Sediment dispersal and provenance in the Silesian, Dukla and Magura flysch nappes (Outer Carpathians, Poland)

Abstract

The Polish Outer Carpathians consist of several flysch series of unknown original basement. They were deposited from Late Jurassic to Miocene in a large basin dissected by tectonically uplifted ridges (cordillieras) which acted as source terrains. The actual nappe pile is correlated with palaeogeographic basin realms. From N to S the Skole, Silesian, Dukla and Magura basins are distinguished. Our paper presents a first compilation of heavy mineral data and pebble analysis in the various turbiditic fan systems. It is assumed that the heavy minerals primarily reflect the nature of basement rocks exposed in the source terrains. The individual flysch basins were supplied generally from unmetamorphosed granitic to highgrade metamorphic continental basement series. But staurolite-bearing high-grade metamorphics appear to have been present only in the northernmost provenance area (Silesian and Subsilesian ridges). A few reworked chromian spinel mineral grains in the northern parts of the basin were derived from small Caledonian/Variscan ultrabasic sutures present in the source ridges. Increased chromian spinel contents are revealed in the southern part of the basin (Maastrichtian-Eocene Magura series) and in Cretaceous Pieniny Klippen belt flysch formations. The chromian spinel in the Magura series was derived, either directly from Alpine oceanic crust obducted in the southern part of the Pieniny realm, or from re-eroded Pieniny flysch series. Hence, our heavy mineral data indicate that in the Outer Carpathian basin during Cretaceous convergence no Alpine ophiolitic crust was obducted. Therefore, an ophiolitic basement to the individual basins appears inprobable. The Outer Carpathians presumably occupied, with respect to the internal suture zone, the position of a deep continental basement floored foreland basin.