NMHU Geology
Geology Photos
Głuszyca Quarry
Located just a few kilometers northwest of Swierki is the Głuszyca quarry. Though abandoned and overgrown with vegetation, Głuszyca exposed another trachyandesite deposit. Geochemically similar to Swierki, Tłumaczów, and Gardzień, this intrusive body displayed a stacked sill geometry not seen in the other quarries.
Tłumaczów & Gardzień
Just over the boarder of the Czech village Broumov sits the Polish quarries Tłumaczów and Gardzień. These quarries are part of the same regional chain of igneous intrusive trachyandesite bodies as Swierki. Initial field work in Gardzień began in 2022. Work continued in Gardzień during the 2024 field season with new exposures of the structure revealed by quarrying operations. Tłumaczów became accessible in 2024 unearthing another side of the igneous intrusion. These sites exhibit a more complex geometry than that of Swierki, though the overall goal of the study is the same.
Měrunice Quarry
Měrunice is a large active basalt quarry in the northwest of the Czech Republic. The quarry exposes the complex igneous contacts, cooling geometries comprised of stacked basalt flows, and dikes/sills that make up a diatreme relic. Such exposure provided a unique opportunity to conduct a comparative emplacement study, in near 3-dimensions, of their sub-volcanic magma plumbing systems. Multiple studies including magnetic fabric, thermomagnetic curves, and paleomagnetic analysis are being conducted on this site with the aim of defining subvolcanic deformation during the growth of the diatreme.
Świerki Quarry
Swierki, an abandoned quarry located along the southwest border of Poland, became of interest during the 2022 IRES trip. Quarry operations exploited the igneous rock, a trachyandesite deposit, as building and road material. The exposure of trachyandesite sill on the quarry walls made this an attractive field site and allowed for sampling throughout the igneous body. This site is the focus of Madison Allcorn’s research project and is part of a larger regional study by Dr. Petronis. The overall goal of this project is to understand emplacement and potential relation to other geochemically similar igneous bodies in the region relating to caldera magmatism.
Field Trips