Acta Geologica Polonica publishes original papers on all aspects of geology. These papers must not have been published or submitted for publication elsewhere, in entirety or in part. The articles should be of moderate length (up to 80 manuscript pages). Longer manuscripts may be accepted but authors should consult the editor before submitting these.
Starting with 2012 you have free access to full texts of all published articles.
Acta Geologica Polonica is now (beginning with volume 54(1) for 2004) in the following Thomson ISI products: Science Citation Index-Expanded (SCIE), including the Web of Science, Current Contents/Physical, Chemical & Earth Sciences, ISI Alerting Services.
IF for 2019 = 0.797; 5-Year Impact Factor = 1.218
Score of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education = 70
The Carpathian Orava Basin is a tectonic structure filled with Neogene and Quaternary deposits superimposed on the collision zone between the ALCAPA and European plates. Tectonic features of the south-eastern margin of the Orava Basin and the adjoining part of the fore-arc Central Carpathian Palaeogene Basin were studied. Field observations of mesoscopic structures, analyses of digital elevation models and geological maps, supplemented with electrical resistivity tomography surveys were performed. Particular attention was paid to joint network analysis. The NE-SW-trending Krowiarki and Hruštinka-Biela Orava sinistral fault zones were recognized as key tectonic features that influenced the Orava Basin development. They constitute the north-eastern part of a larger Mur-Mürz-Žilina fault system that separates the Western Carpathians from the Eastern Alps. The interaction of these sinistral fault zones with the older tectonic structures of the collision zone caused the initiation and further development of the Orava Basin as a strike-slip-related basin. The Krowiarki Fault Zone subdivides areas with a different deformation pattern within the sediments of the Central Carpathian Palaeogene Basin and was active at least from the time of cessation of its sedimentation in the early Miocene. Comparison of structural data with the recent tectonic stress field, earthquake focal mechanisms and GPS measurements allows us to conclude that the Krowiarki Fault Zone shows a stable general pattern of tectonic activity for more than the last 20 myr and is presently still active.
The Szamotuły Graben covers the southernmost part of the Permo-Mesozoic Poznań–Szamotuły Fault Zone. Along this regional discontinuity there are several salt structures, including the Szamotuły diapir, over which an extensional graben formed in the Paleogene and Neogene. The graben is located north of Poznań in central- western Poland, and is NW–SE-trending, ~20 km long, 3–5.5 km wide, and up to 160 m deep. It is filled with Lower Oligocene and Neogene sediments, including relatively thick lignite seams. Data from boreholes allow the assignment of the graben-fill sediments to appropriate lithostratigraphic units. Furthermore, analysis of changes in the thickness of these units provides evidence for periods of accelerated graben subsidence or uplift relative to its flanks. As a result, two distinct stages of tectonic subsidence and one inversion in the Paleogene–Neogene evolution of the Szamotuły Graben have been distinguished. Thus, relatively significant subsidence occurred in the Early Oligocene and the middle Early–earliest Mid-Miocene, while slight inversion took place in the middle part of the Mid-Miocene.
The Silurian Pelplin Formation is a part of a thick, mud-prone distal fill of the Caledonian foredeep, which stretches along the western margin of the East European Craton. The Pelplin Formation consists of organic carbon- rich mudstones that have recently been the target of intensive investigations, as they represent a potential source of shale gas. The Pelplin mudstones host numerous calcite concretions containing authigenic pyrite and barite. Mineralogical and petrographic examination (XRD, optical microscopy, cathodoluminoscopy, SEM-EDS) and stable isotope analyses (δ13Corg, δ13C and δ18O of carbonates, δ34S and δ18O of barite) were carried out in order to understand the diagenetic conditions that led to precipitation of this carbonate-sulfide-sulfate paragenesis and to see if the concretions can enhance the understanding of sedimentary settings in the Baltic and Lublin basins during the Silurian. Barite formed during early diagenesis before and during the concretionary growth due to a deceleration of sedimentation during increased primary productivity. The main stages of concretionary growth took place in yet uncompacted sediments shortly after their deposition in the sulfate reduction zone. This precompactional cementation led to preferential preservation of original sedimentary structures, faunal assemblages and early- diagenetic barite, which have been mostly lost in the surrounding mudstones during burial. These components allowed for the reconstruction of important paleoenvironmental conditions in the Baltic and Lublin basins, such as depth, proximity to the detrital orogenic source and marine primary productivity. Investigation of the concretions also enabled estimation of the magnitude of mechanical compaction of the mudstones and calculation of original sedimentation rates. Moreover, it showed that biogenic methane was produced at an early-diagenetic stage, whereas thermogenic hydrocarbons migrated through the Pelplin Formation during deep burial.
The Family Kumpanophyllidae Fomichev, 1953, synonymised by Hill (1981) with the Family Aulophyllidae Dybowski, 1873, is emended and accepted as valid. The new concept of this family, based on both new collections and discussion on literature data, confirms the solitary growth form of its type genus Kumpanophyllum Fomichev, 1953. However, several fasciculate colonial taxa, so far assigned to various families, may belong to this family as well. The emended genus Kumpanophyllum forms a widely distributed taxon, present in Eastern and Western Europe and in Asia. Its Serpukhovian and Bashkirian occurrences in China vs Bashkirian occurrences in the Donets Basin and in Spain, may suggest its far-Asiatic origin, but none of the existing taxa can be suggested as ancestral for that genus. Thus, the suborder position of the Kumpanophyllidae remains unknown. Four new species: K. columellatum, K. decessum, K. levis, and K. praecox, three Kumpanophyllum species left in open nomenclature and one offsetting specimen, questionably assigned to the genus, are described.
This paper presents the qualitative and quantitative characteristics of microstructures of Neogene clays from Warsaw, Poland. Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) studies were used for the microstructural analysis of natural clays and clay pastes. Qualitative microstructural changes were observed: from a honeycomb microstructure for the initial clay paste to a turbulent microstructure for the dried paste. It was also noticed that water loss caused by the increase of the suction pressure had a significant impact on the microstructural transformations. Significant changes in the quantitative values of the pore space parameters were also observed. Increase of suction pressure and water loss caused a decrease in porosity and changes in the values of morphometric parameters, such as pore distribution; for example, a significant increase of the number of pores of 0−10 μm size and changes in the geometric parameters of the pore space were noticed with the increase of suction pressure. The pore space with larger isometric pores was modified into a pore space with the dominance of small anisometric and fissure-like pores. The increased degree of anisotropy from a poorly-oriented to a highly-oriented microstructure was also observed. After rapid shrinkage the reduction in the number of pores, maximum pore diameter, and total pore perimeter was recorded. The process of rapid water loss induced the closure of very small pores. A similar effect was observed during the increase of the suction pressure, where the closure of pore space of the clay pastes was observed very clearly.
Editorial Team
Editor-in-Chief
Piotr Łuczyński, Faculty of Geology, University of Warsaw, Żwirki i Wigury Str. 93, PL-02-089 Warszawa, Poland
Editors
Piotr Łuczyński, Faculty of Geology, University of Warsaw, Żwirki i Wigury Str. 93, PL-02-089 Warszawa, Poland
Anna Żylińska, Faculty of Geology, University of Warsaw, Żwirki i Wigury Str. 93, PL-02-089 Warszawa, Poland
Assistant Editors
Bogusław Bagiński, Faculty of Geology, University of Warsaw, Żwirki i Wigury Str. 93, PL-02-089 Warszawa, Poland
Andrzej Konon, Faculty of Geology, University of Warsaw, Żwirki i Wigury Str. 93, PL-02-089 Warszawa, Poland
Ewa Krogulec, Faculty of Geology, University of Warsaw, Żwirki i Wigury Str. 93, PL-02-089 Warszawa, Poland
Editorial Board
Zdzisław Bełka, Isotope Laboratory, Adam Mickiewicz University, Krygowskiego Str. 10, PL-61-680 Poznań, Poland
Olaf Elicki, Geological Institute, TU Bergakademie Freiberg (Freiberg University), Bernhard-von-Cotta Str. 2, 09599 Freiberg, Germany
Jerzy Fedorowski, Institute of Geology, Adam Mickiewicz University, Krygowskiego Str. 12, PL-61-680 Poznań, Poland
Peter J. Harries, NC State University, 1020 Main Campus Drive, Raleigh, NC 27695-7102, United States
John W.M. Jagt, Natuurhistorisch Museum Maastricht, de Bosquetplein 6, NL-6211 KJ Maastricht, Netherlands
William James Kennedy, Oxford University, Museum of Natural History, Parks Road, OX1 3PW Oxford, United Kingdom
Jacek Matyszkiewicz, Faculty of Geology, Geophysics and Environmental Protection, AGH University of Science and Technology, Mickiewicza Str. 30, PL-30-059 Kraków, Poland
Stanislaw Mazur, Institute of Geological Sciences, Polish Academy of Sciences, Senacka Str. 1, PL-31-002 Kraków, Poland
Jozef Michalik, Earth Science Institute, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Dúbravská cesta Str. 9, SK-840-05, Bratislava, Slovakia
Anatoly Mikhailovich Nikishin, Moscow State University, Department of Geology, 117234 Moscow B-234, Russian Federation
Nestor Oszczypko, Institute of Geological Sciences, Jagiellonian University, Gronostajowa Str. 3a, PL-30-387 Kraków, Poland
Grzegorz Racki, Faculty of Earth Sciences, University of Silesia, Będzińska Str. 60, PL-41-200 Sosnowiec, Poland
Ewa Słaby, Institute of Geological Sciences, Polish Academy of Sciences, Twarda Str. 51/55, PL-00-818 Warszawa, Poland
Michał Szulczewski, Faculty of Geology, University of Warsaw, Żwirki i Wigury Str. 93, PL-02-089 Warszawa, Poland
Susan Turner, Queensland Museum, 122 Gerler Rd., Hendra 4101, Queensland, Australia
Alfred Uchman, Institute of Geological Sciences, Jagiellonian University, Gronostajowa Str. 3a, PL-30-387 Kraków, Poland
Ireneusz Walaszczyk, Faculty of Geology, University of Warsaw, Żwirki i Wigury Str. 93, PL-02-089 Warszawa, Poland
Markus Wilmsen, Senckenberg Naturhistorische Sammlungen Dresden, Museum für Mineralogie und Geologie, Königsbrücker Landstr. 159, D-01109 Dresden, Germany
Andrzej Ryszard Żelaźniewicz, Institute of Geological Sciences, Polish Academy of Sciences, Podwale Str. 75, PL-50-449 Wrocław, Poland
Institute of Geology
University of Warsaw
Al. Zwirki i Wigury 93
02-089 Warszawa, Poland
Phone: +48-22-5540422
Fax: +48-22-5540001
e-mail: agp@uw.edu.pl