Advantages and limitations of interpretations of external morphology of detrital zircon: a case study of the Ropianka and Menilite formations (Skole Nappe, Polish Flysch Carpathians)

Abstract

The zircon populations from the Campanian–Maastrichtian part of the Ropianka (Upper Cretaceous– Palaeocene) and Menilite (Oligocene–lower Miocene) formations in the northern part of the Skole Nappe in Poland were examined to evaluate interpretations of the external morphology of detrital zircon in provenance research. The advantage of the zircon typology method, supplemented with elongation measurements, is that it may be applied successfully to comparisons of euhedral zircon populations from sedimentary deposits of different ages and unknown provenance. The zircon typology method, along with elongation measurements of zircons, contributes valuable data that supplement conventional heavy-mineral analyses. It also permits the recognition of potential source areas and rock types for further comparative research.