The Denizli Basin in the West Anatolian Extensional Province in western Turkey is well‐known for its numerous travertine occurrences. A combined sedimentological, diagenetic and geochemical investigation is executed on the Ece and Faber travertines of the Ballık area, the largest travertine site in the Denizli Basin. The first aim of this study is the reconstruction of a three‐dimensional geo‐model in combination with a detailed sedimentological description from fabric to lithotype, lithofacies and geobody scale, with a focus on integrating pore‐typing. The second aim involves the delineation of the CO2‐origin of ancient travertine precipitating waters. Peloidal, phyto and dendritic lithotypes dominate the studied travertines and honeycomb and bacteriform shapes and encrusted bacterial or fungal filaments related to their fabrics suggest a microbial influence. The environment of travertine precipitation evolved from dominantly sub‐aqueous, as represented by the sub‐horizontal and biostromal reed travertine facies, to dominantly sub‐aerial in a thin water film, resulting in the cascade, waterfall and biohermal reed travertine facies. A general progradation of the travertine mound is indicated by the occurrence of stacked waterfall travertines. This results in sigmoidal clinoforms inside a general mound boundary configuration. Strontium and oxygen‐carbon isotope signatures of the travertines point to a mixing mechanism of palaeofluids with deeply originated, heavy carbon CO2 with lighter carbon CO2 of shallow origin. These deposits can thus be considered as endogenic travertines. Carbonates of the Lycian Nappes acted as main parent carbon source rocks. The relative contribution of the lighter carbon isotopes is most likely to have originated from organic matter or soil CO2. This study provides a unique three‐dimensional insight into the Ballık travertine architecture that potentially can be used as an analogue for subsurface travertine reservoirs worldwide and illustrates the importance of the combined use of δ13C and 87Sr/86Sr signatures in the delineation of the CO2‐origin of travertine precipitating waters.

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The sediment-hosted stratiform Cu-Co mineralization of the Luiswishi and Kamoto deposits in the Katangan Copperbelt is hosted by the Neoproterozoic Mines Subgroup. Two main hypogene Cu-Co sulfide mineralization stages and associated gangue minerals (dolomite and quartz) are distinguished. The first is an early diagenetic, typical stratiform mineralization with finegrained minerals, whereas the second is a multistage synorogenic stratiform to stratabound mineralization with coarse-grained minerals. For both stages, the main hypogene Cu-Co sulfide minerals are chalcopyrite, bornite, carrollite, and chalcocite. These minerals are in many places replaced by supergene sulfides (e.g., digenite and covellite), especially near the surface, and are completely oxidized in the weathered superficial zone and in surface outcrops, with malachite, heterogenite, chrysocolla, and azurite as the main oxidation products. The hypogene sulfides of the first Cu-Co stage display δ 34 S values (−10.3‰ to +3.1‰ Vienna Canyon Diablo Troilite (V-CDT)), which partly overlap with the δ 34 S signature of framboidal pyrites (−28.7‰ to 4.2‰ V-CDT) and have Δ 34 S SO4-Sulfides in the range of 14.4‰ to 27.8‰. This fractionation is consistent with bacterial sulfate reduction (BSR). The hypogene sulfides of the second Cu-Co stage display δ 34 S signatures that are either similar (−13.1‰ to +5.2‰ V-CDT) to the δ 34 S values of the sulfides of the first Cu-Co stage or comparable (+18.6‰ to +21.0‰ V-CDT) to the δ 34 S of Neoproterozoic seawater. This indicates that the sulfides of the second stage obtained their sulfur by both remobilization from early diagenetic sulfides and from thermochemical sulfate reduction (TSR). The carbon (−9.9‰ to −1.4‰ Vienna Pee Dee Belemnite (V-PDB)) and oxygen (−14.3‰ to −7.7‰ V-PDB) isotope signatures of dolomites associated with the first Cu-Co stage are in agreement with the interpretation that these dolomites are by-products of BSR. The carbon (−8.6‰ to +0.3‰ V-PDB) and oxygen (−24.0‰ to −10.3‰ V-PDB) isotope signatures of dolomites associated with the second Cu-Co stage are mostly similar to the δ 13 C (−7.1‰ to +1.3‰ V-PDB) and δ 18 O (−14.5‰ to −7.2‰ V-PDB) of the host rock and of the dolomites of the first Cu-Co stage. This Editorial handling: H. Frimmel Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article

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The Denizli Basin is a fault-bounded Neogene-Quaternary depression located in the Western Anatolian Extensional Province, Western Turkey. The basin is a unique geological site with abundant active and fossil (Quaternary) travertine and tufa deposits. Fluid inclusion microthermometry and isotopic analysis were applied to study the genesis of the Ballk fossil travertine deposits, located in the south-eastern part of the basin. Microthermometry on fluid inclusions indicates that the main travertine precipitating and cementing fluids are characterized by low salinity (<07wt% NaCl equivalent) and variable temperatures that cluster at <50 degrees C and ca 100 degrees C. Fluids of meteoric origin have been heated by migration to the deeper subsurface, possibly in a local high geothermal gradient setting. A later uncommon cementation phase is related to a fluid with a significantly higher salinity (255 to 260wt% bulk). The fluid obtained its salinity by interaction with Late Triassic evaporite layers. Strontium isotopes indicate that the parent carbonate source rock of the different travertine precipitates is very likely to be the Triassic limestone of the Lycian Nappes. Carbon isotopes suggest that the parent CO2 gas originated from thermal decarbonation of the Lycian limestones with minor contributions of magmatic degassing and organic soil CO2. Oxygen isotopes confirm the meteoric origin of the fluids and indicate disequilibrium precipitation because of evaporation and degassing. Results were integrated within the available geological data of the Denizli Basin in a generalized travertine precipitation model, which enhanced the understanding of fossil travertine systems. The study highlights the novel application of fluid inclusion research in unravelling the genesis of continental carbonates and provides several recommendations for hydrocarbon exploration in travertine-bearing sedimentary basins. The findings suggest that travertine bodies and their parent carbonate source rocks have the potential to constitute interesting subsurface hydrocarbon reservoirs

Integrated in the peri-Adriatic domain, the Ionian Basin extended along a NW-SE direction during the Late Cretaceous, limited on its sides by the Apulian and the Kruja platforms. The basinal/slope succession was studied in seven outcrops exposed in the Albanian fold-and-thrust belt. Sedimentological investigations, supported by bio-and chronostratigraphy were performed on calcareous Upper Cretaceous hemipelagites, gravity-flow deposits and slumps. The western part of the basin was studied, revealing a strong influence of the Apulian margin, alternatively shedding sediment basinward, by means of a tectonically controlled edge. The Late Albian to Cenomanian period is characterized by the settling of muddy debrites along the margin. A deep basinal environment characterizes this period which prolongs until the Santonian, with no significant influx of the platform basinward. This sedimentary setting abruptly changed at the end of the Santonian, with an important influx derived from both platforms. Coarsening and thickening upward sequences show a progressive increase in sediment shedding during the Campanian. The Late Campanian-Early Maastrichtian period points out a major change on the resedimentation processes with the settling of several slumped units reworking thick sediment packages. The latter can be traced along the Apulian margin, testifying of instabilities along the edge of Apulia.

The stratiform Cu-Co ore mineralisation in the Katangan Copperbelt consists of dispersed sulphides and sulphides in nodules and lenses, which are often pseudomorphs after evaporites. Two types of pseudomorphs can be distinguished in the nodules and lenses. In type 1 examples, dolomite precipitated first and was subsequently replaced by Cu-Co sulphides and authigenic quartz, whereas in type 2 examples, authigenic quartz and Cu-Co sulphides precipitated prior to dolomite and are coarsegrained. The sulphur isotopic composition of the coppercobalt sulphides in the type 1 pseudomorphs is between −10.3 and 3.1‰ relative to the Vienna Canyon Diablo Troilite, indicating that the sulphide component was derived from bacterial sulphate reduction (BSR). The generation of HCO À 3 during this process caused the precipitation and replacement of anhydrite by dolomite. A second product of BSR is the generation of H 2 S, resulting in the precipitation of Cu-Co sulphides from the mineralising fluids. Initial sulphide precipitation occurred along the rim of the pseudomorphs and continued towards the core. Precipitation of authigenic quartz was most likely induced by a pH decrease during sulphide precipitation. Fluid inclusion data from quartz indicate the presence of a high-salinity (8-18 eq. wt.% NaCl) fluid, possibly derived from evaporated seawater which migrated through the deep subsurface. 87 Sr/ 86 Sr ratios of dolomite in type 1 nodules range between 0.71012 and 0.73576, significantly more radiogenic than the strontium isotopic composition of Neoproterozoic marine carbonates (87 Sr/ 86 Sr=0.7056-0.7087). This suggests intense interaction with siliciclastic sedimentary rocks and/or the granitic basement. The low carbon isotopic composition of the dolomite in the pseudomorphs (−7.02 and −9.93‰ relative to the Vienna Pee Dee Belemnite, V-PDB) compared to the host rock dolomite (−4.90 and +1.31‰ V-PDB) resulted from the oxidation of organic matter during BSR.

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