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Based on the analysis of the geological context and palynological studies performed on lake and bog sediments in the Southern Podlasie Lowland, a new concept of the maximum extent of the Odranian Glaciation (Saalian, MIS 6) is presented for the study area. It is depicted by the Siedlce-Łosice-Kornica zone of end moraines, which so far was considered as stadial-rank or as the Wartanian ice sheet limit. To the south of this zone, near Biała Podlaska and in the Łuków Plain, there occur numerous sites with fossil deposits of the Mazovian Interglacial (MIS 11c). Sites with new documentation, i.e., Wólka Domaszewska, Kolonia Bystrzycka, Przytulin, Hermanów, and Skrzynka are located about 30 km to the south and 60 km to the west of the Biała Podlaska area. Palynological analysis unequivocally indicates the presence of a vegetation succession characteristic of the Mazovian Interglacial. In all sites, deposits of the Mazovian Interglacial are covered by lacustrine sediments of the Liviecian Glaciation (Fuhne, MIS 11b-MIS 10) or mineral sediments of the Vistulian Glaciation (Weichselian, MIS 2) and the Holocene. The sediments infill paleolakes carved in glacial tills of the Sanian 2 Glaciation (MIS 12). The lake sediments of the Mazovian Interglacial and the overlying biogenic and mineral deposits occur in the analysed sites directly below the surface. They are never covered by glacial deposits, which suggests that the Odranian ice sheet did not cover the study area. The location of the lake and bog sites with their geological analysis allow for the precise depiction of the eastern limit of the Odranian ice sheet lobe, which in the study area correlates with the limit suggested in the late 19th century. The Odranian ice sheet did not cover Southern Podlasie. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The newly discovered mid-Campanian Szozdy Delta System (Roztocze Hills, SE Poland) located in the southern part of the Polish Cretaceous Basin, at the northern edge of the Łysogóry-Dobrogea Land, has revealed interesting features concerning the relationship between the abundance of rutile and tourmaline. A distinct inverse relationship between rutile and tourmaline can be readily recognised in the succeeding units of the tripartite cyclothems (calcareous mudstone, calcareous sandstone, and calcareous gaize) representing the submarine part of the Szozdy Delta System. In the Szozdy section, both minerals are of similar shape (highly rounded), durability, and size; they are, however, characterised by markedly different densities. Therefore, it might be expected that these two mineral phases will be strongly dependent, both vertically and spatially, on the local energy of the sedimentary environment hydrodynamic power that existed during the deposition of the succeeding units of the cyclothems. The lighter tourmaline was likely transported further to the more quiescent prodelta environment, rendering the prodelta facies overrepresented in this mineral, whereas the heavier rutile was deposited closer to the river discharge. Such relative change in the abundance of these two mineral phases, emphasised by a standardised Z-score statistics, is referred here to as rutile to tourmaline index (RuTidx). Accordingly, as the RuTidx increases, the hydrodynamic power in the sedimentary environment increases as well. Since these two mineral phases are comparatively immune to alteration during the sedimentary cycle, the RuTidx is considered here to be an independent tool in recognising the hydrodynamics of the depositional environments of any age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Suborder Clupeoidei Bleeker, 1859 comprises mostly marine fishes, which form large schools feeding on plankton. The fossil record of the suborder in the Late Paleogene reveals that clupeoids were abundant in the Western, Central, as well as Eastern Paratethys. Clupeoid descriptions from the Polish Outer Carpathians (SE Poland, Central Paratethys) remain incomplete due to usage of 'collective species', taxonomical inaccuracies, and lack of clear links between extinct and extant representatives. In this paper we present a new clupeoid, †Beksinskiella gen. nov., from the Oligocene of the Outer Carpathians, Poland. The new genus encompasses the nominal species †Maicopiella longimana (Heckel, 1850). †Beksinskiella gen. nov. has a unique combination of characters (skull roof with frontoparietal striae; smooth opercle; 6-7 branchiostegal rays; 42-48 vertebrae; dorsal and anal fins with 21-23 rays; the last two rays of the anal fin being elongated, and the presence of a complete series of abdominal scutes with the postpelvic ones poorly developed), supporting recognition of a new genus of the Suborder Clupeoidei. Similarities and differences between fossil and extant genera of Cluepoidei are discussed to shed light on their relationship. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study focuses on the geochronology and correlation between loesses and glacial tills in the Vistula catchment in Poland, in an area covered by all Scandinavian ice-sheets and characterized by thick loess successions. The basis for this correlation was a litostratigraphic analysis of selected loess sites in the uplands, which are well-documented in the literature, and the occurrences of loess and loess-like deposits under the cover of glacial deposits in the lowland part of the Vistula catchment, characterized by a much sparser documentation. The nomenclature of loess horizons follows Maruszczak (2001) and Kukla (1987), but sometimes is significantly changed, according to modern Quaternary stratigraphical schemes. According to the analysis, accumulation of almost all loess horizons distinguished so far has been documented in the Pleistocene succession of the Vistula catchment: the oldest - lower (LNd), middle (LNs), and upper (LNg); older: lower (LSd), middle (LSs), and upper (LSg); and younger: lowest (LMn), lower (LMd), middle (LMs), and upper (LMg). In most cases loess accumulation took place in steppe-tundra conditions preceding the maximum ice-sheet development during the succeeding Scandinavian glaciations. For selected sites, the loess occurrence is presented in superposition to glacial tills and interglacial deposits. The distinguished loesses and glacial tills are tied to the stratigraphic schemes of the Pleistocene in Poland (Marks et al. 2016, 2019) and correlated with Ukrainian loess horizons (Łanczont et al. 2019). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the results of seismostratigraphic interpretation of the Upper Cretaceous sedimentary succession preserved within two synclines flanking the Szamotuły diapir in northwestern Poland. This succession is characterized by a complex Santonian--Campanian internal geometry characteristic of contourites -- that is, deposits formed by contour (bottom) currents. The aim of the present paper is to document these contourites using 2D seismic reflection profiles calibrated by the Obrzycko 1 well. The contourite drifts in the immediate vicinity of the Szamotuły structure exhibit elongated mounded shapes, with adjacent concave moats. At greater distances from the diapir, gradual aggradational patterns are observed. The formation of these Santonian--Campanian contourites was associated with growth of the Szamotuły diapir during regional compression and Polish Basin inversion. These contour currents and associated contourites formed an integral part of a regional axial depositional system developed within the flanks of the Mid-Polish Anticlinorium. Furthermore, this paper discusses the potential role of contourites as palaeomorphological indicators of palaeoslopes in varied geodynamics settings, such as inverting sedimentary basins, as opposed to the passive margins upon which they have been most commonly documented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The potential of heavy minerals as a provenance tracer in Albian arenites of extra-Carpathian Poland was assessed. Studies in this area have focused on various methods based on heavy mineral chemistry that provide an effective tool for reconstructing the provenance of quartz-rich sediments. The previously suggested division of the study area into two domains with different source areas: the western domain - the Miechów area, and the eastern domain - the Lublin area, was based on geochronological (monazite and muscovite dating) and rutile mineral chemical studies. The mineral chemistry of newly examined heavy minerals supports the previously suggested division. The mineral chemistry of detrital tourmaline suggests medium-grade metamorphic rocks as the main source in both domains. Detrital garnet in the western domain shows affiliation to the Góry Sowie Massif, while garnet in the eastern domain was most probably sourced from southern/central Norway. The western domain was most probably fed from rocks of the Bohemian Massif. The main source area for the eastern domain was most probably located in the Baltic Shield. The distinct division of the study area into two domains was caused by the palaeogeography of the region in the Albian and the action of longshore currents in south-eastward and eastward directions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A Middle Campanian (Late Cretaceous) eustatic sea-level rise recorded in the Belgorod succession (Russia; eastern North European Basin) was analyzed. The succession, dated for the Gavelinella annae and Globorotalites emdyensis foraminiferal zones (corresponding to the 'Inoceramus' azerbaydjanensis-'Inoceramus' vorhelmensis inoceramid Zone), records the deposition of pure chalk, with only trace terrigenous material. Its distal offshore position limited terrestrial nutrient delivery, driving oligotrophic conditions that influenced benthic foraminifera and organic-walled phytoplankton communities. Eustatic changes are recorded by planktonic foraminifera and additionally reflected in phytoclast abundance, organic-walled dinoflagellate cysts (dinocysts), calcareous dinoflagellate cysts (c-dinocysts), and d13C and d18O fluctuations. Most indices were primarily driven by variable terrestrial organic matter and freshwater influxes, acting as a function of sea depth and land topography. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pollen analysis was performed on 14 profiles of fossil biogenic sediments from different parts of the vast depression near the Wola Starogrodzka village (Central Poland). The results allowed the determination of the time of their accumulation for the period from the end of the Odra Glaciation (Warta Stage, Saalian, MIS-6), through the Eemian Interglacial (MIS-5e), to the first interstadial of the Early Vistulian (Brørup, MIS-5c). In many studied profiles, we noted the incompleteness in the pollen record of the Eemian vegetation succession - hiatuses occur usually in the hornbeam (E5) and/or spruce phase (E6). Moreover, the thickness of the same pollen zone and the development of its palynological record are strongly differentiated between individual profiles, e.g. the hornbeam zone (E5) is contained in an exceptionally thick sediment layer (3.7 m) in the PWS1-19 profile, and the oak zone (E3) in the WH-123 and PWS2-19 profiles (1.0 and 1.2 m, respectively), while in other profiles they are represented only by single pollen spectra. If we only had a single profile with a hiatus and/or a poorly developed pollen record, it would be impossible to reconstruct a complete interglacial succession of vegetation. However, having several such imperfect profiles which complemented each other enabled us to do it. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is a summary of the results of research on the accumulation conditions of the Upper Younger Loess (LMg) in Poland and Bug loess (bg) in Ukraine from the maximum stage (MIS 2) of the Vistulian (Weichselian) Glaciation in central and eastern Europe. These studies included an analysis of the morphological (topographic) situation of the loess cover, its grain size and heavy mineral composition, the preserved structures of loess sedimentation as well as mollusc and pollen analyses of this loess. They revealed that the accumulation of Upper Younger Loess (UYL) might have been more dependent on the prevailing moisture conditions than previously thought. These conditions could have been caused by cold air masses from an ice sheet and warm air masses from the Mediterranean Sea and Atlantic coming together in the Carpathians and the Holy Cross Mountains and favouring the formation of dust storms and precipitation. In this process, a loading of loess dust (formed from local rocks weathering in periglacial conditions) by atmospheric moisture particles was especially significant. The moist substrate not only favoured the periodic development of vegetation and molluscs but also enabled the interception of dust and the accumulation of an increasingly thick loess cover. Westerly and south-westerly winds predominated in the UYL as indicated by the topographic position of loess patches and the mineral composition of the studied loess. Periodically an increased air circulation from the east and northeast occurred. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Lower Devonian (Emsian) and Middle Devonian of Belarus contain assemblages of biostratigraphically useful faunal and floral microremains. Surface deposits are few, with most material being derived from borehole cores. Acanthodian scales are particularly numerous and comparison with scales from other regions of the Old Red Sandstone continent (Laurussia), specifically the Orcadian Basin of Scotland, the Baltic Region, Spitsbergen, and Severnaya Zemlya have demonstrated a lot of synonymy of acanthodian species between these areas. This is especially the case between Belarus, the Orcadian Basin and the Baltic Region, which has allowed us to produce an interregional biostratigraphic scheme, as well as to postulate marine connection routes between these areas. The acanthodian biostratigraphy of Belarus is particularly important as it is associated with spores and marine invertebrates, so giving the potential of more detailed correlations across not only the Old Red Sandstone continent, but elsewhere in the Devonian world. We also demonstrate that differences in preservation (e.g., wear and how articulated a specimen is) is one of the main reasons for synonymy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Professor Roniewicz, or simply Piotr for all of us across the Department, made sure as the Department Head that all assistant lecturers carried out a variety of teaching activities. Ewa Glowniak Faculty of Geology, University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland Back in my university days, Professor Piotr Roniewicz was a lecturer of sedimentology. Manuscript submitted: 17 th March 2020 Revised version accepted: 6 th April 2020 PIOTR RONIEWICZ - IN MEMORIAM 449 CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF PUBLICATIONS OF WHICH PIOTR RONIEWICZ IS AN AUTHOR Scientific papers: Roniewicz, P. 1959. 450 PIOTR RONIEWICZ - IN MEMORIAM Bac-Moszaszwili, M., Burchart, J., Glazek, J. and Roniewicz, P. 1979. [Extracted from the article]

The damage zones of exhumed strike-slip faults dissecting Jurassic carbonates in the south-western part of the Late Palaeozoic Holy Cross Mountains Fold Belt reveal second-order faults and fractures infilled with syntectonic calcite. The subsequent development of a structural pattern of microscopic fault-related structures and calcite infillings reflects the activity of strike-slip faults that began in the Late Cretaceous (Late Maastrichtian) and lasted until the early Miocene (Langhian). The fabric of the syntectonic veins provides insights into the evolution of the permeable fault-related structures that were the main pathways for fluid flow during fault activity. Microstructural study of calcite veins coupled with stable isotope and fluid inclusion data indicates that calcite precipitated primarily in a rock-buffered system related to strike-slip fault movement, and secondarily in a partly open system related to the local activity of the releasing Chmielnik stepover or the uplift of the area. The presence of meteoric fluids descending from the surface into damage zones suggest that the strike-slip faulting might have taken place in a nonmarine, continental environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Rzeszów thrust-top basin was formed on the active Skole thrust sheet of the Outer Carpathian fold-andthrust belt and filled with Miocene syntectonic sediments. New seismic 3D, well and field data were used to define the relationship between sedimentation and tectonic activity and to establish the synkinematic context of the Rzeszów basin-fill architecture. The basin evolution was controlled by the activity of the Carpathian frontal thrust and hinterland thrusts developed in the forelimbs of folds in the Skole thrust sheet, bounding the basin from the north and south, respectively. The activity of the frontal thrust resulted in hinterland-directed depocentre migration and tilting of the syntectonic stratigraphic sequence. Balanced cross-sections have indicated that during the last compressive stage of deformation, the syntectonic deposits filling the basin were shortened by c. 5%, which resulted in the formation of folds and contractional faults. The architecture of the syntectonic deposits and the development of contractional structures reflect the activity of thrusts bounding the basin during compressive deformation of the Carpathian orogenic belt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The structural pattern developed within metre to microscopic scale thrust and strike-slip fault zones exposed in the Palaeogene flysch rocks of the Fore-Dukla Thrust Sheet in the south-eastern part of the Silesian Nappe, Outer Carpathians, Poland, reveals evidence for upper crustal deformation and fluid flow. Syntectonic dawsonite [NaAlCO3(OH)2] indicates the following series of deformational events within the fault zones: i) detachment and buckle folding resulting from movement along thrust faults; ii) faulting as a compensation of the shortening, resulting in the fault propagation folding, breakthrough thrust faulting and imbrications; and iii) strike-slip faulting. The microstructural pattern coupled with the growth of a related sequence of carbonate minerals within the fault zones, followed by present-day dawsonite precipitation and tufa formation, indicate a continuing influence of fluids within the Silesian Nappe up to and including modern time. Structural observations at metre to microscopic scales coupled with EDS mapping of rocks indicate that dawsonite is a unique tool for the reconstruction of subsequent deformation in the Fore-Dukla Thrust Sheet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A sample of late Viséan limestone from the Włodawa IG-4 borehole, east of Lublin, Poland, yielded a piece of a tooth and a few hundred well-preserved scales comparable to those of "Ctenacanthus" costellatus Traquair, 1884 from Glencartholm, Scotland, UK. Most of the scales are typical compound body scales of the ctenacanthid type. Their crowns are composed of several separate odontodes whose distal ends are turned backwards and bases are characterised by concave undersides. In the material, there are also sparse scales with similar crowns but with flat or convex bulbous bases, as well as ornamented plates and single, star-like denticles, probably from the head region. The taxonomic status of "Ctenacanthus" costellatus was analysed and a new generic name for that species, viz. Glencartius gen. nov., is proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study is a detailed lithofacies analysis of the Wiar and Leszczyny members of the deep-marine Ropianka Formation (Campanian-Paleocene) exposed in the Hucisko Jawornickie section of the Skole Nappe, Polish Carpathian Flysch. The sedimentary succession (>400 m thick) represents a channelized lobe complex that prograded at the base of submarine slope. Seven sedimentary facies are recognized as a record of the principal modes of sediment deposition. Based on their stratigraphic grouping and grain-size trends, six facies associations are distinguished as representing specific sub-environments of the depositional system: distributary channels, channel-mouth lobes, channel levees, crevasses and interlobe basin plain with crevasse splays. The individual facies associations are characterized statistically and their internal facies organization is analysed by the method of embedded Markov chains to reveal the time pattern of depositional processes. The environmental changes indicated by the vertical succession of facies associations are attributed to the autogenic processes of the distributary channel shifting within an aggrading lobe area and the lateral switching of depositional lobes. Eustatic influences are likely, but difficult to ascertain with poor biostratigraphic data. The bulk basinward advance of the base-of-slope system was probably due to a pulse of the tectonic narrowing of the synclinal Skole Basin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A huge isolated accumulation, more than 3 m thick and 10 m wide, of densely packed, uncrushed brachiopods has been found in Józefka Quarry within the Middle/Upper Devonian Szydłówek Beds deposited in a relatively deep environment of an intrashelf basin (Kostomłoty facies zone, western Holy Cross Mountains, Poland). The low-diversity assemblage is strongly dominated by the atrypide Desquamatia globosa jozefkae Baliński subsp. nov. and, to a lesser degree, by the rhynchonellide Coeloterorhynchus dillanus (Schmidt, 1941), which constitute 72.8% and 22.1% of the fauna, respectively. Less frequent are specimens representing the genera Hypothyridina, Schizophoria and Phlogoiderynchus. According to the conodont fauna found within the coquina bed, the stratigraphic position of the shell accumulation is close to the Givetian/ Frasnian boundary. The brachiopods are associated with numerous crinoids and less frequent bryozoans, receptaculitids (Palaeozoic problematica), sponges and solitary corals. Although it is difficult to entirely exclude the autochthonous nature of the brachiopod coquina member, its allochthonous origin and redeposition of the brachiopod shells to the deep basin by gravity flows is much more probable. Such conclusion is supported by the following facts: (1) the position of the complex in a succession of deep-marine basinal facies impoverished in oxygen,(2) its lateral thinning-out and composite internal stratification,(3) the lensshaped geometry of the coquina bed in the section perpendicular to the bedding dip,(4) high variability of the sediments preserved within the shells,and (5) the preferred orientation of the shells. The brachiopods mixed with crinoidal debris were probably transported by low-velocity, high-density, gravity-induced debris flows. Lack of fossils typical of the Middle Devonian shallows, such as massive stromatoporoids, amphiporoids and tabulates, indicates that the source area of the bioclastic material was not located in the shallowest part of the shelf, but most probably on a submarine sea-mount to the north of present-day Józefka, as suggested by earlier investigators. The triggering mechanism of the allochthonous deposition was an earthquake rather than storm activity. The enormous thickness of the brachiopod complex is probably caused by the sinking of bioclastic material, transported in succeeding depositional multi-events, in a soft, muddy bottom, typical of the Szydłówek Beds deposition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We describe a new echinoid assemblage, composed of specimens of Bolbaster sp., Cyclaster danicus (Schlüter, 1897), Diplodetus vistulensis (Kongiel, 1950) and Linthia? sp. in a distinctive phosphatic preservation, from the so-called Greensand, a marly glauconitic sandstone horizon at the base of the Danian succession in the Kazimierz Dolny area (central Poland). This assemblage presumably is of early Danian age, with Cyclaster danicus occurring in the lower Danian of Denmark and southern Sweden. The specimens are preserved as internal moulds, composed of phosphatised glauconitic sandstone, occasionally with some test material adhering. The genesis of these moulds involved the following steps: (1) infilling of tests of dead echinoids with glauconitic sand,(2) penetration of the infills by coelobiotic deposit-feeding organisms that produced burrows along the inner test surface,(3) early-diagenetic cementation of infills by calcium phosphate,and (4) exhumation and intraformational reworking of specimens, leading to abrasion, fragmentation and loss of test material in some individuals. Co-occurring are unphosphatised moulds of Echinocorys ex gr. depressa (von Eichwald, 1866) and Pseudogibbaster cf. depressus (Kongiel in Kongiel and Matwiejewówna, 1937), which may represent a younger (middle to late Danian) assemblage. Additionally, the presence of derived late Maastrichtian echinoids, e.g., Temnocidaris (Stereocidaris) ex gr. herthae (Schlüter, 1892), Pleurosalenia bonissenti (Cotteau, 1866) and Hemicara pomeranum Schlüter, 1902, is confirmed for the Greensand, based on new material and re- examination of previously recorded specimens. In summary, members of three echinoid assemblages of different age and preservation occur together in the Greensand. Our results are compatible with former interpretations of this unit as a condensed, transgressive lag with mixed faunas of different age and provenance. However, they are incompatible with the hypothesis that phosphatised Danian fossils preserved in the Greensand are derived from a facies equivalent, now gone, of the lower Danian Cerithium Limestone in eastern Denmark, because all moulds are composed of phosphatised glauconitic sandstone that is utterly different from the calcareous dinocyst-dominated, fine crystalline matrix of the Cerithium Limestone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the Polish sector of the Magura Nappe have long been known and exploited carbonate mineral waters, saturated with carbon dioxide, known as the "shchava (szczawa)". These waters occur mainly in the Krynica Subunit of the Magura Nappe, between the Dunajec and Poprad rivers, close to the Pieniny Klippen Belt (PKB). The origin of these waters is still not clear, this applies to both "volcanic" and "metamorphic" hypotheses. Bearing in mind the case found in the Szczawa tectonic window and our geological and geochemical studies we suggest that the origin of the carbon dioxide may be linked with the thermal/pressure alteration of organic matter of the Oligocene deposits from the Grybów Unit. These deposits, exposed in several tectonic windows of the Magura Nappe, are characterized by the presence of highly matured organic matter - the origin of the hydrocarbon accumulations. This is supported by the present-day state of organic geochemistry studies of the Carpathian oil and gas bed rocks. In our opinion origin of the carbon-dioxide was related to the southern, deep buried periphery of the Carpathian Oil and Gas Province. The present day distribution of the carbonated mineral water springs has been related to the post-orogenic uplift and erosion of the Outer (flysch) Carpathians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A newly recognized Mnin restraining stepover is identified in the Permo-Mesozoic cover of the western part of the Late Palaeozoic Holy Cross Mountains Fold Belt (Poland), within a fault pattern consisting of dextral strikeslip faults. The formation of a large contractional structure at the Late Cretaceous - Cenozoic transition displays the significant role of strike-slip faulting along the western border of the Teisseyre-Tornquist Zone, in the foreland of the Polish part of the Carpathian Orogen. Theoretical relationships between the maximum fault offsets/ mean step length, as well as between the maximum fault offsets/mean step width allowed the estimation of the values of possible offsets along the Snochowice and Mieczyn faults forming the Mnin stepover. The estimated values suggest displacements of as much as several tens of kilometres. The observed offset along the Tokarnia Fault and theoretical calculations suggest that the strike-slip faults west of the Late Palaeozoic Holy Cross Mountains Fold Belt belong to a large strike-slip fault system. We postulate that the observed significant refraction of the faults forming the anastomosing fault pattern is related also to the interaction of the NW-SE-striking faults formed along the western border of the Teisseyre- Tornquist Zone and the reactivated WNW-ESE-striking faults belonging to the fault systems of the northern margin of the Tethys Ocean. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mineralogical studies of the Karkonosze granite (ca. 322-312 Ma) and its surroundings in West Sudetes (SW Poland) have provided data on Nb-Ta-REE minerals from pegmatites in the NE part of the pluton and several new finds of Ag minerals and 15 oxygenic Bi phases, hitherto not reported from the massif. The Karkonosze pegmatites are enriched in HREE as fergusonite-(Y) or xenotime-(Y) appear in almost every studied pegmatite, together with a subordinate assemblage of the aeschynite, euxenite or columbite group. The abundance of LREE minerals such as allanite-(Ce) and the monazite group, correlates inversely with the Nb-Ta-Ti minerals, whilst an early generation of monazite-(Ce) revealed an exceptionally high amount of Nd (up to 22 wt.% of Nd2O3). The physical and chemical conditions during the magmatic and post-magmatic processes were reconstructed and the effects of contact metamorphism in amphibolites from hornfelsed zones examined. Changes in solution composition and concentration at the early magmatic stage (825-920°C), pegmatitic stage overlapping with hydrothermal (560°C which ended at 160- 90°C) and clearly hydrothermal stage (400 to 110°C) were studied in detail by means of melt and fluid inclusions in quartz. Furthermore, post-magmatic fluids, including some enriched in Li and B, were identified in rock-forming quartz from the whole pluton. In turn, study of the amphibolites indicates that the pair cummingtonite + anorthite or the presence of Ca-rich plagioclase with actinolite seem to be reliable mineral proxies of the thermal impact of the granitoid body on amphibolites in its envelope. The inferred conditions of the contact processes (450-550°C, 2.5- 4.8 kbar) point to an elevated geothermal gradient (ca. 32-45°C/km) probably reflecting the heat flow induced by the Karkonosze intrusion. Moreover, despite the textural and mineral changes imposed by regional and contact metamorphism, the amphibolites have their pre-metamorphic (magmatic) geochemical features undisturbed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies of Miocene sediments in the Fore-Carpathian Basin, conducted by geologists from the University of Warsaw have provided new insights on the distribution of the facies infilling the basin, particularly in the forebulge and back-bulge zones. The origin of the large-scale sand bodies, evaporitic deposits and large-scale organic buildups is discussed, described and verified. These deposits originated in variable, shallow marine settings, differing in their water chemistry and the dynamics of sedimentary processes, and are unique with regard to the fossil assemblages they yield. Many years of taxonomic, biostratigraphic, palaeoecologic and ecotaphonomic investigations have resulted in the identification of the fossil assemblages of these sediments, their age, sedimentary settings and post-mortem conditions. Detailed studies were focused on corals, polychaetes, most classes of molluscs, crustaceans, echinoderms, and fishes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The biostratigraphic importance, current zonations, and potential for the recognition of the standard chronostratigraphic boundaries of five palaeontological groups (benthic foraminifers, ammonites, belemnites, inoceramid bivalves and echinoids), critical for the stratigraphy of the Santonian through Maastrichtian (Upper Cretaceous) of extra-Carpathian Poland, are presented and discussed. The summary is based on recent studies in selected sections of southern Poland (Nida Synclinorium; Puławy Trough including the Middle Vistula River composite section; and Mielnik and Kornica sections of south-eastern Mazury-Podlasie Homocline) and of western Ukraine (Dubivtsi). The new zonation based on benthic forams is presented for the entire interval studied. Zonations for ammonites, belemnites and inoceramid bivalves are compiled. All stage boundaries, as currently defined or understood, may easily be constrained or precisely located with the groups discussed: the base of the Santonian with the First Occurrence (FO) of the inoceramid Cladoceramus undulatoplicatus; the base of the Campanian with the Last Occurrence (LO) of the crinoid Marsupites testudinarius and approximated by the range of the foraminifer Stensioeina pommerana; and the base of the Maastrichtian approximated by the FO of the inoceramid bivalve Endocostea typica and the FO of the belemnite Belemnella vistulensis. The positions of substage boundaries, as currently understood, are constrained in terms of the groups discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three lower Cambrian acritarch assemblages recognized in four outcrops in the vicinity of Kotuszów in the southernmost part of the Palaeozoic inlier of the Holy Cross Mountains span a stratigraphic interval from the uppermost part of the Asteridium tornatum-Comasphaeridium velvetum Assemblage Zone to the Skiagia ornata- Fimbriaglomerella membranacea Assemblage Zone (most probably its lower part). According to current views (Moczydłowska and Yin 2012), this interval corresponds to the upper part of the Fortunian and to Stage 2 of the Terreneuvian Series. The strata yielding the oldest assemblage are thus the oldest precisely documented rocks in the Palaeozoic succession of the Holy Cross Mountains, and the oldest Cambrian rocks exposed on the surface in Poland. The current biostratigraphic scheme for the pre-trilobitic part of the Cambrian System in the Holy Cross Mountains should be modified so that it is based on local acritarch interval subzones. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Dynamic evolution of the Campanian and Maastrichtian (Upper Cretaceous) of the Miechow Synclinorium is presented. Through chronostratigraphic analysis, the geometry of the Campanian and Maastrichtian of the area is interpreted, while microfacies analysis allowed determination of some of the paleoenvironmental parameters (rate of sedimentation, bottom condition and terrigenous input). The chronostratigraphy is based on inoceramid biostratigraphy. Nine inoceramid zones are recognized: Sphenoceramus patootensiformis, Sphaeroceramus sarumensis-Cataceramus dariensis and 'Inoceramus' azerbaydjanensis-'Inoceramus' vorhelmensis, 'Inoceramus' tenuilineatus, Sphaeroceramus pertenuiformis, 'Inoceramus' inkermanensis and 'Inoceramus' costaecus- 'Inoceramus' redbirdensis (Campanian); Endocostea typica and Trochoceramus radiosus (Maastrichtian). Five unconformities (isochronous in the study area) represented by horizons of slower sedimentation rate, were recognized. They correlate with eustatic sea-level changes, well recorded in European successions (Jarvis et al. 2002, 2006; Niebuhr et al. 2011). Unconformity horizons allow six alloformations to be distinguished. The thickness of particular chronostratigraphic units within the Campanian and Lower Maastrichtian increases progressively toward the axis of the Danish-Polish Trough, which indicates that the inversion of the trough could not have started before the Late Maastrichtian. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rugose coral genus Bothrophyllum Trautschold, 1879 is revised on the basis of data from the literature and the author's personal investigation of both topotypes of its type species B. conicum and related and/or similar taxa from other areas. The intraspecific variability of the type species, its neotype, the intra-generic framework and a new generic diagnosis are established. Many more than 100 taxa related and/or similar to Bothrophyllum were analyzed and the most important of them are discussed. Detailed analysis of the type species based on the neotype and supported by additional topotype specimens illustrated here, allows restriction of both the type species and the genus, and leads to the proposition that Bothrophyllum -like taxa with a shortened cardinal septum should be considered of subgeneric (not named) status. Detailed analysis of the specimens and species described and illustrated from the type site (Myachkovo Quarry, Moscow Basin) form the basis for further considerations. On the basis of that analysis and characters established for the type species, taxa from all other European, African, Asiatic and North American areas either named Bothrophyllum or bearing characters of that genus were analyzed. The supposed origin and discussion of the relationships conclude the paper. A list of synonyms and exclusions from Bothrophyllum and lists of species included, excluded, or possibly belonging to Bothrophyllum and Bothrophyllum -like corals with a shortened cardinal septum are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper provides a description of primary geological logs, characteristics and formal lithostratigraphy of the uppermost Emsian and lower Eifelian of the Kielce Region of the Holy Cross Mts., central Poland. Nine sections of this interval, representing the whole area of the Kielce Region, and ranging between the Lower Devonian clastics of the Winna Formation and the Middle Devonian carbonates of the Kowala Formation were studied. The succession is divided into the Barania Góra Dolomite and Limestone Formation and the Wojciechowice Dolomite Formation. Six members are distinguished within the former. In the western part of the region these are (in stratigraphical order): Porzecze Claystone Member, Dębska Wola Dolomite Member, Dąbrowa Limestone Member, and Brzeziny Dolomite Member. In the eastern part, the formation is divided into the Janczyce Dolomite Member and the Jurkowice Dolomite Member. Additionally, the Wszachów Dolomite Member and Nowy Staw Dolomite Member are distinguished within the overlying Wojciechowice Formation. The thickness of the uppermost Emsian-Eifelian succession ranges from ca. 200 m in the eastern part to ca. 130 m in the western part of the Kielce Region [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The stratigraphical distribution of Porosphaera globularis, a common calcareous sponge in the Upper Cretaceous (mostly Campanian and Maastrichtian) of Poland was studied. The presented material, both new and from museum collections, comes from the Campanian of the Miechow Synclinorium, in southern Poland, and from the Lower Campanian of Mielnik in the south-eastern part of the Mazury-Podlasie Homocline, in eastern Poland. The significance of the species in extra-regional correlation, its palaeobiogeography and stratigraphical potential is critically reviewed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The succession of the Lechówka section near Chełm in south-eastern Poland presents the first complete record of the Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-Pg) boundary in Poland. Samples of the boundary clay were examined for microtektites and shocked minerals to confirm the impact origin of the sediment. The spheroidal fraction reveals morphological and mineralogical features, e.g., spherules, similar to material from the K-Pg boundary as described from elsewhere. The impact genesis of the spherules is confirmed by the presence of nickel-rich spinel grains on their surfaces. The spinels are considered to be primary microlites and, thus, the spherules at Lechówka can be classified as microkrystites. No shocked minerals were noted. The deposits with spherules comprise Aland Mg-rich smectite (Cheto smectite). This almost pure Mg-rich smectite, forming up to 100% of the clay fraction, derived from the weathering of the impact glass. It is proposed that the spherules isolated from the Cretaceous- Paleogene boundary clay at Lechówka come from the Chicxulub crater in Mexico. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bituminous coals and clastic rocks from the Lublin Formation (Pennsylvanian, Westphalian B) were subjected to detailed biomarker and Rock-Eval analyses. The investigation of aliphatic and aromatic fractions and Rock-Eval Tmax suggests that the Carboniferous deposits attained relatively low levels of thermal maturity, at the end of the microbial processes/initial phase of the oil window. Somewhat higher values of maturity in the clastic sediments were caused by postdiagenetic biodegradation of organic matter. The dominance of the odd carbon-numbered n-alkanes in the range n-C25 to n-C31 , high concentrations of moretanes and a predominance of C 28 and C29 steranes are indicative of a terrigenous origin of the organic matter in the study material. This is supported by the presence of eudesmane, bisabolane, dihydro-ar-curcumene and cadalene, found mainly in the coal samples. In addition, tri- and tetracyclic diterpanes, e. g. 16β(H)-kaurane, 16β(H)-phyllocladane, 16α(H)-kaurane and norisopimarane, were identified, suggesting an admixture of conifer ancestors among the deposited higher plants. Parameters Pr/n-C17 and Rdit in the coal samples show deposition of organic matter from peat swamp environments, with the water levels varying from high (water-logged swamp) to very low (ephemeral swamp). Clastic deposits were accumulated in a flood plain environment with local small ponds/lakes. In pond/lake sediments, apart from the dominant terrigenous organic matter, research also revealed a certain quantity of algal matter, indicated, i.a., by the presence of tricyclic triterpanes C28 and C29 and elevated concentrations of steranes. The Paq parameter can prove to be a useful tool in the identification of organic matter, but the processes of organic matter biodegradation observed in clastic rocks most likely influence the value of the parameter, at the same time lowering the interpretation potential of these compounds. The value of Pr/Ph varies from 0.93 to 5.24 and from 3.49 to 22.57 in the clastic sediments and coals respectively. The microbial degradation of organic matter in both type of rocks and during early stages of diagenesis is confirmed by a high concentration of hopanes, the presence of drimane homologues, bicyclic alkanes and benzohopanes. Moreover, bacteria could also have been connected with the primary input of organic matter, which is shown by the presence of e.g. C30 neohop-13(18)-ene. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]