Facies, Paleogeography, and Sedimentary History of the Southern Permian Basin in Europe

The structural position of the Southern Permian Basin (SPB) is controlled by the Caledonian and Variscan tectonic framework (Fig. 1). The basin is located between the mid-North Sea High and Ringkobing-Fyn High in the north, the East European Platform in the east and the Variscan tectogene in the south (Fig. 2). In the area of maximum subsidence (i.e. in the Variscan Foreland), the substrate is composed of consolidated Caledonian massifs. This consists of (1) the Netherlands-North German Massif (possibly a terrane), considered now (Hoffmann 1990) as a separate structural unit of Precambrian age which was established finally in Caledonian time, and (2) a part of the Holstein-Rugen-Pomorze Terrane (Caledonian fold zone; Franke 1990) limited by strike-slip faults from the North German-Polish Variscan orogenic belt. The Southern Permian Basin has several narrow connections with adjacent basins (for references, see Sorensen and Martinsen 1987) and possible temporary connections with the Tethys domain via the Polish-Dobrugea trough, along a rift zone (Ziegler 1987) and with small basins on the Inner Variscan domain. These connections and the SPB tectonic framework were induced by pre-Permian tectonics generally described as a subequatorial structural plan and submeridional deep fractures (Franke 1990)