Geochemical characteristics of the Upper Cretaceous to Lower Eocene sedimentary rocks from the Pieniny Klippen Belt (Western Carpathians, Slovakia): implications for tectonic setting, paleoenvironment and paleoclimate

Abstract

This paper presents geochemical data on sedimentary rocks from the Upper Cretaceous to Lower Eocene formations of the Pieniny Klippen Belt (Western Carpathians, Slovakia). On the basis of geochemical analyses of 15 samples, the plate tectonic setting of sediment accumulation and paleodepositional environment were reconstructed, which may help to understand a part of evolution of this orographically remarkable zone. Four main rock groups were identified within the samples studied: fine- to medium-grained sandstones, siltstones or claystones, pebbly/sandy mudstones and shales. In the Al2O3*5-SiO2-CaO*2 ternary diagram, they displayed developed sand and mud flat characteristics with light rich clay content. According to high-silica and lowsilica multi-dimensional diagrams, the investigated rocks might have originated from a continental collision tectonic setting. The Zr/Rb values (0.76–6.47) mirrored a fluctuation of hydro energy during deposition of the sediments studied. Paleoclimate indexes, such as the C-value (0.03–0.49) and Sr/Cu (3.25–202.27), revealed arid to semiarid climatic conditions during deposition of the studied sediments. In addition, the chemical data were used to constrain paleoredox conditions of the depositional environment, which proved that these sediments had been deposited mainly beneath the oxic water column with relatively low paleoproductivity, as evidenced by P/Ti with an average of 0.13 and Ba/Al with an average of 34.30.