Travertine and calcareous tufa occurrences as an indicator of the ongoing tectonic activity of the Central Slovak Fault System inferred from airborne laser scanning data, geomorphometric, and structural analysis (Northern Slovakia)

Abstract

The travertine formation process, active over the Quaternary, has enabled the origin of one of the largest travertine accumulations in the Western Carpathians. Travertines and calcareous tufas are associated with the tectonic activity of the Central Slovak Fault System, a 45 km wide and 140 km long N-S oriented fault zone. As the geological mapping, structural analysis, geomorphometric and isobase surface analysis revealed, the development of faults was polyphase and the travertine/tufa precipitation was not a continuous process. In addition, numerous travertine/tufa morphofacial varieties have been recognized within the study area, such as travertine/tufa terraces and tufa cascades, hillslope paludal tufa crust, phytoherm framework tufa barrages, lacustrine microdetrital tufas, bryophyte-dominated self-built channel, and fluvial tufa crust, reflecting its local geomorphology and precipitation factors. In the Revúcka dolina Valley, the travertine/tufa geobodies thus represent a reliable indicator of the tectonic activity over the Neogene up to Quaternary. The structural data provided relevant evidence confirming the character of orogen-parallel extension for the current tectonic/neotectonic regime in the Inner Western Carpathians. High-resolution topography derived from airborne laser scanning and the subsequent application of various geomorphometry techniques allowed quick identification of the edges of the terrace cascade systems and morpholineaments. Based on our observations, in this zone, the significant vertical movements of normal faults took place with a maximum estimated offset of 800–1000 m. The achieved results also support the use of the presented multifaceted methodology to understand the interplay between geomorphogenesis, hydrology, and tectonics.