Facies of the Upper Jurassic–Lower Cretaceous deposits from the southern part of the Carpathian Foredeep basement in the Kraków–Rzeszów area (southern Poland)

A comparative sedimentological analysis of the Upper Jurassic–Lower Cretaceous deposits carried out on drill-cores from the southern part of the Carpathian Foredeep allowed us to distinguish thirteen main microfacies types. The results of microfacies analyses and stratigraphical data made it possible to propose a lithological subdivision of the southern part of the Upper Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous sediments of the Carpathian Foredeep basement between Kraków and Rzeszów. In the analysed wells, three main sedimentary complexes were distinguished, embracing the following intervals: (i) Callovian–Oxfordian, (ii) Kimmeridgian and (iii) Tithonian– Berriasian–Valanginian. The Oxfordian, Kimmeridgian and Tithonian deposits represent the outer – mid homoclinal ramp facies, whereas the Berriasian and Valanginian deposits belong to the inner homoclinal ramp facies. Complexes of microbial-sponge reefs, with a distinct relief, could be recognised in the Upper Oxfordian sediments only. The development of these buildups took place in a basin typified by diversified morphology, determined by the block-type structure of the Palaeozoic basement and synsedimentary tectonics, which brought about substantial variability in thickness of the Oxfordian sediments. At the end of the Oxfordian, large complexes of the reef facies were replaced mainly by microbial-sponge and microbial-coral biostromes developed during the Kimmeridgian and Tithonian. In the principal part of the studied area (except the western part of the described fragment of the Carpathian Foredeep; Kraków area) during the Kimmeridgian, Tithonian, Berriasian and Valanginian, sedimentation occurred in a basin typified by homogeneous morphology, which resulted in a wide extent and comparable thicknesses of the distinguished facies types. In the studied sections, indications of partial or complete dolomitization were observed in a large part of the sediments. Four generations of dolomite document a complex diagenetic history with multiple episodes of dolomite formation: from early diagenetic environment to late burial conditions.