North-Tethyan Tithonian chitinoidellids from exotic limestone pebbles in the Silesian Nappe (Polish Outer Carpathians)

A small group of Tithonian planktonic ciliates, little-known in the area of the Polish Outer Carpathians, has been recorded in exotic limestones from the western part of the Silesian Nappe. Eleven species of the family Chitinoidellidae Trejo, 1975, belonging to the genera Chitinoidella, Daciella, Dobeniella, Longicollaria and Popiella are described here. The majority of studied samples have been assigned to the Boneti Subzone of the Chitinoidella Zone. Exotics with chitinoidellids represent environments which can be interpreted as platform margin reefs, slope of platform and inner platform

Deep-sea mass-flow sediments and their exotic blocks from the Ropianka Formation (Campanian-Paleocene) in the Skole Nappe : a case from the Wola Rafałowska section (SE Poland)

Flysch deposits of the Ropianka Formation (Wiar and Leszczyny members; Skole Nappe) at Wola Rafałowska include two different sediments that contain exotic pebbles, cobbles and boulders. The first one is a graded conglomerate that contains mostly cobbles of sandstones, gneisses, Štramberk-type limestones, volcanic rocks, pegmatites and ferruginous siltstones. The second one is a pebbly mudstone that contains clasts of sandstones, stone coal, grey mudstones, volcanic rocks, schists, limestones, marls, black mudstones, conglomerates, volcaniclastic rocks and quartz gravels that are floating within a muddy matrix. Genesis of the conglomerate is unclear because it shows features typical of debris flows (poorly sorted, matrix- to clast-supported, large amount of cobble to boulder fraction) as well as high density turbiditic currents (indistinct normal gradation, small amount of cohesive material, crushed clasts that suggest interaction between grains during transportation and at least partly turbulence during flow). The pebbly mudstone represents typical debris flow deposits (large amount of cohesive material, matrix-supported, poorly sorted, lack of grain gradation and traction structures that suggest laminar flow). Limestones occurring in both exotic-bearing sediments show different Upper Jurassic-lowest Cretaceous facies of a carbonate platform, which was involved in the source area of the Skole Basin, along with its basement. They can be interpreted as deposits of: 1) platform-margin reefs and a platform slope: a) partly silicified coral boundstone, b) microbial-coral boundstone, c) silicified sponge-microbial boundstone grading into peloidal-ooidal grainstone with bioclasts, and d) strongly silicified limestone with intraclasts and bioclasts; 2) deeper, platform slope to toe-of-slope area - bioclastic wackstone; 3) inner platform, including: a) partly silicified wackstone with peloids, small intraclasts and bioclasts, and b) microbial bindstone. Moreover, some exotic clasts are built of Albian-Cenomanian wackstone with abundant sponge spicules and planktonic foraminifers, which are interpreted as deeper shelf sediments. Taking into account the geometry of thrust sheets from the site of the exotic-bearing sediments to the edge of the Skole Nappe, along the most probable transportation path, including tectonic/erosional reduction and different variants of slope inclination, the distance of the mass flows attained at least 25-97 km from the shelf edge

Paleocene sedimentary record of ridge geodynamics in Outer Carpathian basins (Subsilesian Unit)

The stratigraphic position of the Goryczkowiec Sandstone reflects the Paleocene ridge geodynamics in the Outer Carpathian basins. The Goryczkowiec Sandstone was deposited on the slope of a ridge, known as the Subsilesian Sedimentary Area that originated during reorganization of the Outer Carpathian realm. A Paleocene age of this sand- stone, documented clearly by autochthonous foraminiferal and algal assemblages indicates the time of the final forma- tion of the Subsilesian Ridge. Abundant calcareous material of biogenic origin was transported by turbidity currents into deeper zones. This material includes fragments of carbonate buildups represented by algae, bryozoans and other organisms growing in the shallower part of the ridge. The Goryczkowiec Sandstone, previously known as the Szydłowiec Sandstone, is here redefined as a new lithostratigraphic unit within the Subsilesian Sedimentary Area in the marginal Outer Carpathians in Poland. The new name clarifies the ambivalence in the lithostratigraphic nomenclature

Educational trails of the Racławka Valley Nature Reserve and their potential for geoeducation

The Racławka Valley is located west of Krakow, in the Krakow-Częstochowa Upland. This is a place of high bio- and geodiversity, where various rocks of different ages outcrop in vast excavation pits, narrow gorges or form characteristic monadnocks. The richness of various morphological forms and special habitats led to the constitution of a nature reserve, covering most of the Racławka Valley and adjacent, southern parts of the Szklarka Valley. Three educational trails lead through the reserve, connecting a number of geosites. The Geotourism Students’ Scientific Club (GSSC) from AGH University of Science and Technology examined the usability of these trails for geoeducation. After completing geotourism valorisation, adequate teaching materials were prepared, and different age groups were guided around the trails. Their comprehension has been verified by quizzes and opinions gathered through questionnaires. On the bases of these, the three educational trails were widely described and assessed in respect for their terrain difficulty, accessibility, and infrastructure. Each trail has a leitmotif and a specific theme, however geosites from different trails can be combined together to get a route of a chosen theme. The GSSC also released three new geotourism guidebooks, one for each trail, as a result of AGH rector's grant projects in the years 2018–2020.Dolina Racławki położona jest na zachód od Krakowa, na Wyżynie Krakowsko-Częstochowskiej. Stanowi ona obszar o dużejbio- i georóżnorodności, gdzie rozmaite skały o różnym wieku odsłaniają się w rozległych wyrobiskach, na ścianach wąwozów lub w postaci ostańców. Ze względu na bogactwo form morfologicznych i wykształcone na nich siedliska, większość doliny Racławkii przyległą, południową część doliny Szklarki objęto rezerwatem przyrody. Przez obszar rezerwatu prowadzą trzy ścieżki dydaktyczne łączące szereg geostanowisk. Koło Naukowe Geoturystyka (KNGt) z Akademii Górniczo-Hutniczej zbadało ich przydatność dla geoedukacji. Po dokonaniu waloryzacji geoturystycznej opracowano materiały dydaktyczne, a następnie po ścieżkach oprowadzono różne grupy wiekowe. Za pomocą quizów sprawdzono zrozumienie przez uczestników omawianych tematów, a opinie zebrano w formie ankiet. Działania te umożliwiły dokładne opisanie ścieżek oraz ich ocenę pod kątem trudności terenu, dostępnościi infrastruktury. Każda ze ścieżek ma motyw przewodni, można je jednak z powodzeniem łączyć, by zaplanować trasę o określonej tematyce. KNGt przygotowało też trzy przewodniki geoturystyczne po dolinie Racławki, po jednym dla każdej ze ścieżek, w ramach Grantu Rektora AGH w latach 2018–2020

The Upper Cretaceous Ostravice Sandstone in the Polish sector of the Silesian Nappe, Outer Western Carpathians

The Ostravice Sandstone Member was identified and described as a lithostratigraphic unit in the Polish part of the Outer Carpathians. This division occurs in the lowermost part of the Godula Formation, is underlain by variegated deposits of the Mazák Formation or directly by the Barnasiówka and Lhoty formations, and overlain by the Czernichów Member of the Godula Formation. Domination by thick- and very thick-bedded sandstones, conglomeratic sandstones and conglomerates rich in calcareous clasts, mostly of the Štramberk-type limestones, is typical for the Ostravice Sandstone Member. These deposits are widespread between the Moravskoslezské Beskydy Mountains in the Czech Republic and the Ciężkowice Foothills in Poland. The documentation of the Ostravice Sandstone Member occurrence as well as the petrological, sedimentological features, and inventory of the carbonate clasts are presented here

The late Jurassic-Palaeogene carbonate platforms in the Outer Western Carpathian Tethys - A regional overview

The present work focuses on palaeogeographic reconstruction of shallow-water carbonate deposition in the Outer Western Carpathian Tethys. Platform deposits are preserved only as a component of turbidites and olistostromes, and reconstructions of these platforms are based on clastic material redistributed into slopes and deep basins and occurring among the Outer Carpathian nappes. Similar platforms were also present on the Tethys margins. These reconstructions were performed using the global models of plate tectonics. Several ridges covered by carbonate platforms developed in that area during the latest Jurassic-Palaeogene times. Three main shallow-water facies associations-Stramberk, Urgonian, and Lithothamnion-bryozoan-could be distinguished. The Tithonian-lowermost Cretaceous Stramberk facies is related to early, synrift-postrift stage of the development of the Silesian Domain. Facies that are diversified, narrow, shallow-water platforms, rich in corals, sponges, green algae, echinoderms, foraminifera, microencrusters, and microbes are typical of this stage. The Urgonian facies developed mainly on the south margin of the Outer Carpathian basins and is characterised by organodetritic limestones built of bivalves (including rudists), larger benthic foraminifera, crinoids, echinoids, and corals. Since the Paleocene, in all the Western Outer Carpathian sedimentary areas, Lithothamnion-bryozoan facies developed and adapted to unstable conditions. Algae-bryozoan covers originating on the siliciclastic substrate are typical of these facies. This type of deposition was preserved practically until the final stage in the evolution of the Outer Carpathian basins.Web of Science117art. no. 74

A lost carbonate platform deciphered from clasts embedded in flysch : Štramberk-type limestones, Polish Outer Carpathians

Limestones designated the Štramberk-type are the most common carbonate exotic clasts (exotics) embedded in the uppermost Jurassic–Miocene flysch deposits of the Polish Outer Carpathians. About 80% of stratigraphically determinable carbonate exotics from the Silesian, Sub-Silesian and Skole units (nappes) are of Tithonian (mostly)–Berriasian (sporadically Valanginian) age. A study of these exotics revealed eight main facies types: coral-microbial boundstones (FT 1), microencruster-microbial-cement boundstones (FT 2), microbial and microbial-sponge boundstones (FT 3), detrital limestones (FT 4), foraminiferal-algal limestones (FT 5), peloidalbioclastic limestones (FT 6), ooid grainstones (FT 7), and mudstones-wackestones with calpionellids (FT 8). Štramberk-type limestones in Poland and the better known Štramberk Limestone in the Czech Republic are remnants of lost carbonate platforms, collectively designated the Štramberk Carbonate Platform. Narrow platforms were developed on intra-basinal, structural highs (some of them are generalized as the Silesian Ridge), with their morphology determined by Late Jurassic synsedimentary tectonics. An attempt was made to reconstruct the facies distribution on the Tithonian–earliest Cretaceous carbonate platform. In the inner platform, coral-microbial patch-reefs (FT 1) grew, while the upper slope of the platform was the depositional setting for the microencruster-microbial-cement boundstones (FT 2). Microbial and microbial-sponge boundstones (FT 3), analogous to the Oxfordian–Kimmeridgian boundstones of the northern Tethyan shelf (also present among exotics), were developed in a deeper setting. In the inner, open part of the platform, foraminiferal-algal limestones (FT 5) and peloidal-bioclastic limestones (FT 6) were deposited. Poorly sorted, detrital limestones (FT 4), including clastsupported breccias, were formed mainly in a peri-reefal environment and on the margin of the platform, in a high-energy setting. Ooid grainstones (FT 7), rarely represented in the exotics, were formed on the platform margin. Mudstones-wackestones with calpionellids (FT 8) were deposited in a deeper part of the platform slope and/or in a basinal setting. In tectonic grabens, between ridges with attached carbonate platforms, sedimentation of the pelagic (analogous to FT 8) and allodapic (“pre-flysch”) Cieszyn Limestone Formation took place. The most common facies are FT 4 and FT 1. Sedimentation on the Štramberk Carbonate Platform terminated in the earliest Cretaceous, when the platform was destroyed and drowned. It is recorded in a few exotics as thin, neptunian dykes (and large dykes in the Štramberk Limestone), filled with dark, deep-water limestones. Reefal facies of the Štramberk Carbonate Platform share similarities in several respects (e.g., the presence of the microencrustermicrobial-cement boundstones) with reefs of other intra-Tethyan carbonate platforms, but clearly differ from palaeogeographically close reefs and coral-bearing facies of the epicontinental Tethyan shelf (e.g., coeval limestones from the subsurface of the Carpathian Foredeep and the Lublin Upland in Poland; the Ernstbrunn Limestone in Austria and Czech Republic). Corals in the Štramberk Limestone and Štramberk-type limestones are the world’s most diverse coral assemblages of the Jurassic–Cretaceous transition. The intra-basinal ridge (ridges), traditionally called the Silesian Cordillera, which evolved through time from an emerged part of the Upper Silesian Massif to an accretionary prism, formed the most important provenance area for carbonate exotic clasts in the flysch of the Silesian Series. They are especially common in the Lower Cretaceous Hradiště Formation and the Upper Cretaceous–Paleocene Istebna Formation. The Baška-Inwałd 204 M. HOFFMANN Et Al. In the Polish Outer Carpathians, shallow-water carbonate sedimentation is recorded only by carbonate clasts, redeposited bioclasts, and very rare, small, unrooted, poorly exposed klippen. Clasts of limestones are exotic to the dominant siliciclastic, uppermost Jurassic–Miocene flysch deposits. They were derived from extrabasinal and intra-basinal source areas of the Carpathian rocks, which periodically emerged and were destroyed. Such rocks were described as “exotic” since the 19th century (“exotischen Graniten”, “exotische Blöcke”; Morlot, 1847; Hohenegger, 1861). In the general geological literature, the term “exotic clasts” is usually used (Flügel, 2010, p. 172), whereas in the Polish geological literature, the term “exotics” (Polish “egzotyki” including also carbonate exotics), is also commonly applied. On the basis of fossils, facies and microfacies, these clasts (pebbles, rarely blocks) are mostly described as Devonian–Carboniferous (Malik, 1978, 1979; Burtan et al., 1983; Tomaś et al., 2004) and Upper Jurassic–lowermost Cretaceous (the present paper and references therein), more rarely Middle Jurassic (Książkiewicz, 1935, 1956a; Barczyk, 1998; Olszewska and Wieczorek, 2001), Early Cretaceous (Oszczypko et al., 1992, 2006, 2020; Krobicki et al., 2005), Late Cretaceous (Książkiewicz, 1956a; Gasiński, 1998) and Palaeogene in age (Leszczyński, 1978; Rajchel and Myszkowska, 1998; Leszczyński et al., 2012; Minor-Wróblewska, 2017). At the beginning of these studies, the focus was on small, unrooted klippen, namely the Andrychów Klippen (called also Klippes) near Wadowice (Zeuschner, 1849; Hohenegger, 1861; Uhlig, 1904; Książkiewicz, 1935, 1971b; Nowak, 1976; Gasiński, 1998; Olszewska and Wieczorek, 2001), and in Kruhel Wielki, near Przemyśl (Niedźwiedzki, 1876; Wójcik, 1907, 1913, 1914; Bukowy and Geroch, 1956; Morycowa, 1988; Olszewska et al., 2009), now poorly exposed. Subsequently, exotic pebbles, much more common and providing data on more facies, were studied more frequently. The first attempt to describe exotics, including crystalline rocks, was presented by Nowak (1927). Jurassic–Cretaceous carbonate exotics at Bachowice, containing facies unknown at other localities in the Polish Outer Carpathians, were described by Książkiewicz (1956a). The preliminary results of studies, which encompassed the entire spectrum of carbonate exotics from the western part of the Polish Outer Carpathians, were presented by Burtan et al. (1984). Malik (1978, 1979) described both Palaeozoic and Mesozoic carbonate clasts in the Hradiště Sandstone of the Silesian Unit, but other studies were mostly concerned with the Štramberk-type limestones from selected outcrops. The studies of these limestones, if concerned with exotics at many localities, were focused on their fossil content (e.g., Kołodziej, 2003a; Bucur et al., 2005; Ivanova and Kołodziej, 2010; Kowal-Kasprzyk, 2014, 2018) or presented only the preliminary results of facies studies (e.g., Hoffmann and Kołodziej, 2008; Hoffmann et al., 2008). Carbonate platforms, the existence of which was deciphered from detrital carbonate components, are called lost carbonate platforms (e.g., Belka et al., 1996; Flügel, 2010; Kukoč et al., 2012). Clasts and other shallowwater components are, metaphorically, witnesses to lost carbonate factories (the term is taken from Coletti et al., 2015). Analyses of the age and lithology of exotic clasts have been applied in the reconstruction of the provenance areas of the clasts and their palaeogeography and the development of the sedimentary sequences of the Polish Outer Carpathians (e.g., Książkiewicz, 1956b, 1962, 1965; Unrug, 1968; Oszczypko, 1975; Oszczypko et al., 1992, 2006; Hoffmann, 2001; Krobicki, 2004; Słomka et al., 2004; Malata et al., 2006; Poprawa and Malata, 2006; Poprawa et al., 2006a, b; Strzeboński et al., 2017; Kowal-Kasprzyk et al., 2020). Štramberk-type limestones are most common among the exotics. It is a field term that refers to limestones, mostly beige in colour, that are supposed to be the age and facies equivalents of the Tithonian–lower Berriasian Štramberk Limestone in Moravia (Czech Republic; Eliáš and Eliášová, 1984; Picha et al., 2006). The Štramberk Limestone and the Štramberk-type limestones of both countries were deposited on platforms, attached to the intrabasinal ridges and margins of the basin of the Outer Carpathians. These platforms are collectively termed the Štramberk Carbonate Platform. The terms “Štramberk Limestone” and “Štramberk-type limestones” have been widely used in the area of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire for the field description of shallow-water limestones of assumed Late Jurassic age, usually occurring within flysch deposits of the Outer Carpathians. Upper Jurassic–lowermost Cretaceous shallow-water limestones in Romania (commonly forming mountains or ridges, e.g., Pleş et al., 2013, 2016), in Bulgaria and Serbia (Tchoumatchenco et al., 2006), and Ukraine (Krajewski and Schlagintweit, 2018), and in Turkey (Masse et al., 2015) sometimes are referred to as the Štramberk-type limestones as well. In the Austrian-German literature similar limestones in the Alps are known as the Plassen Limestone (e.g., Steiger and Wurm, 1980; Schlagintweit et al., 2005). Biostratigraphic studies revealed that some carbonate clasts, accounting for several percent of the exotics and commonly Ridge and the Sub-Silesian Ridge were the source areas for clasts from the Silesian and Sub-Silesian units (e.g., in the Hradiště Formation), while the Northern (Marginal) Ridge was the source for clasts from the Skole Unit (e.g., in the Maastrichtian–Paleocene Ropianka Formation)