Cainozoic evolution of Lower Silesia, SW Poland : a new interpretation in the light of sub-Cainozoic and sub-Quaternary topography

Abstract

An analysis of the youngest tectonic movements by the use of either morphometric or instrumental techniques should take into account both exposed and buried fault zones. The sub-Cainozoic and sub-Quaternary surface maps presented in this study display buried palaeotopography whose interpretation proves helpful in identification of tectonic dislocations. Such a kind of analysis has been conducted for the area of Lower Silesia, including the Sudetes, Fore-Sudetic Block, and Fore-Sudetic Monocline. The maps have been constructed on the basis of well-bore data, vertical geoelectrical soundings, and detailed mapping of exposures of pre-Quaternary rocks. Well-bore data have been reinterpreted with a view to reconstruct the original depth to the top of the crystalline basement. Many archival borehole descriptions place the boundary between Tertiary strata and the Proterozoic-Palaeozoic substratum at the top of poorly weathered rocks, including regoliths of the crystalline substratum into the Tertiary cover. The presented maps portray for the first time the actual morphology of the sub-Cainozoic surface. A comparison between the sub-Cainozoic and sub-Quaternary surface maps enables us to document changes in tectonic mobility throughout Cainozoic times. An additional source of information is provided by the attached thickness maps of individual time-slices of the Cainozoic

    Similar works