Middle-Late Pennsylvanian tectonosedimentary, climatic and biotic records in basins of Europe, NW Turkey and North Africa; an overview
Middle-Late Pennsylvanian tectonosedimentary, climatic and biotic records in basins of Europe, NW Turkey and North Africa; an overview (in Ice ages, climate dynamics and biotic events; the Late Pennsylvanian world, S. G. Lucas (editor), W. A. DiMichele (editor), S. Oplustil (editor) and X. Wang (editor))
Special Publication - Geological Society of London (January 2023) 535 (1): 225-291
- Africa
- Alps
- Amasra Basin
- Asia
- Balkan Peninsula
- basins
- biostratigraphy
- biozones
- Bohemian Massif
- Carboniferous
- Carnic Alps
- Carpathians
- Central Europe
- Central Massif
- chronostratigraphy
- climate change
- Croatia
- cyclostratigraphy
- depositional environment
- Dinaric Alps
- Dobruja Basin
- Donets Basin
- Eastern Alps
- Europe
- fossil record
- France
- fresh-water environment
- Karawanken
- Lublin Basin
- marine environment
- Middle East
- Middle Pennsylvanian
- North Africa
- paleoclimatology
- Paleozoic
- Pangaea
- Pennsylvanian
- Saar Basin
- sedimentary basins
- sedimentary rocks
- Southern Europe
- stratigraphic units
- tectonostratigraphic units
- terrestrial environment
- Turkey
- Upper Pennsylvanian
- Variscan Orogeny
- Variscides
- Velebit Mountains
- Volhynia
- Western Europe
- Zonguldak Turkey
-
N36°19'60" - N48°19'60", E13°25'00" - E29°40'00" -
N46°00'00" - N49°49'60", E18°00'00" - E28°00'00" -
N44°00'00" - N47°00'00", E00°45'00" - E05°00'00" -
N47°00'00" - N48°30'00", E37°30'00" - E40°00'00" -
N46°15'00" - N46°30'00", E13°34'60" - E15°00'00" -
N19°00'00" - N37°30'00", W15°30'00" - E36°00'00" -
N44°15'00" - N45°00'00", E14°58'00" - E15°45'00"
In Europe, North Africa and Asia Minor, the remains of Pennsylvanian sedimentary basins bearing continental deposits either intimately mixed with shallow-marine strata or deposited in exclusively continental settings are preserved. Long-lasting research on these basins allowed the definition of regional stages and substages based on marine fauna and terrestrial flora, later extended by terrestrial and freshwater faunal biostratigraphies. Glacioeustatically driven marine bands provide laterally widespread correlation markers; however, where such bands are missing only biostratigraphic control exists. Resolution of biostratigraphic zonations combined with gaps in sedimentary successions and variable quality of the fossil record throughout the basin fills do not allow in all cases a precise correlation between the Pennsylvanian basins in Europe and, in turn, the timing of tectonic, climatic and biotic events, and thus an absolute complete understanding of the response of terrestrial and freshwater biota to climate changes across eastern tropical Pangaea. A helpful tool is new radioisotopic ages of intercalated volcaniclastics that reveal the partial diachroneity of some widely used biostratigraphies. We attempt to present the current state of the art to stimulate further research to mitigate gaps in our knowledge.