TEXTURAL-STRUCTURAL, MINERALOGICAL, ISOTOPIC, AND AGE CHARACTERISTICS OF JURASSIC TERRIGENOUS ROCKS OF THE NORTHWESTERN CAUCASUS (THE BELAYA RIVER SECTION)

Abstract

Results of the comprehensive study of structural, lithological, mineralogical, and isotopic characteristics of Lower Jurassic rocks exposed in the Belaya River valley (Adygeya) in meganticlinorium of the Greater Caucasus are presented. Deformation microstructures were studied. Lithological and textural-structural changes in sequences related to intense secondary transformations should affect the state of isotopic systems of rocks. To reveal basic trends in the evolution of isotopic systems, investigation using the K-Ar method was carried out. Clay fraction (less than 1 μm) separated from rocks and bulk samples were analyzed. Cleavage development, approximate value of rock contraction, and isotopic characteristics are compared with the available data on alteration of clay mineral assemblages. Relationship between the degree of rock deformation at the microlevel and calculated K-Ar ages has been established. K-Ar systems of clayey rocks indicate the age of cleavage formation and correspond to the Bajocian-Bathonian contraction period.