For over ten years, the Lower to Upper Tithonian boundary beds cropping out in the Owadów–Brzezinki quarry have yielded numerous fossils of ammonites, bivalves, brachiopods, xiphosurans, decapods, insects, and vertebrates – including actinopterygian fishes and various reptiles and others, all of which exhibit fine preservation of their anatomical details due to special environmental conditions during their fossilization. The Owadów–Brzezinki section is also important for stratigraphical correlations because it contains ammonite faunas indicative of the NE European and NW European Subboreal zonal schemes, as well as Tethyan calpionellids. The whole faunal as- semblage, which represents taxa of many iconic groups of Mesozoic animals, has created the opportunity to establish the ‘Owadów– Brzezinki geopark’, a geoeducation area where the public, and especially the young, can learn about the beauty of the natural history of the region.
The Late Jurassic shallow-water carbonates with intervening clayey-marly deeper-water deposits in the Holy Cross Mts. area formed over large bank of the elevated part of the Northern Tethyan Shelf during about 12 myr. They comprise three main successions (I, II and III) deposited partly in different environmental conditions, controlled by tectonic and climatic factors, and still preserved in the north-eastern margin, the north-western margin and the south-western margin of the Holy Cross Mountains. The history of sedimentation is presented according to the concept of the large tectono-stratigraphic units COK, LUK and KVB, which owe their origin to variable rates of tectonic subsidence, as introduced by Kutek (1994) for the area of central Poland. The studied deposits of the COK megasequence cor- responding to the Upper Oxfordian and the Lower Kimmeridgian up to the Hypselocyclum Zone consist of coral limestones, various grained (including oolitic) limestones, and micritic limestones formed over the gradually enlarging shallow-water carbonate platform of the Holy Cross Mts. This platform was subsequently subdivided into two elevated areas, separated by a depressed zone in the middle, bounded by the Nowe Miasto–Iłża–Bałtów Fault Zone in the north-east and the Holy Cross Fault System in the south. The younger mega- sequence LUK with it strongly transgressive character marks the successive stages of the marine transgression which entered the central, lowered part of the area of the Holy Cross Mts. from the west, where it appeared already in the early Hypselocyclum Chron. It succes- sively spread across the Holy Cross Mts. area towards the north-east and south bringing everywhere the deposition of various oyster lu- machelles and marls with ammonites at the end of the Hypselocyclum Chron and during the Divisum Chron of the Early Kimmeridgian to the Acanthicum/Mutabilis Chron of the earliest Late Kimmeridgian. The following megasequence KVB is represented by the detrital lu- machelles and chalky limestones with nereineids of the Eudoxus Chron of the Late Kimmeridgian marking the development of still younger shallow-water carbonate platform in the uplifted areas in the north-eastern and possibly the south-western margins of the moun- tains, allegedly subdivided by a deeper area of sedimentation of marly deposits. The youngest Late Jurassic deposits of the Holy Cross Mts., are very fragmentarily preserved, mostly because of Early Cretaceous uplift and erosion. They suggest an initial episode of complete drowning of the carbonate platform which became covered by marly deposits during the Early Tithonian, and the subsequent restoration of shallow-water carbonate sedimentation at the end of the Early Tithonian.
The evolutionary history of the Aulacostephanidae presented here includes the interval of about 5 Ma of the Late Oxfordian and Early Kimmeridgian ranging from the origin of the family to is maximal development. The development and biogeographical distribution of aulacostephanids in Europe were related mostly to sea-level changes and tectonics. The appearance of the ancestor genus Decipia and the following genus Ringsteadia was controlled by marine transgressions during the Late Oxfordian which stimulated also the distribution of these ammonites in Subboreal and Submediterranean Europe. The main faunal turnover at the Oxfordian/Kimmeridgian boundary was related to allopatric speciation correlated to separation of the aulacostephanid assemblages: it resulted in the appearance of the main Ringsteadia-Pictonia-Rasenia lineage in NW Subboreal Europe and the side-lineages Ringsteadia-Vielunia-Eurasenia/Involuticeras and Ringsteadia-Vineta-Balticeras-Rasenioides in NE Subboreal and Central Submediterranean Europe. A strong development of the shallow-water carbonate platforms during the Early Kimmeridgian stimulated the development of still another Pictonia (Pomerania) - Rasenia (Pachypictonia) lineage. The main faunal turnover correlated to a large transgression at the end of the Early Kimmeridgian resulted in the sudden distribution of the new aulacostephanid faunas over large areas of northern and central Europe, and opened a new stage in the evolutionary development of the family.
The Polish-Slovak Working Group of the Jurassic System was founded in 2012 as the continuation of the activity of the Polish Working Group of the Jurassic System established in 1999. The Group has been officially approved by and affiliated as the thematic section at the two national societies - the Polish Geological Society and the Slovak Geological Society. The foundation of the section resulted from growing integration of the Polish and Slovak geological researches, especially in the Carpathians placed at the border of the two states. This resulted in further arrangement of joint studies in that area, and the organization of six new field meetings (JURASSICA), four of them dedicated to the Carpathian Jurassic. The newly arranged meetings included: the JURASSICA IX (2011) at Małogoszcz, south-western Mesozoic margin of the Holy Cross Mts., central Poland; the JURASSICA X (2012) in the Pieniny Klippen Belt of the Transcarpathian Ukraine; the JURASSICA XI (2014) at Sławno, north-western Mesozoic margin of the Holy Cross Mts., central Poland; the JURASSICA XII (2016) at the Smolenice Castle in Malé Karpaty mountain range, south-western Slovakia; the JURASSICA XIII (2017) at Zakopane, Tatra Mts. at the Polish and Slovak state border; and the JURASSICA XIV (2019) in Bratislava, with excursions to the western sector of the Pieniny Klippen Belt in Slovakia. The close cooperation with the Berriasian Working Group of the International Commission on Stratigraphy of IUGS, and participation of many foreign geologists, gave the meetings an international character, being the place of exchange of studies and ideas connected with a widely treated “Jurassic” geology. The special field-guides included the abstracts of presentations and explanations to the geology of the particular areas edited on the occasion of the meetings (the last ones in English, indicated in the references below). Because of the COVID-19 pandemic the meeting has not been arranged for the last two years, but the forthcoming one is planned at Iłża, north-eastern Mesozoic margin of the Holy Cross Mts., in 2023. We hope that the future meeting will be an occasion for a wider cooperation with geologists working in the Jurassic System not only of our two states but also in other countries.
Abandoned quarries in the Wieluń Upland at Działoszyn and Wieluń in central Poland are of unique value for the detailed stratigraphical, palaeontological, sedimentological and palaeogeographical studies of the Oxfordian and Kimmeridgian stages (especially the Upper Oxfordian and Lower Kimmeridgian substages) of the Jurassic System in Europe. It is because they yield the successions of deposits containing diverse assemblages of ammonites of a great significance for stratigraphical correlation, including that corresponding to the stratigraphical interval at the newly accepted global stratotype (GSSP) between the Oxfordian and the Kimmeridgian. Moreover, the quarries show the last Late Jurassic deposits placed towards the west in central Poland and preserved against the erosion, thus of high importance for the palaeogeographical reconstructions. The quarries offer also a special opportunity for educational purposes, and might become local geological attractions as they contain abundant fossils. Additionally, due to the fact that the Wieluń Upland, especially the environs of Działoszyn, has been one of the main areas of exploitation of limestones in Poland - the scientific value of the collected material and the history of the limestone mining could be presented in a specially prepared exhibition at the local museum, supported by geo-educational paths marked out in the abandoned quarries. Cooperation between the scientific community, local administration centers, and the owners of the quarries is of fundamental importance for the subject.
The Czertezik Succession of the Pieniny Klippen Belt in Poland is assigned herein to its type area of occurrence – the main Pieniny Range, between Zamkowa Góra and Czertezik mounts. The reworked deposits of uppermost Pliensbachian, Toarcian and possibly Aalenian to lowermost Bajocian discovered in crinoidal limestones which indicate redeposition processes, especially during the Bajocian, are considered to be clearly important for reconstructing the depositional history. The redeposited Pliensbachian is represented by clasts of spotty limestones, the Toarcian by ferruginous grains and fragments of crusts/large oncoids of the ammonitico-rosso type (?Adnet Fm.), whereas the Aalenian and lowermost Bajocian is possibly represented by clasts of siliciclastic deposits and phosphatic nodules. This part of the succession resulted from the activity of rifting phases at the end of the Early Jurassic, and in the Bajocian, which caused the development of the special sedimentary environments typical of the Czertezik Succession. The younger Middle to Late Jurassic deposits represented by nodular limestones, radiolarites and micritic well-bedded limestones show a less distinct facies pattern, which is in part similar to that of other successions of the Pieniny Klippen Belt, although some rock-units such as the newly established Zamkowa Góra Bed, revealing the continuation of redeposition processes, remain specific to the Czertezik Succession. The Jurassic structure of the central part of the Pieniny Klippen Belt in Poland is revised due to the introduction of the Czertezik Ridge as a new palaeogeographic unit being the place of deposition of the Czertezik Succession. The revised position of the deposits shifts the structural affinity of the Czertezik Succession from the Subpieniny Nappe to the base of the Pieniny Nappe sensu Uhlig, 1907, and implies its closer palaeogeographic position to the Branisko–Pieniny successions than to the Czorsztyn–Niedzica successions as has been interpreted so far.
The stratigraphical interval of the Kimmeridgian between the Bimammatum and the Hypselocylum zones in the SW margin of the Holy Cross Mts. shows a transition from the open shelf deep-neritic sponge megafacies to the shallow-water carbonate platform, including its development and decline. The uniform progradation of the shallow-water carbonate platform occurred at the end of the Planula Chron. Development of the shallow-water carbonate platform was controlled by climatic and tectonic factors. The former induced by orbital cyclicity resulted in changes of sea-level, revealed i.a. by the incoming of open-marine ammonite faunas, the latter were related to the synsedimentary activity of faults which resulted in contrasted facies changes. The episodically occurring strong influx of siliciclastic material was at least partly controlled by the tectonic activity. The newly elaborated formal lithostratigraphic subdivision takes into account the facies development of the succession in relation to climatically and tectonically induced changes. Such is e.g. the Małogoszcz Oolite Formation, corresponding to a single 100-kyr eccentricity cycle from the late Platynota Chron to the earliest Hypselocyclum Chron, bordered from the base and top by two transgressive climatically-controlled levels. The final stage of the shallow-water platform development at the end of the Hypselocyclum Chron was marked by the successive limitation of restricted environments, and the appearance of more open-marine conditions related to tectonic subsidence of the area of study. Comparison between the carbonate platform development of the Holy Cross Mts. in central Poland, and the coeval shallow-water carbonates of the Jura Mts. in northern Switzerland and south-eastern France provides an opportunity to consider similarities in the successions which can be attributed to the climatically-controlled sedimentary cyclicity and/or the wide-ranged tectonic phenomena. The palaeontological part of the study gives comments on the classification and phylogeny of ammonites of the families Ataxioceratidae and Aulacostephanidae.
The Owadów-Brzezinki Geopark, located in the western margin of the Holy Cross Mountains in Slawno community (Łódź Voivodeship), was established in June 2019 in close vicinity of the Owadów-Brzezinki quarry. The geopark consists of palaeontological museum, educational trail and panoramic viewing platform, located along the quarry edge. The palaeontological museum exhibits unique fossils of marine and terrestrial organisms that were excavated in the quarry during the last six years. Among the most important fossils, which can be seen there are: horseshoe crabs, crustaceans, ammonites, insects, actinopterygian fish, turtles, ichthyosaurs, crocodylomorphs and pterosaurs. In addition to the original fossils, the museum presents life-size reconstructions of animals that inhabited the local seas and islands in the Late Jurassic, and plates illustating palaeogeographical and paleoenvironmental history of this site. Thanks to many important palaeontological and palaeobiological discoveries, this geopark has great geotourist and educational potential. The geopark’s design was drawn upon similar palaeontological museums such as the Jura Museum Eichstätt in the Solnhofen region and the Hauff Museum in the Holzmaden in Germany.
The pits that left after exploitation of solid rock minerals are extremely interesting geological objects. They contain records of ancient processes that led to the exposure of rock formations, allowing the timing of these processes. The data obtained from abandoned quarries can be used for scientific studies, but it can also be applied in all activities aimed at popularizing knowledge about a biotic nature. Therefore, these localities should be under legal protection or at least secured against devastation, which often faces considerable difficulties. The Geological Museum has undertaken actions aiming at the protection of abandoned quarries, most often in the form of projects dedicated to geotourism management and creating geotourist trails. These projects are a chance to save important geosites from devastation, overgrowing by vegetation, or fading into oblivion. The article presents case studies of successfully managed old quarries, as well as failed attempts.
The geoeducation area (called also “Owadów-Brzezinki Geopark”) located in the north-western margin of the Holy Cross Mountains (Tomaszów Syncline) at Sławno community (Łódź Voivodeship), was established in June 2019, in close vicinity of the Owadów- ‑Brzezinki quarry. This locality is one of the most important palaeontological sites described recently in Poland. The area consists of the exhibition pavilion, educational routs and panoramic viewing platform, which is located along the edge of the quarry. The palaeontological exhibition shows the unique Late Jurassic fossils of marine and terrestrial organisms, many of them new to science, that have been excavated in the quarry during the last eight years. Among the most important fossils are: ammonites, lobster-like decapod crustaceans, horseshoe crabs, actinopterygian fish, a cryptodiran turtle, ichthyosaurs, as well as a small terrestrial crocodyliform, pterosaurs and insects. In addition to the original fossils, the exhibition presents life-size reconstructions of animals, that inhabited the local seas and islands during the Late Jurassic. The palaeontological sites of Owadów-Brzezinki is referred to as a new “taphonomic window” of the Late Jurassic, providing insights about the evolution of life on Earth in the palaeogeographical and palaeoenvironmental context.
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Geoedukacyjny ośrodek (zwany też „Geoparkiem Owadów-Brzezinki”) znajdujący się na północno-zachodnim obrzeżeniu Gór Świętokrzyskich (synklina tomaszowska) w gminie Sławno (województwo łódzkie) został utworzony w czerwcu 2019 roku w bliskim sąsiedztwie kamieniołomu Owadów-Brzezinki. Stanowisko to jest jednym z ważniejszych odkryć paleontologicznych ostatnich lat z terenu Polski. Ośrodek obejmuje pawilon wystawowy, ścieżki edukacyjne oraz platformę widokową umiejscowioną w bezpośrednim sąsiedztwie kamieniołomu. W powstałym pawilonie paleontologicznym wyeksponowano unikatowe skamieniałości późnojurajskich zwierząt morskich i lądowych, w tym gatunki dotychczas nieznane, które zostały odkryte w kamieniołomie podczas ośmiu minionych lat. Do najważniejszych skamieniałości należą amonity, homaropodobne skorupiaki, skrzypłocze, ryby kostnoszkieletowe, żółwie skrytoszyjne, ichtiozaury, a także małe lądowe krokodylomorfy, pterozaury i owady. Oprócz oryginalnych skamieniałości w muzeum wyeksponowane są naturalnych rozmiarów rekonstrukcje zwierząt, które zamieszkiwały lokalne morza i wyspy w późnej jurze. Stanowisko paleontologiczne Owadów-Brzezinki jest określane jako nowe „okno tafonomiczne” późnej jury, ukazujące zapis ewolucji życia na Ziemi w kontekście paleogeograficznym i paleośrodowiskowym.
The ammonite biostratigraphy as well as the organic matter content, its type and maturity of the Pałuki Formation, belonging to the fine, siliciclastic Kimmeridge Clay type facies, were investigated in five deep boreholes from the central-eastern part of the Łódź Synclinorium in Central Poland. The studied deposits are assigned to the Eudoxus and Autissiodorensis zones of the Upper Kimmeridgian as well as the Klimovi, Sokolovi, Pseudoscythica and Puschi (=Tenuicostata) zones of the Lower Tithonian (“Lower Volgian”). The Pałuki Formation shows in its lower and middle parts average TOC concentrations of ca. 2.5 wt.% and prominent, restricted increases in organic matter content, which are found in the mid-Eudoxus Zone, the lowermost part of the Autisiodorensis Zone, and at the Sokolovi–Pseudoscythica zone boundary. These stratigraphical intervals correlate well with rich in organic matter levels present in the Kimmeridge Clay Formation of NW Europe. The periodic expansions of Submediterranean and Subboreal-Boreal ammonites corresponded mostly to the transgressive phases, often correlated with a higher content of organic matter. The development of special morphologies of ammonites, such as the small-sized, nectopelagic forms of Nannocardioceras in the Late Kimmeridgian, has also been related to the deposition of shales rich in organic matter during the transgression maxima. The organic matter present in the Pałuki Formation mostly consists of Type II kerogen and is immature or early mature with respect to hydrocarbon generation, which is in agreement with previously published data. Evaluation of the new and published geochemical, lithological and structural data from the Pałuki Formation in the central-eastern part of the Łódź Synclinorium shows that these deposits could not have been a considerable source of crude oil or gas.
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