Timing of cement precipitation and fault activity in the Eastern and Southern Alps (Austria, Germany, Italy and Slovenia)

Abstract

Five carbonate cement generations in faults and associated fractures were studied in Permian to Tertiary sedimentary rocks in the Drau Range, in the Southern Alps and in different nappes of the Northern Calcareous Alps (NCA). Timing of precipitation was deduced from the stratigraphical distribution of the cements. The first major cementation phase is represented by clear saddle dolomite (CSD), which is of Triassic to Cretaceous age. The second major cementation phase, characterized by another saddle dolomite and three generations of blocky calcite, is of Miocene age. The distribution of the different carbonate cements in faults and fractures shows, which fault/fracture sets were main conduits for fluid-flow during the evolution of the Alps.