East Carpathians Research Articles

Lvov and Sandomir Offensive Operation: the Look 70 Years

Successful advances of Soviet troops in Belarus created in the middle of July 1944 favorable conditions for large-scale operations on the southern flank of the Soviet-German front to complete the liberation of Ukraine and Moldova, driving Romania, Hungary, Bulgaria out of war, and driving the enemy from Czechoslovakia. During the Soviet offensive in Belorussia 1st Ukrainian Front began operation in the Lvov direction. The operation, which was later called the Lvov-Sandomierz, turned into a major offensive of more than 400 km and lasted from July 13 to August 29, 1944. The Soviet Supreme Command was seeking to crush Army Group "Northern Ukraine", liberate Western Ukraine and take the war to the south east Poland. Operations were carried out by 1st Ukrainian Front in close cooperation with the Soviet troops operating in the Belarusian direction. It was closely linked to the southern wing of the Soviet-German front, a series of successive and simultaneous front offensive operations, including operations by groups of fronts, united by a common concept and plan, such as Lvov-Sandomierz, Iasi-Kishenёvskaya, East Carpathian.

Eruptive history of a low-frequency and low-output rate Pleistocene volcano, Ciomadul, South Harghita Mts., Romania

Based on a new set of K–Ar age data and detailed field observations, the eruptive history of the youngest volcano in the whole Carpathian-Pannonian region was reconstructed. Ciomadul volcano is a dacitic dome complex located at the southeastern end of the Călimani-Gurghiu-Harghita Neogene volcanic range in the East Carpathians. It consists of a central group of extrusive domes (the Ciomadul Mare and Haramul Mare dome clusters and the Koves Ponk dome) surrounded by a number of isolated peripheral domes, some of them strongly eroded (Balvanyos, Puturosul), and others topographically well preserved (Haramul Mic, Dealul Mare). One of the domes (Dealul Cetăţii) still preserves part of its original breccia envelope. A large number of bread-crust bombs found mostly along the southern slopes of the volcano suggest that the dome-building activity at Ciomadul was punctuated by short Vulcanian-type explosive events. Two late-stage explosive events that ended the volcanic activity of Ciomadul left behind two topographically well-preserved craters disrupting the central group of domes: the larger-diameter, shallower, and older Mohos phreatomagmatic crater and the smaller, deeper and younger Sf. Ana (sub)Plinian crater. Phreatomagmatic products of the Mohos center, including accretionary lapilli-bearing base-surge deposits and poorly sorted airfall deposits with impact sags, are known close to the eastern crater rim. A key section studied in detail south of Băile Tusnad shows the temporal succession of eruptive episodes related to the Sf. Ana (sub)Plinian event, as well as relationships with the older dome-building stages. The age of this last eruptive event is loosely constrained by radiocarbon dating of charcoal pieces and paleosoil organic matter at ca. 27–35 ka. The age of the Mohos eruption is not constrained, but we suggest that it is closely related to the Sf. Ana eruption. The whole volcanic history of Ciomadul spans over ca. 1 Myr, starting with the building up of peripheral domes and then concentrating in its central part. Ciomadul appears as a small-volume (ca. 8.74 km3) and very low-frequency and low-output rate volcano (ca. 9 km3/Myr) at the terminus of a gradually diminishing and extinguishing volcanic range. A number of geodynamically active features strongly suggest that the magma plumbing system beneath Ciomadul is not completely frozen, so future activity cannot be ruled out.

Tectonophysical and palinspatic sections of the Ukrainian Carpathians along the geo-traverse DOBRE-3 (PANCAKE)

Results of tectonophysical studies and palinspatic reconstruction of the Alpine orogene of the Ukrainian part of the East Carpathians carried out along the international profile DSS PANCAKE which intersects southwestern part of East European craton, East Carpathians and the Pannonian basin are under consideration. It has been shown that compression forces of southwest and northwest direction which brought to formation of the Ukrainian Carpathians and detected by corresponding regional paleo-tensions began their activity not later than in late Cretaceous. They were accompanied by right and left shifts of the same direction produced by different velocities of northeastward movement of covers parts and skibs. Reconstruction of balanced section of the Ukrainian Carpathians revealed that the primary width of sediments accumulation basin was not less than 460 km i. e. shortening was 340 km, the volume of orogen denudation was 48,1 %. The Pennine clippe belt belongs to the Pennine cover produced from the sediments of the single Pennine-Marmarosh basin as a part of the Carpathian basin of sediments accumulation.

A high-resolution Early Holocene-late MIS 3 environmental rock- and palaeomagnetic record from Lake Sf. Ana, Carpathian Mts, Romania

Lacustrine sediments are excellent sources of palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimatic information because they usually provide continuous and high-resolution records. In centraleastern Europe however lacustrine records that extend beyond the Holocene are rather sparse. Palaeomagnetic records from this region are also insufficiently explored, and usually associated with terrestrial deposits such as loess. In this context, the lacustrine record of Lake Sf. Ana, a volcanic crater lake in the East Carpathians, Romania, provides an important archive for reconstructing past paleomagnetic secular variation in the region from early Holocene to late Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 3.

Assessing the suitability of Scarisoara cave ice for glaciochemical research: a coupled chemical and water isotopic approach

Lacustrine sediments are excellent sources of palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimatic information because they usually provide continuous and high-resolution records. In centraleastern Europe however lacustrine records that extend beyond the Holocene are rather sparse. Palaeomagnetic records from this region are also insufficiently explored, and usually associated with terrestrial deposits such as loess. In this context, the lacustrine record of Lake Sf. Ana, a volcanic crater lake in the East Carpathians, Romania, provides an important archive for reconstructing past paleomagnetic secular variation in the region from early Holocene to late Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 3.

Vegetation response to climate forcing during the last glacial maximum and deglaciation in the East Carpathians: attenuated response to maximum cooling and increased biomass burning

The Carpathian Mountains were one of the main mountain reserves of the boreal and cool temperate flora during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) in East-Central Europe. Previous studies demonstrated late glacial vegetation dynamics in this area; however, our knowledge on the LGM vegetation composition is limited due to the scarcity of suitable sedimentary archives. Here we present a new record of vegetation, fire and lacustrine sedimentation from the youngest volcanic crater of the Carpathians (Lake St Anne, Lacul Sfânta Ana, Szent-Anna-to) to examine environmental change in this region during the LGM and the subsequent deglaciation. Our record indicates the persistence of boreal forest steppe vegetation ( Pinus sylvestris , Pinus mugo , Pinus cembra , Betula , Salix , Populus , Picea abies ) in the foreland and low mountain zone of the East Carpathians and Juniperus shrubland at higher elevation. We demonstrate attenuated response of the regional vegetation to maximum global cooling. Between ~22,870 and 19,150 cal yr BP we find increased regional biomass burning that is antagonistic with the global trend. Increased regional fire activity suggests extreme continentality likely with relatively warm and dry summers. We also demonstrate xerophytic steppe expansion directly after the LGM, from ~19,150 cal yr BP, and regional increase in boreal woodland cover with Pinus and Betula from 16,300 cal yr BP. Plant macrofossils indicate local (950 m a.s.l.) establishment of Betula nana and B . pubescens at 15,150 cal yr BP, Pinus sylvestris at 14,700 cal yr BP and Larix decidua at 12,870 cal yr BP. Pollen data furthermore hints at the regional presence of some temperate deciduous trees during the LGM ( Fagus sylvatica , Carpinus betulus , Corylus avellana , Fraxinus excelsior , Ulmus ). We also present pollen based quantitative climate reconstruction from this site and discuss its connection with other climate reconstructions and climate modeling results.

Subfossil oaks from alluvial deposits and their role in past fluvial activities analysis: case study East Carpathian rivers, Romania

Dendrochronological research was conducted in Europe in several centers whereby oak trees, regardless of species, originating from various archaeological sites were studied. Thereby, several shronologies were assembled in Ireland, Germany and the UK, covering the past 7000 to 8000 years. The environment impacts on tree growth by generating higher / lower growth rates compared to the multinannual average, thus indicating extreme years. The patterns of extreme years pertaining to individual sequences are subsequently synchronized by cross-dating. The study area consists of two rivers with different typologies but comparable in terms of size: river Moldova (braided to wandering channel in the lower reach) and river Siret (sinuosmeandering channel). Along the 100 km-long floodplain of the former and the 144 km-long floodplain of the latter we found and sampled 77 subfossil trunks from which 26 were subjected to 14C dating

Vegetation and environmental responses to climate forcing during the Last Glacial Maximum and deglaciation in the East Carpathians: attenuated response to maximum cooling and increased biomass burning

The Carpathian Mountains were one of the main mountain reserves of the boreal and cool temperate flora during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) in East-Central Europe. Previous studies demonstrated Lateglacial vegetation dynamics in this area; however, our knowledge on the LGM vegetation composition is very limited due to the scarcity of suitable sedimentary archives. Here we present a new record of vegetation, fire and lacustrine sedimentation from the youngest volcanic crater of the Carpathians (Lake St Anne, Lacul Sfânta Ana, Szent-Anna-tó) to examine environmental change in this region during the LGM and the subsequent deglaciation. Our record indicates the persistence of boreal forest steppe vegetation (with Pinus, Betula, Salix, Populus and Picea) in the foreland and low mountain zone of the East Carpathians and Juniperus shrubland at higher elevation. We demonstrate attenuated response of the regional vegetation to maximum global cooling. Between ∼22,870 and 19,150 cal yr BP we find increased regional biomass burning that is antagonistic with the global trend. Increased regional fire activity suggests extreme continentality likely with relatively warm and dry summers. We also demonstrate xerophytic steppe expansion directly after the LGM, from ∼19,150 cal yr BP, and regional increase in boreal woodland cover with Pinus and Betula from 16,300 cal yr BP. Plant macrofossils indicate local (950 m a.s.l.) establishment of Betula nana and Betula pubescens at 15,150 cal yr BP, Pinus sylvestris at 14,700 cal yr BP and Larix decidua at 12,870 cal yr BP. Pollen data furthermore support population genetic inferences regarding the regional presence of some temperate deciduous trees during the LGM (Fagus sylvatica, Corylus avellana, Fraxinus excelsior). Our sedimentological data also demonstrate intensified aeolian dust accumulation between 26,000 and 20,000 cal yr BP.

Thermal flow and geothermic models of the earth’s crust of the Ukrainian Carpathians

Within the limits of the Ukrainian sector of the East Carpathians and adjacent edge of the East European platform thermal flows vary from 35 to 130 mVt/m 2 . It has been shown on the base of geological-geophysical analysis and mathematical modeling of the heat flow that the principal regularities in distribution of thermal flow are controlled by regional tectonic zoning, which was formed by the process of geological development of the region. Low values of heat flow correspond to the structures with earth’s crust produced in Precambrian and Early Paleozoic (the slope of Precambrian platform and considerable parts of Pre-Carpathian flexure and external flysh Carpathians). Variations of thermal flow within the Folded Carpathians are possibly stipulated by lateral changes of heat generation or heat conductivity within sedimentary layer. High thermal flows in the Pannonian basin are associated with special features of tectonic evolution of lithosphere and earth’s crust during the Alpine stage and with magmatic activity. The increase of thermal flow is conditioned by stretching of the earth’s crust and lifting of asthenosphere.

Song Repertoire and Comparative Analysis of Song Structure of Chaffinch, Fringilla Coelebs (Fringillidae), from the Northeast of Balkan Region

Abstract The repertoire of chaffinches from the northeast of Balkan region consists of 39 song types, 9 of them are most widespread. Comparative analysis of the chaffinch song types from the Balkans and from Caucasus, East Carpathians, Crimean Mountains, plain regions of Ukraine was done. It revealed no Balkan song types in other regions. Chaffinch songs from Balkan are similar by structure to songs from the Caucasus and East Carpathians and quite different from songs from the Crimea and Ukrainian plains. In songs of Balkan chaffinches we discovered 106 elements. Five of them are specific for local birds, 101 were found in birds from other populations. However, 37 elements are common with ones in East Carpathian populations but they were absent in chaffinch songs recorded in the Crimea and plain regions of Ukraine. Common elements in bird songs from the East Carpathians and the Balkans may be an evidence of distant relations between these territorial song complexes and/or presence of relic elements in south mountain complexes. Th e rain-calls of Balkan chaffinches radically diff er from those of birds of Crimea, plain regions of Ukraine and East Carpathians and quite identical to calls of the Caucasus birds

Charcoal in alluvium of mountain streams in the Bieszczady Mountains (Polish Carpathians) as a carrier of information on the local palaeoenvironment

Abstract Fragments of charcoal are present in floodplain alluvium of the San and Strwiąż rivers in the Polish part of the Bieszczady Mountains, Polish East Carpathians. They occur as single clasts or in lenses in the basal part of fine-grained alluvium, together with unburnt wood debris, or in the middle part of the vertical sequence of the floodplain alluvium. 14 samples of charcoal from the upper courses of the San (ca. 50 km) and the Strwiąż (ca. 10 km) were dated with radiocarbon. The obtained dates fall mainly in the 15th through 19th century interval; only one sample is markedly older (9th–10th century). Taxonomic composition of the charcoal source wood was also studied and compared with that of coeval forests. Correlation of the charcoal age with the history of economic development of the studied region indicates that charcoal is of anthropogenic origin: older charcoal from intense slash-and-burn deforestation, while younger charcoal was produced by local industries.

Temperate mountain grasslands: a climate-herbivore hypothesis for origins and persistence.

Temperate montane grasslands and their unique biotas are declining worldwide as they are increasingly being invaded by forests. The origin and persistence of these landscapes have been the focus of such controversy that in many areas their conservation is in doubt. In the USA some biologists have largely dismissed the grass balds of the Southern Appalachians as human artifacts or anomalous and transitory elements of regional geography, worthy of only limited preservation efforts. On the basis of information from biogeography, community ecology, regional history and palaeontology and from consideration of two other montane grassland ecosystems—East Carpathian poloninas and Oregon Coast Range grass balds—we hypothesize that these landscapes are more widespread than was formerly recognized; they are, in many cases, natural and ancient and largely owe their origin and persistence to past climatic extremes and the activities of large mammalian herbivores.

European geography of Alnus incana leaf variation

The intra- and inter-population and geographic differentiation of Alnus incana were examined biometrically on the basis of morphological character of the leaves. The study results only partly confirmed the assumption that Carpathian and Alpine populations of the species differ significantly. This may indicate that gene exchange continued during glacial periods as these regions were not sufficiently isolated from each other. The geographic variation of grey alder along the Balkans–Scandinavia axis is more eminent. It is debatable whether A. incana has migrated northwards from montane refugia, along Central European rivers, mostly the Vistula and Oder. It can be, however, noted that the Masurian, Sudetan and East Carpathian populations are similar to one another.

40Ar/39Ar chronology and paleomagnetism of Quaternary basaltic lavas from the Perşani Mountains (East Carpathians)

Quaternary volcanism in the Perşani Mountains forms an Na-alkali basaltic province inside the bend area of the Carpathians in the southeastern part of Europe. Previous K–Ar ages and paleomagnetic data reveal several transitional virtual geomagnetic poles, which were tentatively associated with the Cobb Mountain subchron and a Brunhes chron excursion. We report a new paleomagnetic and rock-magnetic study coupled with 40Ar/39Ar geochronology to better constrain the age of geomagnetic reversals or excursions that might be recorded and the timing of volcanism. Of the paleomagnetic directions obtained from sampled lava flows 4 are reversed polarity, 19 are normal polarity and 16 have transitional polarity. 40Ar/39Ar plateau ages determined from incremental heating experiments on groundmass indicate that two of the reversely magnetized lavas erupted at 1142±41 and 800±25ka, four of the normally magnetized lavas erupted at 1060±10, 1062±24, 684±21, and 683±28ka, and two transitionally magnetized lavas formed at 1221±11 and 799±21ka. Both the new 40Ar/39Ar ages and the paleomagnetic data suggest at least five episodes of volcanic activity with the most active periods during the Jaramillo and Brunhes chrons. This results shows that the last phases of alkalic and calc-alkaline magmatism in the South-East Carpathians were contemporaneous. The age of the older transitionally magnetized lava flow is within error of recent unspiked K–Ar and astrochronologic ages for the reversal that defines the onset of the Cobb Mountain normal polarity subchron. The age of the younger transitional lava is similar to that of an excursion that preceded the Matuyama–Brunhes polarity reversal and which has come to be known as the Matuyama–Brunhes precursor. Omitting the excursion data, the dispersion of the virtual geomagnetic poles (around 19°) is larger than the expected value around 45°N from the global compilation, but closer to the value obtained only from the Time Averaged geomagnetic Field Initiative studies.

G. Groppelli and L. Viereck-Goette (eds.): Stratigraphy and geology of volcanic areas. The Geological Society of America Special Paper, 2010, 464 pages, ISBN 978-0-8137-2464-5 (pbk)

This 291-page long volume consists of a collection of 14 articles that are an outcome of a scientific session “devoted to the methodology in field mapping of volcanic areas” held at the 32nd International Geological Congress (IGC Florence, 2004). It also includes an accompanying CD-ROM not available to the reviewer. Field-work based “hard-rock geologists” mapping in volcanic areas are invariably faced with the problem of choosing how to establish map units and their contacts and then display them. In the early 1970s of the last century, when I was a young geologist myself, enrolled in mineral exploration and geological mapping in the Neogene volcanic areas in the East Carpathians (Romania), the major issue was to establish effective rock map divisions in a petrographically quite monotonous volcanic field, so that amphibole–pyroxene andesites were distinguished from pyroxene–amphibole andesites, and hypersthene-dominant andesites from augitedominant ones within the larger class of pyroxene andesites. Moreover, rocks containing opacitized and/or resorbed amphiboles were further distinguished, and the presence of accessory quartz crystals was a sufficient feature to map “quartz andesites”, even though the quartz was xenocrystic in origin. Textural criteria (e.g., separating “aphanitic” rocks from the “normal” porphyritic ones) completed the scheme. As whole-rock chemical analyses became accessible, petrochemical criteria were introduced to supplement the petrographical ones. The resulting maps, looking like mosaics of variously colored patches representing “petrotypes” of volcanic rocks, were frustratingly irrelevant from a volcanological point of view; volcanic structures and edifices were hardly seen in such maps. Later, in the 1980s, we introduced genetic criteria among the mapping tools, so that belonging to a certain volcanic structure and the genetic type of the volcanic products were both considered higher-order map entities than those based on precise petrographic features of the mappable rock units. The maps became more volcanologically relevant. Interestingly, the possible Cover used with permission; © 2010 Geological Society of America.

Morphometrical and geochronological constraints on the youngest eruptive activity in East-Central Europe at the Ciomadul (Csomád) lava dome complex, East Carpathians

The timing of Late Pleistocene volcanic activity of the Ciomadul (Csomád) dacitic lava dome complex, site of the youngest eruptions in the Carpathians, has been constrained by morphometric analysis and radiometric chronology. Peléan domes and asymmetric domes/coulées built up the volcano, including the central edifice that hosts the youngest twin craters of Mohoş (Mohos) peat bog and lake St. Ana (Szent Anna). A comparative digital elevation model (DEM)-based morphometric analysis of lava domes (29 worldwide examples including 5 domes from Ciomadul) shows that it is the mean slope of the upper dome flank that correlates best with age. Although the logarithmic relationship is only moderately strong (R=0.80), slope characteristics of the Ciomadul domes fit to those of 10–100ka old domes. These young ages contradict the previous K/Ar dates giving as old as 1Ma ages on a number of domes, but are supported by ongoing U–Pb and (U–Th)/He zircon dating. The latter methods constrain the whole volcanic activity to the past 250ka and the emplacement of most lava domes within the period of 150–100ka.The volcanism at Ciomadul produced alternating effusive and explosive eruptions including lava dome collapses and successive crater formations. The latest, possibly subplinian explosive event formed the well-preserved St. Ana crater. Radiocarbon dating of organic remains from a sediment core that reached 11m into the lacustrine infill of St. Ana suggests that the crater was formed prior to 26,000years BP.

The Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary in the East Carpathians, Romania: evidence from geochemistry, mineralogy and calcareous nannofossils

Abstract We performed detailed geochemical, mineralogical and calcareous nannofossils investigations on two Maastrichtian–Paleocene sections situated in the Eastern Carpathians, Romania. One of the sections is situated in the Carpathian bend area, in the Ialomiţa Valley and is composed of red marine hemipelagic sediments. The other section is located in the northern region of the Eastern Carpathians, along Varniţa Brook and consists mainly of turbidites. In both sections, the Cretaceous–Paleogene (K–Pg) boundary is characterized by nannoplankton mass extinction (over 90%) of the Cretaceous nannofloras, followed by blooms of survivor taxa, such as the calcareous dinoflagellate genus Thoracosphaera and the nannofloral species Braarudosphaera bigelowii . In the Ialomiţa section, the K–Pg boundary is marked by a drop in calcite and TOC content, as well as a negative excursion in the δ 13 C values of organic material. These trends are only partly present in the Varniţa Brook section, where both calcite and TOC content show a decrease, but no negative excursion is seen in the δ 13 C values of organic material.

Strain partitioning at orogenic contacts during rotation, strike–slip and oblique convergence: Paleogene–Early Miocene evolution of the contact between the South Carpathians and Moesia

Oblique convergence accompanied by large-scale strike–slip deformation taking place between orogenic units is an inherent feature of highly bended mountain chains. Strain partitioning during subduction and collision takes place between differently oriented orogenic segments and creates contrasting styles of deformation that may include coeval extension, strike–slip and shortening, in particular when large amounts of rotations are recorded. A typical area is the one connecting the Balkans with East Carpathians along the highly bended South Carpathians Mountains that were affected by large scale Paleogene–Miocene strain partitioning at the contact with their lower Moesia unit in what is commonly known as the Getic Depression. We analyse this contact by the means of a number of seismic transects calibrated by exploration wells. The kinematic restoration of these transects is correlated with connecting depth information and with previously published studies. This has allowed the definition of a novel kinematic evolution of the deformation observed in the Getic Depression. This evolution is compatible with the definition of a Paleogene–Early Miocene period of transtensional opening by using strike–slip faults that terminate along horsetail geometries. This transtensional deformation migrates in space and time across the basin and is kinematically connected with the oblique shortening taking place in the eastern part of the Getic Depression and SE/East Carpathians. In particular interesting is the mechanism of transtensional migration E-wards and contractional migration W-wards that took place coevally during the rotation and E-ward translation of the upper Carpathians units along the strike of the Getic Depression. This has been subsequently followed by shortening and transpression during Middle Miocene–Quaternary times that was recorded at the scale of the entire studied area.

Deep-marine channel deposits of Cotumba-Sita-Tǎtaru Sandstones, Teleajen Valley, Romania (East Carpathian Flysch Zone)

The Cotumba-Sita-Tǎtaru Sandstones of Teleajen Unit (Upper Aptian – Albian) are relatively well exposed in the Teleajen Valley (Prahova County, Romania), as predominantly thick and massive sandstone beds. Other facies occurring in the study area include sandstones with several sedimentary structures (e.g., parallel lami- nation, ripples, convolution), siltstones and mudstones. Almost 200 m long outcrop gives great opportunity for sedimentological study focusing on deep-marine facies and interpretation of exposed deposits. A sedimentological study of the facies and stacking patters suggest that these rocks were deposited in relatively shallow depositional channels with levees and interchannel areas.

Risk and geodynamically active areas of the carpathian lithosphere on the base of geodetical and geophysical data

This paper illustrates the application of multidisciplinary data analysis to the Carpathian-Pannonian Region and on the basis of geodetical data presents verification of a tectonic model of the Carpathian-Pannonian lithosphere with impact on the possible risk and activity of the geodynamic and kinematical zones in consequence of the post-subduction processes. This approach and analyses can be used for the analyses any Carpathian area from the point of view of the recent movements tendencies.All available mentioned geodata were verified and unified on the basis of the same scale and in the Western Carpathians on the remote sensing data, too.Independent GPS epoch-wise observing campaigns took place in several regions and the whole territory is now covered by tens of permanent stations. The long-term observational series from permanent stations generally yield reliable site velocities, however, distribution of such stations is not dense enough to provide velocity field with sufficient resolution all over the monitored region.In the paper we also shortly describe velocity fields available from various national and regional GPS geo-kinematics projects. The heterogeneous velocity fields have been homogenized and used for construction of the intraplate GPS velocities in Central and South-East Europe and their interpretation, focusing on the chosen active zone. As one of most important we consider — so called — “rebounding area” in East Carpathians. The proposed interpretation and solution enable to consider new view on the Pliocene to recent period.