A. Pre-Congress field trips

A1 – The Mississippian carbonate platform of the Ardennes, Belgium – fauna, facies, and stratigraphy.
Julien Denayer (University of Liège), Edouard Poty (University of Liège), Bernard Mottequin (Royal Belgian Institute for Natural Sciences, Brussels), Cyrille Prestianni (Royal Belgian Institute for Natural Sciences, Brussels)

26.-28.07.2019

Contact: julien.denayeruliege.be, University of Liège, Allée du Six-Aout B18, 4000 Liège, Belgium

The Lower Carboniferous (Dinantian) strata of the Namur-Dinant Basin in Belgium is probably the best known worldwide and many recent works have abundantly documented the stratigraphy, facies development and depositional settings, sequence stratigraphy and palaeontology. Belgium is the type area of the Tournaisian and Viséan stage and exposes on a rather small surface a very variegated set of characteristic formations in good-quality sections, easily accessible and of great geological value.

This field trip aims to present this succession with a peculiar view on the facies and biotic components. The excursion will visit the classical Tournaisian and Viséan formations both in renowned and off-the-beaten-tracks sections. The first days will be dedicated to the upper Famennian to upper Tournaisian Viséan shelf deposits of the Condroz area, including the Devonian-Carboniferous Boundary in the classical sections of Dolhain, Chanxhe and Royseux. The second day will focus on the deeper part of the basin, in the Dinant area where the well-developed and well-exposed Waulsortian mudmounds were first described in the early XXth century. The Tournaisian-Viséan succession north of Dinant will also be presented, including the lower Viséan Black Marble Lagerstätte. The last day will be dedicated to the proximal upper Tournaisian to upper Viséan strata in the proximal areas of Namur and its comparison with the succession of the Dinant area.

Transport: Coach
Departure: Friday, 26.07.2019, 08:30 a.m., Cologne University
Return: Sunday, 28.07.2019, approx. 5:00 p.m., Cologne University
Number of participants: minimum 10, maximum 20
Costs (including hotel and all meals): 420 Euros
Clothing and type of outcrops: no special clothing required except for field boots. Bring along your private safety goggles, if possible. However, goggles, helmets, and safety jackets will be provided. Outcrops are active and abandoned quarries, natural and artificial outcrops along forest roads, slopes and river banks, easily reached by minor walking.

Suggestions: The field trip might be supplemented by post-congress field trip C1 to the Kulm Basin of the Rhenish Mountains that demonstrates time-equivalent successions of the deeper water foreland basin adjoining towards the east of the Ardenne carbonate platform. On post-congress field trip C3 the marine mixed carbonate-siliciclastic platform of the Pennsylvanian to Permian in the Southern Alps can be studied. Besides the Cantabrian Mountains (NW Spain) this is the only possibility to visit such a marine succession in central and western Europe!

A2. – Depositional history and stratigraphical evolution of the Mississippian of the Moravian-Silesian Basin
Tomas Kumpan (University of Brno), Ondřej Bábek (University of Olomouc), Jiří Kalvoda (University of Brno), Daniel Šimíček (University of Olomouc).

24.-28.07.2019

Contact: Tomáš Kumpan kumpan.tomgmail.com, Masaryk University Brno, Department of Geological Sciences, Kotlářská 267/2, 61137 Brno, Czech Republic

The field-trip will provide complete overview on the development of the Variscan Moravo-Silesian Basin from pre-orogenic to post-orogenic deposition shown on a three-day traverse from Brno to Ostrava. The examined sequences are parts of the Rhenohercynian Zone and represent counterpart of the German Rhenish Mountains. The main motive of the field-trip are gravitational redeposited facies starting from upper Devonian calciturbidites to Viséan synorogenic silciclastic turbidites.
During the first day, limestone sequence of the Moravian Karst in the vicinity of Brno will be inspected, with special focus on the Devonian-Carboniferous and Tournaisian-Viséan boundary intervals, which are well documented by means of foraminifers and conodonts. Two different facies successions will be observed: slope calciturbiditic facies composed of platform and mixed platform-slope derived components, and upper slope hemipelagic facies. Second day will be dedicated to stratigraphic, sedimentological and paleontological aspects of synorogenic “Kulm” facies of the Drahany Upland and Nízký Jeseník Mountains. Various types of turbidites and debrites of the remnant and peripheral foreland basin will be studied in several quarries and road-cuts. The history of the extensive slate mining in the ‘Slate Country’of the Nízký Jeseník region since the Middle Ages will be revealed in the Slate museum of Budišov nad Budišovkou, which, formerly a baroque mill, now is an important architectural monument. The field trip will end with a visit of the coal-bearing paralic succession in the region of Ostrava that was deposited after the Variscan orogeny in the external molasses of the Upper Silesian Basin.

Transport: Coach
Departure: Thursday, 25.07.2019, 08:00 a.m., Brno city centre (meeting point will be specified later)
Return: Saturday, 27.07.2019, late afternoon, Brno
Number of participants: minimum 10, maximum 20
Costs (including hotels and all meals): 300 Euros
Clothing and type of outcrops: no special clothing required except for field boots. Bring along your private safety goggles, if possible. However, goggles, helmets, and safety jackets will be provided. Outcrops are active and abandoned quarries, natural and artificial outcrops along forest roads, slopes and river banks, easily reached by minor walking.

Note well: participants have to make their own travel reservations towards Brno. Transfer Brno-Cologne not included in field trip fees.
For the transfer from Brno to Cologne there are two options:
(A) Arranged by the organizers: coach Brno-Cologne (airport). Departure 27.07. 06:30 p.m., arrival 28.07. 9:30 about 40 Euro.
(B) Not arranged by the organizers: Train Brno-Vienna (2 hours, no reservation required, 15 Euro) and flight Vienna-Cologne (1.5 hours, from about 100 Euro)

Suggestions: The field trip might be supplemented by post-congress field trip C1 to the Kulm Basin of the Rhenish Mountains that demonstrates time-equivalent successions of the deeper water foreland basin on the northern side of the bilaterally symmetric European Variscan Orogen. On post-congress field trip C3 the marine mixed carbonate-siliciclastic platform of the Pennsylvanian to Permian in the Southern Alps can be studied. Besides the Cantabrian Mountains (NW Spain) this is the only possibility to visit such a marine succession in central and western Europe!

A3 – The classical Central European Permian: continental ‘Rotliegend’, marine ‘Zechstein’, and the Permian-Triassic transition in Germany.
Joerg W. Schneider (Technische Universität Bergakademie Freiberg), Thomas Wotte (Technische Universität Bergakademie Freiberg), Silvio Zeibig (K+S Kali GmbH, Kassel), Birgit Gaitzsch (Technische Universität Bergakademie Freiberg)

26.07. – 28.07.2019

Contact: joerg.schneidergeo.tu-freiberg.de, Technische Universität Bergakademie Freiberg, Bernhard-von-Cotta-Straße 2, 09596 Freiberg, Germany

Thuringia belongs to the classical European regions from where the traditional miners terms ‘Rotliegend’ and ‘Zechstein’ (for the continental and marine Permian, respectively), but also terms like ‘Saxonian’ and ‘Thuringian’ originate. This field trip aims to present typical outcrops of the Latest Carboniferous to the earliest Triassic in this classical Central European region. We will visit earliest to middle Permian well exposed outcrops in the Thuringian Forest characteristic for the intramontane basins of the European Variscan Orogen. Facies pattern and fossil content indicate the primarily climatically driven transition from fluvial and palustrine ‘grey facies’ to wet reds beds with lacustrine black shales, and finally to increasingly dryer playa red beds. The detailed studied fossil content of the visited Carboniferous and Permian sections will be used to discuss the current progress to correlate non-marine deposits of this period with the marine Standard Global Chronostratigraphic Scale. At the border of the Thuringian Forest the exceptional rapid marine Zechstein transgression including its basal Kupferschiefer (Copper Shale) on the nearshore palaeorelief is discussed in two representative outcrops. The unique barrier reef complex at the southern coast of the former Zechstein sea will be exemplified at the mediaeval castle Burg Ranis, build on one of these well exposed reefs. A Zechstein-reef diorama and the reconstruction of a Pleistocene archaeological site of the transition from the Neandertal man to the sapiens populations in a karst cave in the reef is seen in the castle museums exhibition.
One of the highlights will be the visit of the huge, abandoned Caaschwitz quarry where the lithostratigraphic boundary between Zechstein and Buntsandstein is exposed. Based on multistratigraphic approaches the equivalent to the marine Permian-Triassic boundary of the GSSP Meishan (South China) could be fixed here for the first time in European continental deposits.
The last day of the field trip is devoted to the salt mine Merkers, famous for its meter-sized halite crystals, to demonstrate the Zechstein evaporites. On the way back to Cologne, we will show the intra-Zechstein fissure fill at Korbach (northern Hesse), probably the second oldest fossil-bearing karst fill globally known. Among the diverse reptile fauna, therapsids like Procynosuchus proved for the first time palaeobiogeographic affinities of Central Europe and Gondwana during the Late Permian.

Transport: Coach
Departure: Friday, 26.07.2019, 08:00 a.m., Cologne University
Return: Sunday, 28.07.2019, approx. 5:30 p.m., Cologne University
Number of participants: minimum 12, maximum 25
Costs (including hotels, all meals and visit of salt mine): 430 Euros
Clothing and type of outcrops: no special clothing required except for field boots. Bring along your private safety goggles, if possible. However, goggles, helmets and safety jackets will be provided. Outcrops are active and abandoned quarries, natural and artificial outcrops, easily reached by minor walking; one outcrop will need a moderate walk. A visit of the subsurface potash mine Merkers is included.

Suggestions: The field trip might be supplemented by post-congress field trip C2 demonstrating the development of an intramontane basin south of the Zechstein sea, i.e. a completely continental Pennsylvanian-Permian succession. On post-congress field trip C3, the marine mixed carbonate-siliciclastic platform of the Pennsylvanian to Permian in the Southern Alps can be studied. Opposed to the continental Rotliegend and enclosed central European Zechstein sea, it demonstrates open marine platform development at the NW margin of the Tethys. Besides the Cantabrian Mountains (NW Spain) this is the only possibility to visit such a marine succession in central and western Europe!

A4 – The Pennsylvanian of the Ruhr basin, western Germany – facies, stratigraphy, and tectonics of a paralic foreland basin of the Variscides including coal formation
Volker Wrede (GeoPark Ruhrgebiet, Essen), Günter Drozdzewski (formerly Geologischer Dienst Nordrhein-Westfalen, Krefeld)

27.07.– 28.07.2019

Contact: wredevolkeryahoo.de, GeoPark Ruhrgebiet e. V., Kronprinzenstraße 35, 45128 Essen, Germany

The field trip will focus on the paralic development of the Subvariscan Foreland Basin during the Marsdenian (Namurian B), Yeadonian (Namurian C), and Langsettian (Westfalian A) in the Ruhr Basin and also include the Bolsovian (Westphalian C) and Asturian (Westphalian D) strata of the Ibbenbüren / Osnabrück area. Sedimentary evolution starts with marine deposits in the Marsdenian, and is ending with alluvial flood plains in the Westphalian C/D.
The basin development is determined by cyclic sedimentation of different scales. It will be highlighted by “classic” sections in the surroundings of the towns of Hagen, Witten, Bochum on day one. The second day of the field trip will lead to Ibbenbüren and Osnabrück.
Famous locations as e.g. the “Vorhalle Quarry” in Hagen, well known for the findings of early insects, as well as “Geological Gardens” in Bochum with one of the best exposures of the Variscan unconformity, and the huge Piesberg Quarry near Osnabrück, will be visited. Aspects of sedimentology, sequence stratigraphy, palaeontology, and coal formation are discussed. Tectonic features, typical for the area will be demonstrated.
After closure of the last active coal mines in Germany in late 2018, a visit of the historic Nightingale Mine in Witten is one of the only remaining opportunities to investigate mineable coal seams in situ underground.

Transport: Coach
Departure: Saturday, 27.07.2019, 08:30 a.m., Cologne University
Return: Sunday, 28.07.2019, approx. 5:00 p.m., Cologne University
Number of participants: minimum 12, maximum 25
Costs (including hotel and all meals): 230 Euros
Clothing and type of outcrops: no special clothing required except for field boots. Bring along your private safety goggles, if possible. However, goggles, helmets, and safety jackets will be provided. Outcrops are active and abandoned quarries, natural and artificial outcrops, easily reached by minor walking.

Suggestions: The field trip might be supplemented by post-congress field trip C1 to the Kulm Basin of the Rhenish Mountains. It exemplified the develop-ment of the deeper water foreland basin that was the southeastern precursor basin during Mississippian times. Opposed to the paralic realm, the intramontane Saar-Nahe Basin can be studied during post-congress field trip C2. Post-congress field trip C3 demonstrates the marine mixed carbonate-siliciclastic platform of the Pennsylvanian to Permian in the Southern Alps It developed after the Variscan paroxysm and, besides the Cantabrian Mountains (NW Spain), is the only possibility to visit a marine succession of that time slice in central and western Europe!