Original paper
Sedimentary history of two Zechstein Limestone carbonate buildups (Elżbieciny and Racot) in western Poland: the reefs that were
Raczyński, Paweł; Marek Peryt, Tadeusz; Peryt, Danuta
Zeitschrift der Deutschen Gesellschaft für Geowissenschaften Band 167 Heft 2-3 (2016), p. 191 - 210
published: Sep 1, 2016
ArtNo. ESP171016702016, Price: 29.00 €
Abstract
Two small buildups: Elżbieciny (0.7 km2, 11.9 m thick) and Racot (0.5 km2, 21.6 m thick) are located on blocks belonging to the Wolsztyn Palaeo-High in western Poland that otherwise favoured the formation of the Zechstein Limestone reefs. The buildups are composed mostly of bioclastic packstones/grainstones with a few dominant skeletal grains (branched bryozoans and strophomenid brachiopods). Six biofacies are distinguished in the sections studied: these are Dyscritella, Horridonia, Acanthocladia, crinoid/mollusc, mollusc (bivalve) and mollusc. The biofacies are similar to the biofacies recognised in other reefs of the Wolsztyn Palaeo-High. The deposits of both buildups originated through the destruction of bryozoan boundstones, which have not been encountered, possibly due to small reef sizes, or because the reefs have disappeared and their former presence can be assumed indirectly, based on interpretation of lithofacies and biofacies. Both the Elżbieciny and Racot buildups show no major variability of environmental conditions during the Zechstein Limestone deposition. The deeper initial location of the Elżbieciny and Racot buildups was the reason why even slight lowering of the tectonic blocks, on which the buildups are located, could have resulted in that the intensive carbonate deposition characteristic of reefs ceased and instead deposits, typical for adjacent areas where condensed sequences of the Zechstein Limestone occur, started to form.
Keywords
biofacies • bryozoans • foraminifera • carbon and oxygen isotopes • zechstein limestone • reefs