Geology, mineralogy, and geochemistry of the smectite-bearing Eocene İslambeyli Formation in the Pınarhisar region, NW Thrace, Turkey

Bala Ekinci-Şans, Fahri Esenli, Selahattin Kadir*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

2 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The Eocene İslambeyli Formation outcrops at the lowest sedimentary unit of the northern part of the Tertiary Thrace Basin. This formation consists mainly of siliciclastics with increasing carbonate contribution in the upper part in the Pınarhisar region (NW Thrace). Mineralogically, this formation is derived from the quartz-rich sedimentary and felsic igneous provenance in an active continental margin (ACM) tectonic setting. The siliciclastics are composed of mainly dioctahedral Ca–smectite with minor amounts of illite, chlorite, and kaolinite, plus non-clay minerals quartz, K-feldspar, plagioclase, muscovite, biotite, calcite, zeolite (heulandite–clinoptilolite), and gypsum. Primary fragments of the İslambeyli Formation transported from the metamorphics of the Paleozoic Strandja Massif were widely altered according to the alteration indices of the massif and resulted in the enrichment and depletion of some elements (e.g., increase in Th/U ratio, negative Eu anomaly). The feldspar volume and total content of Na2O + K2O values of the formation are clearly lower than those of the massif. Mg and Ca in the smectite structure were probably obtained from seawater in a shore and shallow marine-reef environment during and after the deposition of the İslambeyli Formation.

Original languageEnglish
Article number378
JournalArabian Journal of Geosciences
Volume13
Issue number10
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 May 2020

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2020, Saudi Society for Geosciences.

Funding

The authors are indebted to Dr. Maria Lacalamita (Department of Earth and Geo-Environmental Sciences, University of Bari, Italy) and an anonymous reviewer for their extremely constructive reviews that significantly improved the quality of the paper. We are also extremely grateful to Chief Editor Dr. Domenico M Doronzo for his insightful editorial comments and suggestions.

FundersFunder number
Department of Earth and Geo-Environmental Sciences, University of Bari

    Keywords

    • Geochemistry
    • Smectite
    • Strandja Massif
    • Thrace
    • Weathering
    • İslambeyli Formation

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