Shallow-water facies setting around the Kačák Event: a multidisciplinary approach

Abstract

Abstract In the Eifel area (western Rheinisches Schiefergebirge), a shallow- to deep-subtidal sequence of mixed carbonates and siltstones around the Kačák Event Interval close to the Eifelian–Givetian stage boundary was studied. An overall transgressive trend is inferred by the microfacies evolution. The stratigraphic variations of magnetic susceptibility in carbonates and in shale intervals show an overall decreasing evolution towards the top, which fits well with the transgressive trend. In addition, carbon and oxygen isotopes, and major, trace and rare earth element (REE) analysis have been used to get a better understanding of palaeoenvironmental variations in a shallow-water realm in the late Eifelian ( kockelianus and ensensis conodont biozones): for example, the δ 13 C excursion and Ce anomaly are interpreted to be the local representation of the beginning of the Kačák Event Interval, which is also consistent with the stratigraphy and microfacies analyses.