Abstract
Abstract. The geometry and internal architecture of the Upper Jurassic carbonate depositional system in the epicontinental basin of central and western Europe and within the northern margin of the Tethyan shelf are hitherto only partly recognized, especially in areas with thick Cretaceous and younger cover such as the Miechów Trough. In such areas, seismic data are indispensable for the analysis of a carbonate depositional system, in particular for the identification of the carbonate buildups and the enveloping strata. The study area is located in the central part of the Miechów Trough that in the Late Jurassic was situated within the transition zone between the Polish part of the central and western European epicontinental basin and the Tethys Ocean. This paper presents the results of the interpretation of 2D seismic data calibrated by deep wells that document the presence of large Upper Jurassic carbonate buildups. The lateral extent of particular structures is in the range of 400–1000 m, and their heights are in the range of 150–250 m. The interpretation of seismic data revealed that the depositional architecture of the subsurface Upper Jurassic succession in the Miechów Trough is characterized by the presence of large carbonate buildups surrounded by basinal (bedded) limestone and marly-limestone deposits. These observations are compatible with depositional characteristics of well-recognized Upper Jurassic carbonate sediments that crop out in the adjacent Kraków–Częstochowa Upland. The presented study provides new information about carbonate open-shelf sedimentation within the transition zone in the Late Jurassic, which proves the existence of a much more extensive system of organic buildups which flourished in this part of the basin. The results obtained, due to the high quality of available seismic data, also provide an excellent generic reference point for seismic studies of carbonate buildups in other basins and of different ages.
Highlights
Carbonate buildups display considerable vertical accretion to adapt to a gradual, relative sea level rise (e.g. Kendall and Schlager, 1981; Read, 1985; Sarg, 1988; Handford and Loucks, 1993; Schlager, 2005)
This paper provides new, important information on Late Jurassic sedimentation in the Miechów Trough that was located within the transition zone between the epicontinental basin of central and western Europe and the Tethys Ocean
This area has been hitherto less recognized in comparison to adjacent areas in Poland and central and western Europe, where the Upper Jurassic deposits are well-known from outcrops
Summary
Carbonate buildups display considerable vertical accretion to adapt to a gradual, relative sea level rise (e.g. Kendall and Schlager, 1981; Read, 1985; Sarg, 1988; Handford and Loucks, 1993; Schlager, 2005). Several new buildups have been identified and interpreted using seismic data (Urbaniec, 2019) Those results represent the more southerly part of the basin, located beneath the Miocene of the Carpathian Foredeep Basin (about 50 km to the south of the study area). The study area is located in the central part of the Miechów Trough, southern Poland, approximately 50 km north-east of Kraków, in the vicinity of the town of Pinczów (Fig. 3). In this area, the geometry and depositional architecture of the Upper Jurassic carbonate succession are relatively poorly recognized in comparison to adjacent parts of the basin in. Synthetic seismograms were used to precisely tie wells to seismic profiles, and the seismic-stratigraphic approach was used to analyse the depositional architecture of the Upper Jurassic carbonate system, including carbonate buildups and surrounding deposits
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