Palaeobiology, ecology, and distribution of stromatoporoid faunas in biostromes of the mid-Ludlow of Gotland

Six well exposed mid−Ludlow stromatoporoid−dominated reef biostromes in four localities from the Hemse Group in southeastern Gotland, Sweden comprise a stromatoporoid assemblage dominated by four species; Clathrodictyon mohicanum, “Stromatopora” bekkeri, Plectostroma scaniense, and Lophiostroma schmidtii. All biostromes investigated in this area (of approximately 30 km2) are interpreted to belong to a single faunal assemblage forming a dense accumulation of fossils that is probably the best exposed stromatoporoid−rich deposit of the Silurian. The results from this comprehensive study strengthen earlier interpretations of a combination of genetic and environmental control on growth−forms of the stromatoporoids. Growth styles are similar for stromatoporoids in all six biostromes. Differences in biostrome fabric are due to variations in the degree of disturbance by storms. The uniformity of facies and the widespread low−diversity fauna support the view that palaeoenvironmental conditions were similar across the area where these biostromes crop out, and promoted the extraordinary growth of stromatoporoids in this shallow shelf area

The tsunamites problem. Why are fossil tsunamites so rare?

Tsunami is a common phenomenon and one of the most dangerous natural hazards of the modern world. Taking into account the relative high frequency of tsunamis in historical times, we can expect accordingly rich geological records of similar events from fossil formations. However, palaeotsunami deposits are surprisingly rare, mainly because of the difficulty of discerning them from sediments formed by other processes, e.g. storms. Part of the problem lies in the definition of tsunamite, which refers only to the triggering process, and in a different approach while discerning modern and fossil tsunamites. Modern tsunamites are identified by connecting the deposits to a particular historical tsunami event, even if they contain no diagnostic sedimentological features - an approach, which cannot be applied to fossil formations. This can lead to an impression that modern tsunami deposits are much more common than their fossil counterparts, which in turn suggest great intensification of tsunami events in historical times. Lately, a great number ofpapers have been published on sedimentary effects of modern tsunamis. The studies concentrated on land and near-shore areas. Many authors point out that the sedimentary record left by tsunami is commonly surprisingly mean and with a very low preservation potential. When interpreting fossil successions, the most important features that might indicate their tsunamite genesis are: mixing of material derivedfrom various facial zones, evidence of deep erosion and long transport, and association with other symptoms of seismic activity. The stromatoporoid biostromal accumulations in the Upper Silurian ofPodolia are presented here as possible palaeotsunamite deposits. Thick layers of redeposited stromatoporoids within fine-grained peritidal deposits are interpreted as an effect of onshore transport of this relatively light material during high-energy sedimentary events, such as tsunami. In many ways, the stromatoporoid beds resemble modern accumulations oftsunami-derived boulders

Neptunian dykes penetrating the Lower Jurassic Dudziniec Formation in the autochthonous High-Tatric succession, Tatra Mountains, Western Carpathians, Poland

The Lower Jurassic to Aalenian carbonate-clastic Dudziniec Formation exposed in the autochthonous unit of the Tatra Mountains (Kościeliska Valley) hosts neptunian dykes filled with various deposits. The development of the fissures took place in multiple stages, with the same fractures opening several times, as is indicated by their architecture, occurrence of internal breccias and arrangement of the infilling sediments. Various types of internal deposits were derived in a different manner and from different sources. Fine carbonate sediments, represented by variously coloured pelitic limestones, calcilutites and fine calcarenites, most probably come from uplifted and corroded carbonate massifs (possibly from the allochthonous units of the High-Tatric succession). Products of weathering, both in dissolved form and as small particles, were washed into the sedimentary basin of the autochthonous unit, and redeposited within the dykes. The sandy varieties of the infillings, represented by red, ferruginous calcareous sandstones, come directly from the host rocks or from loose sediments present on the sea bottom at the time of fracturing. The most probable age of the infilling sediments is Sinemurian to Pliensbachian. The occurrence of dykes of this age is yet another feature confirming that the sedimentary development of the Lower Jurassic sandy-carbonate facies in the autochthonous unit was strongly influenced by synsedimentary tectonic activity, such as block-faulting

Jurassic unconformities in the High-Tatric succession, Tatra Mountains, Poland

During the Triassic/Jurassic boundary interval and in the Jurassic, the Triassic carbonate platforms occupying the northern shelf of the Western Tethys were subjected to disintegration. Record of these processes in the Alpine-Carpathian area is incomplete and contains a number of stratigraphic gaps. In the High-Tatric succession of the Tatra Mountains (Central Western Carpathians) stratigraphic gaps expressed by unconformity surfaces occur between the Triassic and the Middle Jurassic. In particular areas, the Triassic is directly overlain by the Dudziniec Formation (Sinemurian-Bajocian), the Smolegowa Formation (Bajocian), the Krupianka Formation (Bathonian) or the Raptawicka Turnia Formation (Callovian-Hauterivian). The occurrence of Bajocian and Bathonian deposits is limited to isolated lenticular bodies or to infillings of neptunian dykes penetrating the Triassic. Spatial relations between particular Jurassic lithosomes and the occurrence of stratigraphic gaps between particular units allow discerning four main unconformities. In the stratigraphical order these are: base of the Dudziniec Format ion (erosional unconformity), base of the Smolegowa Formation (penacordance or parat conformity), base of the Krupianka Format ion (erosional unconformity) and base of the Raptawicka Turnia Formation (drowning unconformity). Following episodes of erosion modified the previously developed unconformity surfaces, which resulted in complex modern architecture of the Triassic/Jurassic contact, as well as between particular Jurassic formations

Regressive-transgressive cyclothem with facies record of the re-flooding window in the Late Silurian carbonate succession (Podolia, Ukraine)

The term “re-flooding window” was recently proposed as a time-interval connected with the transgressive stage of present day peri-reefal development. In the analysis presented here, a fossil record of a re-flooding window has been recognized. Nine Late Silurian carbonate sections exposed on the banks of the Dnister River in Podolia (Ukraine) have been correlated base on bed-by-bed microfacies analysis and spectral gamma ray (SGR) measurements. Correlated were sections representing settings ranging from the inner part of a shallow-water carbonate platform to its slope, through an organic buildup. The reconstructed depositional scenario has been divided into six development stages, with the first three representing a regressive interval and the latter three a transgressive interval of the basin’s history. The re-flooding window has been identified at the beginning of a transgressive part of the succession. Surprisingly, it is characterized by an extremely fast growth of a shallow, tide-dominated platform and by deposition of calciturbiditic layers in a more basinal area. The interpreted succession is a small-scale model illustrating the reaction of carbonate depositional sub-environments to sea level changes and determining the facies position of the stromatoporoid buildups within the facies pattern on a Silurian shelf. The use of SGR analyses in shallow water, partly high-energy, carbonate facies, both for correlation purposes and for identifying depositional systems, is a relatively new method, and thus can serve as a reference for other studies of similar facies assortment

Flow-through rheometry in microchannels node

Praca prezentuje zastosowanie układu mikrokanałów do konstrukcji przepływowego wiskozymetru o zminimalizowanych wymaganiach dotyczących objętości badanej próbki. Istotą jego działania jest obserwacja granicy kontaktu strumieni cieczy badanej i referencyjnej w mikrokanale i odniesienie jej pozycji do stosunków lepkości tych cieczy. Otrzymane wyniki pomiarów tak przebadanej cieczy jonowej zostały potwierdzone techniką pasywnej mikroreologii optycznej wskazując na możliwość wykorzystania obydwu technik do pomiarów, w których minimalizacja objętości próbki ma kluczowe znaczenie.The application of microchannel-based flow-through viscometer characterized by minimized sample volume requirements is presented in the paper. The measurement was performed by the observation of laminar fluid-fluid interphase between two liquids and relating its position to viscosity ratio of both liquids. The obtained results were cross-checked with the passive optical rheometry showing a possibility of using these two techniques in case when a small sample volume is crucial

Stromatoporoid beds and flat-pebble conglomerates interpreted as tsunami deposits in the Upper Silurian of Podolia, Ukraine

Tsunami deposits are currently a subject of intensive studies. Tsunamis must have occurred in the geological past in the same frequency as nowadays, yet their identified depositional record is surprisingly scarce. Here we describe a hitherto unrecognized example of probable palaeotsunamites. The Upper Silurian (Pridoli) carbonate succession of Podolia (southwestern Ukraine) contains variously developed event beds forming intercalations within peritidal deposits (shallow water limestones, nodular marls and dolomites). The event beds are represented by stromatoporoid and fine-grained bioclastic limestones, in some places accompanied by flat-pebble conglomerates. The interval with event beds can be traced along the Zbruch River in separate outcrops over a distance of more than 20 km along a transect oblique to the palaeoshoreline. The stromatoporoid beds have erosional bottom surfaces and are composed of overturned and often fragmented massive skeletons. The material has been transported landward from their offshore habitats and deposited in lagoonal settings. The flat-pebble conglomerates are composed of sub-angular micritic clasts that are lithologically identical to the sediments forming the underlying beds. Large-scale landward transport of the biogenic material has to be attributed to phenomena with very high energy levels, such as tropical hurricanes or tsunamis. This paper presents a tsunamigenic interpretation. Morphometric features of redeposited stromatoporoids point to a calm original growth environment at depths well below storm wave base. Tsunami waves are the most probable factor that could cause their redeposition from such a setting. The vastness of the area covered by parabiostromal stromatoporoid beds resembles the distribution of modern tsunami deposits in offshore settings. The stromatoporoid beds with unsorted stromatoporoids of various dimensions evenly distributed throughout the thickness of the beds and with clast-supported textures most probably represent deposition by traction. In some sections, the stromatoporoids are restricted to the lowermost parts of the beds, which pass upwards into bioclastic limestones. In this case, the finer material was deposited from suspension. The coexistence of stromatoporoid beds and flat-pebble conglomerates also allows presenting a tsunami interpretation of the latter. The propagating tsunami waves, led to erosion of partly lithified thin-layered mudstones, their fragmentation into flat clasts and redeposition as flat-pebble conglomerates

Recent studies on the Silurian of the western part of Ukraine

The paper summarises the effects of recent studies carried out by a team from the Department of Historical and Regional Geology of the Faculty of Geology, University of Warsaw on the upper Silurian of Podolia (western part of Ukraine). The sedimentary history of the Silurian succession of Podolia is characterised by its cyclic pattern, with shallowing-upward cyclothems. In the traditional interpretation, the occurrence of stromatoporoid beds within each cyclothem marks the deepest (or most open-marine) sedimentary environment within the cycle. According to the results of recent studies, their occurrence is connected rather with a relatively shallow-water environment and with high energy phenomena. A substantial reinterpretation of the main sedimentary processes governing the deposition and facies distribution on the shelf is presented. Particularly, there are recognised and described high-energy sedimentary events repeatedly punctuating the generally calm sedimentation that prevailed in the lagoonal settings, some of which are interpreted as tsunami induced. Further perspectives for studies on the Silurian successions of Podolia are also discussed. The main problem is the precise correlation of particular sections that are scattered over vast distances and developed in similar facies associations

Carbonate-clastic sediments of the Dudziniec Formation in the Kościeliska Valley (High-Tatric series, Tatra Mountains, Poland) : role of syndepositional tectonic activity in facies development during the Early and Middle Jurassic

Sediments of the Dudziniec Formation (Lower Jurassic – Aalenian) outcropping in the Kościeliska Valley (autochthonous unit of the High-Tatric series) are represented by a range of mixed carbonate-clastic deposits. Seven lithofacies have been distinguished based on lithology, sedimentary structures, colour and composition of intra- and extraclasts, with sandstones and crinoidal limestones as end members of a continuous spectrum of facies. The study area represents a shallower part of the sedimentary basin located in the vicinity of source areas, as compared to the Chochołowska Valley region located in the west. Facies characteristics and distribution were controlled mainly by synsedimentary tectonic activity, with sandy varieties representing periods of faulting with enhanced influx of extraclasts, and with crinoidal limestones corresponding to intervals of relative tectonic stability. Such influence of synsedimentary tectonics on the deposition in the Early Jurassic strongly resembles the Middle Jurassic development in the High-Tatric area. Neptunian dykes cutting the Dudziniec Formation, and most probably filled by Lower Jurassic sediments, are yet another indication of tectonic instability of the area in the Early Jurassic