Middle Pleistocene carbonate-cemented colluvium in southern Poland: Its depositional processes, diagenesis and regional palaeoenvironmental significance

Sedimentary Geology 306 (2014) 24–35

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Middle Pleistocene carbonate-cemented colluvium in southern Poland: Its depositional processes, diagenesis and regional palaeoenvironmental significance Michał Gradziński a,⁎, Helena Hercman b, Krzysztof Staniszewski a,1 a b

Institute of Geological Sciences, Jagiellonian University, Oleandry 2a, 30-063 Kraków, Poland Institute of Geological Sciences, Polish Academy of Sciences, Twarda 51/55, 00-818 Warszawa, Poland

a r t i c l e

i n f o

Article history: Received 21 January 2014 Received in revised form 18 March 2014 Accepted 19 March 2014 Available online 27 March 2014 Editor: J. Knight Keywords: Snow flow Slushy debris flow Sheetwash Solifluction Calcite cement Stable isotopes

a b s t r a c t A colluvial origin is postulated for the enigmatic relic mantle of immature, carbonate-cemented rudites on the bedrock slope of Kraków Highland, preserved in the area of Kwaczała Gullies. The deposits comprise four sedimentary facies: (A) sporadic clast-supported openwork conglomerates; (B) predominant matrixsupported massive conglomerates, some with a coarse-tail normal grading; (C) subordinate sheets of parallel stratified and/or ripple cross-laminated fine-grained sandstones; and (D) local coarse-grained sandstones with gently inclined parallel stratification. The 230Th–U dating of sparry calcite cements points to the penultimate Odranian/Warthanian interglacial. The debris was derived from local bedrock, inferred to have been frostshattered in permafrost conditions during the Odranian glacial. Colluvial resedimentation was triggered by the rapid change in environment conditions brought by early deglaciation. Dense-snow/slush flows and slushladen watery debris flows are thought to have transferred limestone debris from the upper to middle hillslope, where siliciclastic sand matrix was incorporated and solifluctional creep prevailed, accompanied by slope sheetwash processes. Carbonate cementation of the talus occurred in phreatic conditions during the penultimate Odranian/Warthanian interglacial (marine isotope stage 7), when soils formed and local springs supplied carbonate-saturated groundwater. The patchy preservation of cemented colluvium indicates its erosional relics. The Pleistocene colluvial mantle in the Kraków Highland was probably extensive, but was removed by subsequent erosion where non-cemented. © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction Colluvial (talus) slope-waste sedimentary systems are associated with the foot zone of steep bedrock slopes or other topographic escarpments. These systems have a small aerial extent, but may be several tens of metres thick and are known to occur worldwide from the polar to equatorial regions. The preservation potential of colluvium may be low, but documented stratigraphic occurrences range from Quaternary to Precambrian (see review in Nemec and Kazancı, 1999). The surficial aspects of modern colluvial systems have long been studied by physical geographers and geomorphologists, but the resulting sedimentary facies successions and their ancient counterparts have only recently attracted detailed sedimentological research (Blikra and Nemec, 1993a, 1993b, 1998; Nemec and Kazancı, 1999). Colluvial

⁎ Corresponding author. E-mail addresses: [email protected] (M. Gradziński), [email protected] (H. Hercman), [email protected] (K. Staniszewski). 1 Present address: Rocca S.A. Osiedle Przemysłowe 21, 69–100 Słubice, Poland.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.sedgeo.2014.03.005 0037-0738/© 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

processes depend strongly on the geological nature and climatic conditions of the local slope, and may thus involve debris falls or rockfalls, high- to low-viscosity debris flows, channelized or unconfined water flow and possibly also aeolian sand deposition (Blikra and Nemec, 1998; Nemec and Kazancı, 1999; Ventra et al., 2013). The colluvial sedimentation is highly episodic, and hence is effectively “sampling” the slope climatic conditions and possibly recording their significant changes (Blikra and Nemec, 1998; Blikra and Selvik, 1998; Nemec and Kazancı, 1999; Aa et al., 2007; Decaulne et al., 2007; Sletten and Blikra, 2007; Stoffel et al., 2008; Matthews et al., 2009). Therefore, colluvial successions may serve as a valuable proxy record of terrestrial climate and climatic changes (Blikra and Nemec, 1998; Nemec and Kazancı, 1999; Sanders and Ostermann, 2011). The vast majority of Quaternary colluvial deposits in the world is non-cemented, and thus is commonly subject to open-pit mining for road construction purposes in rocky terrains (e.g., Blikra and Nemec, 1998). Cases of calcrete- or tufa-cemented colluvium are indicators of specific local slope conditions (Kotański, 1958; Pentecost, 1993; Pentecost and Viles, 1994; García-Ruiz et al., 2001; Pentecost, 2005; Ostermann et al., 2007; Sanders et al., 2010a,b; Sanders and

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Ostermann, 2011). Such colluvia are often dominated by rockfall deposits and referred to as cemented rudites or slope breccias, with the carbonate precipitates considered to be calcareous tufa (meteogene travertine sensu Pentecost, 2005) and suitable for dating by the 14C and U-series isotopic methods (García-Ruiz et al., 2001; Gradziński et al., 2001; Ostermann et al., 2006; Sanders et al., 2010b; Sanders and Ostermann, 2011). A specific and controversial case of such a carbonate-cemented colluvium occurs in the south-western part of the Kraków Highland, south-central Poland. These deposits have been studied since the second half of the 19th century, and were initially recognized not as a young colluvium, but as a part of the Permian conglomerates occurring in the Kraków Highland (Tietze, 1884). Zaręczny (1894) was the first who suggested that they were Quaternary in age. Siedlecki (1952, 1969) postulated their age to be Pliocene or early Pleistocene and implied their origin as slope-waste deposits predating the Pleistocene loess in the area. Gradziński (1972, p. 119) suggested that these “Quaternary conglomerates” were a cemented mantle of weathered

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bedrock debris. Płonczyński and Łopusiński (1993) considered these deposits to be a slope-denudation residuum. However, neither the exact age nor depositional environment of these cemented rudites has thus far been determined. These two contentious issues are addressed by the present study on the basis of field investigation and laboratory stable-isotope analyses. The study also sheds new light on the specific and rather unique diagenetic conditions of these deposits, which may explain why the pre-Vistulian colluvium in the highland region is so sparsely preserved. 2. Geological setting The cemented rudites crop out in small south-trending ravines known as the Kwaczała Gullies (Wąwozy Kwaczalskie in Polish) in the south-western part of the Kraków Highland (Fig. 1). The steep-sided gullies lack perennial water courses, with a flow of water only due to heavy rains and spring snow thaw. They are up to 15 m deep, incised in bedrock slopes inclined at ca. 5–10° to the south. Bedrock consists

Fig. 1. (A) Location of the study area in southern Poland, showing also the local extent of Odranian ice-sheet margin. (B) Topographic map of the study area of Kwaczała Gullies, showing surface geology (after Żero, 1956 and Płonczyński and Łopusiński, 1988, modified) and the location of in-situ and extra-situ outcrops of the cemented colluvium.

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of the weakly cemented arkosic sandstones of Stephanian age, known as the Kwaczała Arkose. This youngest unit of a thick (ca. 8 km) Upper Carboniferous siliciclastic succession consists mainly of coarse- to very coarse-grained sand with an admixture of gravel in the form of thin layers and lenses. Intercalations of red-stained argillaceous deposits are rare. Gravel comprises clasts of metamorphic rocks, cherts, quartz and polymictic clastic rocks (Turnau-Morawska and Łydka, 1954; Paszkowski et al., 1995). The arkosic sandstones are known particularly for the occurrence of silicified Dadoxylon tree trunks (Reymanówna, 1962). The gullies in their upper part expose a transgressive succession of Triassic deposits that covered the Stephanian sandstones. The succession commences with red to variegated claystones, cavernous limestones and marly dolomites of Rhaetian age, overlain by the Middle Triassic bedded limestones of the Gogolin Beds (Siedlecki, 1952). Pleistocene glacial deposits are preserved only locally and lack natural outcrops. They have been recognized in the so-called Black Forest (Czarny Las in Polish) and in the vicinity of the village of Skowronek (Gradziński, 1972, pp. 161–162) to the south-east of the gullied terrain. The glacial deposits in the Kraków Highland represent solely the Saanian-2 (Elsterian-2, marine isotope stage MIS 12 sensu Imbrie et al., 1984) glacial stage, as evidenced by Rutkowski et al. (1998) from the Niedźwiedzia Góra quarry ca. 12 km to the north-east of the study area. The other glaciations did not reach the southern part of the Kraków Highland, although the Odranian glacial stage (MIS 8) had it ice terminus

only around 40 km to the west of the study area (Fig. 1A; Lewandowski, 1982). Loess is the most widespread Pleistocene deposit in the study area, draping and smoothing the topographic relief. The deposition and subsequent partial redeposition of loess in the Kraków Highland occurred mainly during of the last-glacial Vistulian stage (MIS 5d–2) (Pawelec, 2006, 2011). The cemented rudites and associated sandstones overlie the Carboniferous bedrock as relic isolated patches, forming small crags in the walls of the Kwaczała Gullies at the altitude range of 300 to 335 m (Fig. 1). The deposits form a discontinuous mantle 0.3–1.6 m thick (Figs. 2, 3a), although the spatial topographic relationship of outcrops suggests that they were locally up to 6–7 m in thickness. They are overlain by the Pleistocene loess. The gully-wall crags underwent weathering and disintegration, with the loose blocks of cemented rudite, some N 1 m3 in size, sliding down and presently resting at the gully bottom. These large displaced blocks are regarded as extra-situ outcrops and included in the list of 18 outcrops as a data base for the present study (Fig. 1; Staniszewski, 2012). 3. Methods and terminology The whole area of the Kwaczała Gullies has been thoroughly investigated in search for both in-situ and extra-situ outcrops of the cemented rudites, which are distinguishable from the underlying Stephanian deposits by the presence of carbonate debris derived from Triassic rocks.

Fig. 2. Selected outcrop logs showing the component colluvial facies (see legend). (A) Facies A overlain by facies B. (B) Facies B interlayered with facies C. (C) Facies B with outsized limestone clasts. (D) Facies B overlain by facies D. (E) Monotonous succession of amalgamated beds of facies B.

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Fig. 3. Openwork conglomerates of facies A. (A) Outcrop of the conglomerates facies A and B represent by log in Fig. 2A. (B, C) Conglomerate composed mainly of subangular clasts of Triassic carbonates cemented with fringe calcite that completely filled some the interstitial spaces; the carbonate clasts lack evidence of pre- or post-depositional corrosion. (D) Interstitial void filled with sparry calcite cement (thin-section view with crossed polars) with the cement draping non-corroded limestone clasts and an impingement growth pattern of calcite crystals. (E) SEM image of the impingement growth pattern of sparry calcite cement. (F) SEM image of the rhombohedral terminations of cement calcite crystals.

The descriptive sedimentological terminology is after Harms et al. (1975, 1982) and Collinson et al. (2006). Sedimentary facies are defined as the basic types of deposits distinguished on the descriptive basis of their bulk macroscopic characteristics (Harms et al., 1982), supplemented with microscopic observations using a standard petrographic microscope and a Hitachi S-4700 SEM coupled with a Noran Vantage microprobe. The mineral composition of four samples of carbonate cement was analysed by powder X-ray diffractometry (XRD) using a PW 1830 model of vertical XPert APD Philips goniometer. Samples of calcite cement were mechanically purified according to the procedure described by Mallick and Frank (2002). A sample containing 11 g of clean, compact calcite with no visible traces of detrital admixture was used for the U–Th dating, conducted at the Warsaw Isotopic Laboratory for Dating and Palaeoenvironment Studies of the Polish Academy of Sciences. Standard chemical procedure was used for uranium and thorium separation from carbonate samples (Ivanovich and Harmon, 1992). A 228Th–232U mixture (UDP10030 tracer solution by Isotrac, AEA Technology) was applied as an efficiency tracer in the chemical procedure. The U and Th were separated by ion

exchange using DOWEX 1 × 8 resin. After the final purification, the U and Th were electro-deposited on steel discs. Energetic spectra of alpha particles were collected using a DUO-ANSAMBLE spectrometer produced by EG&G ORTEC. Spectral analyses and age calculations were made with the standard URANOTHOR 2.6 software developed by the Uranium-Series Laboratory in Warsaw (Gorka and Hercman, 2002). The spectra were corrected for both the background and the delay time between chemical separation and measurement. Twenty three carbonate samples were selected for stable-isotope analyses. Eleven of them represented sparry calcite cement, six represented the fine-grained matrix of rudites, two were bulk samples of sandstones (facies C and D below), two additional represented Triassic carbonate clasts and two others – for comparison – represented modern tufa forming in a nearby stream ca. 2 km to the west. Their carbon (δ13C) and oxygen (δ18O) stable-isotope composition was analysed at the Warsaw Isotope Laboratory for Dating and Environment Studies of the Polish Academy of Sciences. Calcite samples were dissolved using 100% phosphoric acid (density 1.94 g/cm3) at 70 °C using a Kiel IV online carbonate preparation device connected to a Thermo-Finnigan

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DELTA + Plus mass spectrometer. The quality of analysis was controlled by the NBS-19 international standard measurements, with 3 to 5 NBS19 measurements for each sample series and the values recorded in ppm units relative to the V-PDB. Analytical reproducibility was verified on the basis of the repeatability of NBS-19 results, with the observed standard deviation of less than 0.07‰ for δ13C and less than 0.12‰ for δ18O measurements.

The conglomerate texture is clast-supported and openwork, only locally bearing fine-grained siliciclastic matrix. Interstitial spaces are partly or fully filled with sparry calcitic cement (Fig. 3B, C). The calcite crystals forming isopachous fringe cements are of columnar type and show an impingement crystallization pattern (sensu Dickson, 1993) (Fig. 3D, E). Crystal terminations are well-developed and rhombohedral (Fig. 3F).

4. Sedimentary facies

4.2. Facies B: matrix-supported conglomerate

The isolated outcrops of the cemented conglomeratic deposits in question have been studied in detail, which allowed four component sedimentary facies to be distinguished. Their macroscopic characteristics and carbonate cements are described in this section.

This conglomeratic facies is most common, with a clast composition similar to that of facies A, but with a matrix-supported texture. Carbonate clasts predominate, with a size range of mainly 2–3 cm, somewhat smaller than in facies A, but with scattered outsized clasts up to 40 cm (Figs. 2C, 4A–C). Matrix is sandy, yellowish to reddish grey in colour, composed chiefly of quartz and feldspar grains (Fig. 4D). The sand fraction is poorly sorted, mainly medium- to coarse-grained, commonly bearing granules. Cement is micritic calcite. These conglomerates form beds up to 1 m in thickness (Fig. 2), which are massive, but some show weak coarse-tail normal grading. The high concentration of large clasts in the lower part of some graded beds renders their basal texture locally clast-supported. Bedding is parallel to the depositional hillslope surface. Many elongate limestone clasts are oriented parallel to the bed boundaries, but most are oriented randomly and some even vertically.

4.1. Facies A: clast-supported openwork conglomerate This rudite facies has been found in only one outcrop in the easternmost gully, where it forms two beds ca. 95 cm and 20 cm thick, which are normal-graded and non-graded, respectively (Figs. 2, 3A). The conglomerate is composed of carbonate rock clasts with subordinate pebbles of crystalline rocks as well as arkosic sandstone, quartz and feldspar grains (Fig. 3B, C). Carbonate rocks debris represents micritic limestone, peloidal limestone, micritic limestone with crinoids, marlstone and marly dolomite. Limestone clasts are grey in colour, angular to subrounded and elongate in shape. Clasts of dolomite and marly dolomite are yellowish grey, subrounded and more equant in shape. Pebbles 2–5 cm in size dominate, with an admixture of small, flat cobbles up to 9 cm long. Limestone clasts are generally larger than those of marlstone and marly dolomite. Non-carbonate clasts are less common, up to a few centimetres in size and well rounded, except for the feldspar grains that are often broken along cleavage planes. The elongate, platy limestone clasts are aligned parallel to the dip of the gentle hillslope in which the gullies are incised, rather than to the steep gully slope.

4.3. Facies C: fine-grained sandstone This sandstone facies consists of the fine grains of quartz, feldspar, micritic limestone and subordinate mica (Fig. 5A). It has been found in only one outcrop, where it forms distinct layers 3–6 cm thick sandwiched between the matrix-supported conglomerate beds of facies B (Fig. 2B). The sandstone layers show indistinct planar-parallel stratification and/or ripple cross-lamination. Sandstone cement is micritic calcite.

Fig. 4. Matrix-supported conglomerate of facies B. (A) Conglomerate composed of non-corroded carbonate clasts mixed with siliciclastic debris and sand matrix. (B) Conglomerate composed of non-corroded carbonate clasts mixed with quartz and lidite debris and siliciclastic sand matrix, showing a weak coarse-tail normal grading. (C) Outsized carbonate cobbles in conglomerate; the visible hammer height is 27 cm. (D) Thin-section image (crossed polars) of the conglomerate sandy matrix comprising quartz and feldspar grains.

M. Gradziński et al. / Sedimentary Geology 306 (2014) 24–35

4.4. Facies D: coarse-grained sandstone This sandstone facies is coarser grained, composed of the detrital grains of quartz, feldspar, micritic limestone, marly dolomite and minor mica (Fig. 5B). Carbonate grains are up to 2 mm in size. Quartz grains are rounded to well-rounded, whereas carbonate grains are angular and so are also many feldspar grains broken along their cleavage planes. This facies has been found in only one outcrop, where it forms a solitary bed ca. 20 cm thick that rests on a conglomerate of facies B (Fig. 2D) and shows planar parallel stratification slightly inclined downslope relative to the bedding plane (Fig. 5C). The sandstone cement is sparry calcite (Fig. 5B).

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In its downslope transport, the upper-slope carbonate debris derived from Triassic bedrock was apparently mixed with the mid-slope siliciclastic detritus from Carboniferous bedrock. The mid-slope zone probably acted as an area of transient deposition, with a temporal accumulation of debris and its further resedimentation resulting in compositional mixing, whereas the lower slope acted as the ultimate depositional zone. The low inclination of upper hillslope (10–15°) and lack of bedrock cliffs preclude both rockfall and turbulent dry snowflow avalanches (Blikra and Nemec, 1998). This evidence, combined

4.5. Isotopic composition of cements Results of the 230Th–U dating of cements are given in Table 1. The date obtained from sparry calcite indicates sediment cementation during the penultimate interglacial (MIS 7). The stable isotope compositions of the calcitic cements in sedimentary facies A, the calcite-cemented facies C, D and matrix in facies B are listed in Table 2 and displayed for comparison in Fig. 6. There is no obvious correlation between the δ13C and δ18O values of sparry calcite cement (Fig. 6). However, there is a clear trend between the δ13C and δ18O values of the sparry cement, the fine-grained matrix in facies B, the bulk samples of facies C and D sandstones and the Triassic bedrock carbonates (Fig. 6). The sparry cements show the highest negative values of the two isotope parameters, whereas the Triassic carbonates show the highest positive values. The fine-grained matrix in facies B and bulk sandstone samples show intermediate values. 5. Discussion 5.1. The provenance of slope-mantle debris The debris forming the studied slope-mantle ruditic deposits apparently derives from two different bedrock sources: the Triassic carbonates and the Carboniferous arkoses. The carbonate debris, immature and predominantly of gravel grade, bears a clear resemblance to the Rhaetian and Middle Triassic rocks cropping out in the upper part of the hillslope at an altitude ≥30 m above the ruditic deposits and at a horizontal distance of ≥200 m from them (Fig. 1). Platy carbonate debris derives from thinly bedded Triassic limestones, whereas the more isometric clasts derive from the friable Triassic marlstones and marly dolomites (see Bodzioch and Kwiatkowski, 1992; Szulc, 2000). The angularity of carbonate debris indicates its short transport distance and a mainly physical weathering of the parental Triassic bedrock. The siliciclastic detritus, including quartz, feldspar and metamorphic rock debris, derives from the Carboniferous arkosic sandstones that crop out in the hillslope directly above the ruditic mantle. The transport distance of this detritus must have been even shorter than that of the carbonate debris, and its greater textural maturity is clearly inherited from the redeposited Carboniferous sediment (see Turnau-Morawska and Łydka, 1954; Paszkowski et al., 1995). 5.2. Depositional processes The bedding of cemented ruditic deposits and the fabric of platy clasts in facies A and B are parallel to the south-inclined bedrock hillslope, which means that these slope-mantle deposits predate the formation of the slope-cutting steeper gullies. The patchy relics of these deposits are preserved in shallow bedrock depressions in the lower part of the slope made of Carboniferous sandstones. The coarse carbonate debris, derived from the upper-slope Triassic bedrock, was transported over a horizontal distance of ≥ 200 m. The lower hillslope is inclined at ca. 5–10° and made of the Carboniferous siliciclastic sandstones, with no local exposure of Triassic carbonates.

Fig. 5. Associated sandstone facies. (A) Fine-grained sandstone of facies C composed of quartz grains with an admixture of carbonate clasts and subordinate mica flakes; thinsection image with crossed polars. (B) Coarse-grained sandstone of facies D cemented with sparry calcite. (C) Facies D sandstone overlying conglomerate of facies B, showing gently downslope-inclined planar parallel stratification; the coin is 2.3 cm across.

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Table 1 230 Th/U isotopic data of calcite cement. Sample

Lab no

Sample type

U cont. [ppm]

234

230

230

Age [ka]

KW 1

W 2922

Phreatic calcite spar

0.124 ± 0.005

1.16 ± 0.05

0.89 ± 0.04

199

220+25 −22

with the short transport distance of debris, points to low-mobility resedimentation processes (Fig. 7). The matrix-supported conglomerates of facies B, which predominate in the present case, are considered to be deposits of colluvial solifluctional creep (Van Steijn et al., 1995; Bertran et al., 1997; Blikra and Nemec, 1998; Van Steijn et al., 2002; Matsuoka, 2010; Van Steijn, 2011). The poorly defined and amalgamated massive beds of facies B (Fig. 2) probably represent solifluction lobes, which may have evolved from the initial mid-slope deposits of debris-bearing dense-snow or slush flows and slush-laden watery debris flows (Fig. 7C; Blikra and Nemec, 1998) that descended from the upper slope and incorporated a siliciclastic sediment admixture. Freeze–thaw solifluction cycles would then thicken the individual deposits on the lower slope, while causing a compositional mixing of debris. The physical weathering of carbonate upper-slope bedrock had apparently produced little sand and silt/clay fractions, as shown by the rudites matrix. It is likely, therefore, that the periodical gravitational collapses of an unstable melting snowpack on the upper slope caused dense-snow or slush flows, which mobilized local near-surface debris and transferred it downslope (Fig. 7A, B; see Blikra and Nemec, 1998). Some of the flows were probably slushladen watery debris flows subject to weak turbulent churning (Pierson, 1981), as indicated by occasional coarse-tail normal grading. These non-channelized turbulent debris flows in rheologically terms would be pseudoplastic “hyperconcentrated” sheetflows (Nemec and Muszyński, 1982; Benvenuti, 2003; Pierson, 2005; Nemec, 2009). The thin interbeds of stratified sand (facies C and D) are attributed to tractional sheetwash processes, probably instigated by periodic snowpack melting (Fig. 7D; see Blikra and Nemec, 1998; Nemec and Kazancı, 1999). The low-angle planar parallel stratification in facies D reflects the slope-downlapping accretion of a wash-out sediment lobe. An abundant meltwater or rainwater streaming through gravelly deposits resting in slope bedrock depressions would tend to winnow persistently their sandy matrix (Blikra and Nemec, 1998), which may

Table 2 Stable isotopic composition of carbonate samples. Sample number

Sample type

δ13C [‰ V-PDB]

δ18O [‰ V-PDB]

K1 K2 K3 K4 K5 K6 K7 K8 K9 K11 K12 K13 KW1 KW2 KW3 KW4 KW5 KW6 KW7 KW8 KW9 KW10 KW11

Triassic bedrock limestone Cemented fine-grained matrix, facies B Cemented fine-grained matrix, facies B Sparry cement, facies A Sparry cement, facies A Sparry cement, facies A Sparry cement, facies A Cemented fine-grained matrix, facies B Sparry cement, facies A Sparry cement, facies A Recent calcareous tufa Recent calcareous tufa Sparry cement, facies A Triassic bedrock limestone Sandstone, facies C, bulk sample Sparry cement, facies A Cemented fine-grained matrix, facies B Sandstone, facies D, bulk sample Sparry cement, facies A Cemented fine-grained matrix, facies B Cemented fine-grained matrix, facies B Sparry cement, facies A Sparry cement, facies A

1.60 −9.30 −10.12 −10.95 −11.49 −11.35 −11.48 −9.26 −11.41 −11.40 −10.70 −10.99 −11.29 −0.99 −9.35 −11.26 −10.14 −10.08 −11.75 −10.36 −7.53 −11.51 −11.4

−5.65 −6.58 −7.05 −7.23 −6.82 −7.30 −7.50 −6.43 −7.05 −7.00 −7.44 −7.27 −8.29 −5.13 −6.72 −7.74 −7.66 −7.11 −7.00 −7.06 −5.09 −6.97 −5.85

U/238U

Th/234U

Th/232Th

explain the local occurrence of clast-supported and nearly openwork gravel (facies A). Taken together, the sedimentary facies seem to indicate a colluvial depositional scenario with the transfer of weathered bedrock debris from upper to gentler middle slope by low-mobility dense snow or slush flows and slush-laden watery debris flows, mobilized under the load of a melting snowpack. Further secondary transport and mixing of debris was due to the mid-slope solifluctional creep. The periodical abundance of flowing water indicated by sandy sheetwash deposits supports the notion of snowpack melting. The depositional setting would then appear to be a frost-weathered periglacial bedrock slope mantled with debris and subject to colluvial resedimentation processes. 5.3. Cementation of colluvium Carbonate cementation of near-surface deposits is a common phenomenon, but occurs mainly in semi-arid environments where pedogenic calcretes develop (see Alonso-Zarza et al., 1992; and reviews by Alonzo-Zarza, 2003; Wright, 2007; Alonso-Zarza and Wright, 2010). The formation of such carbonate cements is possible but rare in a temperature climate (Strong et al., 1992), and is very rare in cold climatic conditions in association with cryogenic processes (e.g., Swett, 1974; Vogt and Corte, 1996; Lacelle, 2007). More puzzling is the lack of similarity of the carbonate cementation in the present case to either pedogenic or cryogenic cements. There are no features typical of calcrete, such as nodules, cracks, rhizoids or aggregates of needle-fibre calcite; and neither are there any features typical of cryogenic cements, such as fibrous calcite or crusts and pendants underneath large clasts. Furthermore, the δ13C values of the sparry cements in the present case (Table 2) are 4‰ lower than the range of −7.6‰ to −5.9‰ typical for cold-climate pedogenic calcites (Lacelle, 2007, his Table 3). The isopachous fringe sparry cement indicates a phreatic cementation of the colluvium, which is consistent with the lack of evidence diagnostic of vadose diagenesis, such as meniscus or pendant cements (see Land, 1970; Longman, 1980; Mack et al., 2000). The style of cementation is similar to the so-called groundwater calcrete formed by interstratal

Fig. 6. Stable-isotope composition of the colluvial deposits, Triassic bedrock limestone and local modern tufa (see explanation of symbols in the legend).

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Fig. 7. Schematic model (not to scale) for the hillslope colluvial resedimentation of bedrock debris in the study area. (A) Frost weathering continuously charges the hillslope with local bedrock debris. (B) The accumulation of snow-drift cover and its melting trigger gravity flows that transfer debris from the upper to the gentler (≤10°) middle slope. (C) Solifluctional freeze–thaw mixing and downslope creep of debris predominate in the middle to lower slope. (D) Redistribution of sandy matrix by sheetwash, with local winnowing from gravel and formation of sand lobes.

cementation near or below groundwater table (Wright, 1992, 2007; Alonzo-Zarza, 2003; Alonso-Zarza and Wright, 2010). Groundwater calcrete develops due to evaporation or loss of CO2, as recognized in many fluvial and alluvial-fan systems mainly in arid or semi-arid

regions. The cementation in fluvial cases tends to be limited to elongate palaeochannel sediment bodies, but extends into sheet-like zones in alluvial fans (Wright, 2007, Fig. 2.10). Although groundwater calcrete consists mainly of micrite, occurrences of associated sparitic cement

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Table 3 Calculated crystallization temperatures (tc) of calcite spar. Sample number

δ18O [‰ V-PDB]

tc Calculated for δ18Ow = −10‰a [°C]

tc Calculated for δ18Ow = −11‰a [°C]

tc Calculated for δ18Ow = −13‰a [°C]

K4 K5 K6 K7 K9 K11

−7.23 −6.82 −7.30 −7.50 −7.05 −7.00

4.19 2.63 4.49 5.25 3.52 3.13

0.39 −1.11 0.68 1.4 −0.25 −0.43

−6.77 −8.16 −6.51 −5.84 −7.84 −7.53

a

The values of δ18Ow are given relative to V-SMOW standard.

have been reported, for example, from the conglomerates of Siwalik Group, India (Tandon and Narayan, 1981), the Pliocene–Quaternary gravels in the Tabernas Basin, Spain (Nash and Smith, 1998) and the Pliocene–Pleistocene alluvial-fan deposits in the Palomas Basin, New Mexico (Mack et al., 2000). Characteristic of groundwater calcrete is also the lack of palaeosol horizons, rhizocretions, pisoids and desiccation features (Pimentel et al., 1996; Mack et al., 2000), which all are absent in the present case. The lack of correlation between the δ13C and δ18O values of sparry cement (Fig. 6) suggests that the cement crystallized under isotopic equilibrium conditions (Hendy, 1971). It is thus possible to calculate the temperature of crystallization by using the equation formulated by O'Neil et al. (1969) and modified by Friedman and O'Neil (1977):   3 6 ‐2 10 ln αc‐w ¼ 2:78 10 T −2:89

ð1Þ

where T is the temperature of crystallization (Kelvin scale) and αc − w is the oxygen equilibrium fractionation factor between calcite and water defined by the following formula: αc‐w ¼

1000 þ δ18 Oc 1000 þ δ18 Ow

ð2Þ

with the δ18Oc and δ18Ow values (ppm deviations from V-SMOW standard) denoting the isotopic composition of calcite and parental water, respectively. The δ18Ow of parental water in the present case is unknown. In the vicinity of Kraków, the δ18O of groundwater recharged during the Holocene is ~ 10‰ relative to the V-SMOW (Duliński et al., 2001; Zuber et al., 2004). One may presume that the water recharged during the Pleistocene interglacials had comparable δ18O values. In contrast, the groundwater recharged during colder climatic periods (the socalled glacial water) had the δ18O value between −13 and −11‰ relative to the V-SMOW (Zuber et al., 2004). The results of the calculations based on these values are given in Table 3 and indicate a crystallization temperature (tc) range between −7.84 and 5.25 °C. The negative temperatures must be excluded, as they result from the δ18Ow values assumed for glacial parental water. If the sparry cement had crystallized from water isotopically similar to the Holocene groundwater, the temperature of crystallization would appear to be between 2.53 and 5.25 °C (i.e., a few degrees lower than the region's present-day mean annual temperature of ca. 8 °C). However, it cannot be precluded that the actual δ18Ow value was lower than used in the calculation, which would give a higher crystallization temperature. Interestingly, the modern calcareous tufa in the region show similar δ18O values as the studied sparry cement (Table 2). The relatively low δ13C values of the sparry calcite cement (Table 2) indicate a groundwater charged with biogenic CO2 (Baker et al., 1997), which implies an occurrence of soil and vegetation cover during the cementation process and thus indirectly suggests interglacial conditions. The sparry calcite cements in facies A, the fine-grained matrix of facies B, the bulk samples of facies C and D and the Triassic bedrock

carbonates show a clear linear trend of their δ13C and δ18O values (Fig. 6), with the sparite showing the highest negative values and the bedrock showing the highest positive values. A similar trend of covariant δ13C and δ18O values has been recognized in the Holocene rockfall deposits in Austria (Sanders et al., 2010b). The Triassic bedrock in the present case yields isotopic values typical of marine carbonates (see also Szulc, 2000), whereas the values yielded by sparry cement reflect the isotopic composition of parental groundwater. The intermediate values yielded by facies B, C and D can be attributed to a mixture of cement and fine-grained bedrock detritus, which indirectly confirms that the micritic matrix cementation in facies B and C occurred in the same conditions as those of the sparitic cementation in facies A and D. Interestingly, a similar relationship has been recognized in chalks cemented under the influence of meteoric water in interglacial conditions, where the analysed samples contained a mixture of parent rock and freshwater cement (Woolhouse et al., 2009). The carbonate grains in the colluvial deposits show no visible evidence of dissolution (Figs. 3B–D, 4A, B), which precludes a possibility that the calcium carbonate in the cementing fluids was derived from the host sediment dissolution (see James, 1985). Another possible source of calcium carbonate may have been minute detrital carbonate grains that were more prone to dissolution and became fully dissolved. Sanders et al. (2010a) postulated that the dissolution of such “rock powder” supplied calcite for the cementation of Holocene rockfall talus in the Austrian Alps. However, the colluvium in the present case lacks evidence of rockfalls or other powder-producing processes, and there is also no evidence of a syndepositional infiltration with windblown silt. On the contrary, the colluvium was apparently deposited in “wet” slope conditions and subject to winnowing by flowing water, with most fines readily removed. Therefore, an external source of calcium carbonate seems more plausible in the present case. The most probable source is the soaking of loose colluvium by carbonate-rich groundwater percolating down from an upslope spring or springs perched over Upper Carboniferous sandstones. In such a scenario the calcium carbonate derived from dissolution of Triassic carbonates forming the upper slope area. This mechanism is responsible for the cementation of various terrestrial coarse-grained deposits in Punjab, India (Tandon and Narayan, 1981), in Nevada and California (Hay et al., 1986), at several sites in the United Kingdom (Pentecost, 1993; Pentecost and Viles, 1994; Pentecost, 2005), in the Polish Tatra Mountains (Gradziński et al., 2001), in the Sierra Lisbona, Spain (Stokes et al., 2007), and in the Austrian Alps (Sanders et al., 2010b). An early cementation of colluvium by carbonate-rich spring water may also explain the isolated preservation of these deposits. Pleistocene colluvial deposits were probably common in the Kraków Highland, but were removed by erosion where non-cemented. Studies of the region's present-day hydrology lend support to the postulated mechanism of carbonate cementation. The water springs draining Triassic carbonate aquifers have high discharge rates (e.g., Kleczkowski et al., 1978) and supply water of the Ca–Mg– HCO3–SO4 type (Czop et al., 2003). The water is supersaturated with respect to calcium carbonate, as evidenced by the local accumulation of modern calcareous tufas (Zaręczny, 1894; Szulc, 1983). Similar water percolating through the colluvial deposits in interglacial time would readily cause their early cementation. 5.4. Regional palaeoenvironmental implications The Pleistocene age of the colluvium and the angularity of its carbonate rock debris suggest frost weathering as the main factor of bedrock disintegration. The fragmentation of rock by frost depends on the ground temperature and availability of water. Experimental studies indicate that a temperature range between −3 and −10 °C is optimal for frost weathering (Anderson, 1998 and references therein) and that the effectiveness of this process is climatically controlled (e.g., Hales and Roering, 2005). The present study area during the bedrock weathering

M. Gradziński et al. / Sedimentary Geology 306 (2014) 24–35

phase thus probably hosted a cold periglacial environment, possibly with permafrost conditions. The highland slopes were mantled with bedrock debris and had sparse or no vegetation cover (see Pawelec, 2011). No primary or redeposited soils have been found in the colluvium, despite its deposition on a relatively gentle hillslope. The type and range of resedimentation processes inferred from the colluvial sedimentary facies are consistent with the notion of declining periglacial conditions (see Church and Ryder, 1972; Van Steijn et al., 1995; Blikra and Nemec, 1998; Matsuoka, 2001), which would here represent the regional decline of the Odranian glaciation (MIS 8). The 230Th–U date obtained from sparry calcite cements points to the penultimate Odranian/Warthanian interglacial (MIS 7), which suggests that the bedrock was probably frost-shattered during the Odranian glaciation (MIS 8) and the colluvial resedimentation occurred during its decline. Palaeogeographic reconstructions show that the Scandinavian ice sheet reached southern Poland at that time, with the ice front located around 40 km to the west of the study area (Fig. 1B; Lewandowski, 1982). The postulated origin of the hillslope colluvium thus fits well in the regional palaeogeographic and palaeoclimatic scenario for the conditions in the Kraków Highland during the decline of the last glaciation (Pawelec, 2006). The main phase of bedrock weathering by frost occurred probably in cold humid climatic conditions when permafrost began to decay (Pawelec, 2011). Snowpack would periodically form and melt, increasingly on seasonal basis, which triggered which triggered a range of debris-bearing dense-snow or slush flows and slush-laden watery debris flows that transferred upper-slope debris to the middle slope. The debris there underwent further solifluctional creep and mixing. The interlayering of these gravelly deposits with stratified sheetwash sand supports the notion of a periodical unconfined water runoff. The cementation of this early post-glacial colluvium probably started shortly after its emplacement (see Sanders et al., 2010a), reflecting rapid immediate post-glacial change in regional environmental conditions. The phreatic cementation indicates a rising groundwater table and activation of springs, as would be expected during or directly after the deglaciation. Climatic amelioration resulted in the development of soils, which introduced biogenic CO2 to the groundwater, as evidenced by the stable isotope ratio of calcite cements and the calculated temperatures of cement crystallization. This inference is in line with the isotopic age of sparry cements, which is within the time span of MIS 7 and corresponds well with the crystallization phase of speleothems in the Southern Polish Highlands and the adjacent Carpathians (Hercman, 2000; Hercman et al., 2008; Gradziński et al., 2012). The rate of cementation was presumably quite high, but is difficult to estimate since the chemical composition of water is not known. There is also no close analogue system with a known rate of cementation. Groundwater calcretes in arid climates develop in a few thousand years (Alonso-Zarza and Wright, 2010). The discussed setting is quite different, mainly due to lower temperature. On the other hand the continuous supply of spring water saturated with calcium carbonate could substantially accelerate the process, rendering the cementation of colluvium considerably faster. In Europe, modern calcareous tufas fed by spring water of ambient temperature appear to grow at rates exceeding 1.5 mm/year (Gradziński, 2010; Vázquez-Urbez et al., 2010; Auqué et al., 2014). The growth rate of tufa is considerably faster than that of subsurface cements, owing to the faster release of CO2 from a flowing water stream than from a groundwater table. Secondary sparry crusts known from porous tufa (Pedley, 1987; Chafetz et al., 1994; Janssen et al., 1999; Jones and Renaut, 2010) are the closest analogue, and some of them form in phreatic conditions (Pentecost, 2005, p. 43–44). Although their growth rate is not precisely known, they must have formed in no more than a few thousand years since they cement Holocene tufa. A similar development of Holocene groundwater and phreatic sparry calcite cements is known from the Polish Carpathians (Gradziński et al., 2012).

33

The cemented colluvium in the study area of the Kraków Highland pre-dates the last glacial, and its sparse local occurrence contrasts with the widespread occurrence of younger colluvial deposits in the highland region of southern Poland (e.g., Pawelec, 2006, 2011). This older colluvium has a patchy aerial distribution and is apparently an erosional relic, owing its preservation to the specific local conditions that promoted carbonate cementation. The coeval colluvial mantle in the Kraków Highland was probably extensive, but was removed by subsequent erosion where non-cemented. 6. Conclusions The sparsely preserved enigmatic mantle of carbonatecemented conglomeratic deposits on the bedrock slope of the Kraków Highland in the area of Kwaczała Gullies is interpreted to be a Pleistocene colluvium. The debris derives from two local bedrock sources: the Triassic carbonates exposed in the upper part of the hillslope and the underlying Upper Carboniferous arkoses that form substrate in the middle to lower slope. The angular coarse carbonate debris and lack of calcareous fines suggest bedrock weathering by frost-shattering in permafrost conditions followed by down-slope resedimentation. The colluvium consists of four sedimentary facies: (A) sporadic clastsupported openwork conglomerates; (B) predominant matrixsupported massive conglomerates, with some beds showing coarsetail normal grading; (C) sheets of parallel-stratified and/or ripple cross-laminated fine-grained sandstone; and (D) local coarse-grained sandstone with parallel stratification gently inclined in down-slope direction. The depositional processes are thought to have ranged from debris-bearing dense-snow and slush flows to slush-laden watery debris flows, which were mobilized by snowpack melting and transferred limestone debris from the steeper upper slope to the gentle middle slope, where the deposits incorporated siliciclastic debris and sand matrix due to solifluctional creep and mixing. Meltwater sheetwash played an important role by enriching solifluction lobes with sand matrix, while winnowing it locally in bedrock depressions and leaving openwork gravel. The 230Th–U dating of sparry calcite cements points to the penultimate Odranian/Warthanian interglacial. The bedrock was probably frost-shattered during the Odranian glacial and the colluvial resedimentation occurred during the early deglaciation and rapid change in periglacial environmental conditions. The calcitic cementation of colluvium occurred after climatic amelioration, when soils began to form and local springs started to supply carbonate-laden groundwater. The cementation proceeded in phreatic conditions. The rate of cement formation is undeterminable, but inferred to have been high. The cementation was due to unique local hydrological conditions and allowed preservation of Pleistocene colluvium which elsewhere in the Kraków Highland was eroded. Acknowledgements The study was sponsored by the Jagiellonian University (ING UJ statutory funds) and the Polish Academy of Sciences (ING PAN statutory funds). The authors are indebted to Renata Jach and Paulina Szelerewicz-Gładysz for preparing the figures. The paper has greatly benefited from the constructive comments of Wojciech Nemec and an anonymous reviewer. References Aa, R., Sjåstad, J., Sønstegaard, E., Blikra, L.H., 2007. Chronology of Holocene rockavalanche deposits based on Schmidt-hammer relative dating and dust stratigraphy in nearby bog deposits, Vora, inner Nordfjord, Norway. The Holocene 17, 955–964.

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