Miocene transpression effects at the boundary of Central Carpathian Paleogene Basin and Pieniny Klippen Belt: examples from Polish-Slovakian borderland

Abstract

A geological structural study has been conducted along the tectonic contact zone of the Central Carpathian Paleogene Basin (CCPB) and Pieniny Klippen Belt (PKB) in the eastern Podhale and western Spišska Magura areas. It concerned mostly the Central Carpathian Paleogene flysch strata and, to a lesser degree, the Upper Cretaceous rocks of the PKB. Tectonic deformation structures genetically related to the important tectonic boundary in question occur within a c. 1.5-2 km-wide strip of the Paleogene flysch rocks adjacent from the south to the PKB. Two parallel structural domains have been distinguished within this strip: the contact zone proper in the north and the peri-Pieniny monocline in the south. Most of the minor faults documented in the Paleogene flysch bear a record of dextral motion parallel to the contact zone. Some dextral-reverse oblique slip faults of NE-SW and WE trends have also been recognized. Discrepancies in the orientation and sense of movement on strike-slip faults in the Paleogene flysch rocks and those in marlstones of the "klippen envelope" of the PKB were encountered. They probably reflect differences in the structural history of both the adjacent rock complexes, as the Upper Cretaceous deposits of the PKB must have experienced more deformation events and, in general, were affected by much more intense strain than those of the CCPB. Contractional structures, such as south-vergent reverse faults and recumbent folds which point to ca N-S tectonic shortening, have also been found in the Paleogene rocks. The entirety of the structural features found in the CCPB is characteristic of a transpressional regime. The regionally consistent coexistence of structures resulting from strike-slip movements and tectonic shortening, as well as features pointing directly to a transpressional regime, prove the transpressional dextral nature of the contact between the CCPB and PKB.

Acta Geologica Polonica

“…Tectonic deformation of CCPB rocks observed in the vicinity of profile 3-3' are typical for the CCPB/ PKB contact zone, analogously to that observed in other parts of this zone, e.g., western Podhale, Spiš, Spišska Magura and Šariš (e.g., Mastella et al 1988;Plašienka and Soták 1999;Plašienka et al 2013;Ludwiniak 2018; see Text-fig. 6E, F).…”

“…The PKB/CCPB contact zone is characterized by much stronger tectonic deformation compared to the remaining part of the CCPB. This is visible directly in the contact zone and in an adjacent, parallel belt, which occurs to the south and is several hundred metres wide (in some cases even up to 1.5 km; see also Mastella 1975;Plašienka et al 2013;Ludwiniak 2018). The contact itself is tectonic in nature and is a narrow (several to over 10 m wide), strongly deformed zone of strongly cataclased rocks, developed through transpression (see Ludwiniak 2018 Among the numerous faults that are subparallel to the contact, dextral faults dominate, although prevailing sinistral faults occur between Maruszyna and Leśnica (Text-fig.…”

“…The formation of the "flower" structure of the PKB resulted from transpression at the late Burdigalian and middle Miocene boundary (Ratschbacher et al 1993;. In effect, some elements of the PKB were retrothrusted onto the CCPB, which caused the development of strong deformation within Palaeogene deposits in the contact zone (e.g., Mastella 1975;Plašienka et al 1998;Plašienka and Soták 1999;Ludwiniak 2018; such backthrusting of the PKB onto the CCPB in northwestern Slovakia accompanied by some ENE-WSWstriking orogen-parallel sinistral faulting is considered to have occurred during the Late Oligocene and Early Miocene -see Peškova et al 2009;Beidinger and Decker 2016). Strike-slip movements along the CCPB/PKB contact zone could also play a significant role at this stage (e.g., Ratschbacher et al 1993;Ludwiniak et al 2009;Ludwiniak 2018).…”

“…Thus, a database consisting an array of structures typical of CCPB development that was used to track structures unique for OB vicinity was constructed (see Table 2). The analysis was based on earlier collected and partly published data (Mastella et al 1988;Ludwiniak 2006Ludwiniak , 2010Ludwiniak et al 2009;Ludwiniak 2018), supplemented with new measurements and existing maps (Watycha 1976a;Gross et al 1993a)…”

Paleomagnetic and magnetic fabric data from Lower Triassic redbeds of the Central Western Carpathians: new constraints on the paleogeographic and tectonic evolution of the Carpathian region

“…We also point out that sediments of the Carpathian Paleogene Basin, although poorly deformed, have undergone a multi-stage tectonic evolution which included, among others, a synsedimentary extension and further compression and deformation related to the Miocene uplift (e.g. Jurewicz 2005;Pešková et al 2009;Głowacka 2010;Ludwiniak 2010Ludwiniak , 2018Vojtko et al 2010;Kováčet al 2018;Ludwiniak et al 2019). None of these deformations have been restored by a tectonic correction based on a simple field-measured orientation of strata that may result in a declination bias.…”