Constructing a cave sediment stratigraphy for the Dachstein Massif sheds light on landscape evolution (Eastern Alps)

IF 2 3区 地球科学 Q1 GEOLOGY
Franziska Holzer, Lukas Plan, Susanne Gier
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Abstract

The Dachstein in Austria is the second largest karst massif in the Alps. It is dominated by Upper Triassic limestone and 290 km of cave passages have been documented. For this study, five major cave systems on the northern edge of the Dachstein were investigated: Hirlatzhöhle, Mammuthöhle, Rieseneishöhle, Schönberghöhle and Günter-Stummer-Höhle. Thirty-five sediment profiles or exposures between 860 m a.s.l. and 1945 m a.s.l. were analysed with respect to stratigraphy, grain size, mineral composition and carbon content. Our study distinguishes the following main types of non-autochthonous sediments. The stratigraphically deepest sediment in the highest—and therefore oldest—cave (Ruin Level, c. 1900 m a.s.l.) is a dark clay with laterite-derived minerals, suggesting formation before c. 15 Ma, consistent with the previously proposed Eocene–Oligocene age. At intermediate elevations (Giant Cave Level, c. 1350 m a.s.l.), a poorly sorted channel facies forms the initial allochthonous sediment. In Hirlatzhöhle to the west, it is reddish-brown and dominated by para-autochthonous radiolarite components, while in the eastern caves, it is greenish (chlorite) and contains Augensteine sensu lato from metamorphosed rocks of the Niedere Tauern. Previous burial age dating of the quartz suggests an emplacement in the caves 4–6 Ma ago. In caves at this elevation, a dark brown fine-grained sediment of slack-water facies follows, which is probably a palaeosol derived from the allochthonous crystalline sediment cover. Above, rounded limestone gravel is at least partly attributed to glacial meltwater. At the top, and almost ubiquitous, is a bright clayey silt. It is carbonate rich and has a varve-like layering. This sediment is attributed to Pleistocene meltwaters and glacial backflooding. While it is normally a few tens of centimetres thick in the Giant Cave Level, it can reach a few metres in the Berger Level (c. 950 m a.s.l.) below. Only there is it partly overlain by Holocene carbonate sands.

Abstract Image

Dachstein地块洞穴沉积物地层学研究揭示了东阿尔卑斯山景观演化
奥地利的达赫施泰因是阿尔卑斯山第二大喀斯特地貌。它以上三叠统石灰岩为主,已有290公里的洞穴通道被记录在案。在这项研究中,研究人员调查了Dachstein北部边缘的五个主要洞穴系统:Hirlatzhöhle, Mammuthöhle, Rieseneishöhle, Schönberghöhle和Günter-Stummer-Höhle。从地层、粒度、矿物组成和碳含量等方面分析了860m至1945 m间35个沉积物剖面或暴露物。我们的研究区分了以下几种主要的非本地沉积物类型。在最高的洞穴中,地层最深的沉积物(废墟层,约1900 m a.s.l)是一种含有红土衍生矿物的深色粘土,表明形成于约15 Ma之前,与先前提出的始新世-渐新世时代一致。在中等海拔高度(巨洞水平,约1350米a.s.l.),一个分选差的河道相形成了最初的异域沉积物。在Hirlatzhöhle的西部,它是红褐色的,主要是副原生的放射石成分,而在东部的洞穴,它是绿色的(绿泥石),含有来自Niedere Tauern变质岩石的augenstein senu lato。先前对石英的埋葬年代测定表明,洞穴中有一个4-6 Ma前的就位点。在这一海拔高度的洞穴中,有一层深棕色的细粒沉积物,属于淡水相,可能是由异域结晶沉积物覆盖层形成的古土壤。上图中,圆形的石灰岩砾石至少部分归因于冰川融水。在顶部,几乎无处不在的是明亮的粘土淤泥。它富含碳酸盐,并具有类似varv的层状。这种沉积物是由更新世融水和冰川逆洪形成的。虽然在巨型洞穴层通常只有几十厘米厚,但在伯杰层(约950米)可以达到几米厚。只有那里部分被全新世碳酸盐砂覆盖。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
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来源期刊
CiteScore
4.10
自引率
16.70%
发文量
42
审稿时长
16 weeks
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