U-Pb detrital zircon ages and Hf isotope from Sardinia and Adria Cretaceous bauxite (Italy): Constraints on the Alpine Tethys paleogeography and tectonic evolution

Bauxite deposits in Italy mainly distribute in Sardinia and Adria regions within Cretaceous carbonate sequences.
Parental affinity of Italian bauxite deposits has long been a controversial problem. At least four potential sources
have been proposed: (1) Cretaceous debris and autochthonous marlstones; (2) alluvial sheets from the weathered
Variscan basement; (3) weathering materials from North Africa and (4) Cretaceous bimodal volcanism in the
Dinaric and Carpatho-Balkan orogenic belts. In this study, a total of 374 detrital zircon U-Pb ages and 86 Hf
isotope values have been acquired from Cretaceous bauxites of Sardinia and Adria regions. Combining with the
published geochemical data, provenances of Cretaceous bauxite deposits in Sardinia and Adria regions have been
discussed. In bauxite deposits of Sardinia, dominant Early Paleozoic aged zircon grains (main age peaks at 291 –
295 Ma, 454 – 465 Ma, and 582 – 639 Ma) and their various Hf isotope compositions (εHf(t) = +9.61 to