Chemical and minero-petrographical changes on granulite rocks affected by weathering processes

Abstract

The purpose of this work is to study the weathering processes of the granulite rocks of the Serre Massif (southern Calabria, Italy) using a multidisciplinary approach based on field studies, geochemical modeling, and minero-petrographical analyses. The granulite rocks are plagioclase-rich with minor amphibole, clinopyroxene, orthopyroxene, biotite, and garnet and their texture are coarse-grained. The reaction path modeling was performed to simulate the evolution of groundwaters upon interaction with local granulite by means of the software package EQ3/6, version 8.0a. Simulations were performed in kinetic (time) mode under a closed system at a constant temperature of 11.5°C, (which reproduces the average temperature of local area) and fixing the fugacity of CO₂ at 10^−2.34 bar (mean value). During the most advanced stage of weathering the main mineralogical changes are: partial destruction and transformation of biotite and plagioclase associated with neoformation of ferruginous products and secondary clay minerals producing a change in the origin rock fabric. The secondary solid phases observed during the geochemical modeling (kaolinite, vermiculite and ferrihydrite) are similar to those found in this natural system. Thus, the soil-like material mainly characterized by mostly sand to gravel grain-size fractions is the final result of the weathering processes.

Keywords

Serre Massif / granulitic rocks / mineralogy / petrography / weathering profile / reaction path-modeling

References

[1] Andò S, Garzanti E, Padoan M, Limonta M (2012). Corrosion of heavy minerals during weathering and diagenesis: a catalog for optical analysis. Sediment Geol, 280: 165–178

[2] Apollaro C, Accornero M, Marini L, Barca D, De Rosa R (2009). The impact of dolomite and plagioclase weathering on the chemistry of shallow groundwaters circulating in a granodiorite-dominated catchment of the Sila Massif (Calabria, Southern Italy). Appl Geochem, 24(5): 957–979

[3] Apollaro C, Dotsika E, Marini L, Barca D, Bloise A, De Rosa R, Doveri M, Lelli M, Muto F (2012). Chemical and isotopic characterization of the thermo mineral water of Terme Sibarite springs (Northern Calabria, Italy). Geochem J, 46(2): 117–129

[4] Apollaro C, Marini L, Critelli T, Barca D, Bloise A, De Rosa R, Liberi F, Miriello D (2011). Investigation of rock-to-water release and fate of major, minor, and trace elements in the metabasalt–serpentinite shallow aquifer of Mt. Reventino (CZ, Italy) by reaction path modelling. Appl Geochem, 26(9–10): 1722–1740

[5] Apollaro C, Marini L, Critelli T, De Rosa R (2013a). The standard thermodynamic properties of vermiculites and prediction of their occurrence during water–rock interaction. Appl Geochem, 35: 264–278

[6] Apollaro C, Marini L, Critelli T, De Rosa R, Bloise A, Miriello D, Catalano M, Armano V (2013b). Modeling of the impact of dolomite and biotite dissolution on vermiculite composition in a gneissic shallow aquifer of the Sila Massif (Calabria, Italy). Appl Geochem, 35: 297–311

[7] Apollaro C, Marini L, De Rosa R (2007a). Use of reaction path modelling to predict the chemistry of stream water and groundwater: a case study from the Fiume Grande valley (Calabria, Italy). Environmental Geology, 51: 1133–1145

[8] Apollaro C, Marini L, De Rosa R, Settembrino P, Scarciglia F, Vecchio G (2007b). Geochemical features of rocks, stream sediments, and soils of the Fiume Grande Valley (Calabria, Italy). Environmental Geology, 52(4): 719–729

[9] Apollaro C, Vespasiano G, De Rosa R, Marini L (2015). Use of mean residence time and flowrate of thermal waters to evaluate the volume of reservoir water contributing to the natural discharge and the related geothermal reservoir volume. Application to Northern Thailand hot springs. Geothermics, 58: 62–74

[10] Apollaro C, Vespasiano G, Muto F, De Rosa R, Barca D, Marini L (2016). Use of mean residence time of water, flowrate, and equilibrium temperature indicated by water geothermometers to rank geothermal resources. Application to the thermal water circuits of Northern Calabria. J Volcanol Geotherm Res, 328: 147–158

[11] Barros dos Santos J C,Le Pera E, de Souza Júnior V S, Metri Corrêa M, de Azevedo A C (2017). Gneiss saprolite weathering and soil genesis along an east-west regolith sequence (NE Brazil). Catena, 150: 279–290

[12] Baynes F J, Dearman W R, Irfan T Y (1978). Practical assessment of grade in a weathered granite. Bull Int Assoc Eng Geol, 18(1): 101–109

[13] Bloise A, Barrese E, Apollaro C, Miriello D (2009). Flux growth and characterization of Ti- and Ni-doped forsterite single crystals. Cryst Res Technol, 44(5): 463–468

[14] Bonardi G, Cavazza W, Perrone V, Rossi S (2001). Calabria–Peloritani terrane and northern Ionian Sea. In: Vai G B, Martini I P, eds. Anatomy of An Orogen: The Apennines and Adjacent Mediterranean Basins. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 287–306

[15] Borrelli L, Coniglio S, Critelli S, La Barbera A, Gullà G (2016). Weathering grade in granitoid rocks: the San Giovanni in Fiore area (Calabria, Italy). J Maps, 12(2): 260–275

[16] Borrelli L, Critelli S G, Gullà G, Muto F (2015). Weathering grade and geotectonic map of the western-central Mucone River Basin (Calabria, Italy). J Maps, 11(4): 606–624

[17] Borrelli L, Perri F, Critelli S, Gullà G (2012). Minero-petrographical features of weathering profiles in Calabria, southern Italy. Catena, 92: 196–207

[18] Borrelli L, Perri F, Critelli S, Gullà G (2014). Characterization of granitoid and gneissic weathering profiles of the Mucone River Basin (Calabria, southern Italy). Catena, 113: 325–340

[19] Buccianti A, Apollaro C, Bloise A, De Rosa R, Falcone G, Scarciglia F, Tallarico A, Vecchio G (2009). Natural radioactivity levels (K, Th, U and Rn) in the Cecita Lake area (Sila Massif, Calabria, Southern Italy): an attempt to discover correlations with soil features on a statistical base. Geoderma, 152(1–2): 145–156

[20] Calcaterra D, Parise M (2005). Landslide types and their relationships with weathering in a Calabrian basin, southern Italy. Bull Eng Geol Environ, 64(2): 193–207

[21] Caracciolo L, Tolosana-Delgado R, Le Pera E, von Eynatten H, Arribas J, Tarquini S (2012). Influence of granitoid textural parameters on sediment composition: implications for sediment generation. Sediment Geol, 280: 93–107

[22] Critelli S, Mongelli G, Perri F, Martín-Algarra A, Martín-Martín M, Perrone V, Dominici R, Sonnino M, Najib Zaghloul M (2008). Compositional and geochemical signatures for the sedimentary evolution of the Middle Triassic–Lower Jurassic continental redbeds from Western-Central Mediterranean Alpine Chains. J Geol, 116(4): 375–386

[23] Critelli S, Muto F, Perri F, Tripodi V (2017). Interpreting provenance relations from sandstone detrital modes, southern Italy foreland region: stratigraphic record of the Miocene tectonic evolution. Mar Pet Geol, 87: 47–59

[24] Critelli S, Muto F, Tripodi V, Perri F (2013). Link between thrust tectonics and sedimentation processes of stratigraphic sequences from the southern Apennines foreland basin system, Italy. Rendiconti Online Società Geologica Italiana, 25: 21–42

[25] Critelli T, Vespasiano G, Apollaro C, Muto F, Marini L, De Rosa R (2015). Hydrogeochemical study of an ophiolitic aquifer: a case study of Lago (Southern Italy, Calabria). Environ Earth Sci, 74(1): 533–543

[26] Fedo C M, Wayne Nesbitt H, Young G M (1995). Unraveling the effect of potassium metasomatism in sedimentary rocks and paleosols, with implications for paleoweathering conditions and provenance. Geology, 23(10): 921–924

[27] Ghisetti F (1980). Characterization of southern Calabrian blocks on the basis of Plio-Pleistocene uplift rate: a proposal of neotectonic zonation. CNR, PF Geodinamica, Naples. Contr Real Carta Neotett It, 356: 775–809 (in Italian)

[28] Ghisetti F (1981). Upper Pliocene–Pleistocene uplift rates as indicators of neotectonic pattern: an example from Southern Calabria (Italy). Z Geomorphol, 40: 93–118

[29] Guagliardi I, Apollaro C, Scarmiglia F, De Rosa R (2013a). Influence of particle-size on geochemical distribution of stream sediments in the Lese river catchment, southern Italy. Biotechnol Agron Soc Environ, 17: 43–55

[30] Guagliardi I, Buttafuoco G, Apollaro C, Bloise A, De Rosa R, Cicchella D (2013b). Using gamma-ray spectrometry and geostatistics for assessing geochemical behaviour of radioactive elements in the Lese catchment (southern Italy). Int J Environ Res, 7: 645–658

[31] Guerrera F, Martín-Martín M (2014). Geodynamic events reconstructed in the Betic, Maghrebian, and Apennine chains (central-western Tethys). Bull Soc Geol Fr, 185(5): 329–341

[32] Gullà G, Matano F (1997). Surveys of weathering profile on gneiss cutslopes in Northern Calabria, Italy. Proceedings of the International Symposium on Engineering Geology and the Environment, IAEG. Athens, Greek, 133–138

[33] Harnois L (1988). The C.I.W. index: a new chemical index of weathering. Sediment Geol, 55(3–4): 319–322

[34] Heins W A (1995). The use of mineral interfaces in sand-sized rock fragments to infer ancient climate. Geol Soc Am Bull, 107(1): 113–125

[35] Helgeson H C (1968). Evaluation of irreversible reactions in geochemical processes involving minerals and aqueous solutions: I. thermodynamic relations. Geochim Cosmochim Acta, 32(8): 853–877

[36] Helgeson H C (1979). Mass transfer among minerals and hydrothermal solutions. In: Barnes H L, ed. Geochemistry of Hydrothermal Ore Deposits (2nd ed). New York: Wiley, 568–610

[37] Helgeson H C, Delany J M, Nesbitt H W, Bird D K (1978). Summary and critique of the thermodynamic properties of rock-forming minerals. Am J Sci, 278A: 229

[38] Ietto F, Bernasconi M P (2005). The cliff bordering the northwestern margin of the Mesima basin (southern Calabria) is of Pleistocene age. Geogr Fis Din Quat, 28: 205–210

[39] Ietto F, Donato F F, Ietto A (2007). Recent reverse faults and landslides in granitoid weathered profiles, Serre Mountains (southern Calabria, Italy). Geomorphology, 87(3): 196–206

[40] Ietto F, Perri F, Cella F (2016). Geotechnical and landslide aspects in weathered granitoid rock masses (Serre Massif, southern Calabria, Italy). Catena, 145: 301–315

[41] Ietto F, Perri F, Fortunato G (2015). Lateral spreading phenomena and weathering processes from the Tropea area (Calabria, southern Italy). Environ Earth Sci, 73(8): 4595–4608

[42] Irfan T Y, Dearman W R (1978). The engineering petrography of a weathered granite in Cornwall, England. Q J Eng Geol Hydrogeol, 11(3): 233–244

[43] Langone A, Gueguen E, Prosser G, Caggianelli A, Rottura A (2006). The Curinga-Girifalco fault zone (northern Serre, Calabria) and its significance within the Alpine tectonic evolution of the western Mediterranean. J Geodyn, 42(4–5): 140–158

[44] Le Pera E, Arribas J, Critelli S, Tortosa A (2001a). The effects of source rocks and chemical weathering on the petrogenesis of siliciclastic sand from the Neto River (Calabria, Italy): implications for provenance studies. Sedimentology, 48(2): 357–378

[45] Le Pera E, Critelli S, Sorriso-Valvo M (2001b). Weathering of gneiss in Calabria, Southern Italy. Catena, 42(1): 1–15

[46] Le Pera E, Sorriso-Valvo M (2000a). Weathering, erosion and sediment composition in a high-gradient river, Calabria, Italy. Earth Surf Process Landf, 25(3): 277–292

[47] Le Pera E, Sorriso-Valvo M (2000b). Weathering and morphogenesis in a Mediterranean climate, Calabria, Italy. Geomorphology, 34(3–4): 251–270

[48] Maccarrone E, Paglionico A, Piccarreta G, Rottura A (1983). Granulite-amphibolite facies metasediments from the Serre (Calabria, Southern Italy): their protoliths and the processes controlling their chemistry. Lithos, 16(2): 95–111

[49] Majzlan J, Navrotsky A, Schwertmann U (2004). Thermodynamics of iron oxides. Part III. Enthalpies of formation and stability of ferrihydrite (Fe(OH)₃), schwertmannite (FeO(OH)₃/₄(SO₄)1/8), and -Fe₂O₃. Geochim Cosmochim Acta, 68(5): 1049–1059

[50] Moore D M, Reynolds R C (1997). X-ray Diffraction and the Identification and Analysis of Clay Minerals (2nd ed). Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 1–332

[51] Nesbitt H W, Young G M (1982). Early Proterozoic climates and plate motions inferred from major element chemistry of lutites. Nature, 299: 715–717

[52] Perri F (2018). Reconstructing chemical weathering during the Lower Mesozoic in the Western-Central Mediterranean area: a review of geochemical proxies. Geol Mag, 155(04): 944–954

[53] Perri F, Borrelli L, Critelli S, Gullà G (2012). Investigation of weathering rates and processes affecting plutonic and metamorphic rocks in Sila Massif (Calabria, southern Italy). Rendiconti Online Società Geologica Italiana, 21: 557–559

[54] Perri F, Borrelli L, GullàG, Critelli S (2014). Chemical and minero- petrographic features of Plio-Pleistocene fine-grained sediments in Cala- bria (southern Italy). Ital J Geosci, 133(1): 101–115

[55] Perri F, Critelli S, Martìn-Algarra A, Martìn-Martìn M, Perrone V, Mongelli G, Zattin M (2013). Triassic redbeds in the Malaguide Complex (Betic Cordillera—Spain): petrography, geochemistry, and geodynamic implications. Earth Sci Rev, 117: 1–28

[56] Perri F, Ietto F, Le Pera E, Apollaro C (2016). Weathering processes affecting granitoid profiles of Capo Vaticano (Calabria, southern Italy) based on petrographic, mineralogic and reaction path modeling approaches. Geol J, 51(3): 368–386

[57] Perri F, Ohta T (2014). Paleoclimatic conditions and paleoweathering processes on Mesozoic continental redbeds from Western–Central Mediterranean Alpine Chains. Palaeogeogr Palaeoclimatol Palaeoecol, 395: 144–157

[58] Perri F, Scarciglia F, Apollaro C, Marini L (2015). Characterization of granitoid profiles in the Sila Massif (Calabria, southern Italy) and reconstruction of weathering processes by mineralogy, chemistry, and reaction path modeling. J Soils Sediments, 15(6): 1351–1372

[59] Price J R, Velbel M A (2003). Chemical weathering indices applied to weathering profiles developed on heterogeneous felsic metamorphic parent rocks. Chem Geol, 202(3–4): 397–416

[60] Rajamani V, Tripathi J K, Malviya V P (2009). Weathering of lower crustal rocks in the Kaveri river catchment, southern India: implications to sediment geochemistry. Chem Geol, 265(3–4): 410–419

[61] Rizzo G, Piluso E, Morten L (2004). Phlogopite-bearing ultramafic rocks from the Serre massif, Calabrian Peloritan Arc, southern Italy: an example of hybridization between hydrous siliceous melts and peridotites? Geoacta, 3: 81–96

[62] Rizzo G, Piluso E, Morten L (2005). Tonalitic to trondhjemitic dykes within metabasic lower-crust rocks, Serre Massif, Calabrian-Peloritan arc. Boll Soc Geol Ital, 4: 45–52

[63] Santos J C, Le Pera E, Souza-Júnior V S, Correa M M, Azevedo A C (2017). Gneiss saprolite weathering and soil genesis along an east-west regolith sequence (NE Brazil). Catena, 150: 279–290

[64] Scarciglia F, Critelli S, Borrelli L, Coniglio S, Muto F, Perri F (2016). Weathering profiles in granitoid rocks of the Sila Massif uplands, Calabria, southern Italy: new insights into their formation processes and rates. Sediment Geol, 336: 46–67

[65] Scarciglia F, De Rosa R, Vecchio G, Apollaro C, Robustelli G, Terrasi F (2008). Volcanic soil formation in Calabria (southern Italy): the Cecita Lake geosol in the late Quaternary geomorphological evolution of the Sila uplands. J Volcanol Geotherm Res, 177(1): 101–117

[66] Scarciglia F, Le Pera E, Critelli S (2005a). Weathering and pedogenesis in the Sila Grande Massif (Calabria, South Italy): from field scale to micromorphology. Catena, 61(1): 1–29

[67] Scarciglia F, Le Pera E, Critelli S (2005b). The interplay of geomorphic processes and soil development in an upland environment, Calabria, South Italy. Geomorphology, 64: 1–23

[68] Scarciglia F, Le Pera E, Critelli S (2007). The onset of the sedimentary cycle in a midlatitude upland environment: weathering, pedogenesis, and geomorphic processes on plutonic rocks (Sila Massif, Calabria). In: Arribas J, Critelli S, Johnsson M, eds. Sedimentary Provenance and Petrogenesis: Perspectives from Petrography and Geochemistry. Geological Society of America, Special Paper. The Geological Society of America, Inc., Boulder, Colorado, USA, 420: 149–166

[69] Schenk V (1980). U-Pb and radiometric dates and their correlation with metamorphic events in the granulite-facies basement of the Serre, southern Calabria (Italy). Contrib Mineral Petrol, 73(1): 23–38

[70] Schenk V (1984). Petrology of felsic granulites, metapelites, metabasics, ultramafics, and metacarbonates from southern Calabria (Italy): prograde metamorphism, uplift and cooling of a former lower crust. J Petrol, 25(1): 255–298

[71] Schenk V (1990). The exposed crustal cross section of southern Calabria, Italy: structure and evolution of a segmenet of Hercynian crust. In: Salinsbury M H, Fountain D M, eds. Exposed Cross-Sections of Continental Crust. Dordrecht: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 21–42

[72] Sun H, Han J, Li D, Zhang S, Lu X (2010). Chemical weathering inferred from riverine water chemistry in the lower Xijiang Basin, South China. Sci Total Environ, 408(20): 4749–4760

[73] Tripodi V, Muto F, Brutto F, Perri F, Critelli S (2018). Neogene-Quaternary evolution of the forearc and backarc regions between the Serre and Aspromonte Massifs, Calabria (southern Italy). Mar Pet Geol, 95: 328–343

[74] Tripodi V, Muto F, Critelli S (2013). Structural style and tectono-stratigraphic evolution of the Neogene-Quaternary Siderno Basin, southern Calabrian Arc, Italy. Int Geol Rev, 55(4): 468–481

[75] Velbel M A (1989). Effect of chemical affinity on feldspar hydrolysis rates in two natural weathering systems. In: Schott J, Lasaga A C, eds. Kinetic Geochemistry. Chemical Geology, 78: 245–253

[76] Velbel M A (1999). Bond strength and the relative weathering rates of simple orthosilicates. Am J Sci, 299(7–9): 679–696

[77] Vespasiano G, Apollaro C, De Rosa R, Muto F, Larosa S, Fiebig J, Mulch A, Marini L (2015). The small spring method (SSM) for the definition of stable isotope-elevation relationships in Northern Calabria (Southern Italy). Appl Geochem, 63: 333–346

[78] Vespasiano G, Apollaro C, Muto F, Dotsika E, De Rosa R, Marini L (2014). Chemical and isotopic characteristics of the warm and cold waters of the Luigiane Spa near Guardia Piemontese (Calabria, Italy) in a complex faulted geological framework. Appl Geochem, 41: 73–88

[79] Westaway R (1993). Quaternary uplift of southern Italy. J Geophys Res, 98(B12): 21741–21772

[80] Wolery T W, Jarek R L (2003). Software user’s manual. EQ3/6, Version 8.0. Sandia National Laboratories—U.S. Department of Energy Report

[81] Wolery T W, Jove-Colon C (2007). Qualification of thermodynamic data for geochemical modeling of mineral–water interactions in dilute systems. Sandia National Laboratories Report ANL-WIS-GS000003 REV 01

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

Higher Education Press and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, part of Springer Nature