Archive

Article

Geologica Carpathica, 1992, vol. 43, no. 6
THE CALCAREOUS ALPS BELOW THE VIENNA BASIN IN AUSTRIA AND THEIR STRUCTURAL AND FACIAL DEVELOPMENT IN THE ALPINE-CARPATHIAN BORDER ZONE
Abstract
The bore hole, drilled into the Pre-Neogene floor of the Vienna Basin, brought information about the facies and structure of the Calcareous Alpine units below the Vienna Basin. The Triassic and Jurassic sequences show changes of facies and thickness from north to south similar to the Alpine area. Triassic basin facies turns into a thick platform development toward the south near the frontal part of the Göller Nappe. In the Jurassic period an alternation of narrow longitudinal belts of swells and basin zones took place in the north. Deepening of the basin in the south seems to cause gravitational gliding of Triassic and early Jurassic complexes into allochthonous positions. Neocomian basinal sediments and synclines filled with Albian to Cenomanian sediments are restricted to the northernmost Calcareous Alpine units. The Upper Cretaceous sediments have a typical low thickness in the north (Gießhübl Syncline). The frontal part of the Golier Nappe is characterized by a thick coarse clastic slope development (Prottes). The Glinzendorf Syncline is filled by mostly limnic deposits of probably Coniacian to Maastrichtian age, which cover Pre-Gosau sediments. In the Paleocene period a thick turbiditic sequence in the Gießhübl Syncline points to deep-water sedimentation. The frontal parts of the Göller Nappe advancing at that time, were buried by further Paleocene sedimentary deposition, dating the overthrust event. The structures of the northern part are narrow, folded and sliced by upthrusting or horizontal displacement. The frontal part of the Göller Nappe shows strong compression, evident by folding and backthrusting of the frontal zone. The southern continuation of the Göller Nappe shows a more rigid style and a relatively flat layering. A deep syncline marks the southernmost part of the Calcareous Alps, and points to strong compressional forces existing also in this part. Only a few bore holes give information about the extension of Calcareous Alpine nappes downwards. The deep structure and the relationship of some outcropping units to hidden structural elements will be a task for further investigation.
Pages:
347 - 353
Published online:
0. 0. 1992