<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>The Rigelj Formation is a new lithostratigraphic unit of the Lower Permian Rattendorf Group in the Karavanke Mountains. The Formation is up to 105 m thick and mainly composed of siliciclastic and fossiliferous carbonate sediments that are entirely of shallow-marine setting. Conglomerates are interpreted as shoreface deposits, sandstones as deposits of the upper to lower shoreface, and fossiliferous siltstones as offshore deposits. Fossiliferous limestones were deposited in a shallow, open-marine shelf environment of moderate to low energy (wackestone, floatstone) and strong water turbulence (packstone, rudstone). The siliciclastic and carbonate lithotypes form some well-developed backstepping cycles starting with conglomerates, overlain by sandstones, siltstones and fossiliferous limestones that formed in an open shelf environment without siliciclastic influx. Similar sedimentary cycles are developed in the Grenzland Formation of the Carnic Alps.</p>
<p>The fusulinid fauna indicates that the Rigelj Formation ranges in age from the late Asselian to the middle Sakmarian. In the western Karavanke Mountains and near Trögern, the Lower Permian lithostratigraphic succession is very similar to the succession in the Carnic Alps with Tarvis Breccia resting on the Trogkofel Limestone and the Goggau Limestone. Unlike this, in the central part of the Karavanke Mountains (Dovžanova Soteska–Mt. Pleschiwetz/Plešivec area) the Rigelj Formation is erosively overlain by the Tarvis Breccia. The stronger diversification of the sedimentary environments within the Karavanke-Carnic Alps in the Lower Permian after the uniform sedimentation in the Upper Carboniferous can be attributed to block-faulting.</p>
</abstract>

The Rigelj Formation is a new lithostratigraphic unit of the Lower Permian Rattendorf Group in the Karavanke Mountains. The Formation is up to 105 m thick and mainly composed of siliciclastic and fossiliferous carbonate sediments that are entirely of shallow-marine setting. Conglomerates are interpreted as shoreface deposits, sandstones as deposits of the upper to lower shoreface, and fossiliferous siltstones as offshore deposits. Fossiliferous limestones were deposited in a shallow, open-marine shelf environment of moderate to low energy (wackestone, floatstone) and strong water turbulence (packstone, rudstone). The siliciclastic and carbonate lithotypes form some well-developed backstepping cycles starting with conglomerates, overlain by sandstones, siltstones and fossiliferous limestones that formed in an open shelf environment without siliciclastic influx. Similar sedimentary cycles are developed in the Grenzland Formation of the Carnic Alps.
The fusulinid fauna indicates that the Rigelj Formation ranges in age from the late Asselian to the middle Sakmarian. In the western Karavanke Mountains and near Trögern, the Lower Permian lithostratigraphic succession is very similar to the succession in the Carnic Alps with Tarvis Breccia resting on the Trogkofel Limestone and the Goggau Limestone. Unlike this, in the central part of the Karavanke Mountains (Dovžanova Soteska–Mt. Pleschiwetz/Plešivec area) the Rigelj Formation is erosively overlain by the Tarvis Breccia. The stronger diversification of the sedimentary environments within the Karavanke-Carnic Alps in the Lower Permian after the uniform sedimentation in the Upper Carboniferous can be attributed to block-faulting.

The Rigelj Formation, a new lithostratigraphic unit of the Lower Permian in the Karavanke Mountains (Slovenia/Austria)

Austrian Journal of Earth Sciences

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

The Rigelj Formation is a new lithostratigraphic unit of the Lower Permian Rattendorf Group in the Karavanke Mountains. The Formation is up to 105 m thick and...

The Rigelj Formation, a new lithostratigraphic unit of the Lower Permian in the Karavanke Mountains (Slovenia/Austria)

Published Online: Jul 07, 2022

Page range: 100 - 123

Received: Aug 24, 2021

Accepted: May 11, 2022

DOI: https://doi.org/10.17738/ajes.2022.0005

Keywords
Lower Permian, Southern Alps, Dovžanova Soteska, Mt. Pleschiwetz/Plešivec, Clastic Trogkofel Beds, fusulinid biostratigraphy

© 2022 Matevž Novak et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

The Rigelj Formation, a new lithostratigraphic unit of the Lower Permian in the Karavanke Mountains (Slovenia/Austria)

Published Online: Jul 07, 2022

Page range: 100 - 123

Received: Aug 24, 2021

Accepted: May 11, 2022

DOI: https://doi.org/10.17738/ajes.2022.0005

KeywordsLower Permian, Southern Alps, Dovžanova Soteska, Mt. Pleschiwetz/Plešivec, Clastic Trogkofel Beds, fusulinid biostratigraphy

© 2022 Matevž Novak et al., published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Keywords
Lower Permian, Southern Alps, Dovžanova Soteska, Mt. Pleschiwetz/Plešivec, Clastic Trogkofel Beds, fusulinid biostratigraphy