Bulletin of Geosciences, Vol. 79, No. 2, 107–112, 2004 © Czech Geological Survey, ISSN 1214-1119 Thermal and tectonic history of the Barrandian Lower Paleozoic, Czech Republic: Is there a fission-track evidence for Carboniferous-Permian overburden and pre-Westphalian alpinotype thrusting? (Critical comments on the paper by Ulrich A. Glasmacher, Ulrich Mann and Günther A. Wagner) Jiří Filip 1 – Václav Suchý 2 1 Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Institute of Geology, Rozvojová 135, 165 00 Prague 6-Suchdol, Czech Republic. E-mail: [email protected] 2 Varis RD, a. s., Na Výšině 11/1474, 143 00 Praha 4, Czech Republic. E-mail: [email protected] Abstract. Close scrutiny of apatite fission-track data from Barrandian Lower Paleozoic rocks shows that previous interpretations involving a late Car- boniferous to Permian heating stage and the extensive development of pre-Westphalian thrust tectonics are largely speculative. An alternative time-tem- perature path for the Barrandian sequence based on firmly established geological constraints and an improved version of the AFTSolve annealing kinetic model by Ketcham et al. (2000) is presented as evidence of a simple late Devonian to early Carboniferous Variscan peak heating, followed by a gradual Mesozoic to Tertiary cooling. Key words: apatite fission-track analysis, Barrandian, Variscan Orogeny, Lower Paleozoic Introduction ation has created a unique opportunity for critically com- paring two different annealing models now widely used for Glasmacher et al. (2002) have recently published an impor- interpreting fission-track length distribution data (Laslett tant study in which they applied the technique of apatite et al. 1987, Ketcham et al. 1999), as well as the differing in- fission-track analysis (AFTA) toward revealing the ther- terpretations applied by Glasmacher et al. (2002) and mal and tectonic evolution of the Barrandian area. They Suchý, Dobeš et al. (2002). analyzed fission-track distributions in apatite in a set of 39 sedimentary and volcanic rock samples ranging in age from late Proterozoic to Carboniferous. Their interpreta- Geological considerations tion provides an alternative view of the geological history of the Barrandian that, in some aspects, challenges existing There are two principal conclusions presented in the paper opinions shared by many Czech regional geologists. In the by Glasmacher et al. (2002) on which we want to comment: present critical review we wish to comment on the main 1. The authors argue that the rocks of the Barrandian area conclusions of that paper that seem to be weakly supported experienced complex thermal evolution characterized by by and/or even contradictory to well-established regional several distinct stages of heating and cooling (Fig. 1a). They geological observations. We also briefly compare the inter- assert that an early stage of Variscan heating occurred dur- pretations of Glasmacher et al. (2002) with those we have ing the late Devonian–early Carboniferous (~ 360–350 Ma), recently achieved using an identical set of rock samples followed by distinct cooling associated with the erosion with an improved version of the AFTA software and diffe- and exhumation of a part of lower Paleozoic sequence dur- rent geological constraint. ing the Carboniferous. A subsequent heating stage affected During the early stages of our AFTA studies in the Bar- the rocks during the late Carboniferous to Permian periods randian area (1998–1999) an extensive field sampling and (~ 300–250 Ma), which the authors ascribe to burial heat- sample processing campaign was carried out in collabora- ing beneath the Carboniferous-Permian overburden. The tion with the group of German fission-track specialists final stage of Cretaceous cooling was interpreted in terms from the Max Planck Institute (Heidelberg, Germany) led of the long-term, slow to medium exhumation process that by Dr. Ulrich Glasmacher (Filip and Suchý 1999). After occurred in the Central Variscan belt. obtaining fission track-length distribution measurements 2. The authors also claim that the lower Paleozoic se- of individual apatite grains, largely accomplished by the quence of the Barrandian area was disturbed by extensive first author of this note, a number of serious methodologi- Variscan (pre-Westphalian) thrusting that influenced the cal and geological disagreements divided our team into two thermal evolution of the rocks. Thrusting divided the sedi- groups, resulting in two separate publications presenting mentary fill of the Barrandian into several tectonic seg- different time-temperature interpretations of the data ments that experienced contrasting thermal development. (Suchý et al. 2001, Suchý, Dobeš et al. 2002, Glasmacher Our comments on these fundamental conclusions et al. 2002). This unfortunate, though not uncommon, situ- will begin with the maximum heating of the Barrandian 107 Jiří Filip – Václav Suchý cent studies suggesting substantial late Carboniferous to a early Permian deposition in central-western Bohemia (Zajíc 2000, 2002), the fact is that no remnants of any strata younger than Stephanian C have yet been found in the cen- tral or south-eastern part of the Barrandian area. It is ques- tionable whether such deposits ever existed in that area (see also Pešek 1996 and the references therein). Moreover, the rigorous modeling of Barrandian AFTA data that we dis- cuss below does not require any substantial Carbonifer- ous/Permian heating episode. Glasmacher et al. (2002) also introduce a tectono-ther- mal concept of the Barrandian lower Paleozoic, according to which various parts of the basin experienced contrasting thermal evolution due to displacement by pre-Westphalian b thrust tectonics. However, their Fig. 10, which provides a summary of the best-fit time-temperature paths of samples from various basinal segments, shows a set of apparently similar curves instead of different paths. This clearly sug- gests uniform rather than contrasting thermal evolution on a basinal scale. It should be also mentioned that the idea of extensive Barrandian thrust displacements remains hypo- thetical and would require further geological evidence. The same is true with respect to the earlier conceptual work by Havlíček (1998) and Melichar and Hladil (1999a, b), to which Glasmacher et al. (2002) refer as those originally proposing alpinotype tectonics for the area (see also Chlupáč 1999 and the critical discussion therein). In fact, Figure 1. a – Summary of time-temperature paths from various parts of the the ages of the major Barrandian thrusts (Očkov Fault, Barrandian, and interpretation of the respective tectono-thermal events Tachlovice Fault) are at present unknown, as are the sub- according to Glasmacher et al. (2002; modified after their Fig. 10). b – An alternative time-temperature path for the Barrandian lower Paleo- surface geometry and kinematics of the faults (see also zoic rocks, resulting from the application of the Ketcham et al. (1999, Havlíček 1992 and his discussion of complex fault tecton- 2000) annealing model and adherence to the Occam’s Razor principle of ics in the Barrandian area). The displacements along those utilizing a minimum of reasonable assumptions. Note that the absence of a late Paleozoic heating event, and the assumption of a slow Mesozoic cool- faults, if any, also remain hypothetical. ing rate are consistent with current geological knowledge of the region. More importantly, many (if not all) of the apatite fis- Though this particular curve relates to an individual rock sample (H7 Or- sion-track data presented by Glasmacher et al. (2002) as dovician basaltic tuff, from Chlustina near Beroun; adopted from Filip evidence for active thrust tectonics can be simply ex- 2001), similar T-t paths are characteristic for most of the Barrandian lower Paleozoic samples processed through that technique. plained in other ways. For instance, the difference in Paleo- zoic thermal exposure between the two samples of mid-De- vonian sandstone (#H20 vs. #H21) can be explained, per- sequence during the late Devonian-early Carboniferous haps more logically, in terms of a selective hydrothermal time. Glasmacher et al. (2002) consider this as one of their overprint (Fig. 2). The sample H20 (Zlatý kůň Hill, Koně- most important findings, though it has been clearly known prusy) that reveals the complete thermal annealing of fis- to earlier authors who recognized this thermal event using a sion-tracks, was interpreted by Glasmacher et al. (2002) in number of analytical techniques, including AFTA (Filip terms of heating beneath the thrust piles. However, it should and Suchý 1999, Filip 2001, Suchý et al. 2001, Suchý, be noted that the sample location at Zlatý kůň Hill was af- Dobeš et al. 2002, and many others). A late Devonian age fected by repeated episodes of hydrothermal activity, some for the regional diagenesis of the Barrandian sediments has of which occurred during the Devonian (Zeman et al. 1997, also been proposed by Suchý et al. (1996) and Chlupáč et Franců et al. 2001, Melka et al. 2002). Temperatures in the al. (2002), based on wider sedimentological and field ob- range of 90–120 °C, which are sufficient for annealing fis- servations. It is surprising that Glasmacher et al. (2002) sion-tracks in apatite, have been documented immediately have neglected these earlier publications. below the H20 sampling point based on the organic matter Glasmacher et al. (2002) further advocate an additional reflectance method (Franců et al. 2001). late Carboniferous to Permian heating