Geodynamic evolution of the Tatra Mts. and the.pdf

Acta Geologica Polonica, Vol. 55 (2005), No. 3, pp. 295-338

Geodynamic evolution of the Tatra Mts. and the

Pieniny Klippen Belt (Western Carpathians):

problems and comments

EDYTA JUREWICZ

Faculty of Geology, University of Warsaw, Al. ˚wirki i Wigury 93, PL-02-089 Warsaw, Poland.

E-mail: edyta.jurewicz@uw.edu.pl

ABSTRACT:

J UREWICZ , E. 2005. Geodynamic evolution of the Tatra Mts. and the Pieniny Klippen Belt (Western Carpathians):

problems and comments. Acta Geologica Polonica , 55 (3), 295-338. Warszawa.

The geodynamic evolution of the Pieniny Klippen Belt (PKB) and the Tatra Mts. assumes that: The Oravic-Vahic Basin

developed due to Jurassic rifting processes with thinned continental crust. The oblique rift without rift-related volcanism

had probably a WSW-ENE course. Late Cretaceous thrust-folding of the Choˇ, Kríˇna and High-Tatric nappes took

place underwater and at considerable overburden pressure (~6-7 km). The geometry of the structures was strongly dis-

turbed by pressure solution processes leading to considerable mass loss. Nappe-folding in the PKB was connected with

the slow and flat subduction of thinned continental crust of the Vahicum-Oravicum under the northern margin of the

Central Carpathians Block. In the terminal phase, the northernmost units of the PKB were transported through gravita-

tional sliding, forming numerous olistolites. In the Tatra Mts. and the PKB, the nappe thrust-folding was influenced by a

strike-slip shear zone between the edge of the Central Carpathians and the PKB and caused e.g. the counter-clockwise

rotation of the Tatra block and relative changing directions of thrusting. The consequence of Miocene oblique subduc-

tion and subsequent collision of the North-European continental crust with the Central Carpathian Block was the acti-

vation of NNW-SSE deep fault zones. With one of these – the Dunajec Fault – were connected en echelon shears trad-

ing on the andesite dykes swarm. Miocene collision caused the disintegration of the Central Carpathian Block into indi-

vidual massifs and their rotational uplift. The value of rotation around the horizontal axis for the Tatra Massif is estimated

at ~40 o .

Key words: Rifting, Subduction, Folding, Thrust, Nappe, Tatra Mts., Pieniny Klippen Belt

(PKB), Central Western Carpathians (CWC).

INTRODUCTION

the Pieniny Klippen Belt and separated from the

Veporicum to the south by the ˇ ertovica Line

(A NDRUSOV 1968; A NDRUSOV & al. 1973; K OZUR &

M OCK 1996).They are composed of a pre-Alpine crys-

talline basement and its sedimentary cover complexes.

The Pieniny Klippen Belt (PKB) represents a ca.

600-700 km long trace of a major suture located

between the Central (in the south) and Outer

Carpathians (in the north) (e.g. A NDRUSOV 1965;

The Tatra Mts. are the northernmost part of the

Central Western Carpathians (CWC) and belong to the

Alpine-Carpathian orogenic belt (Text-figs 1-3). They

are part of the Tatric-Fatric-Veporic nappe system

(A NDRUSOV 1968; M AHEL ’ 1986; P LA ˇ IENKA & al. 1997).

The Tatra Mts. belong to the so-called Tatricum, or

Tatric superunit (P LA ˇ IENKA 2003a), situated between

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EDYTA JUREWICZ

S CHEIBNER 1968; M AHEL ’ 1981; B IRKENMAJER 1976a,

1986; N EM ˇ OK & al. 1998). The PKB (Text-figs 1-3) has

a transitional position with respect to the Outer and

Central Carpathians and forms a narrow zone with an

intricate structure (P LA ˇ IENKA & al. 1997). In Poland,

the PKB and the Tatra Mts. are separated by the

Podhale Trough which belongs to a much larger struc-

ture called the Central Carpathian Palaeogene Basin –

CCPB (M ARSCHALKO 1968).

The Tatra Mts., as well as the PKB and the Outer

Carpathians, were formed due to Cretaceous –

Palaeogene orogenic processes, migrating from south

to north. The main aim of this paper is the reconstruc-

tion of the geodynamic evolution of this area, not only

from the point of view of plate tectonics theory, but

additionally taking into account the most recent field-

work, undertaken by me and many other workers. The

second aim is the presentation of many important

issues that are still controversial, and in need of revi-

sion.

GEOLOGICAL SETTING

After P LA ˇ IENKA (2003a), the so-called Tatric super-

unit is the lowermost basement/cover sheet of a tabular

crustal scale body that probably overrides the South

Penninic oceanic suture (T OMEK 1993), designated as

the Vahic superunit (P LA ˇ IENKA 1995a,b, 2003a).

Belonging to the Tatra Mts. a crystalline core is com-

posed of two older structural elements forming its

Variscan basement: 1) the metamorphic sequences of

the Western Tatra Mts., and 2) the granitoid rocks of the

High-Tatra Mts. (e.g. P UTI ˇ 1992, J ANÁK 1994). The crys-

talline core of the Tatra Mts. is overlain by Meso- and

Cenozoic sedimentary rocks corresponding to the

Austroalpine sedimentary basin (H ÄUSLER & al. 1993;

P LA ˇ IENKA & al. 1997). The Mesozoic sedimentary stra-

ta are composed of three groups of structural elements

(K OTA¡SKI 1963a): 1) the High-Tatric autochthonous

sedimentary cover; 2) two High-Tatric nappes: the

Czerwone Wierchy Nappe (composed of two minor

Fig. 1. Main tectonic units of the Alpine-Carpathian-Pannonian orogenic belt; after E MBEY -I SZTIN & al. (1993) and K OVÁ ˇ & al. (1998), simplified

GEODYNAMIC EVOLUTION OF THE TATRA MTS. AND THE PIENINY KLIPPEN BELT

297

Fig. 2. Schematic geological map of the Tatra Mts. and PKB; compiled after F USÁN & al. (1967), B AC -M OSZASZWILI & al . (1979), B IRKENMAJER (1979) and

this study. Note that the northern boundary of the PKB is marked along the contact of the Klippen units and the Magura Nappe (Grajcarek Unit is not

distinguished); to the east of Szczawnica the large-sized olistolite (Homole-Bia∏a Woda block) is visible (see J UREWICZ 1997)

units: Zdziary and Organy) and the Giewont Nappe

(which also comprises crystalline rocks); 3) Sub-Tatric

nappes (Kríˇna and Choˇ). The Tatra Massif is over-

lapped by carbonate deposits of the so-called

Nummulitic Eocene and a post-orogenic Palaeogene

flysch sequence (i.e. B IEDA 1959, 1963). In morphology,

the Tatra Massif appeared after the Miocene uplift and

connected with it rotation around the W-E horizontal

axis (S OKO¸OWSKI 1959; P IOTROWSKI 1978; B AC -

M OSZASZWILI & al. 1984; J UREWICZ 2000a). The

youngest sediments in the area of the Tatra Mts. are

related to Pleistocene glaciations and Holocene ero-

sion-accumulation processes.

The PKB, structurally and genetically, is a particular

tectonotype linking two nappe-systems: the Palaeoalpine

Central Carpathians and the Neoalpine Flysch Belt

(M AHEL ’ 1989). Geometrically, the presumed basement

of the PKB corresponds to the Brian˜onnais domain

(T OMEK 1993; S TAMPFLI 1993), which separates the

northern and southern Penninic zones in the Western

Alps. The subdivision of the CWC into tectonic units,

their correlation and position has been changed several

times (cf. M AHEL ’ 1981; P LA ˇ IENKA & al. 1997;

P LA ˇ IENKA 1999; K OZUR & M OCK 1996). K OZUR &

M OCK (1996) considered the Pieniny Basin to be a north-

ern branch of the (southern) Penninic Ocean, opened

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EDYTA JUREWICZ

Fig. 3. Sedimentary zones at the boundary of the Central Carpathians, Pieniny Klippen Belt and Outer Carpathians during the Late Jurassic-Early

Cretaceous. Right insert – schematic cross-section through the stretching and thinning lithospheric crust (see Text-fig. 5A for details); not to scale

already in Early Triassic times. P LA ˇ IENKA (1999) divided

the Penninic basins into the Vahicum and Magura sub-

basins, separated by the Oravicum (Czorsztyn) Ridge.

B IRKENMAJER (1977, 1979, 1986) distinguished three

main sedimentary zones within the PKB, which was at

least 120-150 km wide: the northern (Czorsztyn) Ridge,

the central furrow and the southern (Exotic=Andrusov)

Ridge. According to the this author, the following struc-

tural units may be distinguished within the PKB: A) the

Klippen successions (in the investigated part of the PKB:

Czorsztyn, Czertezik, Niedzica, Branisko, Pieniny and

Haligovce), B) the Central Carpathian successions

(Manín and High-Tatric), C) the Myjava successions, D)

the Jarmuta cover, E) the Outer Carpathian succession

(Grajcarek Unit), and F) the Palaeogene cover.

B IRKENMAJER (1986) assumed that after the basin for-

mation stage connected with the defragmentation of the

Triassic carbonate platform and expansion related to

oceanic spreading in mid-Late Jurassic times (cf.

P LA ˇ IENKA 2003b; G OLONKA & K ROBICKI 2004), a pelag-

ic state lasted till the Barremian-Aptian. The beginning

of the compression stage was marked by the formation of

pre-orogenic flysch about the Aptian-Albian boundary.

During the late Sub-Hercynian stage, north-verging

nappe-thrusting took place. After the sedimentation of

Maastrichtian-Palaeocene molasse and flysch (Laramide

stage), the retro-arc thrusted Grajcarek Unit was formed

(B IRKENMAJER 1970, 1986). During the Palaeogene,

GEODYNAMIC EVOLUTION OF THE TATRA MTS. AND THE PIENINY KLIPPEN BELT

299

transgression took place in the PKB and flysch deposits

appeared. Later, the Saavian phase produced the horst

structure of the PKB, with deformations of fore-arc and

back-arc vergencies. As a result of the Styrian phase, a

transverse fault system had formed. Andesite intrusions

are linked with the Saavian and Styrian faults

(B IRKENMAJER & P ÉSCKAY 1999, 2000a). Appearing in

the western segment of the Polish part of the PKB, the

strongly folded marine Miocene deposits are connected

with the Orawa-Nowy Targ intra-mountain basin

(C IESZKOWSKI 1992).

The Palaeogene of the Podhale Trough, located

between the PKB and the Tatra Mts., belongs to the

Central Carpathian Palaeogene Basin which, after T ARI

& al. (1993) and K ÁZMÉR & al. (2003), is considered to

be a fore-arc basin associated with B-type subduction of

the European plate. The northern contact of the Podhale

Trough with the PKB is tectonic in character (Text-fig. 2),

although transgressive sediments of the Nummulitic

Eocene can be observed on the northern slopes of the

Tatra Mts. In the south, the Tatra Massif contacts the

Palaeogene flysch of the Liptov Trough along the so-

called “Sub-Tatra Fault”, a polygenetic and multiply acti-

vated tectonic fault system, consisting of several seg-

ments (U HLIG 1899; M AHEL ’ 1986; S PERNER 1996;

H RU ˇ ECKY ∂& al. 2002; S PERNER & al. 2002).

CRYSTALLINE CORE OF THE TATRA MTS.

The crystalline massif of the Western Tatra Mts. is

composed of metamorphic rocks, mainly metagneisses,

migmatites and mica-schists (metasedimentary rocks), as

well as orthoamphibolites and orthogneisses. Two tec-

tonic units can be distinguished within the crystalline

core (J ANÁK 1994; P OLLER & al. 2000). The lower unit,

composed of medium-grade metasedimentary rocks

(mica-schists), is exposed in the Western Tatra Mts. only

Fig. 4. Changes in the burial depth of the crystalline basement during the tectonic evolution of the Tatra Mts: 1 – age of intrusion and p-t condition: 310-290

Ma after Rb-Sr isochron data (B URCHART 1968); 330±3 Ma Ar/Ar dating in muscovite (M ALUSKI & al. 1993); 500 MPa, 600-630 o C after xenoliths in calc-

silicate metamorphic rocks of the High-Tatra (J ANÁK 1993); 341±5 Ma and 700-750 o C – High-Tatra diorites and 314±4 Ma – High-Tatra granites after sin-

gle zircon data (P OLLER & T ODT 2000). 2 – subaerial erosion. 3 , 4 , 5 – extension and normal faulting. 6 – Late Cretaceous thrusting and napping processes:

75±1 Ma – age related to the main period of shearing; 66.6±1.5 Ma – intense mylonitic events (M ALUSKI & al. 1993); p ~145-170 MPa, t ~212-254°C

(J UREWICZ & K OZ¸OWSKI 2003); 7-8 km burial depth during the Late Senonian (K OVÁ ˇ & al. 1994). 7 – plunging during the Palaeogene extension stage.

8 – rotational uplifting (in total ~40 o northwards – J UREWICZ 2000a), exhumation and erosion; start of uplift: 36-10 Ma after fission track ages (B URCHART

1972); 70-50 Ma from the depths of 10-11 km (225 o C) and 30-15 Ma from depths of 5 km (100 o ) (K OVÁ ˇ & al . 1994); 11 Ma for the granitoids of the High-

Tatra Mts. and 20-12 Ma for the crystalline core of the Western Tatra Mts. after apatite fission-track analysis (S TRUZIK & al . 2003); a) granitoids, b) meta-

morphic rocks, c) Carboniferous (?), d) Triassic sandstone, shale and carbonate, e) Jurassic carbonate and radiolarite, f) Cretaceous reef limestone and

flysch, g) High-Tatric autochthonous cover, h) High-Tatric nappe, i) Kríˇna nappe, k) Cho ˇ nappe, l) Central Carpathian Palaeogene

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