third-order depositional sequences controlled by synsedimentary extensional tectonics: evidence from...

Third-order depositional sequences controlled by synsedimentaryextensional tectonics: evidence from Upper Triassic carbonatesof the Carnian Prealps (NE Italy)

Andrea Cozzi1 and Lawrence A. Hardie2

1Institut fur Geologie, ETH Zentrum, Sonneggstrasse 5, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland; 2Department of Earth & Planetary Sciences, Johns

Hopkins University, 3400 North Charles Street, Baltimore, MD 21218, USA

Introduction

Sequence stratigraphy, based on theconcept of sequences bounded at theirtops and bases by unconformities ortheir correlative conformities (Mit-chum et al., 1977; Vail et al., 1977)has revolutionized the interpretationof sedimentary strata on cratons, pas-sive margins and foreland basinsworldwide. Using the sequence strati-graphy approach, the Exxon group(Vail et al., 1977) constructed a globalsea-level chart for the Phanerozoic,followed by a revised version (Haqet al., 1988). Despite the widespreadcriticism of this work (e.g. Miall,1992), recent publications dealing withthe sequence stratigraphic interpret-ation of the Triassic of the SouthernAlps of northern Italy (Gaetani et al.,1998; Gianolla et al., 1998) stronglysupport the correlatability of thethird-order depositional sequenceswith other Upper Triassic terrains inEurope (Gianolla and Jacquin, 1998).The key assumption underlying the

Exxon global sea-level chart is thatthird-order depositional sequences areresponses to eustatic sea-level oscilla-tions, whereas sediment supply, tec-tonic subsidence ⁄uplift and climate

play only minor roles (Vail et al.,1991).The object of the present paper is

to provide field evidence from theCarnian Prealps of northeastern Italythat demonstrates the role of synsed-imentary extensional tectonics in thecreation of third-order depositionalsequences unrelated to eustatic sea-level oscillations. During the LateTriassic, the Carnian Prealps wereaffected strongly by synsedimentaryextensional tectonic activity, makingthem an ideal setting for the presentstudy. Moreover, complete UpperTriassic platform-to-basin transitionsare preserved in the Carnian Prealps(Cozzi and Podda, 1998; Cozzi,1999) (Fig. 1), allowing detailedstudy of the platform margin geom-etry in space and time and thereconstruction of the local sequencesuccession.

Geological setting

The Carnian Prealps of NE Italy arepart of the southward-thrusted ter-rains of the northernmost part of theAfrican continental plate that collidedwith Europe during the Cretaceous–Cenozoic, generating the Alps(Fig. 1). The sedimentary unitsexposed today range from the UpperTriassic to the Neogene, and compriseE–W-trending structural units delim-ited by generally S-verging over-thrusts (Fig. 1). In the late Carnian

(Late Triassic), sedimentation in thestudy area took place on the slowlydeepening mixed carbonate–siliciclas-tic ramp of the Monticello Fm (UpperCarnian – Lower Norian, Carulliet al., 1998a). During the Norian,the thick (1500–2000 m) shallow-water peritidal carbonate successionof the Dolomia Principale (DP,Norian–Rhaetian in age; Boselliniand Hardie, 1988) was deposited,flanked in the northern part of theCarnian Prealps by relatively deeperwater anoxic basins where the ForniDolomite accumulated (DF, Norian;Carulli et al., 1997; 1998a). Starting inthe middle Norian, the Carnian Pre-alps were affected by multiple synsed-imentary extensional tectonic pulsesconnected with the westward openingof the NeoTethys Ocean, to the northof the study area, and the rifting thatled to the formation in the middleJurassic of the Ligurian–PiedmontOcean to the west (Gaetani et al.,1998; Cozzi, 2000). This combinedeffect caused the gradual downfault-ing and drowning of entire portionsof the late Norian–Rhaetian shallow-water carbonate platform (DachsteinLimestone, DL) overlying and parti-ally replacing laterally the DP. By theend of the Triassic the shallow-waterplatforms retreated to the south, leav-ing widespread basinal conditions inthe northern Carnian Prealps (Poddaand Ponton, 1997; Carulli et al.,1998b).

ABSTRACT

The Upper Triassic platform-margin deposits of the CarnianPrealps fail to show the succession of the two global sea-levellowerings predicted for the Norian and Rhaetian by the Haqglobal sea-level curve. In both cases a relative sea-level riseoccurs, a discrepancy that can be explained by an increase intectonically controlled subsidence, a consequence of the plate-scale rifting in the NW Tethys Gulf preceding oceanic spreadingin the Jurassic. Pulses of tectonic subsidence followed byrelative quiescence are capable of generating depositional

sequences similar in gross geometry and duration to the third-order eustatic cycles of Haq et al. The Late Triassic part of theExxon global sea-level curve, partly derived from correlatablestrata within the same palaeogeographical domain, is likely toreflect pulses of tectonically induced subsidence rather thaneustatic sea-level changes.

Terra Nova, 15, 40–45, 2003

Correspondence: Andrea Cozzi, Institut

fur Geologie, ETH Zentrum, Sonneggstr-

asse 5, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland. Fax:

+41 01 632 1080; e-mail: andrea.cozzi@

erdw.ethz.ch

40 � 2003 Blackwell Publishing Ltd

Outcrop data

The best-studied Norian platform-to-basin transect of the Carnian Prealps islocated in the Mt. Pramaggiore area(Cozzi and Podda, 1998; Cozzi, 1999)(Fig. 1). There, continuous outcropsfrom the platform interior andmargin (DP) to the slope and basin(DF) permit reconstruction of thedepositional history of the platform–slope–basin system during the Alau-nian–Sevatian (middle–late Norian).Conodonts in theDFupper slope facies(Cozzi and Podda, 1998; Cozzi, 1999)and benthic forams in the DP platforminterior (Cozzi, 1999; Cozzi & Jager,2000) provide the biostratigraphic con-trol necessary to compare the CarnianPrealps data with the global sea-levelcurve of Haq et al. (1988).After an initial lateral progradation

phase of the shallow-water carbonatesof the DP during the Alaunian (middleNorian), a change to vertical aggrada-tion took place at the Alaunian–Seva-tian boundary (Fig. 2) (Cozzi andPodda, 1998; Cozzi, 2002). In strataof the platform interior stratigraphi-cally above (Mt. Valmenone), anintraplatform depression formed viafault-controlled tectonic collapse, inwhich 20-m-deep bituminous thin-bedded dolostones were deposited(Cozzi and Jager, 2000). At the samestratigraphic level, the platform faciesare dissected by tensional disruption

features (fractures, shatter breccias,neptunian dykes, normal faults andintraformational breccias), ranging inscale from a few centimetres to tensof metres; they have in common adownward-tapering geometry and aresutured by the overlying undisturbedsediments, attesting to their synsedi-mentary nature (Cozzi, 2000).A similar pattern of initial progra-

dation followed by vertical aggrada-tion has been recognized in outcropstens of km to the east, in the Mt.Frascola and Mt. Auda areas (Fig. 1),confirming the regional extent of thispattern of deposition on the DP car-bonate platform. During the Sevatianand Rhaetian the DP and the overly-ing and partially equivalent DLplatform sequence recorded a back-stepping trend with progressive plat-form drownings before the finaldemise of shallow-water deposition atthe end of the Rhaetian (Fig. 2). ThisRhaetian pattern has been recognizedin the well-exposed sections of Mt.Auda and Mt. Verzegnis and in thenorthern part of the Carnian Prealpsin general (Podda and Ponton, 1997;Carulli et al., 1998b; Podda, 1998).

Norian–Rhaetian sequencestratigraphic interpretationof the Carnian Prealps

Based on the available biostratigra-phic data, the change frompronounced

lateral progradation to vertical aggra-dation of the DP platform margin atMt. Pramaggiore can be placed justbefore or coincident with the type 2sequence boundary (SB2) at the Alau-nian–Sevatian boundary in the Haqet al. (1988) sea-level curve and in thesequence chart of Gianolla et al.(1998) (Fig. 2). Therefore, one shouldexpect to find field evidence charac-teristic of a SB2, i.e. (i) presence of adownlap surface above the SB2 beforethe off-lap break; (ii) an offshore shiftof depositional environments, result-ing in a shallowing of sedimentaryfacies in the outer shelf; (iii) onlappingof the shelf margin system tract(SMST) parasequences onto the SB2onshore; (iv) evidence of prolongedexposure on the platform top which isprogressively onlapped by the trans-gressive systems tract (TST) facies;(v) presence of a SMST located at theedge of the platform, showing parase-quences stacked in a prograding pat-tern (Haq et al., 1988; Handford andLoucks, 1993). However, no exposuresurfaces with significant karstic orvadose signatures have been recog-nized in the DP platform interior. Theonly �unconformities� on the platformtop are the flooding surfaces at thebase and top of the metre-scale shal-lowing upward cycles of the DP, andtherefore cannot be considered indic-ative of SB2 boundaries. In contrast,the formation of the relatively deeperwater intraplatform depression at Mt.Valmenone within the DP inner plat-form facies points towards a relativesea-level rise. In the outer platform,close to the off-lap break, the outershelf deposits of the DP, which showno signs of subaerial exposure, haveno downlap or onlap geometries, anda SMST is completely lacking. There-fore, there is substantial evidence fromouter and inner platform facies of theDP at Mt. Pramaggiore, and othersections in the Carnian Prealps, toindicate that global sea-level loweringdid not take place at the end of theAlaunian. Instead, the observationsindicate a relative sea-level rise in thestudy area at that time, a findingdiametrically opposed to the sea-levellowering predicted by the sea-levelchart of Haq et al. (1988).At the end of the Rhaetian, located

stratigraphically at the top of theDachstein Limestone carbonate plat-form succession, Haq et al. (1988)

Tagliamento River Tolmezzo

5 km

Dolomia Principale

ForniDolomite

Slope facies

Basinal facies

Monticello Formation

S-vergingoverthrust

CARNIAN PREALPS

Po Plain Venice

Insubric LineCARNIAN PREALPS

250 km

46o20' N

13o00'E

SOUTHERN ALPS

Mt. Auda Mt. VerzegnisMt. Chiarescons

Mt. Pramaggiore

Mt. Caserine Alte Mt. Frascola

b

a

Study area

46o20'N

Fig. 1 Simplified geological map of the Carnian Prealps showing the main Alpinethrusts and the Norian terrains. Note the widespread occurrence of shallow water(Dolomia Principale) and basinal carbonates (Forni Dolomite) in most of thenorthern part of the Carnian Prealps.

Terra Nova, Vol 15, No. 1, 40–45 A. Cozzi and L. A. Hardie • Distinguishing eustatic and tectonically induced deposition

.............................................................................................................................................................

� 2003 Blackwell Publishing Ltd 41

predict a global type 2 SB. However, inthe Carnian Prealps the shallow-waterperitidal cycles of the Dachstein Lime-stone are overlain by relatively deeper-water hemipelagic limestones of lateRhaetian–early Liassic age (Poddaand Ponton, 1997; Carulli et al.,1998b), without any evidence for akarst or erosional unconformity thatcould serve as a sequence-boundingunconformity. This terminal Rhaetiandrowning took place either (i) by agradual deepening without the inter-position of an exposure surface belowthe deep-water pelagic Hettangianlimestones, or (ii) by a rapid changefrom peritidal shallowing-upwardcycles to deep-water hemipelagic carbon-ates. It is significant that in both casesevidence for normal faulting is presentjust before the deepening phase.In summary, the field data are in

serious conflict with the sea-levelcurve for the Late Triassic proposed

by Haq et al. (1988), showing at theAlaunian–Sevatian boundary and atthe end of the Rhaetian a relative sea-level rise instead of global sea-levellowering.

Discussion

It is proposed that tectonic subsidencewas the major factor controlling thedevelopment of Norian–Rhaetianthird-order depositional sequences inthe Carnian Prealps. While the con-structors of the Exxon global sea-levelcurves assumed an average constanttectonic subsidence based on a maturepassive-margin type of setting, this isclearly not the case for the NW Tethysrealm where a major rifting phasestarted in the middle Norian andcontinued until the middle Jurassic.Calculated subsidence rates for theNorian successions of the CarnianPrealps are 28–33 cm kyr)1 (Cozzi,

1999), an order of magnitude higherthan that of a passive margin in adrifting stage (1–3 cm kyr)1). TheCarnian Prealps clearly experiencedfault-controlled subsidence, starting inthe late middle Norian (Alaunian) andcontinuing into the early Liassic(Carulli et al., 1998b; Cozzi, 1999,2000). In this respect, the 20-m-thickbituminous interval within the innerplatform succession of the DP marks alocalized increase in tectonic subsi-dence (Cozzi and Jager, 2000). Anal-ogous intraplatform bituminousdeposits have been found in othersections of the Carnian and JulianPrealps (Fantoni et al., 1998), tens ofkilometres to the east of the studyarea. At the same stratigraphic level,similar organic-rich intervals from theNorthern Calcareous Alps (NCA,Seefeld Schichten; Satterley andBrandner, 1995) and the Transd-anubian Central Range (TCR, Rezi

210

215

SMST

TST

HST

SMST

TST

HST

LST

SY

ST

EM

ST

RA

CT

S

CY

CL

ES

(3rd

OR

DE

R)

1.1

4.1

2.1

Haq et al. (1988)

SU

PE

RC

YC

LE

S(2

nd

OR

DE

R)

UA

A-4

UA

B-1

UAB-2

?? ?

Mt.Valmenone basin

?

MARGINPLATFORM

TST

HST

SY

ST

EM

ST

RA

CT

S

TE

CT

ON

ICE

VE

NT

S

STRATIGRAPHY of the CARNIAN PREALPSSEQUENCE STRATIGRAPHY

THIS STUDY

BASIN

progradingDP HSTDF

backstepping

aggrading

Monticello Monticello Monticello

? SOV

?

?

SOV

DLDP

drowned?

TST

mu

ltu

ple

tec

ton

icp

uls

es

?

?TST

?

CL

SE

VA

TIA

NA

LA

UN

IAN

LA

CIA

N

1

2

3

2

1

3

1

2RH

AE

TIA

NN

OR

IAN

TIME(Ma) STAGES

SE

RIE

SU

PP

ER

TR

IAS

SIC

STANDARDCHRONOSTRATIGRAPHY

220

(Gradstein et al., 1995)

DP: Dolomia Principale; DF: Forni Dolomite;DL: Dachstein Limestone; CL: ChiampomanoLimestone; SOV: Soverzene Fm

Sequence Boundaryabsent

?

3rdORDERCYCLES

Rh 2

Gianolla et al. (1998)

2ndORDERCYCLES

T 4

R 3b

Rh 1

No 2

No 1

Fig. 2 Synthesis of the stratigraphy of the Carnian Prealps and the sequence stratigraphic interpretation proposed in this study,compared with the existing global sea-level curve of Haq et al. (1988) and the sequence stratigraphic interpretation of Gianollaet al. (1998). Note the absence of true sequence boundaries (dashed lines) and the succession of TSTs following HSTs withoutevidence for a sea-level lowering. Note also the coincidence of the Alaunian–Sevatian and Rhaetian type 2 sequence boundaries inHaq et al. (1988) sea-level curve with the onset of extensional tectonic activity in the study area. Timescale after Gradstein et al.(1995).

Distinguishing eustatic and tectonically induced deposition • A. Cozzi and L. A. Hardie Terra Nova, Vol 15, No. 1, 40–45

.............................................................................................................................................................


Dolomit; Haas and Budai, 1999) havebeen interpreted as having originatedby synsedimentary extensional tecton-ics, providing further evidence for thewidespread occurrence of this tectonicphase recognizable at the NW TethysGulf scale.The drowning of the Dachstein

platform at the end of the Rhaetiancan be considered another regional,rather than local, event. This has beenrecognized in the Carnian Prealps,Julian Alps and Prealps, NCA (Sat-terley, 1996) and the TCR (Haas andBudai, 1999; Haas and Hamor, 2001),where the elements characteristic of atype 2 SB are notably absent or at bestambiguous, despite the NCA havingbeen a key area used to derive the topRhaetian SB2 of the global sea-levelchart (Haq et al., 1988). In the lateNorian and Rhaetian, the CarnianPrealps did not experience the massivesiliciclastic input that characterizedboth the Lombard Basin and theKossen Basin in the NCA and TCRwith the deposition of the Argilliti diRiva di Solto – Calcare di Zu andKossen formations, respectively.Therefore, the drowning at the endof the Rhaetian in the Carnian Prealpscannot be interpreted as a drowningunconformity sensu Schlager (1989). Afactor that could have played a majorrole in causing the demise of theRhaetian carbonate platforms is themass extinction that occurred world-wide at the end of the Rhaetian,resulting in a strong depletion of thecarbonate production potential, assuggested by Bohm (1992) for theNCA. In the case of the CarnianPrealps, the backstepping trend withrepeated platform drownings duringthe Rhaetian prior to and at theTriassic ⁄ Jurassic boundary, points totectonic subsidence as the main driver,masking any global eustatic signalthat might have occurred during thelast part of the Rhaetian.The two deepening events at the

Alaunian–Sevatian boundary and atthe end of the Rhaetian almost pre-cisely coincide with the two predictedsequence boundaries of the global sea-level curve of Haq et al. (1988). Giventhe complete absence, in both cases, ofcompelling evidence for the presenceof a type 2 sequence boundary and theother diagnostic features, it must beconcluded that sea-level lowering didnot take place and that extensional

synsedimentary tectonics controlledthe depositional patterns at the endof the Triassic in the entire NWTethys Gulf. This, in turn, impliesthat the top Rhaetian sequenceboundary derived from the NCA byHaq et al. (1988) was the result of amajor pulse of tectonic activity ratherthan a global eustatic sea-level oscil-lation, possibly with a concomitantbiological crisis.The sequences developed in the

Upper Triassic carbonates of the Car-nian Prealps suggest that extensionaltectonics can produce, via pulses ofnormal faulting followed by relativequiescence and slower subsidence(Calvet et al., 1990), transgressive–regressive sequences that develop ona time scale similar to that predicted

for the third-order sequences of Haqet al. (1988), generally resemblingthem in stratal geometries (Fig. 3)and being correlatable at the intra-basinal scale. This temporal sequenceof intense downfaulting followed bytectonic stasis has been reconstructedby White (1994) via inversion ofsubsidence curves from the Dolomites(northern Italy) for the Triassic–Jur-assic rifting. Moreover, in Quaternaryextensional settings modern and pre-recent earthquakes seem to occur inclusters with a recurrence intervalfrom a few to tens of kyr (McCalpin,1993, 1995; Cartwright et al., 1998). Acluster of metre-scale dip–slip move-ments with a recurrence interval of afew kyr would be able to shut downthe Late Triassic carbonate factory

b

Sequence Boundary

AL

AU

NIA

NS

EV

AT

IAN

SU

BS

TA

GE

HST

SMST

systemstracts

TST

globalsea-level

subsidence

+-

relativesea-level

+- +-

anoxicintraplatform

basin

PROGRADATION

AGGRADATION

inner shelf outer shelf shelf margin slope

HST

EUSTATICALLY CONTROLLEDDEPOSITIONAL SEQUENCE

mfs

a

anoxicintraplatform

basin

globalsea-level

subsidence

+-

extensionaltectonicactivity

relativesea-level

+-

AL

AU

NIA

NS

EV

AT

IAN

SU

BS

TA

GE

+-

PROGRADATION

AGGRADATION

noSequenceBoundary !

inner shelf outer shelf shelf margin slope

noSMST!

systemstracts

TST

HST

TECTONICALLY CONTROLLEDDEPOSITIONAL SEQUENCE

= m-scale intraformational breccias = neptunian dykes = normal faults

Fig. 3 (a) Sketch of the tectonically controlled transgressive–regressive depositionalsequence at the Alaunian–Sevatian boundary in the Carnian Prealps. Note that therelative sea-level rise is caused by an increase in subsidence owing to the onset ofextensional tectonics, and not to a rise in global sea-level, which is kept constant.Note also the absence of a proper type 2 sequence boundary on the platform top andthe total absence of a SMST. (b) Eustatically controlled type 2 sequence boundaryand overlying transgressive sequence, for comparison with (a).


.............................................................................................................................................................


causing platform drowning, as sug-gested by Schlager (1981) to explainthe sudden drowning of the Dachsteinat the end of the Rhaetian in theNCA.

Conclusions

1 The Late Triassic part of the Exxonglobal sea-level curve, partly derivedfrom correlatable strata within thesame palaeogeographical domain(NW Tethys), is likely to reflect pulsesof tectonically induced subsidencerather than eustatic sea-level changes.2 Pulses of extensional tectonic activ-ity, followed by relative quiescence,can produce transgressive–regressivesequences similar to eustatically dri-ven cycles, but lacking sequenceboundaries, SMST and ⁄or LST.

Acknowledgments

The manuscript benefited from the com-ments of P. Allen, T. Lawton, D. Sahagian,M. Tucker and an anonymous reviewer.

References

Bohm, F., 1992. Mikrofazies und Ablage-rungsmilieu del Lias und Dogger derNordostlichen Kalkalpen. Erlanger Geol.Abh., 121, 57–217.

Bosellini, A. and Hardie, L.A., 1988.Facies e cicli della Dolomia Principaledelle Alpi Venete. Mem. Soc. Geol. Ital.,30, 245–266.

Calvet, F., Tucker, M.E. and Henton,J.M., 1990. Middle Triassic carbonateramp systems in the Catalan Basin,northeast Spain: facies, systems tracts,sequences and controls. Spec. Publ. Int.Ass. Sediment., 9, 79–108.

Cartwright, J., Bouroullec, R., James, D.and Johnson, H., 1998. Polycyclic motionhistory of some Gulf Coast growth faultsfrom high-resolution displacement ana-lysis. Geology, 26, 819–822.

Carulli, G.B., Longo Salvador, G., Podda,F. and Ponton, M., 1997. La Dolomia diForni: evoluzione di un bacino euxinicotardo-triassico nelle Prealpi Carniche.Boll. Soc. Geol. Ital., 116, 95–107.

Carulli, G.B., Cozzi, A., Longo Salvador,G., Podda, F. and Ponton, M., 1998b.Evidence of synsedimentary tectonicactivity during the Norian-Lias (CarnianPrealps, northern Italy).Mem. Soc. Geol.Ital., 53, 403–415.

Carulli, G.B., Fantoni, R., Masetti, D.et al., 1998a. Analisi di facies e propostadi revisione stratigrafica del SudalpinoOrientale. Atti Tic. Sci. Terra, 7,159–183.

Cozzi, A., 1999. The role of extensionaltectonism in the sequence stratigraphicinterpretation of shallow water carbon-ates: a case study from the upper TriassicDolomia Principale, Carnian Prealps,northern Italy. Unpubl. doctoral disser-tation, The Johns Hopkins University,Baltimore.

Cozzi, A., 2000. Synsedimentary tensionalfeatures in upper Triassic shallow waterplatform carbonates of the CarnianPrealps (northern Italy) and their im-portance as paleostress indicators. BasinRes., 12, 133–146.

Cozzi, A., 2002. Facies patterns of atectonically-controlled Upper Triassicplatform-slope carbonate depositionalsystem (Carnian Prealps, northeasternItaly). Facies, 47, 151–178.

Cozzi, A. and Jager, H., 2000. Sedimen-tology, palynofacies and significance ofan intraplatform anoxic depressionwithin the Upper Triassic DolomiaPrincipale (Carnian Prealps, northernItaly). In: Abstr. 80th Summer MeetingSoc. Geol. Ital., 6-8 September 2000,Trieste (G.B. Garulli & G. LongoSalvador, eds), pp. 164–165. EdiziomeUniversita di Trieste (E.U.T.), Trieste.

Cozzi, A. and Podda, F., 1998. A platformto basin transition in the Dolomia Prin-cipale of the M. Pramaggiore area,Carnian Prealps, northern Italy. Mem.Soc. Geol. Ital., 53, 387–402.

Fantoni, R., Longo Salvador, G., Podda,F., Ponton, M. and Scotti, P., 1998.L’Unita a laminiti organiche nel Noricodel Rio Resartico (Val Resia, PrealpiGiulie). Atti Tic. Sci. Terra, Spec. Ser., 7,109–123.

Gaetani, M., Gnaccolini, M., Jadoul, F.and Garzanti, E., 1998. Multiordersequence stratigraphy in the TriassicSystem of the western Southern Alps.In: Mesozoic and Cenozoic SequenceStratigraphy of European Basins (P. C.de Graciansky et al., eds). Spec. Publ.Soc. Econ. Paleont. Miner., Tulsa, 60,701–717.

Gianolla, P., De Zanche, V. and Mietto, P.,1998. Triassic sequence Stratigraphyin the Southern Alps (northern Italy):definition of sequences and basinevolution. In: Mesozoic and CenozoicSequence Stratigraphy of EuropeanBasins (P. C. de Graciansky et al., eds).Spec. Publ. Soc. Econ. Paleont. Miner.,Tulsa, 60, 719–747.

Gianolla, P. and Jacquin, T., 1998. Triassicsequence startigraphic framework ofWestern European Basins. In: Mesozoicand Cenozoic Sequence Stratigraphy ofEuropean Basins (P. C. de Gracianskyet al., eds). Spec. Publ. Soc. Econ.Paleont. Miner., Tulsa, 60, 643–650.

Gradstein, F.M., Agtenberg, F.P., Ogg,J.G. et al., 1995. A Triassic, Jurassic andCretaceous time scale. In: Geochrono-

logy, Time Scales and Global Strati-graphic Correlation (W. A. Berggrenet al., eds). Spec. Publ. Soc. Econ.Paleont. Miner., Tulsa, 54, 95–126.

Haas, J. and Budai, T., 1999. Triassicsequence stratigraphy of the Transdan-ubian Range (Hungary). Geol. Carpath-ica, 50, 459–475.

Haas, J. and Hamor, G., 2001. Geologicalgarden in the neighborhood of Budapest,Hungary. Episodes, 24, 257–261.

Handford, C.R. and Loucks, R.G., 1993.Carbonate depositional sequences andsystems tracts – Responses of carbonateplatforms to relative sea-level changes.In: Carbonate Sequence Stratigraphy.Recent Developments and Applications(R. G. Loucks and J. F. Sarg, eds).Mem.Am. Ass. Petrol. Geol., 57, 3–41.

Haq, B.U., Hardenbol, J. and Vail, P.R.,1988. Mesozoic and Cenozoic chronos-tratigraphy and cycles of sea-levelchange. In: Sea-Level Changes: anIntegrated Approach (C. K. Wilguset al., eds). Spec. Publ. Soc. Econ.Paleont. Miner., 42, 71–108.

McCalpin, J.P., 1993. Neotectonics of thenortheastern Basin and Range margin,western USA. Z. Geomorphol., 84,137–157.

McCalpin, J.P., 1995. Frequency distribu-tion of geologically determined slip ratesfor normal faults in the western UnitedStates. Bull. Seism. Soc. Am., 85, 1867–1872.

Miall, A., 1992. the Exxon global chart: anevent for every occasion? Geology, 20,787–790.

Mitchum, R.M. Jr, Vail, P.R. andThompson, S., III, 1977. Seismic strati-graphy and global changes of sea level,Part 2: The depositional sequence as abasic unit for stratigraphic analysis. In:Seismic Stratigraphy - Applications toHydrocarbon Exploration (C. E. Payton,ed.). Mem. Am. Ass. Petrol. Geol., 26,53–62.

Podda, F., 1998. Evoluzione del marginenord-occidentale della Piattaforma Friul-ana nell’intervallo Triassico Sup. – Giu-rassico Inf. suoi rapporti con il BacinoBellunese e relative implicazioni geodi-namiche. Unpubl. doctoral dissertation,University of Trieste, Trieste.

Podda, F. and Ponton, M., 1997. Evoluzi-one paleogeografica e paleostrutturaledelle Prealpi Carniche settentrionali alpassaggio Trias-Giura. Atti Tic. Sci.Terra, 39, 269–280.

Satterley, A.K., 1996. Cyclic carbonatesedimentation in the upper TriassicDachstein Limestone, Austria: the roleof patterns of sediment supply andtectonics in a platform-reef-basin system.J. Sedim. Petrol., 66, 307–323.

Satterley, A.K. and Brandner, R., 1995.The genesis of Lofer cycles of theDachstein Limestone, Northern

Distinguishing eustatic and tectonically induced deposition • A. Cozzi and L. A. Hardie Terra Nova, Vol 15, No. 1, 40–45

.............................................................................................................................................................


Calcareous Alps, Austria. Geol. Rndsch.,84, 287–292.

Schlager, W., 1981. The paradox ofdrowned reefs and carbonate platforms.Bull. Geol. Soc. Am., 92, 197–211.

Schlager, W., 1989. Drowning uncon-formities on carbonate platforms. In:Controls on Carbonate Platform andBasin Development (P. D. Crevello et al.,eds). Spec. Publ. Soc. Econ. Paleont.Miner., 44, 3–25.

Vail, P.R., Mitchum, R.M. Jr andThompson, S., III, 1977. Seismic strati-graphy and global changes of sea level,Part 3: Relative changes of sea level fromcoastal onlap. In: Seismic Stratigraphy –Applications to Hydrocarbon Exploration(C. E. Payton, ed.). Mem. Am. Ass.Petrol. Geol., 26, 63–82.

Vail, P.R., Audermard, F., Bowman, S.A.,Eisner, P.N. and Perez-Cruz, C., 1991.The stratigraphic signatures of tectonics,

eustasy and sedimentology – An over-view. In: Cycles and Events in Stratigra-phy (G. Einsele et al., eds), pp. 617–659.Springer, Berlin.

White, N., 1994. An inverse method fordetermining lithospheric strain ratevariation on geological timescales. EarthPlanet. Sci. Lett., 122, 351–371.

Received 31 January 2002; revised versionaccepted 1 October 2002


.............................................................................................................................................................


third-order depositional sequences controlled by synsedimentary extensional tectonics: evidence from...

Documents