedimentary structures of the Badenian rock salts, the crystallization of bottom halite developed in the basin from concentrated and cooled near-surface brines of about 30 m depth. Our results comply with the data on the temperature distribution in the modern Dead Sea.

Highlights

The Paratethys was a system of interconnected epicontinental seas linked with the Mediterranean and periodically with the Atlantic and Indian Oceans
Those Badenian salts can be found in modern Poland, Ukraine, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary, and Bosnia and Herzegovina
This paper presents the temperatures of homogenization in single-phase fluid inclusions contained in halite originating from various cores and mine faces of rock salts in the Carpathian area

Summary

Introduction

The Paratethys was a system of interconnected epicontinental seas linked with the Mediterranean and periodically with the Atlantic and Indian Oceans. Large hypersaline waters became the sources of regional-scale saline formations, developed from the Burdygalian to the Serravalian in the Carpathian area, the Red Sea, and the Middle East. One of the most widespread salt formations was formed in the Middle Miocene (Badenian) during the Badenian Salinity Crisis (BSC) around 13.8 to 13.4 Ma [1]. Those Badenian salts can be found in modern Poland, Ukraine, Romania, Slovakia, Hungary, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The stratigraphic position, radiometric ages of accompanying tuff layers, and similar lithology of salt deposits (rock salts with anhydrite and intercalation of terrigenous clays) allow for a general correlation of formations [2] and indicate homogeneous paleoclimatic conditions of salt basins in the Central Paratethys

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Discussion

Conclusion