The Serbian Lake Pannon Formations – Their Significance and Interregional Correlation

Abstract

The problem of correlating Lake Pannon sediments across its basin has been the occupation of many geologists. At first, it was hampered by the prevalence of biostratigraphic, rather than lithostratigraphic correlation. The task became accomplishable when, thanks to seismic survey data, the strongly progradational character of Lake Pannon sedimentation had been understood. Thus, this paper aims to describe the formations from all parts of Lake Pannon and compare them to the ones described in Serbia. Material used includes published and unpublished data from all countries with Pannonian Basin System upper Miocene and lower Pliocene deposits, in the form of seismic, borehole and outcrop data. Even though the system is strongly asymmetric, both spatially and temporally, the formation synthesis framework should help better understanding among geologists operating within the basin. For the first time the informal formations are proposed for all Lake Pannon sediments in Serbia. The formations are linked to a progradational deltaic system within the following succession: basinal plain–turbidite–slope–delta front–delta plain–lacustrine and alluvial environments. The lithostratigraphic correlation has a huge potential in the context of industry. The main potential surely lies in petroleum geology, but it could be also very useful for exploration of geothermal energy, hydrogeology and construction materials.“intra-montagne”