Oxygen and sulphur isotope composition of Badenian (Middle Miocene) gypsum deposits in southern Poland: a preliminary study

Authors

  • Alicja Kasprzyk Polish Geological lnstitute, Holy Cross Mountains Branch, Zgoda 21, 25-953 Kielce

Abstract

The isotopic studies of primary gypsum facies have been used as a tool for interpreting palaeoenvironments and the sedimentary evolution in the Badenian evaporite basin of southern Poland. The oxygen and sulphur isotope composition of gypsum is homogeneous throughout the section. The average d-values (δ18O = 12.21‰ and δ34S = 22.21‰) correspond very well to data found for the Messinian (Upper Miocene) primary gypsum in SE Spain, as well as to other Tertiary sulphate evaporites, and thus provide additional arguments for the marine origin of these deposits. For the Badenian gypsum, the relative depletion in δ18O might reflect a distinct palaeogeographic control on sulphate sedimentation in the northernmost part of Central Paratethys. The results obtained, combined with other geochemical and sedimentological studies, reflect unstable sedimentary conditions in the peripheral part of the basin in the transition from the autochthonous to allochthonous gypsum members. The minor variations of isotope data are due to dissolution-precipitation and/or partial bacterial sulphate reduction.

Downloads

Published

2013-02-21

Issue

Vol. 41 No. 1 (1997)

Section

Articles

License

Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
  1. Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in this journal.
  2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in this journal.
  3. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as this can lead to productive exchanges and earlier and more frequent citation of the published work (See The Effect of Open Access).