Mid-German Crystalline Rise Research Articles

Integrated geological and gravity modelling to improve 3-D model harmonization—Methods and benefits for the Saxony-Anhalt/Brandenburg cross-border region (North German Basin)

SUMMARYAs 3-D geological models become more numerous and widely available, the opportunity arises to combine them into large regional compilations. One of the biggest challenges facing these compilations is the connection and alignment of individual models, especially in less explored areas or across political borders. In this regard, gravity modelling is suitable for revealing additional subsurface information that can support a harmonization of structural models. Here, we present an integrated geological and gravity modelling approach to support the harmonization process of two geological 3-D models of the North German Basin in the cross-border region between the federal states of Saxony-Anhalt and Brandenburg. Gravity gradient calculation, filtering and Euler deconvolution are utilized to reveal new insights into the local fault system and gravity anomaly sources. The independent models are merged and harmonized during 3-D forward and inverse gravity modelling. Herein, density gradients for individual layers are incorporated in the framework of model parametrization. The resulting geological 3-D model consists of harmonized interfaces and is consistent with the observed gravity field. To demonstrate the plausibility of the derived model, we discuss the new geophysical findings on the sedimentary and crustal structures of the cross-border region in the context of the regional geological setting. The cross-border region is dominated by an NW–SE oriented fault system that coincides with the Elbe Fault System. We interpret a low-density zone within the basement of the Mid-German Crystalline Rise as a northward continuation of the Pretzsch–Prettin Crystalline Complex into the basement of the North German Basin. Additionally, we observe two types of anticlines within the basin, which we link to provinces of contrasting basement rigidity. Our gravity modelling implies that the Zechstein salt has mostly migrated into the deeper parts of the basin west of the Seyda Fault. Finally, we identify a pronounced syncline that accommodates a narrow and up to 800 m deep Cenozoic basin.

Database of petrophysical properties of the Mid-German Crystalline Rise

Abstract. Petrophysical properties are a key element for reservoir characterization but also for interpreting the results of various geophysical exploration methods or geophysical well logs. Furthermore, petrophysical properties are commonly used to populate numerical models and are often critically governing the model results. Despite the common need for detailed petrophysical properties, data are still very scarce and often not available for the area of interest. Furthermore, both the online research for published property measurements or compilations, as well as dedicated measurement campaigns of the selected properties, which require comprehensive laboratory equipment, can be very time-consuming and costly. To date, most published research results are often focused on a limited selection of parameters only, and hence researching various petrophysical properties, needed to account for the thermal–hydraulic–mechanical behaviour of selected rock types or reservoir settings, can be very laborious. Since for deep geothermal energy in central Europe, the majority of the geothermal potential or resource is assigned to the crystalline basement, a comprehensive database of petrophysical properties comprising rock densities, porosity, rock matrix permeability, thermal properties (thermal conductivity and diffusivity, specific heat capacity) as well as rock mechanical properties as compressional and shear wave velocities, unconfined compressive strength, Young's modulus, Poisson's ratio, tensile strength and triaxial shear strength was compiled from measurements conducted at the HydroThermikum lab facilities of the Technical University of Darmstadt. Analysed samples were mostly derived from abandoned or active quarries and natural or artificial outcrops such as road cuts, riverbanks or steep hillslopes. Furthermore, samples of the cored deep wells Worms 3 (samples from 2175–2195 m), Stockstadt 33R (samples from 2245–2267 m), Weiterstadt 1 (samples from 2502–2504 m), Tiefbohrung Groß-Umstadt/Heubach, B/89–B02 and the cored shallow wells (Forschungsbohrung Messel GA 1 and 2) as well as GWM17 Zwingenberg, GWM1A Zwingenberg, Langenthal BK2/05, EWS267/1 Heubach, and archive samples of the Institut für Steinkonservierung e.V. in Mainz originating from a comprehensive large-scale sampling campaign in 2007 were investigated. The database (Weinert et al., 2020b; https://doi.org/10.25534/tudatalib-278) aims to provide easily accessible petrophysical properties of the Mid-German Crystalline Rise, measured on 224 locations in Bavaria, Hessen, Rhineland-Palatinate and Thuringia and comprising 26 951 single data points. Each data point is addressed with the respective metadata such as the sample identifier, sampling location, petrography and, if applicable, stratigraphy and sampling depth (in the case of well samples).

The geochronological history of the Hohnsdorf Crystalline Complex (Germany) – Piecing together the puzzling evolution of the Mid-German Crystalline Rise

The geochronological history of the Hohnsdorf Crystalline Complex (Germany) – Piecing together the puzzling evolution of the Mid-German Crystalline Rise

Detrital zircon age distribution from Devonian and Carboniferous sandstone in the Southern Variscan Fold-and-Thrust belt (Montagne Noire, French Massif Central), and their bearings on the Variscan belt evolution

In the Southern French Massif Central, the Late Paleozoic sedimentary sequences of the Montagne Noire area provide clues to decipher the successive tectonic events that occurred during the evolution of the Variscan belt. Previous sedimentological studies already demonstrated that the siliciclastic deposits were supplied from the northern part of the Massif Central. In this study, detrital zircon provenance analysis has been investigated in Early Devonian (Lochkovian) conglomerate and sandstone, and in Carboniferous (Visean to Early Serpukhovian) sandstone from the recumbent folds and the foreland basin of the Variscan Southern Massif Central in Montagne Noire. The zircon grains from all of the samples yielded U–Pb age spectra ranging from Neoarchean to Late Paleozoic with several age population peaks at 2700Ma, 2000Ma, 980Ma, 750Ma, 620Ma, 590Ma, 560Ma, 480Ma, 450Ma, and 350Ma. The dominant age populations concentrate on the Neoproterozoic and Paleozoic. The dominant concordant detrital zircon age populations in the Lochkovian samples, the 480–445Ma with a statistical peak around 450Ma, are interpreted as reflecting the rifting event that separated several continental stripes, such as Armorica, Mid-German Crystalline Rise, and Avalonia from the northern part of Gondwana. However, Ediacaran and Cambrian secondary peaks are also observed. The detrital zircons with ages at 352−340Ma, with a statistical peak around 350Ma, came from the Early Carboniferous volcanic and plutonic rocks similar to those exposed in the NE part of the French Massif Central. Moreover, some Precambrian grains recorded a more complex itinerary and may have experienced a multi-recycling history: the Archean and Proterozoic grains have been firstly deposited in Cambrian or Ordovician terrigenous rocks, and secondly re-sedimented in Devonian and/or Carboniferous formations. Another possibility is that ancient grains would be inherited grains, scavenged from an underlying but not exposed Precambrian basement.

Palaeozoic evolution of the Variscan Vosges Mountains

Abstract A geological synthesis of the Palaeozoic Vosges Mountains (NE France) is presented using existing observations and new data. The geodynamic evolution involves: (1) Early Palaeozoic sedimentation and magmatism; (2) Late Devonian subduction triggering back-arc spreading; (3) early Lower Carboniferous continental subduction, continent–continent collision and polyphase deformation and metamorphism of the orogenic root; and (4) late Lower Carboniferous orogenic collapse driven by thermal weakening of the middle crust. The evolution is integrated within the framework of the European Variscan Belt. The Northern Vosges comprise sediments of Rhenohercynian affinity separated from Teplá-Barrandian metasediments by a Lower Carboniferous magmatic arc. The latter is correlated with the Mid-German Crystalline Rise, and is ascribed to the south-directed subduction of the Rhenohercynian Basin. The Saxothuringian–Moldanubian suture is thought to be obliterated by the magmatic arc, while the Lalaye–Lubine Fault is interpreted as the Teplá-Barrandian–Moldanubian boundary. The Central Vosges are paralleled with the Moldanubian domain of the Bohemian Massif where identical lithologies record the Devonian–Carboniferous SE-directed subduction of the Saxothuringian passive margin below the Moldanubian upper plate. The Southern Vosges represent the upper Moldanubian crust and are linked to the southern Black Forest. The presence of an oceanic domain to the south of the Vosges–Black Forest remains unclear. Supplementary material: List of radiometric ages used for probability plots is available at http://www.geolsoc.org.uk/SUP18734 .

Tectonic evolution of the European Variscan belt constrained by palaeomagnetic, structural and anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility data from the Northern Vosges magmatic arc (eastern France)

Geochronology, structural and anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility data from the northern Vosges batholith, which belongs to the Northern Vosges–Mid-German Crystalline Rise arc, show contrasting emplacement modes of southern granodiorites and northern granites. The ENE–WSW-trending fabrics of granodiorites (346–334 Ma) are parallel to the metamorphic cleavage affecting the host rocks developed during regional compression. The NNW–SSE-trending fabrics of younger granitoids ( c . 330 Ma) reveal an extensional emplacement mode, associated with a normal shear zone separating the two magmatic suites. Palaeomagnetism shows that the switch from a compressive to an extensional regime coincides with a regional counterclockwise rotation. The 330–325 Ma extension is further supported by palaeomagnetic and seismic data indicating southeastward tilt of the whole batholith. Finally the system is rotated clockwise without any structural overprint. Data from the Early Carboniferous northern Vosges magmatic arc and remote Bohemian Massif suggest that this evolution is valid for the whole eastern branch of the European Variscan belt, for which the following model is proposed: (1) Late Devonian–Early Carboniferous east–west shortening of the Variscides above the Rhenohercynian subduction zone; (2) axial NNW–SSE shortening of the assembled Variscan orogen associated with (3) ‘internal’ sinistral rotation of inherited Rhenohercynian transform faults and shortening of intervening blocks; (4) east–west extension and dextral ‘external’ rotation of blocks between dextrally reactivated transforms. Supplementary materials: Analytical procedures for geochronology, magnetism, anisotropy of magnetic susceptibility and palaeomagnetism are available at www.geolsoc.org.uk/SUP18635 .

Provenance of Pleistocene Rhine River Middle Terrace sands between the Swiss–German border and Cologne based on U–Pb detrital zircon ages

Abstract Detrital zircon U–Pb age distributions derived from samples representing ancient or relatively young large-scale continental drainage networks are commonly taken to reflect the geochronological evolution of the tapped continental area. Here, we present detrital zircon U–Pb ages and associated heavy mineral data from Pleistocene Rhine River Middle Terrace sands and equivalents between the Swiss–German border and Cologne in order to test the commonly assumed Alpine provenance of the material. Samples from eight localities were analyzed for their heavy mineral assemblages. Detrital zircon U–Pb ages were determined by laser ablation inductively coupled mass spectrometry on selected samples from five locations along the Rhine River. The zircon age populations of all samples show a similar distribution, their main peaks being between 300 and 500 Ma. Minor age populations are recognized at 570 and 1,070 Ma. The 300–400 Ma maximum reflects the Variscan basement drained by or recycled into the Rhine River and its tributaries. The 400–500 Ma peak with predominantly Early Silurian ages points to Baltica or to the mid-German crystalline rise as original sources. One distinct peak at c. 570 Ma probably represents input from Cadomian terranes. The Precambrian U–Pb ages are compatible with derivation from sources in Baltica and in northern Gondwana. The heavy mineral populations of Middle Terrace sands and equivalents are characterized to a variable extend by garnet, epidote, and green hornblende. This association is often referred to as the Alpine spectrum and is considered to be indicative of an Alpine provenance. However, hornblende, epidote, and garnet are dominant heavy minerals of collisional orogens in general and may also be derived from Variscan and Caledonian units or from intermittent storage units. A remarkable feature of the detrital zircon age distribution in the Rhine River sediments from the Swiss–German border to Cologne is the absence of ages younger than 200 Ma and in particular of any ages reflecting the Alpine orogeny between c. 100 and 35 Ma. Sediments from rivers draining the equally collisional Himalaya orogen contain detrital zircons as young as 20 Ma. Our results question the assumption that Pleistocene Rhine River sediments were directly derived from the Alps. The lag time between the formation and deposition age of the youngest zircon in the studied Pleistocene Rhine River deposits is 200 Ma. Together with the absence of Alpine zircon ages, this stresses that detrital zircon age data from ancient sedimentary units found in poorly understood tectonic or paleogeographic settings need to be interpreted with great care, one could miss an entire orogenic cycle.

Zircon geochronology, elemental and Sr-Nd isotope geochemistry of two Variscan granitoids from the Odenwald-Spessart crystalline complex (mid-German crystalline rise)

The crystalline parts of the Bergstrasser (western) Odenwald and the southern Spessart expose Variscan I-type granitoids of the mid-German crystalline rise that formed during subduction of the Rheic ocean and collision of Avalonia and Armorica about 365 and 330 Ma ago. We present geochemical, Sr-Nd isotopic, single zircon 207Pb/206Pb evaporation and conventional U-Pb data from a diorite-granodiorite complex of the southern Spessart and from a flasergranitoid of the Bergstrasser Odenwald unit II. Both intrusions provide almost identical zircon ages (332.4 ± 1.6 Ma for Odenwald and 330.4 ± 2.0 Ma for Spessart). Lack of inherited or pre-magmatic zircon components connotes magma genesis in deep crustal hot zones despite low temperature estimates (758–786 °C) derived from zircon saturation thermometry. Investigated rock samples display normal- to high-K calc-alkaline metaluminous (Spessart) and weakly peraluminous (Odenwald) geochemical characteristics. The Spessart pluton has lower eNd(T) values (−2.3 to −3.0) and higher 87Sr/86Sri ratios (0.7060 to 0.7066) compared to Odenwald flasergranitoid (eNd(T) = −0.8 and 87Sr/86Sri = 0.7048). In terms of the tectonic setting, the diorite-granodiorite complex of the southern Spessart forms the continuation of the north Armorican arc segment exposed in the Bergstrasser Odenwald. Taking into account previously reported geochemical and isotopic results, it is concluded that the Spessart pluton does not match compositions of Odenwald unit II granitoids but likely represents the north-eastward extension of unit III.

Baltica- and Gondwana-derived sediments in the Mid-German Crystalline Rise (Central Europe): Implications for the closure of the Rheic ocean

Combined U–Pb and Lu–Hf isotope analysis of detrital zircons reveals that the Mid-German Crystalline Rise (MGCR) contains Palaeozoic sediments of distinct provenance in close proximity. Zircons from a metapelite of the Brotterode group were derived from a Gondwanan source, whereas zircons from the Rögis quartzite of the Ruhla group point to provenance from Baltica. Brotterode zircons mostly yield ages of 500–720 Ma and 2.0–2.1 Ga, and show an age gap between 1.0 and 1.7 Ga, which is characteristic of Gondwana/peri-Gondwanan detrital zircon populations. Combined U–Pb and Hf isotope data suggest intense crustal recycling at 2.6–2.9 Ga, 1.8–2.1 Ga, and 570–720 Ma as well as formation of juvenile crust during the latter two periods. In contrast, zircons of the Rögis quartzite mostly yield ages between 0.9 and 1.8 Ga, which are typical of southwestern Baltica. Minor age populations at 435–466 and 550–660 Ma indicate that the quartzite is younger than Late Ordovician/Early Silurian, and that the Baltica-derived sediment is contaminated by minor peri-Gondwanan, perhaps Avalonia-derived detritus. Minor age populations at 2.0, 2.56, 2.67, and 2.86 Ga additionally point to a Svecofennian and/or Karelian source. U–Pb and Hf isotope data imply that the Baltica-derived zircons were produced mainly through melting of juvenile Palaeo- to Mesoproterozoic crust. The data presented here indicate that the MGCR hosts the Rheic suture between Gondwana and Balonia, and that this suture zone was closed in a complex sequence of stages from the Late Silurian onwards.

Palaeozoic history of the Armorican Massif: Models for the tectonic evolution of the suture zones

The Armorican Massif (western France) provides an excellent record of the Palaeozoic history of the Variscan belt. Following the Late Neoproterozoic Cadomian orogeny, the Cambro-Ordovician rifting was associated with oceanic spreading. The Central- and North-Amorican domains (which together constitute the core of the Armorica microplate) are bounded by two composite suture zones. To the north, the Léon domain (correlated with the “Normannian High” and the “Mid-German Crystalline Rise” in the Saxo-Thuringian Zone) records the development of a nappe stack along the northern suture zone, and was backthrusted over the central-Armorican domain during the Carboniferous. To the south, an intermediate block (“Upper Allochthon”) records a complex, polyorogenic history, with an early high-temperature event followed by the first generation of eclogites (Essarts). This intermediate block overthrusts to the north the Armorica microplate (Saint-Georges-sur-Loire), to the south: (i) relics of an oceanic domain; and (ii) the Gondwana palaeomargin. The collision occurred during a Late Devonian event, associated with a second generation of eclogites (Cellier).

The Léon Domain (French Massif Armoricain): a westward extension of the Mid-German Crystalline Rise? Structural and geochronological insights

The Léon Domain in the NW part of the French Massif Armoricain is a stack of synmetamorphic nappes displaced from south to north in ductile conditions. From bottom to top, an orthogneissic basement is overthrusted successively by (1) a Lower Nappe of gneiss including mafic eclogites, (2) an Intermediate Nappe of biotite–garnet–staurolite micaschists with mafic blocks, and (3) an upper nappe made up of Neoproterozoic phyllites covered by unmetamorphosed Paleozoic sedimentary series. This microstructural study documents a polyphase evolution with firstly a top-to-the-N shearing, secondly followed by upright folding of the stack of nappes coeval with migmatization, and lastly, a dextral wrenching along the North Armorican Shear Zone associated with emplacement of synkinematic plutons. New U–Th/Pb chemical dating of monazites from biotite–garnet–staurolite micaschists, migmatites, and granitoids argue for 340–335 Ma, 335–327 Ma, and about 320 Ma ages for synthrusting metamorphism, anatexis, and wrenching, respectively. A metagabbro from Le Conquet yields a zircon LA-ICP-MS age of 478 ± 4 Ma, which corresponds to magma emplacement time. The Léon Domain is interpreted as a microcontinent separated from Armorica by the Le Conquet-Penzé suture to the south and east, and from Laurussia by the Rheic suture to the north. A possible correlation with the Mid-German Crystalline Rise of Central Europe is discussed.

Combined U–Pb and Hf isotope LA-(MC-)ICP-MS analyses of detrital zircons: Comparison with SHRIMP and new constraints for the provenance and age of an Armorican metasediment in Central Germany

Uranium–lead ages obtained by LA-ICP-MS analyses of zircon cores from a high-grade Armorican metasediment from the Mid-German Crystalline Rise, Central Germany, yield results which are identical to, but more precise than those previously obtained by SHRIMP dating. This is mainly due to the fact that SHRIMP analyses are more sensitive than LA-ICP-MS analyses to common Pb contamination on the surface of the grain mount. The new U–Pb ages, in combination with in-situ Hf isotope analyses of zircon, provide the first evidence that detrital zircons within Armorican sediments crystallized in both juvenile and evolved magmatic rocks during the Archaean at 2.7–2.9 Ga, the Palaeoproterozoic at 1.8–2.1 Ga, and the Neoproterozoic/Early Palaeozoic at 500–720 Ma. In addition, zircons were formed at ca. 1.0 Ga by remelting of Palaeoproterozoic crust during the Grenville orogeny. The U–Pb dataset shows an age gap between 1.8 and 1.0 Ga, which is characteristic of Armorican sediments, and indicates that the metasediment protolith is younger than Late Cambrian. In addition, the data support previous conclusions that sediments constituting the Armorican terrane assemblage were derived from three crustal sources. Dominant sources were the Avalonian–Cadomian belt (ca. 45%), situated at the northern margin of Gondwana during the Neoproterozoic, and the West-African and/or eastern Amazonian cratons (ca. 50%). The Grenville belt was a minor source (< 5%). Variation of εHf( t) values of the Neoproterozoic/Early Paleozoic zircons indicates two periods of increased juvenile magma formation, one at 595–575 Ma and a second at 515–500 Ma. The older event is coeval with the formation of the Avalonian–Cadomian magmatic arc, whereas the younger event can be related to the break-up of the northern Gondwana margin in Cambrian/Ordovician times. In between, at around 545 Ma, only recycling of older crustal material took place.

Ion microprobe (SHRIMP) dating of detrital zircon grains from quartzites of the Eckergneiss Complex, Harz Mountains (Germany): implications for the provenance and the geological history

The Eckergneiss Complex (EGC) is a geologically unique medium- to high-grade metamorphic unit within the Rhenohercynian domain of the Mid-European Variscides. A previously, poorly defined conventional lower U–Pb intercept age of about 560 Ma from detrital zircons of metasedimentary rocks has led to speculations about an East Avalonian affinity of the EGC. In order to unravel the provenance and to constrain the age of the sediment protolith, we carried out sensitive high-resolution ion microprobe U–Pb analyses on detrital zircons from five different EGC quartzite occurrences. The obtained age spectrum indicates a SW Baltica provenance of the detritus. Sveconorwegian ages between 0.9–1.2 Ga are particularly well represented by analyses from metamorphic recrystallization/alteration zones penetrating into igneous zircon. Cadomian (Pan-African) ages, which might reflect a metamorphic event, could not be substantiated. Instead, zircons of igneous origin yielded concordant Lower Devonian and Silurian ages of 410±10, 419±10, and 436±6 Ma (1σ), implying that sedimentation of the EG protolith must have taken place after 410±10 Ma. The lower age limit of the EGC metamorphism is constrained by 295 Ma intrusion ages of the adjacent, nonmetamorphosed Harzburg Gabbronorite and Brocken Granite. Sedimentation and metamorphism must thus have taken place between about 410 Ma and 295 Ma. Given that this time span coincides with most of the sedimentation within the virtually nonmetamorphosed (lowest grade) Rhenohercynian in the Harz Mountains, including the direct vicinity of the EGC, along with the high-grade metamorphism, the EGC can hardly be seen as uplifted local basement. A possible candidate for the root region is an easterly, concealed marginal segment of the Rhenohercynian domain of the Variscides, which is tectonically overridden and suppressed by the Mid-German Crystalline Rise during continent collision. However, based on the concept of strike-slip movement of Variscan terranes with different P–T–t histories as a result of postaccretion intraplate deformation, the EGC could also represent a fault-bounded complex with an origin located far east or south east of the present location.

Provenance and Magmatic–Metamorphic Evolution of a Variscan Island-Arc Complex: Constraints from U–Pb Dating, Petrology, and Geospeedometry of the Kyffhäuser Crystalline Complex, Central Germany

The Kyffhäuser Crystalline Complex, Central Germany, forms part of the Mid-German Crystalline Rise, which is assumed to represent the Variscan collision zone between the East Avalonian terrane and the Armorican terrane assemblage. High-precision U–Pb zircon and monazite dating indicates that sedimentary rocks of the Kyffhäuser Crystalline Complex are younger than c. 470 Ma and were intruded by gabbros and diorites between 345 ± 4 and 340 ± 1 Ma. These intrusions had magmatic temperatures between 850 and 900°C, and caused a contact metamorphic overprint of the sediments at P–T conditions of 690–750°C and 5–7 kbar, corresponding to an intrusion depth of 19–25 km. At 337 ± 1 Ma the magmatic–metamorphic suite was intruded by granites, syenites and diorites at a shallow crustal level of some 7–11 km. This is inferred from a diorite, and conforms to P–T paths obtained from the metasediments, indicating a nearly isothermal decompression from 5–7 to 2–4 kbar at 690–750°C. Subsequently, the metamorphic–magmatic sequence underwent accelerated cooling to below 400°C, as constrained by garnet geospeedometry and a previously published K–Ar muscovite age of 333 ± 7 Ma. With respect to P–T–D–t data from surrounding units, rapid exhumation of the KCC can be interpreted to result from NW-directed crustal shortening during the Viséan.

Magmatism of the late Variscan intermontane Saar-Nahe Basin (Germany): a review

Abstract The Saar-Nahe Basin is a late Variscan intermontane basin that developed on the site of an earlier island arc, the Mid-German Crystalline Rise. Within the c. 6500m-thick continental sedimentary fill of the basin, a large variety of igneous rocks was emplaced over a period of c. 4 Ma from 296 to 293 Ma as high-level intrusions and lava flows, extrusive domes, diatremes and pyroclastic deposits, ranging in composition from basalt and basaltic andesite to rhyodacite, rhyolite and trachyte. Composite intrusive-extrusive complexes consist of andesite, rhyodacite and alkali feldspar trachyte with up to 10 wt% K 2 O. The geochemical characteristics of the most primitive mafic magmas indicate a slightly enriched upper mantle source modified by subduction-related fluids. Nd-Sr-O isotope data indicate that crustal contamination was important in the petrogenesis of the more differentiated magmas.

Geomechanical model for the post-Variscan evolution of the Permocarboniferous–Mesozoic basins in Northeast Germany

The Permocarboniferous basins in Northeast Germany formed on the heterogeneous and eroded parts of the Variscan orogene and its deformed northern foreland. Transtensional tectonic movements and thermal re-equilibration lead to medium-scale crustal fragmentation, fast subsidence rates and regional emplacement of large amounts of mostly acidic volcanics. The later basin formation and differentiation was triggered by reversals of the large-scale stress field and reactivation of prominent zones of weakness like the Elbe Fault System and the Rhenohercynian/Saxothuringian boundary that separate different Variscan basement domains in the area. The geomechanical behaviour of the latter plays an important role for the geodynamic evolution of the medium to large-scale structural units, which we can observe today in three dimensions on structural maps, geophysical recordings and digital models. This study concentrates on an area that comprises the southern Northeast German Basin, the Saale Basin, the Flechtingen High, the Harz Mountains High and the Subhercynian Basin. The presented data include re-evaluations of special geological and structural maps, the most recent interpretation of the DEKORP BASIN 9601 seismic profile and observations of exposed rock sections in Northeast Germany. On the basis of different structural inventories and different basement properties, we distinguish two structural units to the south and one structural unit to the north of the Elbe Fault System. For each unit, we propose a geomechanical model of basin formation and basin inversion, and show that the Rhenohercynian Fold and Thrust Belt domain is deformed in a thin-skinned manner, while the Mid-German Crystalline Rise Domain, which is the western part of the Saxothuringian Zone, rather shows a thick-skinned deformation pattern. The geomechanical model for the unit north to the Elbe Fault System takes account to the fact that the base of the Zechstein beneath the present Northeast German basin shows hardly any evidence for brittle deformation, which indicates a relative stable basement. Our geomechanical model suggests that the Permocarboniferous deposits may have contributed to the structural stiffness by covering small to medium scale structures of the upper parts of the brittle basement. It is further suggested that the pre-Zechstein successions underneath the present Northeast German basin were possibly strengthening during the Cretaceous basin inversion, which resulted in stress transfer to the long-lived master faults, as indicated for example by the shape of the salt domes in the vicinity of the latter faults. Contrary to this, post-Zechstein successions deformed in a different and rather complex way that was strongly biased by intensive salt tectonic movements.

Models of passive margin inversion: implications for the Rhenohercynian fold-and-thrust belt, Belgium and Germany

Positive tectonic inversion is related to the transmission of compressional stresses along a décollement into the foreland of an orogenic zone. This stress and strain concentration in regions remote from the main orogenic front is commonly related to the presence of pre-existing rheological heterogeneities such as normal syn-depositional faults. During inversion, these pre-existing normal faults are reactivated as reverse faults. Tectonic inversion in the Rhenohercynian fold-and-thrust belt during the Variscan Orogeny shows that inversion is likely synchronous with the onset of collision in the hinterland. Here, we present the results of a simplified thermo-mechanical model (STM) which allows one to study strain partitioning between two orogenic zones. We show that, if the two orogenic zones have the same mechanical properties, the viscosity of the décollement, which links them, controls the initial strain partitioning. During subsequent finite shortening, erosional processes determine the partitioning of strain rate. The presence of a weak structure in the inverted zone and of a low-viscosity décollement leads to initial strain concentration in the inverted track rather than in the collision zone and a progressive decrease in strain partitioning between the two orogenic zones. The STM results are in good agreement with results of a 2D finite-element model. We conclude that, in the western part of the Rhenohercynian Massif, simultaneous uplift and deformation within the Mid-German Crystalline Rise (the main collision zone) and the Ardenne Anticlinorium (the inverted zone) lead to interpreting this orogenic event as a case of vice tectonic rather than the propagation of a ‘wave of folding’ towards the Variscan front, as suggested by previous authors.

A combined zircon SHRIMP and Sm–Nd isotope study of high-grade paragneisses from the Mid-German Crystalline Rise: evidence for northern Gondwanan and Grenvillian provenance

SHRIMP analyses of detrital zircon cores from high-grade metasediments from the Mid-German Crystalline Rise, which is situated between Eastern Avalonia in the NW and Saxo-Thuringia in the SE, yield mostly ages of c. 550 Ma and c. 2.06 Ga, with minor c. 1.0 and 2.4–2.9 Ga components. The sedimentary protoliths were deposited during the Late Proterozoic to Early Cambrian, probably prior to the break up of the northern Gondwana margin at 460–500 Ma. These data are consistent with the sediments’ high ϵ Nd values (0.9 to −3.0), which are comparable to those of well-documented Late Proterozoic sediments from other parts of Europe. The combined isotopic data suggest derivation of the sediments from at least three distinct crustal source regions. Dominant sources were the Avalonian–Cadomian orogenic belt ( c. 45%), situated at the northern margin of Gondwana during the Neoproterozoic, and the West African and/or eastern Amazonian cratons ( c. 45%). The Grenvillian belt was a minor source ( c. 10%).

A first find of retrogressed eclogites in the Odenwald Crystalline Complex, Mid-German Crystalline Rise, Germany: evidence for a so far unrecognised high-pressure metamorphism in the Central Variscides

Metabasic rocks were recently found in the Böllsteiner Odenwald, being part of the Variscan Mid-German Crystalline Rise (MGCR), that give evidence of a so far unrecognised eclogite-facies metamorphic event and testify, for the first time, to high-pressure metamorphism in the MGCR, the assumed suture zone of the European Variscides. Eclogite-facies metamorphism is indicated by both widespread clinopyroxene–plagioclase symplectites—interpreted as breakdown products of omphacite—and the composition of symplectitic clinopyroxene with measured jadeite contents of up to 27 mol%, extending into the omphacite field. Reintegration of numerous clinopyroxene–plagioclase symplectites implies minimum jadeite contents of the former omphacite of at least 38 mol%. For the eclogite stage, the four-phase assemblage omphacite-garnet-quartz-rutile can be reconstructed. A post-eclogitic overprint led to the formation of symplectitic intergrowths of clinopyroxene and plagioclase, amphibole–plagioclase coronas around garnet and domains with recrystallised amphibole and plagioclase. Preliminary P– T estimates for the eclogite-facies metamorphism indicate minimum pressures of some 16–17 kbar and temperatures of approximately 700±50 °C. Geothermobarometry for the subsequent symplectitic breakdown of omphacite yields some 14 kbar and 700 °C. P– T estimates on retrograde amphibolite-facies domains and on prograde mineral assemblages preserved in garnet cores point to a clockwise P– T path experienced by these rocks. The eclogites formed from a tholeiitic protolith, that may have been genetically linked to a continental extension zone or a young oceanic ridge or back-arc environment.

Paleostress-tensor analysis of late deformation events in the Odenwald Crystalline Complex and comparison with other units of the Mid-German Crystalline Rise, Germany

Geometric data of fault planes and fault plane lineations, together with the observed sense of shear on the slip planes, were used to calculate paleostress tensors and fields responsible for the post metamorphic peak D3 and D4 deformation events in the four Odenwald units sensu Krohe (1991). The paleostress fields were calculated using the method of Will and Powell (1991). As inferred from the paleostress analysis, the D3 strike-slip deformation west of the Otzberg fault zone was caused by a, ± N-S directed, compressional regional stress field, with shallowly plunging σ1 axes and σ3 directions that plunge at shallow to moderate angles to the E or W; the calculated mean orientations are: σ1 06 → 350, σ2 77 → 234 and σ3 12 → 085. The Bollsteiner Odenwald east of the Otzberg fault zone was not affected by this stress field. This implies that the Bergstrasser and Bollsteiner Odenwald were spatially separated and formed independent crustal blocks during D3. The D4 faulting event is recognised in all areas investigated, even though most prominently in units III and IV, and juxtaposed the Bergstrasser and Bollsteiner Odenwald. This faulting episode was caused by a paleostress field with a steeply westerly plunging σ1 axis and a shallowly southsoutheasterly plunging σ3 axis. The orientations of the principal stresses are: σ1 52 → 270, σ2 38 → 085 and σ3 06 → 174. With continued deformation from D3 to D4, there was a progressive change in the orientation of the stress field indicating a change from a N-S compressional to extensional stress field, accompanied by the progressive development of strike-slip faults and late normal faults. Paleostress field orientations in the Pfalz Forest, SW of the Odenwald, determined by Flottmann and Oncken (1992) are very similar to those obtained for the Odenwald region and indicate a regionally consistent stress pattern in the southwestern part of the Mid-German Crystalline Rise (MGCR) during strike-slip and normal faulting deformations.