Acta Musei Moraviae

Chemistry of garnet and tourmaline – contribution to provenance studies oj fine grained Neogene deposits of the Carpathian Foredeep

The study of chemistry of heavy minerals can be an effective tool for provenance analyses of clastic deposits. The chemistry of garnet and tourmaline from Neogene deposits of the Carpathian Foredeep (peripheral foreland bas in) provided important data for the basin analyses. Chemistry of tourmaline points to the provenance from the Bohemian Massif (especially the Moldanubicum and the Moravicum). Study of garnet revealed significant differences of its chemistry in the Eggenburgian+Ottnangian deposits and Karpatian+Lower Badenian deposits. These differences together with the fact that Eggenburgian+Ottnangian deposits are typical with heavy mineral assemblages with relative low content of gamet whereas Karpatian and Lower Badenian deposits are typical with heavy mineral suite rich in garnet reflect important variation in the provenance and in the basin configuration. Rocks of the Bohemian Massif (passive margin) were the source of the studied Eggenburgian+Ottnangian deposits. Rocks of Western Carpathian orogenic wedge (active margin) are supposed to form the dominant source of the studied Karpatian and Lower Badenian deposits.