Western Pannonian Basin Research Articles

Inundation–Desiccation State Prediction for Salt Pans in the Western Pannonian Basin Using Remote Sensing, Groundwater, and Meteorological Data

Salt pans are unique wetland ecosystems. In the Austrian Seewinkel region, salt pans are in an increasingly vulnerable state due to groundwater drainage and heightened climatic pressures. It is crucial to model how seasonal and long-term hydrological and climatological variations affect the salt pan dynamics in Seewinkel, yet a comprehensive understanding of the driving processes is lacking. The goal of this study is to develop random forest machine learning models driven by hydrological and meteorological data that allow us to predict in early spring (March) of each year the inundation state in the subsequent summer and fall. We utilize Earth observation data from Landsat 5 (L5), 8 (L8), and 9 (L9) to derive the time series of the inundation state for 34 salt pans for the period 1984–2022. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the groundwater level observed in March is the strongest predictor of the salt pan inundation state in summer and fall. Utilizing local groundwater data yields a Matthews correlation coefficient of 0.59. Models using globally available meteorological data, either instead of or in addition to groundwater data, provide comparable results. This allows the global transfer of the approach to comparable ecosystems where no in situ data are available.

Active tectonics of the Circum-Pannonian region in the light of updated GNSS network data

The Pannonian basin is an extensional back-arc basin that has undergone neotectonic inversion and is currently shortening. The understanding and quantification of present-day deformation processes during this inversion are still incomplete. To this end, we investigate the active deformation of the Circum-Pannonian region via the interpolation of GNSS-derived velocity field and the derivation of the strain rate fields. For the interpolation of the velocity field, we use ordinary kriging, a strochastic interpolation method. Our results show that estimating a strain rate field that is virtually free of short-wavelength noise requires the scaling of the velocity uncertainties, i.e. assuming a minimum standard deviation of 1 mm/yr in our case. The deformation of the Circum-Pannonian region is defined by the 2–3 mm/yr, NNE-directed motion of the Dinarides, and by the 0.5–1.5 mm/yr, WSW to SSW directed motion of the eastern areas (European foreland, East Carpathians, South Carpathians, Transylvanian basin). These opposite-sense motions define a large-scale, on average NE-SW shortening and transpression-type deformation in the Dinarides as well as in the Pannonian basin, while the East and South Carpathians undergo regional N–S extension. Neotectonic structures generally show good agreement with the strain rate field, for example in the Dinarides, Eastern Alps, or in the western Pannonian basin. However, the presence of fault-parallel shortening or biaxial shortening along sinistral neotectonic structures in the central and eastern Pannonian basin show some discrepancy between current geodetic and observed neotectonic deformation. The vertical velocity field shows dominantly 100 and 1000 km wavelength signals, the former is probably related to the response of the Pannonian lithosphere-asthenosphere system to neotectonic basin inversion, while latter can possibly be explained by far-field subsidence patterns induced by the mantle response to melting of the Fennoscandian ice sheet during the current interglacial period.

Stromatolitic carbonates from the Middle Miocene of the western Pannonian Basin reflect trace metal availability in microbial habitats during the Badenian Salinity Crisis

Stromatolitic carbonates of the Middle Miocene Oberpullendorf Basin (Austria) provide a great opportunity to study the evolution of microbial habitats under extreme environmental changes during the Badenian (Langhian and early Serravallian) Salinity Crisis. We here present the first geochemical data for Badenian stromatolites and show in a combined approach using major, trace element, and C – O isotope compositions obtained in individual stromatolitic carbonate laminae that short-term variations of palaeo-environmental conditions within the Oberpullendorf Basin coincide with individual microbialite morphologies.The studied carbonates were affected by both detrital contamination and post-depositional alteration processes to different degrees. While fluid-mobile elements show clear evidence for post-depositional alteration processes, the rare earth element and yttrium (REY) as well as bio-essential element (Fe, Mn, Co, Zn, Mo, W) compositions of the carbonates remained unaffected. Stromatolitic carbonates that are devoid of detrital contamination (< 300 ppm Al) show typical shale-normalized seawater-like rare earth element and yttrium (REYSN) patterns with positive LaSN, GdSN anomalies, super-chondritic Y/Ho ratios, and heavy over light REYSN enrichments in the lower stromatolite units. These features suggest an open ocean seawater influenced depositional setting at the north-western margin of the Paratethys Sea. Stratigraphically upwards, pure stromatolitic carbonates show suppressed seawater-like REYSN signatures that argue for the development of a (semi)closed lagoon with restricted access to the open sea. Seawater-like REYSN patterns in the uppermost part resemble a reappearance of open marine environmental conditions. Interestingly, geochemical data of the upper part of the section contradict the ambient fossil record, showing the urge for future interdisciplinary approaches targeting the understanding and interplay of geochemistry, palaeontology, and geomicrobiology in modern and ancient microbial habitats. Enrichment factors of bio-essential trace elements that are either used as co-factors in metalloenzymes or metal-activated enzymes in biochemical reactions can be directly linked to the reconstructed environmental conditions: Sufficient element availability is ensured during marine conditions in the lower and uppermost stratigraphic sections; in contrast, continuous decreasing element availability of these elements is directly related to the temporary development of a (semi)closed lagoon.

Deciphering metasomatic events beneath Mindszentkálla (Bakony-Balaton Highland Volcanic Field, western Pannonian Basin) revealed by single-lithology and composite upper mantle xenoliths

Single-lithology and composite xenoliths from Mindszentkálla (Bakony-Balaton Highland Volcanic Field) in the Carpathian-Pannonian region record geochemical evolution of the subcontinental lithospheric mantle. The dominant single-lithology xenoliths are orthopyroxene-rich (22 vol% on average) harzburgites. Three composite xenoliths contain either two or more domains including dunite, olivine-orthopyroxenite, orthopyroxenite, apatite-bearing websterite and amphibole-phlogopite-bearing vein. The presence of different lithologies is a result of at least two metasomatic events that affected the lithospheric mantle. The first event resulted in orthopyroxene enrichment thus formed harzburgitic mantle volumes (Group I xenoliths). Major- and trace element distributions of the bulk harzburgites differ from the geochemical trends expected in residues of mantle melting. In contrast, petrographic and geochemical attributes suggest that the harzburgite was formed by silica-rich melt - peridotitic wall rock interactions in a supra-subduction zone. Within the Group I xenoliths, two subgroups were identified based on the presence or lack of enrichment in U, Pb and Sr. Since these elements are fluid mobile, their enrichment in certain Group I xenoliths indicate reaction with a subduction-related fluid, subsequent to the harzburgite formation. The effect of a second event overprints the features of the Group I xenoliths and is evidenced in all domains of two composite xenoliths (Group II xenoliths). The general geochemical character involves enrichment of basaltic major and minor elements (Fe, Mn, Ti, Ca) in the rock-forming minerals and convex-upward rare earth element (REE) patterns in clinopyroxenes. We suggest that the different domains represent reaction products with variably evolved basaltic melts of a single magmatic event. The tectonic background to the formation of Group I xenoliths is likely linked to the subduction of oceanic crust during the Mesozoic–Paleogene. This happened far from the current position of Mindszentkálla, to where the lithosphere, including the metasomatized mantle volume, was transferred via plate extrusion. The Group II xenoliths appear to bear the geochemical signature of a younger (Neogene) basaltic magmatic event, likely the same that produced the host basalt transporting the xenoliths to the surface.

Migration of Late Miocene to Quaternary alkaline magmatism at the Alpine-Pannonian transition area: Significance for coupling of Adria plate motion with the Alpine-Carpathian front

Within-plate migration of alkaline basaltic centers is generally related to translation of the lithosphere with a hot spot above a largely stationary mantle plume. Here, we report, for the first time, a hitherto unrecognized migration of small-sized Late Miocene to Early Quaternary alkali-basaltic volcanic centers at the transition from Eastern Alps to Pannonian Basin. The volcanic centers migrated along the South Burgenland High in a regular sequence over a 95 km distance from NNE to SSW between 11 Ma and 1.7 Ma. The basaltic magmatism was also associated with thinning of the crust and lithosphere and an increase of the thermal gradient. In detail, three stages of migration are recognized as follows: (i) Stage 1 with a 55 km SSW-towards shift of volcanism between 11 and 5 Ma; (ii) Stage 2 with a ~ 35 km-WSW shift and enlargement of the distribution of volcanic centers between ca. 5 and 3.5 Ma; and (iii) Stage 3 with a S-directed shift of ca. 25 km between 3.5 and 1.7 Ma. The Stage 1 shift of alkali-basaltic volcanism can be also observed in the Little Hungarian Plain and South Slovakia–Nógrád volcanic fields, and the Stage 2 in the Balaton-Bakony of the Pannonian Basin (north of Lake Balaton). We propose that this pattern and mechanism of migration of the volcanic centers along the South Burgenland High resulted from thermally induced progressive thinning of the lithosphere over a mantle plume underneath the ALCAPA block, which was moving from SSW to the NNE between 11 and 1.7 Ma. The migration was interrupted by a marked eastward shift between 5 and 3.5 Ma (Stage 2). The migration of volcanic centers correlates with orientation and timing of regional shortening phases and inversion of the Alpine-Carpathian-Pannonian system although the overall amount of shortening remains uncertain. The deformation events allow to correlate Adria motion with deformation along the frontal parts of Eastern Alps, and Western and Eastern Carpathians across the western Pannonian Basin.

Crustal exhumation and depocenter migration from the Alpine orogenic margin towards the Pannonian extensional back-arc basin controlled by inheritance

The formation and deformation history of back-arc basins play a critical role in understanding the tectonics of plate interactions. Furthermore, opening of extensional back-arc basins during the overall convergence between Africa and Europe is a fundamental process in the overall tectonic evolution of the Mediterranean and adjacent areas. In this frame, Miocene tectonic evolution of the western Pannonian Basin of Central Europe and its connection to inherited Cretaceous structures of the Eastern Alpine nappes are presented. Revision of published and addition of new structural and thermochronological data, as well as seismic profiles from the western Pannonian Basin is complemented by high-resolution thermo-mechanical numerical modeling in order to propose a new physically consistent tectono-sedimentary model for the basin evolution. The onset of extension is dated as ~25–23 Ma, and higher rates are inferred between 19 and 15 Ma at the south-western part of the area (Pohorje, Kozjak Domes, Murska Sobota Ridge, and Mura-Zala Basin). Rift initiation involved the exhumation of the middle part of the Austroalpine nappe pile along low-angle detachment faults and mylonite zones. The Miocene low-angle shear zones could reactivate major Cretaceous thrust boundaries, the exhumation channel of ultra-high-pressure rocks of the Pohorje Dome, or Late Cretaceous extensional structures. Miocene extension was associated with granodiorite and dacite intrusions between 18.64 and 15 Ma. The Pohorje pluton intruded at variable depth from ~4 to 16–18 km and experienced ductile stretching, westward tilting, and asymmetric exhumation of its eastern side. Terrestrial early Miocene (Ottnangian to Karpatian, 19–17.25 Ma) syn-rift depositional environment in supradetachment basins evolved to near-shore and bathyal one by the middle Miocene (Badenian, 15.97–12.8 Ma). Deformation subsequently migrated eastwards to the western part of the Transdanubian Range (Keszthely Hills) and to newly formed grabens. In this formerly emerged terrestrial area active faulting started at 15–14.5 Ma and continued through the late Miocene almost continuously up to ~8 Ma but basically terminated in the Mura-Zala Basin by ~15 Ma (early Badenian). These observations suggest a ~200 km shift of active faulting, basin formation, and related syn-tectonic sedimentation from the SW (Pohorje and Mura-Zala Basin) toward the Pannonian Basin center. Building on the above described observational and modeling data makes the Pannonian Basin an ideal natural laboratory for understanding the coupling between deep Earth and surface processes.

Uplift of the Transdanubian Range, Pannonian Basin: How fast and why?

Abstract The cumulative incision rates of ~50–70 m/Ma integrating over the last ~3 Ma have been derived from published terrace-chronological data of the Danube river in the Western Pannonian Basin. An apparent acceleration of uplift rates was observed for shorter timescales culminating at ~200 m/Ma over the last ~140 ka. An examination of the change of the incision rates through time revealed that the incision rate was fairly constant at ~50 m/Ma from ~3 Ma to ~140 ka, and the faster rates are valid only for the last ~140 ka. These findings suggest that the long-term uplift rate of the northwestern limb of the Transdanubian Range is ~50 m/Ma, and the apparent acceleration of river incision during the Late Pleistocene is considered as the result of faster, most probably climate-driven incision during the last glacial cycle, outpacing the long-term uplift rate. The observed upper crustal neotectonic faults are not sufficient to accommodate the deformation necessary for the reported Pliocene to Quaternary vertical motion. The geodynamic model for the explanation of the magnitude and pattern of surface uplift in the western Pannonian Basin involves a complex interplay between (1) deep lithosphere-asthenosphere dynamics, (2) structural inversion governed by the northward drift of Adria, (3) inherited geological structures and (4) climate driven surface processes (denudation and sediment loading).

Olivine major and trace element compositions coupled with spinel chemistry to unravel the magmatic systems feeding monogenetic basaltic volcanoes

Monogenetic basaltic volcanic systems, despite their considerable smaller size and shorter lifetime compared to polygenetic volcanoes, can have complex pre-eruptive histories and composite volcanic facies architectures. Their source-to-surface investigation is essential for our better understanding of monogenetic volcanism and requires high-resolution mineral-scale analyses.In this study, we focus on diversely zoned olivine crystals and their spinel inclusions from alkaline basaltic volcanics that are the result of mixing of numerous magmas, crystals and fragments of various origins. The Fekete-hegy volcanic complex is one of the largest and most composite eruptive centers in the intracontinental monogenetic Bakony–Balaton Highland Volcanic Field (western Pannonian Basin, Eastern Central Europe). It is a compound multi-vent system built up by multiple eruption episodes: initial maar-forming phreatomagmatic eruptions were followed by massive lava flows and magmatic explosive activity. We performed stratigraphically controlled sampling in order to reveal the history of the successively erupted magma batches represented by the distinct eruptive units, as well as to discover the petrogenetic processes that controlled the evolution of the magmatic system.The juvenile pyroclasts of the phreatomagmatic eruption products (unit 1) contain a remarkably diverse mineral assemblage including five different olivine types and three distinct spinel groups. In addition, they comprise various xenoliths. Based on detailed textural investigations combined with in situ electron microprobe analyses, high-resolution laser ablation ICP-MS trace element mapping and single spot measurements on the variably zoned olivines of unit 1 samples, eight distinct environments are inferred to have been involved in their formation. Four of these environments account for the significant compositional variation of the olivine-hosted spinel inclusions. A complex set of open- and closed-system petrogenetic processes operated during the evolution of the magmatic system: magma stalling, accumulation, storage, fractionation, mixing, replenishments, cumulate remobilization, incorporation of foreign fragments and crystals from the wall rocks. All these diverse environments and processes resulted in the mixed character of the erupted magmas during the initial phreatomagmatic eruptive phase.In contrast, the uniform petrological features and the small variations shown by the olivines and spinels from unit 2–3 indicate that the later magmatic explosive – effusive phase was preceded by a considerable change in the magmatic system; it experienced a simple evolution through olivine + spinel fractional crystallization without any of the complexities seen during the initial phase.The present study emphasizes the importance of high-resolution mineral-scale textural and chemical investigations to unravel the complexity of the sub-volcanic magmatic systems feeding monogenetic basaltic volcanoes. Compared to the application of whole-rock geochemistry alone, this approach enables a direct and more detailed insight into the architecture and evolution of these systems.

Petrology, geochemistry, and Sr, Nd isotopes of mantle xenolith in Nghia Dan alkaline basalt (West Nghe An): implications for lithospheric mantle characteristics beneath the region

Petrology, geochemistry, and Sr, Nd isotopes of mantle xenolith in Nghia Dan alkaline basalt (West Nghe An): implications for lithospheric mantle characteristics beneath the region

Fluid‐Enhanced Annealing in the Subcontinental Lithospheric Mantle Beneath the Westernmost Margin of the Carpathian‐Pannonian Extensional Basin System

AbstractMantle xenoliths from the Styrian Basin Volcanic Field (Western Pannonian Basin, Austria) are mostly coarse granular amphibole‐bearing spinel lherzolites with microstructures attesting for extensive annealing. Olivine and pyroxene CPO (crystal‐preferred orientation) preserve nevertheless the record of coeval deformation during a preannealing tectonic event. Olivine shows transitional CPO symmetry from [010]‐fiber to orthogonal type. In most samples with [010]‐fiber olivine CPO symmetry, the [001] axes of the pyroxenes are also dispersed in the foliation plane. This CPO patterns are consistent with lithospheric deformation accommodated by dislocation creep in a transpressional tectonic regime. The lithospheric mantle deformed most probably during the transpressional phase after the Penninic slab breakoff in the Eastern Alps. The calculated seismic properties of the xenoliths indicate that a significant portion of shear wave splitting delay times in the Styrian Basin (0.5 s out of approximately 1.3 s) may originate in a highly annealed subcontinental lithospheric mantle. Hydroxyl content in olivine is correlated to the degree of annealing, with higher concentrations in the more annealed textures. Based on the correlation between microstructures and hydroxyl content in olivine, we propose that annealing was triggered by percolation of hydrous fluids/melts in the shallow subcontinental lithospheric mantle. A possible source of these fluids/melts is the dehydration of the subducted Penninic slab beneath the Styrian Basin. The studied xenoliths did not record the latest large‐scale geodynamic events in the region—the Miocene extension then tectonic inversion of the Pannonian Basin.

Mantle xenoliths from Szentbékálla, Balaton: Geochemical and petrological constraints on the evolution of the lithospheric mantle underneath Pannonian Basin, Hungary

Pliocene alkali basalts from the Bakony-Balaton Highland Volcanic Field (BBHVF) in the western Pannonian Basin carry mantle xenoliths comprising hydrous and anhydrous spinel peridotites. The studied mantle xenoliths from Szentbékálla, near Lake Balaton, Hungary, are fine- and coarse-grained fertile to depleted spinel lherzolites, spinel harzburgites and dunites, with protogranular, porphyroclastic, and secondary protogranular and mosaic equigranular textures. Melt pockets, with shapes resembling amphibole, are common in a number of samples, whereas other samples have thin films of intergranular glass. Bulk-rock major element abundances show that the mantle lithosphere beneath this area experienced variable degrees (up to 20%) of partial melting.The clinopyroxene trace elements systematics retain a record of melt depletion and metasomatic processes attributed to subduction-related melt/fluids or to the infiltration of percolating undersaturated melts in the Pannonian lithospheric mantle. The radiogenic isotopes of Sr, Nd and Hf in clinopyroxene suggest that this metasomatism was a relatively recent event. Textural evidence suggests that the calcite filling up the vesicles in the melt pockets and in veinlets cross-cutting the constituent minerals is of epigenetic nature and not due to carbonatite metasomatism.The non-metasomatized primitive mantle normalized clinopyroxene REE abundances mimic those, but at higher values, of their bulk-rock REE patterns. Bulk-rock and clinopyroxene REE with upward and downward LREE respectively, indicate up to 2.4% host basalt infiltration.The calculated bulk composition of the melt pockets is identical to small amphibole relics found as inclusions in second generation clinopyroxene within the melt pockets, suggesting incongruent melting of amphibole, without the need for additional metasomatic melt/fluids to initiate the amphibole breakdown. The heat for the temperature increase necessary for amphibole breakdown was derived from the host basalt. The estimated time for diffusive Ca exchange between matrix olivine and olivine overgrowth in contact with the melt pockets is very short, ranging between 21 and 200days, indicating that amphibole breakdown took place immediately before or during the xenolith entrainment in the alkali basalt.

Hydrogeochemical Changes in Thermal Waters of the Western Pannonian Basin

Due to the continuous thermal water abstractions of the last 50 years, in some sub-regions of the western part of the Pannonian Basin groundwater heads significantly decreased. New aquifer layers started to contribute to thermal wells, which in some cases leads to changes in the hydrogeochemical composition. Mixtures of different chemical types of thermal water are the results of these changes. To characterize the changing process, study of the hydrogeochemical composition of thermal waters was performed, and end-members of the mixing processes were identified. Finally, hydrogeochemical models were developed applying PHREEQC to simulate the processes and follow the ongoing changes.

Clinopyroxene with diverse origins in alkaline basalts from the western Pannonian Basin: Implications from trace element characteristics

Clinopyroxene crystals of various origins occur in the unusually crystal- and xenolith-rich alkaline basalts of the Bondoró-hegy and the Füzes-tó scoria cone, which are the youngest eruptive centres in the Bakony-Balaton Highland Volcanic Field, western Pannonian Basin. The clinopyroxenes show diverse textural and zoning features as well as highly variable major and trace element chemistry. Xenocryst, megacryst and phenocryst crystal populations can be distinguished on the basis of their compositional differences.The trace element patterns of green clinopyroxene cores display a large range in composition and indicate that most of them have a metamorphic origin. Most of them were incorporated from lower crustal mafic granulite wall rocks, while only a few of them are of magmatic origin representing pyroxenite (Type II) cumulates. The colourless clinopyroxene xenocrysts reflect the texturally and geochemically diverse nature of the subcontinental lithospheric mantle beneath the studied area, mainly representing regions characterised by various stages of metasomatism.The colourless and green megacrysts are genetically related to each other, having crystallised as early and late crystallisation products, respectively, from petrogenetically related melts as part of a fractional crystallisation sequence. These melts represent earlier alkaline basaltic magmas (as represented by the Type II xenoliths), having stalled and crystallised near the crust–mantle boundary in the uppermost part of the mantle. This serves as evidence that the deep magmatic systems beneath monogenetic volcanic fields are complex, involving several phases of melt generation, accumulation and fractionation at variable depths.We show that in situ trace element analysis is necessary in order to unravel the origins and relationships of the diverse clinopyroxene populations. Such studies significantly contribute to our understanding of the ascent histories of alkaline basaltic magmas and provide information about the characteristics of the rocks that constitute the lithosphere. Additionally, the abundance of foreign crystals incorporated in the ascending basaltic magmas, and their potential for contamination of the host magma, must be taken into account when whole-rock geochemical data are interpreted.

Rhinocerotidae from the Upper Miocene deposits of the Western Pannonian Basin (Hungary): implications for migration routes and biogeography

Abstract Although the rhinoceros remains have high biochronological significance, they are poorly known or scarcely documented in the uppermost Miocene deposits of Europe. Several specimens collected from the Upper Miocene (around 7.0 Ma, Turolian) deposits of Kávás (Pannonian Basin, Western Hungary), previously determined as Rhinoceros sp., are revised and described in this paper. The postcranial remains of these specimens belong to “Dihoplus” megarhinus (de Christol) on the basis of the morphological and morphometric characters of humerus, radii, metacarpal and metatarsal elements. An overview of rhinoceros remains from several uppermost Miocene localities and the revision of the rhinoceros material from the Pannonian Basin suggest that “D.” megarhinus spread during the latest Miocene from the Pannonian Basin towards Italy. The occurrences of this species in Western Hungary and Italy during the latest Miocene further imply that Rhinocerotini species were biogeographically segregated between Western, Southern and Central Europe.

A multi‐system geochronology in the Ad‐3 borehole, Pannonian Basin (Hungary) with implications for dating volcanic rocks by low‐temperature thermochronology and for interpretation of (U–Th)/He data

AbstractIndependent geochronological and thermal modelling approaches are applied to a biostratigraphically exceptionally well‐controlled borehole, Alcsútdoboz‐3 (Ad‐3), in order to constrain the age of Cenozoic geodynamic events in the western Pannonian Basin and to test the efficacy of the methods for dating volcanic rocks. Apatite fission track and zircon U–Pb data show two volcanic phases of Middle Eocene (43.4–39.0 Ma) and Early Oligocene (32.72 ± 0.15 Ma) age respectively. Apatite (U–Th)/He ages (23.8–14.8 Ma) and independent thermal and subsidence history models reveal a brief period of heating to 55–70 °C at ~17 Ma caused by an increased heat‐flow related to crustal thinning and mantle upwelling. Our results demonstrate that, contrary to common perception, the apatite (U–Th)/He method is likely to record ‘apparent’ or ‘mixed’ ages resulting from subsequent thermal events rather than ‘cooling’ or ‘eruption’ ages directly related to distinct geological events. It follows that a direct conversion of ‘apparent’ or ‘mixed’ (U‐Th)/He ages into cooling, exhumation or erosion rates is incorrect.

A complex magmatic system beneath the Kissomlyó monogenetic volcano (western Pannonian Basin): evidence from mineral textures, zoning and chemistry

Kissomlyó is a small-volume Pliocene alkaline basaltic eruptive centre located in the monogenetic Little Hungarian Plain Volcanic Field (western Pannonian Basin). It consists of a sequence of pyroclastic and effusive eruptive units: early tuff ring (unit1), pillow and columnar jointed lava (unit2), spatter cone (unit3). The tuff ring sequence is overlain by a unit of lacustrine sediments which suggests a significant time gap in the volcanic activity between the tuff ring formation and the emplacement of the lava flow. High-resolution investigation of mineral textures, zoning and chemistry as well as whole-rock geochemical analyses were performed on stratigraphically controlled samples in order to characterize the magmas represented by the distinct eruptive units and to reveal the evolution of the deep magmatic system.Based on the bulk rock geochemistry, compositionally similar magmas erupted to the surface during the entire volcanic activity. However, olivine crystals show diverse textures, zoning patterns and compositions reflecting various deep-seated magmatic processes. Five different olivine types occur in the samples. Type1 olivines represent the phenocryst sensu stricto phases, i.e., crystallised in situ from the host magma. The other olivine types show evidence for textural and compositional disequilibrium reflecting single crystals consisting of distinct portions having different origins. Type2a and type2b olivines have antecrystic cores which are derived from two distinct primitive magmas based on the different compositions of their spinel inclusions. Type4 olivines show reverse zoning whose low-Fo cores represent antecrysts from more evolved magmas. The cores of type3 and type5 olivines are xenocrysts originated from the subcontinental lithospheric mantle. These xenocrysts are surrounded by high-Fo or low-Fo growth zones suggesting that olivine xenocryst incorporation occurred at different levels and stages of magma evolution.Olivine-hosted spinel inclusions show three distinct compositional groups. Group1 spinels are very Al-rich (0–0.22 Cr#) and coexist with the antecrystic cores of type2a olivines, group2 spinels have 44.5–62.3 Cr#s and occur in the phenocryst s.s. (type 1) olivines, while group3 spinels are very rich in Cr (68.4–81.3 Cr#) and appear in the antecrystic cores of type2b olivines. Based on the integrated analysis of olivines and their spinel inclusions four magmatic environments were involved into the evolution of the magmatic system. These crystals bear evidence of various petrogenetic processes playing role in the formation of the erupted magma batches: fractional crystallization, olivine (+spinel) recycling, xenocryst incorporation, magma recharge and interaction of multiple small magma packets in a multi-level magmatic system.Clinopyroxene-melt thermobarometry yields an average pressure of 6.6±0.9kbar corresponding to a depth of about 25km, implying that the main level of final clinopyroxene fractionation could have occurred around the Moho (in the lowermost crust).This study shows that high-resolution mineral-scale analyses carried out through monogenetic sequences provide a unique, more detailed insight into the evolution of these “simple” magmatic systems as crystal growth stratigraphy and compositions yield direct evidence for various petrogenetic processes which are usually obscured in the whole-rock geochemistry.

Crustal structure of the Pannonian Basin: The AlCaPa and Tisza Terrains and the Mid-Hungarian Zone

The Pannonian Basin of Central Europe is one of the key examples of Miocene continental extension that is easily accessible to surface seismological investigation. It comprises two major crustal blocks: AlCaPa and Tisza which abut along a poorly understood structure referred to as the Mid-Hungarian Zone (MHZ), the whole being surrounded by the arc of the Carpathian Mountains, the Alps and the Dinarides. Using data from the CBP (Carpathian Basins Project) temporary broadband seismic array of 46 stations deployed across the western Pannonian Basin in 2006–2007, we calculated receiver functions that constrain the variation of crustal thickness across the basin and derive a map of Moho depth across a NW–SE oriented swath about 450km long and 75km wide. The measured Moho depths show no significant change in crustal thickness between AlCaPa and Tisza terrains, but the Moho is not or very weakly imaged along a ca. 40km wide strip centred on the MHZ. Moho depths within the Pannonian Basin are typically in the range 25–30km, and increase toward the periphery of the basin. Our measurements are generally consistent with earlier VP models from controlled-source seismic surveys and recent VS models determined by tomographic analysis of ambient noise signals. The lack of a sharp Moho image beneath the MHZ suggests that the crust–mantle boundary in that zone may consist of a gradual increase in velocity with depth. The relatively constant crustal thickness across the two domains of the Pannonian Basin suggests that thinning to the same final state is controlled thermally. This structural characteristic seems to be governed by a large-scale balance of gravitational potential energy that is insensitive to the separate prior histories of the two regions.

Potentials of transboundary thermal water resources in the western part of the Pannonian basin

In this paper we investigate hydrogeological aspects of eleven geothermal aquifer types in four countries in the western Pannonian basin, and their development potential. Most thermal waters outflow with temperature below 50°C, and are used for bathing, drinking, industrial water supply, space and water heating. Geothermal electricity is produced only in Austria at a small pilot plant. Low share of direct use is coupled by small number of reinjection wells. Waste thermal water is produced at 149 user sites and by 307 objects, and shows rather low thermal efficiency of exploitation. Annual production of thermal water sums to approximately 40 million m3, and the Pannonian–Pontian clastic and the Mesozoic carbonate rocks form most productive and transboundary aquifers. The innovative approach and field investigation enabled identification of potential of inactive wells which sums to 4.7 million m3 of thermal water per year, while the legislative potential is estimated to be approximately 58.8 million m3 per year. Since depletion of many geothermal aquifers is already evident, such increase in production might be hydrogeologically unfeasible, at least if no improvements in utilization technology are made. In order to exploit the vast identified potentials without major investments in new production wells, we recommend optimization of exploitation and extensive implementation of reinjection wells in this transboundary region.

Verification of Late Miocene to Quaternary structural control on landforms: a case study with comprehensive methodology from a low hilly area (western Pannonian Basin)

Verification of Late Miocene to Quaternary structural control on landforms: a case study with comprehensive methodology from a low hilly area (western Pannonian Basin)

Origin and significance of poikilitic and mosaic peridotite xenoliths in the western Pannonian Basin: geochemical and petrological evidences

Peridotite xenoliths erupted by alkali basaltic volcanoes in the western Pannonian Basin can be divided into two fundamentally contrasting groups. Geochemical characteristics of the abundant protogranular, porphyroclastic and equigranular nodules suggest that these samples originate from an old consolidated and moderately depleted lithospheric mantle domain. In contrast, the geochemical features of the worldwide rare, but in the Pannonian Basin relatively abundant, poikilitic xenoliths attest to a more complex evolution. It has been argued that the origin of the peculiar texture and chemistry may be intimately linked to melt/rock reactions at successively decreasing liquid volumes in a porous melt flow system. The most likely site where such reactions can take place is the asthenosphere–lithosphere boundary. In this context, poikilitic xenoliths may provide petrological and geochemical evidence for reactions between magmatic liquids issued from the uprising asthenosphere and the solid mantle rocks of the lithosphere. These reactions are important agents of the thermal erosion of the lithosphere; thus, they could have considerably contributed to the thinning of the lithosphere in the Pannonian region. We suggest that in the Pannonian Basin, there could be a strong relation between the unusual abundance of poikilitic mantle xenoliths and the strongly eroded lithosphere.