Eastern Slovenia Research Articles

Stratigraphic structure of the B1 Tertiary tectonostratigraphic unit in eastern Slovenia

High inconsistency and incoherence in the stratigraphy of the Slovenian upper Paleogene and lower Miocene have remained unsolved in the past 150 years. To solve the problem, we tried to rigorously conduct the authentic Galilei’s scientific method. Steps of logical and empirical verification confirmed the existence of the posited B1 Tertiary tectonostratigraphic unit, and a general chronostratigraphic model of new positional relationships of lithologic units resulted from rather good biochronostratigraphic resolution achieved by nannoplankton and planktonic foraminifera biostratigraphy. The application of principles of newly developed fields in Science helped us to avoid errors in transmission of messages (to reduce noise) from the source (rock) to the concept formation, which had been done previously. This in tum has strongly reduced inconsistency and incoherence (high information entropy = uncertainty). The released amount of information enabled us to answer also questions that reached beyond the original difficulty, e.g.: is the tectonostratigraphic structure of eastern Slovenia a manifestation of plate tectonics processes, and of which ones, are theories of Continental escape in the Alps and associated dissection and offset of the formerly uniform Slovenian-Hungarian Paleogene basin tenable or not, are then there in the BI stratigraphic equivalents of the Hungarian Paleogene basin formations, where are the important Eocene / Oligocene, Paleogene / Neogene, Rupelian / Chattian and Kiscellian / Egerian boundaries in Slovenia, and is there a continuation of the BI in Croatia and in the Mid-Hungarian tectonic zone?

Lithology of Tertiary beds in Kozjansko, Eastern Slovenia

Lithology of Tertiary beds in Kozjansko, Eastern Slovenia

Upper Crustal Velocity Structure in Slovenia from Rayleigh Wave Dispersion

The inversion of surface-wave dispersion curves can provide information on the average elastic properties of the upper crustal layers that are usually poorly sampled by body waves. The broad band digital records of earthquakes which recently occurred in Slovenia and neighbouring regions are used to extract the group velocity of the fundamental mode of Rayleigh waves, using frequency-time analysis (FTAN). The obtained dispersion curves permit a good resolution for the velocity and the thickness of the upper crust. The thickness of the uppermost sedimentary layer varies between 4 and 6 km and its shear-wave velocity is less than 3 km/s. The lower sedimentary layer is 7 to 9 km thick and its shear-wave velocity ranges from about 3.05 km/s in eastern Slovenia, to about 3.25 km/s in western Slovenia. The shear-wave velocity in the crystalline layer is around 3.5–3.7 km/s in the eastern part, while in the western part it reaches a rather high value of about 3.85 km/s.

Clypeaster scillae Desmoulins, 1837 from Miocene beds near Podgračeno, Eastern Slovenia

In the paper, an irregular sea urchin from Podgračeno is considered. The locality-occurs in Badenian beds that consist of lumachelles of large ostreas, lithothamnian limestone and biocalcarenite. Next to ostreas appear also other bivalve species, gastropods, barnacles and sea urchins. The fossil belongs to species Clypeaster scillae Desmoulins, 1837, that is relatively rare in Slovenia, found only in a few localities. According to literature, the species is frequent in Lower and Middle Miocene beds of Tethys, and in Badenian beds of Paratethys.

Recharge and Retention Time Study of a Partly Karstified Area of Boč (Eastern Slovenia) Using Hydrogen, Oxygen and Carbon Isotope Composition as Natural Tracers

The study is focused on the dolomite-limestone drinking water aquifers in the Boč massif, as well as on the andesite-aquifer containing mineral water in the vicinity of Rogaška Slatina. The catchment area is limited and both drinking and mineral waters are discharged from the same source. The increasing use of deeper aquifers means that natural springs and shallow wells have become sporadic. Consequently new techniques of investigating recharge and aquifer capacity are required which can augment classical hydrogeological methods. Current research into the mineral and drinking water aquifers in the area of Rogaška Slatina is based on measuring the isotopic composition of light elements, (H, C and O) as natural tracers. It can be concluded that all the groundwaters investigated are typically infiltrated meteoric water. The drinking waters are generally young and were infiltrated up to about ten years ago. The isotopic composition of oxygen is similar to recent precipitation (δ18O = -9.3 ± 1‰) and the drinking waters contain tritium. It was found that exploited mineral waters recharged aquifers during colder periods; they are only partly mixed with younger water as can be seen from the isotopic composition of oxygen and corrected 14C dating, which puts the mean ages at between around 100 and 8,000 years. With regard to the “nuclear period” (1960-64) with abnormally high tritium activities of precipitation, all the waters examined can be divided into at least three main infiltration groups depending on their measured tritium content: around 35 years old (> 80 T.U.), older (> 10 T.U.) and younger (10 to 60 T.U.). Detailed dating is possible following the above classification. Isotope exchange between rocks and water is negligible and therefore very deep circulation at the temperature conditions above 80°C does not occur. Dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) in the drinking waters is the result of equilibrium reactions between carbonates and organically produced CO2 (δ13C = - 14.5 ± ‰), while the high concentrations of DIC (δ13C = + 3 ±‰) and CO2 observed in the mineral waters are generated by low-temperature decarbonatization processes and indicate the deep origin of CO2, from where gas migrates into mineral water aquifers. Correlation analyses between the parameters studied are performed. Useful conclusions concerning water circulation and the capacities of aquifer reservoirs are described which support the future optimal pumping of mineral and drinking water at the limited catchment area of Rogaška Slatina and Boč.

Soils as a basis of farming in Slovenia

The great variety of natural factors of landforms, lithology, climate, water, and vegetation in Slovenia has also resulted in great variety of its pedosphere. During the pedogenetic process, 19 groups of soils have developed which in connection with other natural and social factors, influence the use of land for farming in Slovenia. The most significant for the agrarian activity are eutric and dystric cambisols on fluvial sediments on the bottoms of the basins and lowlands in central and eastern Slovenia. Meadows and pastures were arranged on rendzinas on calcocambisols in central and SW Slovenia. Orchards and vineyards are located on eutric cambisol on marl and flysch on the hills of NE and SW Slovenia. Meanwhile the distribution of forests which grow on rendzinas, calcocambisols, and dystric cambisols is influenced more by the landforms and higher altitudes, the inclination of slopes, and lithologic composition than by the soil.