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A fourth St. Gallen Formation cycle (?) in the Karpatian Upper Marine Molasse of central Switzerland

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Abstract

The Mauensee section in the Molasse Basin (North Alpine Foreland Basin) of central Switzerland represents one of the best continuously exposed outcrops of the St. Gallen Formation of the Upper Marine Molasse. A similarly well-exposed section is at Schmiedrued, situated about 15 km to the north. Biostratigraphic analysis of mammal and fish faunas shows that both sections are of Early Karpatian age. Palaeoecological analysis of the biota indicates an oligohaline intercalation within the marine part of the sections. This is additionally confirmed by the oxygen isotopic compositions of fish otoliths from the Mauensee section. The overlying marine sequence may represent a fourth cycle in the St. Gallen Formation that might perhaps indicate a Karpatian transgression from the Mediterranean Sea, which has not previously been recognized. Biostratigraphic comparison shows that the sedimentation of the Upper Freshwater Molasse began at the base of the Karpatian in southwest Germany and eastern Switzerland, and in the Middle Karpatian in central Switzerland. The presence of a Karpatian marine sedimentation area in central Switzerland may explain that the terrestrial sedimentation of the Upper Freshwater Molasse began at such different times.

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Acknowledgements

John Tipper (Univ. Freiburg) helped with a critical review of an earlier version and improved our English. Oliver Kempf (Technical Univ. Braunschweig), Thomas Tütken (Univ. Lausanne) and an anonymous reviewer gave additional helpful advice. M. Böhme (Univ. Munich and GeoBioCenter) determined the pharyngeal teeth of the carps. U. Struck (Univ. Munich and GeoBioCenter) assisted with the stable isotope analysis and interpretation. T. Fehr and A. Rocholl (both Univ. Munich) carried out the FTIR analysis. To all go our sincere thanks. This study was supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (Re 1113/9-1) and the GeoBioCenter (LMU).

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  1. Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Section Palaeontology and GeoBioCenter, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Richard-Wagner Str. 10, D-80333, Munich, Germany

    Bettina Reichenbacher

  2. Rainweg 2A, CH-3314, Schalunen

    Daniel Kälin

  3. Bärenhubelstraße 10, CH-4800, Zofingen

    Jürg Jost

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Reichenbacher, B., Kälin, D. & Jost, J. A fourth St. Gallen Formation cycle (?) in the Karpatian Upper Marine Molasse of central Switzerland. Facies 51, 160–172 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10347-005-0056-7

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