Interpretation of Sedimentological Processes of Coarse-Grained
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Open Geosci. 2017; 9:525–538 Research Article Open Access Éva Farics*, Dávid Farics, József Kovács, and János Haas Interpretation of sedimentological processes of coarse-grained deposits applying a novel combined cluster and discriminant analysis https://doi.org/10.1515/geo-2017-0040 Received March 10, 2017; accepted June 12, 2017 1 Introduction Abstract: The main aim of this paper is to determine the A coarse-grained clastic bed-set occurs at the base of the depositional environments of an Upper-Eocene coarse- Upper Eocene marine succession in the Buda Hills, Trans- grained clastic succession in the Buda Hills, Hungary. First danubian Range, Hungary (Fig. 1a). The oligomictic and of all, we measured some commonly used parameters of rarely monomictic conglomerate beds contain dominantly samples (size, amount, roundness and sphericity) in a dolomite pebbles, but pebbles of volcanic rocks are also much more objective overall and faster way than with tra- common locally. Other rock types are also present spo- ditional measurement approaches, using the newly de- radically. Due to the rather poor exposure conditions, the veloped Rock Analyst application. For the multivariate sedimentological structures of the basal beds are rarely data obtained, we applied Combined Cluster and Discrimi- visible. Therefore, the composition of the clastic material nant Analysis (CCDA) in order to determine homogeneous and the size and shape of the clasts may serve as a ba- groups of the sampling locations based on the quantita- sis for the determination of both the source area of the tive composition of the conglomerate as well as the shape clasts and the interpretation of the transport and deposi- parameters (roundness and sphericity). The result is the tional processes they were subject to. Coarse-grained clas- spatial pattern of these groups, which assists with the in- tic successions may be deposited in various sedimento- terpretation of the depositional processes. According to logical environments forming alluvial, glacial, fluvial, and our concept, those sampling sites which belong to the erosional sedimentary sequences. For the characterisation same homogeneous groups were likely formed under simi- of these rocks, plenty of petrography and textural parame- lar geological circumstances and by similar geological pro- ters (composition of the grains, grain size, roundness and cesses. sphericity) are available, and these can then be analysed In the Buda Hills, we were able to distinguish various sed- with statistical methods. The main aim of this paper is the imentological environments within the area based on the interpretation of the depositional conditions of the Eocene results: fan, intermittent stream or marine. basal conglomerates of the Buda Hills, and the determina- Keywords: homogeneous groups, Rock Analyst applica- tion of the source of the volcanic clasts—by applying a spe- tion, roundness, composition, depositional environments, cial grouping method for various clast parameters, mea- coarse-grained succession, Buda Hills sured using our newly developed IT application. In many cases the suggested parameters for the de- scription of roundness and sphericity (e.g. Szádeczky- *Corresponding Author: Éva Farics: Eötvös Loránd University, Department of Physical and Applied Geology, H-1117 Budapest, Kardoss’ (1933) CPV (C=concave, P=planar, V=convex) [1]) Pázmány Péter stny. 1/C, Hungary, are poorly defined and their measurement in coarse and MTA-ELTE Geological, Geophysical and Space Science Research grained siliciclastic rocks is rather subjective. To improve Group, H-1117 Budapest, Pázmány Péter stny. 1/C, Hungary, E-mail: the precision of the measurements, we redeveloped an [email protected] earlier version of the Rock Analyst application (Győrfy Dávid Farics: was a student in Engineering Information Technology at the Budapest University of Technology and Economics, Budapest, 2015 [2]), leading to major improvements (see Section 3.3). Hungary. This application is now available at http://faricseva.web. József Kovács: Eötvös Loránd University, Department of Physical elte.hu/. and Applied Geology, H-1117 Budapest, Pázmány Péter stny. 1/C, For the data obtained using the Rock Analyst ap- Hungary plication, we applied a multivariate statistical grouping János Haas: MTA-ELTE Geological, Geophysical and Space Science method, Combined Cluster and Discriminant Analysis Research Group, H-1117 Budapest, Pázmány Péter stny. 1/C, Hungary Open Access. © 2017 Éva Farics et al., published by De Gruyter Open. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 License. 526 Ë Éva Farics, Dávid Farics, József Kovács, and János Haas (CCDA) (Kovács J. et al. 2014 [3]) for the interpretation of zircon U-Pb dating) was encountered in the dolomite in the sedimentological processes of the coarse-grained clas- well Budaörs-1 [12]. The higher part of the Triassic suc- tic successions. CCDA combines linear discriminant anal- cession is made up of cherty dolomite and limestone of ysis and cluster analysis and its aim is to find not only a basin facies as well as coeval platform dolomites and similar, but even homogeneous groups of sampling loca- limestones [13–16] (Fig. 1b). Bauxitic clay locally occurs tions based on the multivariate samples. The result is a on the karstified surface of the Triassic carbonates [9]. The spatial pattern which shows the relationship of the sam- Triassic carbonates are overlain by an Upper Eocene suc- pling sites (homogeneity or difference and in particular the cession starting usually with conglomerate beds. Magyari rate of the latter). This method has been used successfully (1994) [17] distinguished two types of the basal conglomer- for hydrological and hydrogeological interpretation [3–5] ates: Type 1 which contains exclusively Triassic dolomite and biological analysis [6]. In this paper, CCDA is used in a and chert clasts and Type 2 which contains remarkable sedimentological problem. According to our opinion, the amounts of volcanic clasts along with dolomite and chert sampling sites which form a homogeneous group on the pebbles. The andesite clasts yielded Carnian U-Pb ages (I. basis of different criteria indicate deposition under simi- Dunkl, personal communication). lar geological circumstances and by the same geological processes. A sedimentological model based on this con- cept might be more accurate and objective than former 3 Materials and methods ones owing to the consistency of our approach. More de- tails about CCDA, along the meaning of homogeneity can About 20-25 hand-sized conglomerate samples were col- be found in Section 3.4. lected from the volcanic clast-bearing Upper Eocene basal Several studies have discussed the formation of the conglomerate successions (Fig. 1b): Apáthy Rock - Stone maximally five meter thick volcanic clast-bearing Up- Gate (AR), Fenyőgyöngye quarry (FQ), Hunyad Peak (HP), per Eocene coarse-grained clastic succession of the Buda János Hill - Virág Valley (JH), Kő Hill of Budaörs (KH), Látó Hills. Early researchers thought that the Eocene volcanic Hill (LH), Róka Hill quarry (RH), Tündér Rock (TR) and Út material had been accumulated on the karstified surface of Hill (UH). Triassic carbonates (mostly dolomites) prior to transgres- The following parameters of the conglomerates were sion, and this was preserved in the fractures and depres- determined in every outcrop using the Rock Analyst appli- sions of the basement [7]. Later, some of the researches cation (see Section 3.3): thought that the clasts were formed and transported via i) the size of each clast; erosion [8], while others proposed a terrestrial deposi- ii) the quantitative composition of the clast types in the tional environment [9, 10]. Farics et al. (2015) [11] pro- conglomerates; posed a simple transport model: redeposition of the vol- iii) the roundness and the sphericity of each clast. canic clasts from south to north (i.e. from Budaörs to Róka The parameters of 500 randomly selected clasts of ev- Hill) during the latest Cretaceous to Priabonian period, ery sampling sites were measured. The investigation of prior to the onset of the marine sedimentation. However, the thin sections of the whole conglomerate was neces- this interpretation was based on field observations only, sary, as the preparation of small (2-8 mm) clasts indi- which suggested a northward decreasing trend in the size vidually mostly from the silica-cement is hardly possible. of the andesite clasts. In the present study, along with the Moreover, microscopic investigation of thin sections was clast size, further parameters (e.g. percentage of the com- needed for the exact determination of rock types. Based ponents, shape of the clasts) are also considered. Conse- on the results of Farics et al. (2015) [11], the following quently, the previous simple model is significantly refined clast types were distinguished: dolomite, andesite, vari- and modified. ous acidic volcanic rocks (including dacite-rhyolite tuff, ig- nimbrite and rhyolite) and chert (Fig. 2). 2 Geological setting of the study area 3.1 Roundness definitions Various methods have been proposed for the measurement The uppermost Anisian to lowermost Carnian Budaörs of the roundness of clasts. Most of these methods (Went- Dolomite is the oldest formation cropping out in the Buda worth 1921 [18], Cailleux 1952 [19]) only take into account Hills (Fig. 1b). An andesite dike of Carnian age (based on Interpretation of sedimentological processes of coarse-grained deposits