Established in 2000, the European Geoparks Network (EGN) aims to protect geodiversity, promote geological heritage to the general public and support sustainable economic development within the area of each geopark.
Rare earth element (REE) resources are commonly found associated with alkaline igneous complexes or carbonatites, or as secondary deposits derived from igneous rocks. Globally, many REE deposits occur around the margins of Archaean cratons, most in continental rift zones. Europe contains many such rift zones, which are generally younger in the south. Many of these rifts are intracontinental, whereas others are associated with the opening of oceans such as the Atlantic. All these rift systems have the potential to host REE resources, but whereas the older provinces of northern Europe are deeply exposed, exposures in southern Europe are largely at the supracrustal level. This paper considers how an understanding of the tectonic setting of Europe’s REE resources is vital to guide future exploration.
An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. As you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.
An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. As you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.
An abstract is not available for this content so a preview has been provided. As you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.
The natural beauty and striking landscapes of the Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National
Park are a direct product of its geological history. A major landscape feature within the Park is
the Highland Border, which separates the rugged peaks and deep glens of the Highlands from the
lower, rolling hills and broad straths of the Lowlands. This landscape feature follows a
geological structure known as the Highland Boundary fault zone, which separates ancient
Precambrian metamorphic rocks in the Highlands from younger, softer, sedimentary rocks to the
south. These geological differences have been exploited over time by the erosive power of wind,
water and ice to produce the present-day landscape of the National Park.
This report has been prepared for the Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park authority,
to provide an overview of the park’s geodiversity. Section 2 of the report describes the
geological history of the National Park. Sections 3 and 4 pick out key localities of interest for
their geology and geomorphology, and opportunities for management and interpretation of the
park’s geological heritage are discussed in sections 5 and 6.
This Sheet Description describes the solid and Quaternary geology of the Shuwaihat area and the salt islands of Delma, Zirku, Arzana and Qarnain (at 1:50 000 scale). The two small islands of Yasat Ali and Yasat Safli were also mapped. The mainland area shown is quite small (115 km2), but is geologically important in that it contains the Type Sections of the Miocene Shuwaihat Formation and the Barakah Member of the Baynunah Formation, on Shuwaihat Island and Jebel Barakah respectively. Some 300 observation points were made throughout the district.
The oldest rocks in the area are those of the Neoproterozoic Hormuz Complex, exposed on the four salt islands included on the map. The islands are cored by salt domes with excellent outcrops of the Hormuz breccias. These were mapped at 1:25 000 scale and large clasts >100 m across have been shown on the map as igneous, sedimentary and undifferentiated megaclasts. Two metamorphic rock clasts were recorded and detrital zircons from one of these, a layered marble from Delma, constrained the maximum age of deposition of the original sediments at 590 ± 2 Ma. The island of Zirku is unique in that it contains extensive outcrops of deformed turbiditic rocks, termed the Zirku Formation, which form a semi-continuous carapace over Hormuz breccia. U-Pb dating of detrital zircons of a sandstone unit in the formation determines a depositional maximum age of 560 ± 19 Ma. U-Pb zircon dating of a felsic volcanic igneous clasts from Qarnain yielded a Neoproterozoic (Ediacaran) crystallisation age of 561 ± 16 Ma, suggesting that volcanism was penecontemporaneous with sedimentation.
The salt domes are unconformably overlain by Quaternary pale cream-coloured carbonate grainstones and gravels of the Jebal Dhanna Formation, which are deposits unique to the salt domes. The salt domes were injected into Miocene strata which underlie most of the area. Recent movements of the salt diapirs are represented in numerous ‘salt blisters’ seen on many of the islands.
The oldest Miocene rocks in the district, marine sedimentary rocks of the Gheweifat Member of the Dam Formation, outcrop on the two small Gulf islands of Yasat Ali and Yasat Safli. Over the rest of the area, the oldest Miocene rocks belong to the Shuwaihat Formation, which consists of highly variable sequence of fluvial, aeolian, terrestrial playa and continental sabkha red-bed siliciclastic sediments, well exposed in a number of sections on Shuwaihat Island, Jebel Barakah and on Delma. The Shuwaihat Formation is unconformably overlain by the Barakah Member of the Baynunah Formation, also well exposed in sections on Shuwaihat Island and Jebel Barakah. It comprises a sequence dominated by fluvial sandstones, with channel lag conglomerates particularly common near the base, where fossilised bone, wood and egg shells are locally abundant. The topmost few metres of strata on Jebel Barakah are made up of greyish green carbonate siltstones of the succeeding Habshan Member.
'%3e%3cpath fill='%23012169' d='M0 0v30h60V0z'/%3e%3cpath stroke='%23fff' stroke-width='6' d='m0 0 60 30m0-30L0 30'/%3e%3cpath stroke='%23C8102E' stroke-width='4' d='m0 0 60 30m0-30L0 30' clip-path='url(%23b)'/%3e%3cpath stroke='%23fff' stroke-width='10' d='M30 0v30M0 15h60'/%3e%3cpath stroke='%23C8102E' stroke-width='6' d='M30 0v30M0 15h60'/%3e%3c/g%3e%3c/svg%3e)
