Pleistocene speleothem fracturing in the Western Carpathian orogenic foreland: A case study from transtensional setting at the eastern margin of the Bohemian Massif

O Bábek; M Briestenský; G Přecechtělová; P Štěpančíková; JC Hellstrom; RN Drysdale

Journal article

Pleistocene speleothem fracturing in the Western Carpathian orogenic foreland: A case study from transtensional setting at the eastern margin of the Bohemian Massif

O Bábek, M Briestenský, G Přecechtělová, P Štěpančíková, JC Hellstrom, RN Drysdale

Geological Quarterly | Published : 2015

DOI: 10.7306/gq.1225

Abstract

We studied speleothem-fracturing styles and their tectonic context in three cave systems situated in the eastern Bohemian Massif, close to the Western Carpathians orogenic front: the Za hájovnou, Javoříčko, and Mladeč caves. The morphology of the speleothems in particularly thin stalactites, and supporting evidence from the cave interior, indicates a tectonic origin of the breakage. U/Th series dating of the stalactites, supported by Optically Stimulated Luminiscence (OSL) and 14C dating of soft sediments indicate that most of the fracturing occurred in the Upper Pleistocene, with the last fracturing events corresponding to MIS6 and MIS5 stages. OSL dating of faulted soft-sediment infill may..

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University of Melbourne Researchers

John Hellstrom Author

Russell Drysdale Author

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Grants

Awarded by Czech Science Foundation (GACR) project

Funding Acknowledgements

This study was supported by the Czech Science Foundation (GACR) project P210/12/0573. The paper benefied from very helpful and constructive reviews by S. Sebela (Ljubljana), M. Gradzinski (Krakow), and P. Aleksandrowski (Wroclaw). The authors thank numerous cavers from the local caving clubs "7-09 Estavela" and "7-03 Javoricko", and the Cave Administration of the Czech Republic for their help with fieldwork.