AESB1430 Geology 3

Virtual excursion, part 2: Luxembourg

Challenge the future 1

 Our destinations

•1: Ardennes

•2: Luxembourg

•3: Eifel

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 Part 1: the Ardennes

Luxembourg

• Please read the introduction in the guidebook

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 Locations
• We will visit only two
outcrops in Luxembourg

• The Minette Near

Differdange (X)
• The Luxembourg Sandstone Y
near Echternach (Y)

• Q: what is the main

difference with the outcrops
we saw in the Ardennes?
X

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 Paris Basin
• The sediments that are at the • Q: what deformation phase
surface were deposited in an was responsible for this
extension of the Paris Basin, unconformity, why and when
known as the Trier- did this occur?
Luxembourg Basin.
• They are Mesozoic in age, and
are deposited unconformably
on the older rocks of the
Ardennes

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 1: Cuesta landscape Luxembourg
• The south of Luxembourg shows a typical cuesta landscape
• Q51: what is a cuesta, and what characteristic of the rocks is causing
this?
• Q52: what are the different slopes of a cuesta called?

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2: Differdange: Minette
Jurassic iron ore

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 2: Minette
• The Minette formation of Southern Luxembourg and Lorraine is one of
the largest iron deposits in the world at 6 Billion tonnes, with approx.
2 billion tons or iron.
• However, it is no longer mined, the mine in Differdange was the last
to close in 1981.
• The deposit is made of Fe-rich ooids, that were deposited in a shallow
marine environment in large sand bars.
• The iron was able to be deposited due to the change in chemical
conditions between the rivers that transported the iron and the sea.

Q53: what are ooids, and

how do they form?

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 2: Minette
• The ooids have been deposited in a
series of coarsening-up sandbars or
sand waves that now make up to
the total deposit
• Q54: which part of this sequence
depicted on the right is visible in the
pictures below do you think?

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3: Luxembourg Sandstone near
Echternach, Early Jurassic
• Almost horizontal layers,
deposited along the edge of
the Paris Basin

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3 Luxembourg sst
• Q55: what do you notice when
looking at the layers?
• Please describe the differences!

• Both types of layers are

sandstone. One also produces
bubbles when we put acid on it.
• Q56: which one is that do you
think, and why do you think so?
• Q57: which of the two types of
layers is the hardest do you
think? Give arguments!!

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3: Luxembourg Sst
• The sandstone is nearly horizontal, with only a
few minor faults in it (don’t be misled by the
section, look at the scales!) and forms a
plateau in the area around Echternach (see
map)
• Some brittle deformation is taking place
however!

• Q58: the picture below shows students

researching the effects of this brittle
deformation. What kind of deformation are we
talking about here, and what is causing it do
you think?

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 3 Luxembourg Sst
• As a result of this deformation,
large blocks are able to move
independently down slope
along the edges of the
sandstone cliffs, often rotating
in the process (see also first
picture of Lux Sst)

• Q59: which rocks are acting as

the gliding surface for these
enormous sandstone blocks?

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 3 Luxembourg Sandstone
some interesting textures
E W E W

W E

• Q60: what do these tell you about the

depositional environment?

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 3 :Luxembourg Sst
• This is a common occurrence in these
sandstones, often called alveoli, tafoni
or honeycomb weathering

• Q61: try to find out how these

structures are formed (use internet)

• Q62: talking about weathering, why do

you think one type of layer (slide 11)
weathers faster than the other type of
layer, what is actually happening
there?

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 On to the next destination
• Enough sediments for now,
the last part will look at
volcanic rocks in the Eifel

• It all looks peaceful now, but

one day…

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