GeolCarp_Vol62_No2_155

www.geologicacarpathica.sk

GEOLOGICA CARPATHICA

, APRIL 2011, 62, 2, 155—169 doi: 10.2478/v10096-011-0013-z

Introduction

The history of the epicontinental Central Paratethys is charac-
terized  by  a  highly  dynamic  paleogeography.  In  an  environ-
ment  of  changing  sea-ways  and  land-bridges,  and  with
intermittent isolation of the Paratethys from the oceanic realm,
a  mainly  endemic  flora  and  fauna  developed.  The  regional
stratigraphy is based on this unique fossil record, but the en-
demic character of the biota causes great difficulties in corre-
lating  the  Central  Paratethyan  records  to  the  Mediterranean
and the global stratigraphic records (Piller et al. 2007). Mag-
netostratigraphic  studies  from  the  Central  Paratethyan  region
are  limited  primarily  because  of  variable  outcrop  conditions
and the lack of long, continuous sections (Scholger & Stingl
2004;  Magyar  et  al.  2007).  Therefore,  correlation  of  the  re-
gional  stratigraphy  to  the  global  stages  is  often  based  on  se-
quence stratigraphic studies using seismic and well data, with
ages assigned through correlation to 3

order sea-level cycles

(Kreutzer 1986; Weissenbäck 1996; Harzhauser et al. 2004;
Kováč et al. 2004; Strauss et al. 2006). Recently, Lirer et al.
(2009) proposed a correlation of an orbitally tuned Middle to
Late Miocene sedimentary record from the Vienna Basin to an

astronomically calibrated Mediterranean deep marine record.
However, a good consensus has not yet been reached on the
exact timing of the stratigraphic stage boundaries for the Cen-
tral Paratethys and hence for the timing of the sedimentary in-
fill of the Vienna Basin.

The Vienna Basin is a suitable area for a high-resolution

stratigraphic study since it went through a phase of rapid tec-
tonic  subsidence  during  the  Middle  to  Late  Miocene
(Lankreijer  et  al.  1995),  resulting  in  a  thick  sedimentary  se-
quence that provides a detailed temporal record. Accurate age
dating of the sedimentary infill of the Vienna Basin could thus
assist  in  evaluating  the  relative  contributions  of  tectonics,
eustasy and other factors. The purpose of the present study is
therefore  to  establish  a  high-resolution  stratigraphic  analysis
of the sedimentary sequence penetrated by a well in the central
part of the Vienna Basin. With the resulting temporal record,
sedimentation rates of the sequence can then be accurately de-
termined, providing detailed insights into the sedimentary and
tectonic evolution of the basin infill of the Vienna Basin on a
local and conceivably also on a regional scale.

The approach of this study relies on combining seismic data

with high-resolution well data, thereby integrating different

Integrated high-resolution stratigraphy of a Middle to Late

Miocene sedimentary sequence in the central part of the

Vienna Basin

WIESKE E. PAULISSEN

, STEFAN M. LUTHI

, PATRICK GRUNERT

, STJEPAN ĆORIĆ

and

MATHIAS HARZHAUSER

Department of Geotechnology, Delft University of Technology, Stevinweg 1, 2628 CN Delft, The Netherlands;

w.e.paulissen@tudelft.nl; s.m.luthi@tudelft.nl

Institute for Earth Sciences, University of Graz, Heinrichstrasse 26, A-8010 Graz, Austria; patrick.grunert@uni-graz.at

Geological Survey of Austria, Neulinggasse 38, A-1030 Vienna, Austria; stjepan.coric@geologie.ac.at

Natural History Museum Vienna, Burgring 7, A-1010 Vienna, Austria; mathias.harzhauser@nhm-wien.ac.at

(Manuscript received April 16, 2010; accepted in revised form October 11, 2010)

Abstract: In order to determine the relative contributions of tectonics and eustasy to the sedimentary infill of the Vienna
Basin a high-resolution stratigraphic record of a Middle to Late Miocene sedimentary sequence was established for a well
(Spannberg-21) in the central part of the Vienna Basin. The well is located on an intrabasinal high, the Spannberg Ridge,
a location that is relatively protected from local depocentre shifts. Downhole magnetostratigraphic measurements and
biostratigraphical analysis form the basis for the chronostratigraphic framework. Temporal gaps in the sedimentary se-
quence were quantified from seismic data, well correlations and high-resolution electrical borehole images. Stratigraphic
control with this integrated approach was good in the Sarmatian and Pannonian, but difficult in the Badenian. The resulting
sedimentation rates show an increase towards the Upper Sarmatian from 0.43 m/kyr to > 1.2 m/kyr, followed by a decrease
to relatively constant values around 0.3 m/kyr in the Pannonian. The sequence reflects the creation of accommodation
space during the pull-apart phase of the basin and the subsequent slowing of the tectonic activity. The retreat of the
Paratethys from the North Alpine Foreland Basin during the Early Sarmatian temporarily increased the influx of coarser-
grained sediment, but eventually the basin acted mostly as a by-pass zone of sediment towards the Pannonian Basin. At a
finer scale, the sequence exhibits correlations with global eustasy indicators, notably during the Sarmatian, the time of
greatest basin subsidence and full connectivity with the Paratethyan system. In the Pannonian the eustatic signals become
weaker due to an increased isolation of the Vienna Basin from Lake Pannon.

Key words: Miocene, Vienna Basin, high-resolution stratigraphy, biostratigraphy, downhole magnetostratigraphy,
global sea-level.

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stratigraphic scales. The well is an actual production
well  in  which  additional  measurements  have  been
performed specifically for the purpose of this study.
It traverses the Middle to Late Miocene sequence in a
relatively central part of the basin, away from shift-
ing depocentres at the basin margins and in a position
where few stratigraphic unconformities are expected.
Aside  from  seismic,  the  acquired  data  include  stan-
dard  well  logs  (in  logging-while-drilling  mode)  as
well  as  cuttings.  The  data  specifically  acquired  for
this study include a magnetostratigraphic record with
a novel wireline logging tool that provides a continu-
ous record of the polarities of the remanent magneti-
zation of the sedimentary sequences traversed by the
borehole. Because the Miocene contains a large num-
ber of normal and reverse polarities this logging tool
provides the opportunity to attain absolute age dating
at a higher resolution than can be achieved with bios-
tratigraphical analysis alone. Another log run specifi-
cally  for  this  study  is  the  Formation  MicroImager
(FMI, Mark of Schlumberger) which provides high-
resolution borehole images that are used to character-
ize  bedding  types  and,  in  combination  with  seismic
data, to identify unconformities and faults in order to
further refine the time lines.

Geological setting of the Vienna Basin

Location

The Vienna Basin forms the north-western part of

the Pannonian basins complex system and is situat-
ed  in  the  external  zone  of  the  Alpine-Carpathian
thrust  belt.  It  has  two  main  depocentres  (Kováč  et
al. 2004; Hinsch et al. 2005b) which were fed main-
ly by detritus from the Bohemian Massif, the North
Alpine  Foreland  Basin  and  by  the  eroding  and  ex-
tending Alpine orogen.

Figure 1 shows the Vienna Basin spreading from

the  Czech  and  Slovak  Republic  in  the  North  to  NE
Austria in the South. It is rhomboidal in shape with a
SSW-NNE  orientation  and  is  60 km  in  width  and
200 km in length. During Middle Miocene times the
Vienna  Basin  was  a  semi-closed  basin  and  the  con-
nection with the Central Paratethys was restricted to
the Wiener Neustadt gateway towards the Eisenstadt-
Sopron Basin, and to the Hainburg gateway towards
the  Danube  Basin  (Fig. 1)  (Harzhauser  et  al.  2004).

first phase started in the Early Miocene when the tectonic
system of the Eastern Alps transformed from a N-S compres-
sion to eastward lateral extrusion along prominent transform
faults (Ratschbacher et al. 1991; Peresson & Dekker 1997).
The Vienna Basin formed on top of these thrust sheets as a
piggyback basin in a NW-SE compressional system (Seifert
1992; Kováč et al. 1998b; Hölzel et al. 2010). During the
Eggenburgian sedimentation took place in the northern part
of the slowly subsiding basin, prograding southward during
the Ottnangian and Early Karpatian and resulting in the dep-

Fig. 1. Structural setting of the Vienna Basin with the main structural units in
the Eastern Alpine-Carpathian region (modified after Decker et al. 2005 and
Harzhauser et al. 2004). The base of the Neogene infill in the Vienna Basin is
indicated in grey-scale. The black dots indicate village locations associated to
wells mentioned in the text. The area of the seismic lines is indicated with
stippled lines.

To the northwest it is separated from the North Alpine Fore-
land Basin by external thrust sheets of the Alpine-Carpathian
system. According to Kilényi & Šefara (1989) the Vienna Ba-
sin has a maximum Neogene infill of 5500 m.

Basin evolution

The evolution of the Vienna Basin can be subdivided into

three distinctly different phases, each with its own geody-
namic and sedimentary characteristics (Wessely 2000). The

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osition of lacustrine to brackish-littoral sediments
(Kováč et al. 2004) (Fig. 2).

The second phase started during the Late Karpa-

tian when thrusting developed into lateral extrusion
of the Western Capathians from the Eastern Alpine
domain, with the basin undergoing a change into a
pull-apart  basin  (Lankreijer  et  al.  1995;  Decker  &
Peresson  1996;  Seifert  1996;  Kováč  et  al.  2004).
Subsidence of the basin was dominated by NE-SW
oriented left-lateral strike-slip faults during the Late
Karpatian  to  the  earliest  Badenian  on  the  eastern
margin of the basin (Leitha Fault System) and from
the Lower to Middle Badenian on the western mar-
gin  of  the  basin  (Schrattenberg  and  Bulhary  Fault
System) with the formation of grabens, half-grabens
and uplifted blocks (Kováč et al. 2004). As a conse-
quence of the change in tectonics an inversion took
place  at  the  Karpatian/Badenian  boundary,  leading
to erosion of large volumes of Early Miocene depos-
its  (Steininger  &  Wessely  2000).  The  main  depo-
centre  shifted  southward,  where  a  large  deltaic
system  developed  with  fluvio-deltaic  conditions  in
the south and a limnic-deltaic complex towards the
centre (Aderklaa Formation). In the northern part of
the basin, marine conditions with shaly sedimenta-
tion continued to prevail (Sauer et al. 1992).

The marine sedimentation in the Vienna Basin

reached  its  maximum  extent  during  the  Badenian
with  fine-grained  sedimentation  in  the  basinal  parts
(Sauer  et  al.  1992;  Weissenbäck  1996).  In  shallow
coastal  regions  along  the  basin  margins  and  on  up-
lifts  within  the  basin,  coastal  terraces  and  coralli-
nacean shoals with scattered coral patch reefs formed
(Leitha Limestone; Weissenbäck 1996; Riegl & Piller
2000).  The  Middle  Miocene  deltaic  bodies  were
sourced from the western (paleo-Danube River) and
northern  margins  (paleo-Morava  River)  of  the  ba-
sin.  A  drop  in  relative  sea-level  at  the  end  of  the
Badenian  is  considered  to  be  the  cause  of  signifi-
cant  erosion  of  Badenian  deposits  across  the  basin
(Kováč et al. 2004).

The NW-SE extension continued throughout the

Sarmatian with a period of more rapid tectonic sub-
sidence during the Early Sarmatian along the ENE-
WSW  sinistral  strike-slips  and  NE-SW  oriented
normal faults (Wagreich & Schmid 2002; Kováč et
al. 2004; Decker et al. 2005). The sedimentary con-
ditions  remained  comparable  to  those  of  the  Bade-
nian  except  that  the  paleoenvironment  switched
from normal marine towards a stressed system with

gression  and  erosion  along  the  basin  margins  (Kreutzer  &
Hlavatý  1990;  Kováč  et  al.  2004).  The  Vienna  Basin  was
filled  by  deltas  prograding  from  NW  towards  SE  during  the
Early and Middle Pannonian (Seifert 1996), followed by fluvi-
al  deposits  in  the  Late  Pannonian.  According  to  Decker  &
Peresson (1996) and Cloetingh & Lankreijer (2001) a change
in  the  large-scale  stress  field  caused  the  onset  of  the  third
phase of the Vienna Basin in the Late Pannonian with the re-
gime changing into an E-W compressive stress field, resulting

Fig. 2. Chronostratigraphic and biostratigraphic zonation as well as the gener-
al  depositional  environments  of  the  Vienna  Basin  during  the  Miocene.  Bio-
zones  are  from  Cicha  et  al.  (1998)  and  the  geomagnetic  polarity  timescale
from  Lourens  et  al.  (2004).  The  main  Central  Paratethyan  stage  boundaries
are according to Strauss et al. (2006) and the Sarmatian substage boundaries
according to Harzhauser & Piller (2004).

hyper- and hyposaline conditions and phases of eutrophica-
tion (Wessely 1988; Harzhauser & Piller 2004; Harzhauser
& Kowalke 2004).

Starting from the Pannonian the Central Paratethys devel-

oped into an alkaline lake system called Lake Pannon, an en-
closed  basin  framed  by  the  Alps,  the  Carpathians  and  the
Dinarids  (Steininger  &  Rögl  1985;  Kázmér  1990;  Magyar  et
al. 1999; Harzhauser & Mandic 2008). The transition from the
Sarmatian  to  the  Pannonian  is  characterized  by  a  strong  re-

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GEOLOGICA CARPATHICA, 2011, 62, 2, 155—169

in basin inversion and subsequently the termination of pull-
apart kinematics (Decker et al. 2005).

Timing of the basin infill

The timing of the Vienna Basin infill phases is not accurate-

ly known because of a lack of reliable age data. A linkage to
regional or global sequences has been attempted by various
authors based on seismic stratigraphy and biostratigraphy
(Rögl 1998; Harzhauser et al. 2004; Strauss et al. 2006). The
period of interest in this study covers the Middle to Late Mi-
ocene, corresponding to the Central Paratethyan regional stag-
es from the Lower Badenian to the Upper Pannonian (Fig. 2).

While the lower boundary of the Late Badenian is common-

ly assumed to correspond to the Langhian/Serravallian bound-
ary at 13.65 Ma (Lourens et al. 2004; Piller et al. 2007; Kováč
et al. 2007), there are uncertainties concerning the age of the
Sarmatian. According to Harzhauser et al. (2004) it spans the
entire 3

order cycle TB 2.6 of Haq et al. (1988) starting at

12.7 Ma  and  ending  at  11.6 Ma.  The  Badenian/Sarmatian
boundary then would coincide with the glacio-eustatic isotope
event MSI-3 (Abreu & Haddad 1998), and the Sarmatian/Pan-
nonian  boundary  to  the  glacio-eustatic  sea-level  lowstand  of
cycle TB 3.1. Alternatively, Sen et al. (1999) proposed a date
of  12.5 Ma  for  the  beginning  of  cycle  TB 2.6,  suggesting  an
even younger age for the Badenian/Sarmatian boundary.

Data acquisition and processing

The well Spannberg-21 used for this study was drilled in

2007 by the Austrian oil and gas company OMV in the cen-
tral  part  of  the  Vienna  Basin  (Fig. 1)  with  the  objective  of
testing the so-called 15Z2 Tortonian horizon, a Middle Bad-
enian  basin  floor  fan  (personal  communication  OMV).  The
well is located northeast on the Matzen-Spannberg ridge and
reached  a  depth  of  approximately  2.0 km  that  covers  the
Middle  to  Upper  Miocene.  The  first  450 m,  covering  the
middle  to  Upper  Pannonian,  consist  of  mainly  medium-  to
coarse-grained  sandstones  interbedded  with  siltstones  and

rare lignitic layers. The next 650 m cover the Lower Pannon-
ian and the Upper Sarmatian and are more shale-rich with
some thick, coarse-grained sandstone beds. Finally the last
900 m, covering the Lower Sarmatian and Badenian, consist
of mainly heterolithic clastic sediments.

The drilling proceeded in two phases, with the first 450 m

as a 12

” borehole, and the remaining 1529 m as an 8

”

borehole. The well was logged until 1837 m TVD with stan-
dard  logging-while-drilling  tools  and  additionally,  for  re-
search  purposes  specifically  designed  for  this  study,  with
wireline logs that include high-resolution electrical borehole
images  (Formation  Microscanner  Imager,  FMI,  Mark  of
Schlumberger) as well as a paleomagnetic log with the Geo-
logical  High-Resolution  Magnetic  Tool  (GHMT,  Mark  of
Schlumberger, now property of the Delft University of Tech-
nology).

The measurement principle of the GHMT is based on

high-precision downhole measurements of the total magnetic
field with a magnetometer, and of the susceptibility with an
induction  tool.  When  combining  these  two  measurements
with  a  measurement  of  the  total  Earth’s  magnetic  field  at  a
surface location close to the borehole, it is possible to derive
the  in-situ  remanent  magnetizations  of  the  traversed  sedi-
ments, in the form of scalar values that can then be correlat-
ed  to  the  susceptibilities  in  order  to  obtain  a  sequence  of
polarity reversals (Luthi 2001). Correlating this sequence to
the  Geomagnetic  Polarity  Time  Scale  (GPTS)  can  result  in
magnetostratigraphic age dating (Pozzi et al. 1993; Thibal et
al. 1999; Barthes et al. 1999; Williams 2006).

Conditions for the paleomagnetic logging tool were nearly

ideal:  the  borehole  diameters  and  temperatures  were  within
tool specifications, and there was little pollution by magnetic
particles  in  the  mud.  The  paleomagnetic  logging  tool  was
run over both well intervals and two repeat runs were taken
for  quality  control.  The  data  was  processed  at  the  Schlum-
berger  Riboud  Product  Centre  (SRPC)  using  proprietary
Schlumberger software. The whole well was used for the in-
terpretation  except  for  the  uppermost  72 m  and  the  interval
between 454 and 480 m, where steel casing negatively influ-
enced the magnetic measurements.

Fig. 3. A NW-SE ori-
ented  seismic  section
crossing  the  Spann-
berg-21  well  and  the
Steinberg  Fault  (see
stippled line in Fig. 1
for  location)  and  the
corresponding  inter-
pretation  of  the  seis-
mic  section.  Vertical
exaggeration  is  ap-
proximately 1.6.

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For the lithological characterization of the well, the operat-

ing company OMV sampled cuttings for the 8

” section at a

rate of one sample per 5 to 10 m. From the cutting material,
65 samples have been evaluated for their foraminiferal con-
tent in order to identify the regional biostratigraphic zones.
The sample material was dried and soaked in diluted H

wet sieved under running water and separated into two size-
fractions:  63—125 µm  and  >125 µm.  The  larger  fractions
were  analysed  for  all  samples  and  the  foraminifera  were
identified  on  the  basis  of  the  work  by  Papp  &  Schmid
(1985), Cicha et al. (1998) and Schütz et al. (2007).

Calcareous nannoplankton from 55 cutting samples (740—

1966 m TVD) was analysed on smear slides prepared using
standard procedures and examined under a petrographic mi-
croscope. The lowermost part of the well (1927—1966 m)
was found to be strongly contaminated with older, reworked
microfossils.

The seismic lines were provided by OMV and originate

from a 3-D pre-stack depth-migrated survey. They are
aligned in a radial configuration around the well (Fig. 1).

Results

Seismic analysis

Figure 3 shows a seismic line crossing the well in a NW-SE

direction, with the well location in the vicinity of the
Matzen-Spannberg ridge, a SW-NE striking basement struc-
ture forming an anticlinal structure in the overlying Neogene
section. The Matzen Fault System, which is in the proximity
of the well, affects the quality of the seismics in this area and
complicates the tracking of the reflectors across the faults.

Structural and stratigraphic framework

The NE-SW oriented Steinberg Fault (Fig. 3) is the largest

fault in the Vienna Basin. According to Hinsch et al. (2005a)
it reaches a maximum of 5.6 km throw and branches off the
sinistral  strike-slip  faults  at  the  basin  border.  Hinsch  et  al.
(2005a) also showed that the Steinberg and Bockfliess Faults
(the  latter  situated  southwest  of  the  Steinberg  Fault,  see
Fig. 1) were the main active faults in the central Vienna Ba-
sin  during  the  Early  Sarmatian  and  the  Early  Pannonian.
This is demonstrated by thick sediment accumulations north-
west of the Matzen Fault System in the hanging wall of the
south-east  dipping  Steinberg  Fault  (Fig. 3).  The  Matzen
Fault System strikes SW-NE and consists of northwest- and
southeast-dipping rotational faults with maximum throws of
80 m. In the vicinity of the Spannberg-21 well a network of
smaller  normal  faults  can  be  distinguished  on  the  seismics
(Fig. 3)  but  one  significant  normal  fault  can  be  identified
that  traverses  the  well  close  to  the  Pannonian-Sarmatian
stage boundary, with an estimated throw of 70 meters.

The Badenian, Sarmatian and Pannonian sequence could

be identified on the seismics (Fig. 3) using stratigraphic tie-
ins from the biostratigraphical analysis. The seismic-to-well
tie was established by creating a synthetic seismogram from
the well logs that was subsequently correlated to the seismic

traces  at  the  well.  An  erosional  unconformity  is  identified
from seismics at the boundary between the Upper and Lower
Sarmatian  stage  with  an  estimated  missing  thickness  of  ap-
proximately 160 m (Fig. 3). The Pannonian-Sarmatian bound-
ary  is  recognized  on  the  seismic  section  as  a  distinct
unconformity, with the Sarmatian reflectors obliquely truncated
to the NW of the well but disconformably overlying them to
the SE (Fig. 3). The maximum eroded thickness, as estimated
from seismics, is about 280 m.

Biostratigraphy

Foraminifera

The Badenian and Sarmatian biostratigraphy in the Central

Paratethys is commonly based on assemblages of benthic for-
aminifera (Papp et al. 1978; Cicha et al. 1998). The Badenian
is  subdivided  into  a  lower  and  upper  Lagenid-Zone  (Lower
Badenian), a Spiroplectammina-Zone (Middle Badenian) and a
Bulimina-Bolivina-Zone  (Upper  Badenian);  the  Bulimina-
Bolivina-Zone  is  followed  by  sediments  characterized  by
poorly  diverse  assemblages  of  Ammonia,  Quinqueloculina
and Porosononion (Papp et al. 1978; “Ammonia-zone” sensu
Kováč  et  al.  2004  and  Kováčová  et  al.  2008;  Cicha  et  al.
1998).  The  Sarmatian  is  subdivided  into  the  Anomalinoides
dividens-, the Elphidium reginum-, the Elphidium hauerinum-
Zones  (all  Lower  Sarmatian)  and  the  Porosononion  grano-
sum-Zone (Upper Sarmatian) (Cicha et al. 1998; Schütz et al.
2007)  (Fig. 2).  The  lacustrine  Pannonian  sediments  do  not
contain any foraminifera.

Although often poorly preserved, the benthic foraminifera

from the cutting samples allow for a proper biostratigraphic
evaluation. Samples from the lower part of the well (1999—
1779 m) reveal impoverished assemblages with low num-
bers of specimens, mainly consisting of Ammonia spp. and
P. granosum. The lack of any marker species does not allow
a biostratigraphic assignment.

A distinct faunal change is documented in samples from

1790—1772 m.  Species  of  Bulimina  and  Bolivina  become
dominant, accompanied by a diverse fauna including Nonion
commune,  Valvulineria  complanata,  Gyroidinoides  sp.,
Praeglobobulimina pyrula, Elphidium sp., Heterolepa dutem-
plei  and  Uvigerina  sp.  The  frequent  occurrence  of  Bolivina
dilatata cf. maxima suggests a Late Badenian age (Fig. 4), and
the dominance of Bolivina spp. and Bulimina spp. as well as
the  absence  of  agglutinated  species  indicate  the  Bulimina-
Bolivina-Zone. The overlying sediments (1772—1313 m) also
correspond to the Upper Badenian. Foraminifera occur only in
small  numbers  and  consist  of  Ammonia  sp.,  Elphidium  sp.,
Cibicidoides sp., Bulimina elongata elongata, Cycloforina sp.
as well as miliolids, indicating the “Ammonia-zone”. The Bad-
enian/Sarmatian  boundary  is  difficult  to  detect  as  no  distinc-
tive  change  is  observed  in  foraminiferal  assemblages  from
1304—1257 m. Foraminifera occur in small numbers with Am-
monia  sp.  dominant,  Elphidium  spp.  and  miliolids  common
and Anomalinoides sp. rare in some samples.

An Early Sarmatian age is clearly indicated for samples from

1257—1104 m. They are dominated by Ammonia cf. pseudobec-
carii and Elphidium spp. and – from 1257—1192 m – by

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Anomalinoides  spp.  (Fig. 4);  P.  granosum  occurs  in  low
numbers  in  some  of  the  samples.  Miliolids  like  Quinquelo-
culina  sp.  and  Cycloforina  karreri  occur  regularly  (Fig. 4),
while  Hanzawaia  boueana,  Nonion  spp.,  and  Globigerina
bulloides occur in low numbers. A further subdivision of the
Lower Sarmatian sequence is not possible due to the absence
of  characteristic  elphiid  biomarkers.  Large  elphiids  like  E.
reginum are totally absent in all samples but some specimens
of E. cf. hauerinum are present in samples from 1164—1104 m
(Fig. 4).

The boundary between the Lower and Upper Sarmatian is

indicated by a change in the faunal composition. Mass occur-
rences  of  P.  granosum  (often  making  up  more  than  90 %  of
the  assemblage)  suggest  that  the  interval  from  1104—866 m
belongs to the Porosononion granosum-Zone (Fig. 4). Species
of  Ammonia,  Elphidium  and  miliolids  (Quinqueloculina  sp.,
Varidentalina reussi – the latter only known from the Sarma-
tian; Schütz et al. 2007) occur in very low numbers in some of
the samples (Fig. 4).

A Pannonian age of the upper part of the well (866—739 m)

is indicated by the total absence of foraminifera. Samples of-

ten  contain  mollusc  fragments,  ostracods  and  coal/plant  re-
mains.  The  lowermost  sample  contains  several  specimens  of
P.  granosum  but  they  are  heavily  damaged  and  abraded  and
are  thus  most  likely  reworked  during  the  initial  Pannonian
transgression (Kováč et al. 2004).

Calcareous nannoplankton

Numerous paleontologists (Kamptner 1948; Stradner &

Fuchs  1978;  Ćorić  &  Hohenegger  2008)  have  investigated
the  calcareous  nannoplankton  content  of  Middle  Miocene
sediments of the Austrian part of the Vienna Basin. The Bad-
enian and Sarmatian regional stages span the nannoplankton
zones  upper  NN4  to  lower  NN7  of  Martini  (1971)  (Fig. 2).
During the Pannonian the isolation of the Central Paratethys
caused  the  development  of  an  endemic  nannoflora  in  Lake
Pannon. Blooms of endemic nannoplankton are well known
from the central part of Lake Pannon (Ćorić 2005), but in the
Austrian  part  the  Pannonian  sediments  mostly  contain  re-
worked  taxa  from  older  sediments.  Pannonian  endemic  cal-
careous nannoplankton from the Austrian part of the Vienna

Fig. 4. Benthic foraminifera from the Spannberg-21 well. 1 – Porosononion granosum; sample 876—866 m. 2 – Cycloforina karreri; sample
1164—1155 m. 3—4 – Elphidium cf. grilli; sample 1164—1155 m. 5 – Anomalinoides transcarpathicus; sample 1202—1192 m. 6 – Anomali-
noides cf. dividens; sample 1202—1192 m. 7 – Bulimina elongata; sample 1777—1772 m. 8—9 – Bolivina dilatata cf. maxima; sample
1777—1772 m. 10 – Bolivina dilatata dilatata; sample 1777—1772 m.

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Fig. 5.  Summary  of  the  bio-  and  magnetostratigraphic  results  and  their  correla-
tion  to  the  GPTS  (Lourens  et  al.  2004)  and  the  Central  Paratethyan  biozones
(foraminifera after Cicha et al. 1998 and calcareous nannoplankton after Lourens
et  al.  2004).  Solid  lines  indicate  correlations  with  high  confidence;  dotted  lines
indicate correlations with less certainty. Grey areas indicate the error bars for the
biostratigraphic analysis. On the paleomagnetic log black represent normal polar-
ity, white reversed polarity and grey uncertain polarity. The intervals with no pa-
leomagnetic data are indicated with crosses. Solid arrows on the GPTS indicate
the short polarity subchrons and dashed arrows indicate the location of the polari-
ty fluctuations within Chron C5n.2n as described by Krijgsman & Kent (2004).
The  main  unconformities  in  the  well  are  indicated  by  an  undulating  line  on  the
paleomagnetic log.

Basin is therefore only sporadically recorded
(Peresson et al. 2005).

Sand-rich sediments from 1890—1723 m are

characterized by a common and well preserved
nannoflora  with  typical  Early  Miocene  taxa:
Discoaster  druggii  Bramlette  &  Wilcoxon,
Helicosphaera  ampliaperta  Bramlette  &  Wil-
coxon,  Helicosphaera  mediterranea  Müller,
Reticulofenestra  bisecta  (Hay)  Roth,  Reticulo-
fenestra  excavata  Lehotayova,  Triquetrorhab-
dulus carinatus Martini, whereas Sphenolithus
heteromorphus Deflandre occurs only in sam-
ple  1774—1769 m.  These  nannoplankton  as-
semblages  belong  to  nannoplankton  Zones
NN1—NN4  (Lower  Miocene)  and  were  trans-
ported  here  from  the  North  Alpine  Foreland
Basin during the Middle Badenian.

Strong contamination in the lower part of the

investigated  section  (sample  1625—1616 m)  is
documented by the occurrences of the endemic
Pannonian Noelaerhabdus bozinovicae Jerkovic.
It is therefore not possible to make any further
biostratigraphical subdivision of this part of the
well. The common occurrence of species of the
genus  Calcidiscus,  typical  for  NN6  (Fig. 2),
was  observed  in  sample  1239—1230 m.  The
larger  morphotype  (7 µm)  of  Reticulofenestra
pseudoumbilicus  (Gartner)  Gartner  was  ob-
served  from  1294—895 m.  An  increase  in  the
abundance  of  this  form  has  been  encountered
in uppermost NN5 and NN6/NN7 in the Medi-
terranean  area  and  was  used  for  the  biostrati-
graphic subdivision of the Miocene sediments
in that region (Fornaciari et al. 1996). Nanno-
plankton  assemblages  in  sample  866—856 m
become  rich  and  better  preserved,  containing
Middle Miocene species but no zonal markers.
The  uppermost  part  of  the  well  (866—740 m)
contains  very  rare  and  biostratigraphically  in-
significant  nannoplankton  probably  reworked
from the older strata.

Magnetostratigraphy

The downhole paleomagnetic measurements

proved to be of good quality with an excellent
repeatability. The processed paleomagnetic logs
showed clear polarity reversals for the post-
Badenian intervals. In the Badenian interval the
susceptibility signal and remanent magnetic sig-
nals are very low. However the remanent signal
was well reproduced by the repeat measurement
of the paleomagnetic logging tool, allowing for
a determination of the polarities.

Figure 5 shows the polarity sequences ob-

tained for the entire paleomagnetic well record.
For the Badenian a reliable correlation to the
GPTS is difficult and the correlation suggested
in Fig. 5 is only possible if significant hiatus oc-

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cur. Correlating the well polarity sequence to the GPTS for the
Sarmatian is also not straightforward, but the long reverse pe-
riod  located  in  the  biostratigraphically  determined  upper
Sarmatian substage can be reliably linked to Subchron C5r.3r.
The  unconformity  at  the  Lower  to  Upper  Sarmatian  stage
boundary, determined from seismics, is interpreted as the ex-
planation  of  the  missing  Chron  C5An.1n.  Therefore,  the  re-
verse  polarity  interval  between  1144 m  and  1104 m  is
interpreted as Subchron C5An.1r, and the normal interval be-
low it as Subchron C5An.2n.

A good and detailed correlation to the GPTS can be made for

the Pannonian (Fig. 5). Here even two short polarity subchrons
could  be  identified  that  are  not  included  in  the  most  recent
GPTS (Lourens et al. 2004) but have been described by Krijgs-
man  &  Kent  (2004)  as  Subchron  C4Ar.1r—1n  and  C5r.2r—2n.
Three polarity fluctuations within Chron C5n.2n were also en-
countered  in  the  paleomagnetic  log  at  the  expected  locations
(Krijgsman & Kent 2004) (dashed arrows in Fig. 5).

Regional well correlation of Sarmatian strata

Harzhauser & Piller (2004) conducted a correlation of the

Sarmatian with wells located in the northern Vienna Basin and
the  Styrian  Basin.  Despite  different  sedimentation  rates  and
different tectonic settings they identified similar well log pat-
terns and were able to identify correlatable shale-rich intervals
that  they  interpreted  as  basin-wide  flooding  surfaces.  They
found  the  most  complete  Sarmatian  intervals  in  the  wells
Niedersulz-9  and  Eichhorn-1  (Fig. 1)  with  a  total  estimated
thickness of 1050 m in the first well, but an uncertain location
of the Badenian-Sarmatian boundary due to microfaunal con-
tamination. Earlier, Friedl (1936) and Papp (1974) had analy-
sed  the  biozones  in  the  Niedersulz-9  well,  located  ca.  9 km
northeast of Spannberg-21, and Papp (1974) had proposed the
well  as  a  Sarmatian/Pannonian  boundary  stratotype.  The
Eichhorn-1 well is located approximately 15 km NNE of the
Spannberg-21 well and Harzhauser & Piller (2004) found the

Fig. 6.  Regional  well  correlation  of  the  Sarmatian
sedimentary  sequence  of  the  Spannberg-21  well  to
the  Eichhorn-1  and  Niedersulz-9  wells.  Intervals
shaded  in  dark  grey  are  of  uncertain  biozonation.
Light grey shaded intervals indicate missing Sarmatian
strata in Spannberg-21.

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Sarmatian to have a thickness of 1126 m ± 10 m. The bios-
tratigraphy of the Eichhorn-1 well is based on molluscs and
benthic foraminifera (Harzhauser et al. 2004).

The Sarmatian in Spannberg-21 is about 425 ± 35 m and

therefore considerably thinner than the corresponding strata in
the  northern  Vienna  Basin.  The  reduced  thicknesses  of  the
Sarmatian in the Matzen area compared to the northern Vien-
na Basin is attributed by Harzhauser & Piller (2004) to the po-
sition  on  the  intrabasinal  Matzen-Spannberg  ridge.  To
determine  whether  the  Sarmatian  in  Spannberg-21  is  a  con-
densed section or whether there are missing intervals, a corre-
lation  was  made  to  the  Eichhorn-1  and  Niedersulz-9  wells
(Fig. 6). The correlation is based on shale marker beds that are
distinguishable in the three wells. In the Lower Sarmatian of
Spannberg-21 the shale interval at 1168—1115 m is used as a
tie-in (Fig. 6). This interval is represented in the Vienna Basin
and the Styrian Basin as a 50 m thick interval of grey marls,
overlain by a succession with strongly serrated log responses,
consisting of coarse sand, gravel and intercalations of thin pel-
itic  layers  with  a  total  thickness  of  195 m ± 25 m.  This  se-
quence  cannot  be  identified  in  Spannberg-21,  suggesting  a
stratigraphic  gap  and  supporting  the  unconformity  between
the  Upper  and  Lower  Sarmatian  substage  boundaries  inter-
preted from the seismics.

The section below the grey marl interval is about 160 m

thick  in  Spannberg-21,  considerably  less  than  the  320 m  re-
ported  from  the  wells  in  the  northern  Vienna  Basin.  This  is
likely to be the stratigraphic gap at the base of the Sarmatian
that Harzhauser & Piller (2004) report for the Matzen area. It
is difficult though to quantify how much of the Sarmatian stra-
ta  is  missing  since  the  Badenian/Sarmatian  boundary  cannot
be accurately determined in any of these wells.

In the Upper Sarmatian Harzhauser & Piller (2004) describe

three  basin-wide  correlatable  shale-rich  intervals.  In  Spann-
berg-21, the lower two of these can be identified and correlat-
ed, but not the third one (Fig. 6). It is suggested that a missing
section of 245 m ±35 m occurs at the top of the Sarmatian, at a
depth  of  858.5 m  where  an  erosional  surface  can  be  distin-
guished  on  the  electrical  borehole  images.  This  is  also  sup-
ported  by  the  discordant  unconformity  observed  on  the
seismics, with an estimated missing section of 280 m.

Sedimentation rates

Using the chronostratigraphic tie-ins and the stratigraphic

gaps identified in Spannberg-21, a detailed plot of age versus
depth is constructed for the Pannonian and Sarmatian (Fig. 7).
Data points include biostratigraphic and magnetostratigraphic
tie-ins as well as the presumed missing sections. The dashed
lines in Figure 7 are interpolated or fitted between the various
data points and indicate the sedimentation rates per interval.
The numbers next to these intervals are the resulting sedimen-
tation rates in metes per thousand years (kyr), with corrections
for tectonic dip but not for compaction. The sedimentation
rates for the Badenian are difficult to determine for lack of re-
liable chronostratigraphic markers.

The sedimentation rate is 0.43 m/kyr in the Lower Sarmatian

and then shows a remarkable increase in the Upper Sarmatian to
more than 1.2 m/kyr. In the Pannonian the sedimentation rate

decreases to fairly constant values, initially to 0.36 m/kyr and
in the upper half to 0.30 m/kyr. At a depth of 190—180 meters
a shift in the line connecting the paleomagnetic tie-in points
suggests another stratigraphic gap in the sedimentary record
with an estimated duration of 200 kyr that had not been identi-
fied by the other methods (Fig. 7).

Discussion and conclusions

The high-resolution borehole record of the Miocene in the

central part of the Vienna Basin reported in this study is ob-
tained through a combination of stratigraphic methods. It al-
lows an accurate determination of sedimentation rates,
depending on the number of tie-in points, as well as the iden-
tification of stratigraphic gaps and their duration. The good
agreement between the biostratigraphical and the paleomag-
netic data of the post-Badenian sequence, augmented by in-
formation gained from seismic and borehole images, is a
strong argument for the validity of the record. A discussion
of the results for each regional stage is provided in the fol-
lowing section.

Badenian

In the neighbourhood of the Spannberg-21 well and east of

the Austrian-Slovak border, Kováč et al. (2004) described
three 3

order cycles in the Badenian, approximately corre-

sponding to the Lower, “middle” and Upper Badenian.  They
suggested that the Upper Badenian cycle could have been con-
trolled  by  sea-level  changes  outside  the  Central  Paratethys
realm and therefore correlated this cycle with the global sea-
level cycle TB 2.5 (12.75—13.65 Myr). In the Matzen Field the
Middle/Upper  Badenian  sequence  boundary  was  also  recog-
nized by Fuchs & Hamilton (2006), who attributed a sea-level
drop  to  the  9

Tortonian horizon where the shelf edge ad-

vanced about 2 km southward.

In the Spannberg-21 well, a detailed stratigraphic analysis

in the Badenian is hampered by the paucity and probable re-
working of microfossils, and the difficulty of interpreting the
palaeomagnetic record. The latter is obtained from a weak yet
repeatable signal from the paleomagnetic log, but the predom-
inantly normal polarities extracted from it are difficult to rec-
oncile  with  the  GPTS,  particularly  because  of  the  apparent
absence of Chrons C5AAr and C5ABr (Fig. 5). The foramin-
iferal  assemblages  suggest  a  Late  Badenian  age  down  to  a
depth  of  at  least  1790 m.  Sequence  stratigraphic  consider-
ations  provide  assistance  in  the  stratigraphic  control  of  the
Badenian in the Matzen area. The upper two Badenian 3

or-

der cycles can be recognized on the seismic line in Figure 3.
The “middle” Badenian cycle comprises the Middle Badenian
transgressive systems tract (TST) which can be recognized by
onlapping reflectors (the Matzen sands or 16

Tortonian hori-

zon of Kreutzer (1986)) onto the basin floor.  Furthermore the
maximum  flooding  surface  (MFS),  also  referred  to  as  the
Matzen  Hauptmarker  (Kreutzer  1986;  Fuchs  &  Hamilton
2006), can be distinguished by the downlapping reflectors of
the  following  prograding  highstand  sequence  tract  (HST).  In
Spannberg-21  this  Matzen  Hauptmarker  immediately  under-

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lies  the  targeted  fan  (pers.  comm.  OMV)  and  the  targeted
sands are therefore considered to be part of the Middle Bade-
nian HST. In Figure 3 this HST can be seen to the Southeast
of the well as a system with prograding clinoforms in line with
Hamilton  &  Johnson  (1999),  interpreted  as  delta  plain,  delta
front  and  slope  deposits.  The  seismics  additionally  shows
some toplap truncations terminating at the sequence boundary
that,  in  line  with  Kováč  et  al.  (2004),  is  interpreted  as  the
boundary between the Middle and the Upper Badenian. In the
Spannberg-21  well  this  horizon  is  identified  at  1612 m  (9

Tortonian  horizon,  pers.  comm.  OMV).  This  seismic  strati-
graphic boundary is located considerably higher than the fora-
miniferal  Bulimina-Bolivina  Zone  that  placed  the  Upper
Badenian  boundary  at  1790 m  or  deeper.  This  contradiction
between  well  log  stratigraphy,  seismic  stratigraphy  and  the
use  of  foraminiferal  zones  to  determine  the  Upper/Middle
Badenian  boundary  has  already  been  noted  by  Kováč  et  al.
(2004). After the base level drop, during the following Upper
Badenian  LST,  the  depocentres  shift  basinward,  forming  cli-
noforms  with  a  progradational  to  aggradational  stacking  pat-

tern. This sequence seems to be present only in a highly con-
densed form in Spannberg-21. In conclusion the Spannberg-21
well is interpreted as comprising the Upper Badenian 3

order

sequence  and  the  HST  of  the  “middle”  Badenian  cycle,  in
agreement  with  the  sequence  stratigraphic  framework  pro-
posed  by  Strauss  et  al.  (2006)  and  Kováč  et  al.  (2004).  The
partly condensed nature of the sequence, which is attributed to
the  position  on  an  intrabasinal  high,  and  the  possible  strati-
graphic gaps are thought to account for the difficulty of link-
ing the paleomagnetic well record to the GPTS.

Sarmatian

Previous authors (Harzhauser & Piller 2004; Strauss et al.

2006; Kováč et al. 2008) have proposed a sequence strati-
graphic framework for the Sarmatian in the Vienna Basin with
a 3

order cycle spanning the entire Sarmatian and two 4

or-

der cycles corresponding as the Lower and Upper Sarmatian
respectively. The sedimentation during the first 4

order cycle

is reported to be mainly siliciclastic and, according to

Fig. 7. Time-depth correlation diagram of the Spannberg-21 paleomagnetic record (left) with the
GPTS of Lourens et al. (2004) (above), shown with crosses. The grey circles indicate biostratigraphic
tie-ins to the main stage boundaries according to Strauss et al. (2006), Harzhauser et al. (2004) and
Harzhauser & Piller (2004). The displayed sedimentation rates are average minimum sedimentation
rates calculated for the dashed line intervals, with corrections for tectonic dip but not for compaction.

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Harzhauser et al. (2004), its TST is modulated by several
transgessive pulses. Kreutzer (1974) interprets the MFS as co-
inciding with that of the 3

order cycle and during the follow-

ing  HST  significant  fan  deltas  were  deposited  in  the  central
Vienna  Basin.  Harzhauser  et  al.  (2004)  mark  the  sequence
boundary above it as the transition from the Lower to the Up-
per Sarmatian, characterized in marginal and topographically
exposed  settings  by  extensive  erosion  that  removed  most  of
the Elphidium hauerinum Zone. They characterized the depo-
sition during the second 4

order cycle as mixed siliciclastic-

oolitic and comprising the Upper Sarmatian substage. During
its TST previously exposed marginal areas of the basin were
flooded. Furthermore Harzhauser et al. (2004) found that the
subsequent MFS can be identified on all well logs in the Vienna
Basin. The upper 4

order HST comprises also the upper part

of  the  Porosononion  granosum  Zone,  but  complete  records
are only reported from boreholes, because along the margins
and in exposed areas the uppermost Sarmatian has been com-
pletely eroded. Finally Kováč et al. (1998a) recognized deep
valley  incisions  and  erosion  at  the  Sarmatian/Pannonian
(Serravallian/Tortonian)  boundary  and  interpreted  this  as  a
type 1 sequence boundary.

The results in Spannberg-21 allow us to place the Sarmatian

sequence in an accurate stratigraphic framework. Sedimenta-
tion rates increase significantly between the Lower and Upper
Sarmatian  from  0.43 m/kyr  to  more  than  1.2 m/kyr.  Strati-
graphic  gaps  are  found  at  the  base  of  the  Sarmatian,  at  the
boundary between the Lower and Upper Sarmatian, as well as
at the top. Magnetostratigraphic control places the Badenian/
Sarmatian  boundary  at  about  1260 m  in  the  well,  but  the
strongly reduced presence of Chron C5Ar.1r and the well cor-
relation  suggest  a  time  gap  of  about  250 kyr.  The  other  two
stratigraphic  gaps,  between  the  Upper  and  Lower  Sarmatian
and at the top of the Sarmatian, have an estimated time gap of
69—95 kyr and 180—210 kyr respectively amounting to a total
missing  time  in  the  Sarmatian  between  490  and  570 kyr.
These  results  provide  a  basis  for  a  link  with  the  existing  se-
quence stratigraphic framework of the Sarmatian. The Lower
Sarmatian strata in Spannberg-21 start slightly above 12.5 Ma
with  the  TST,  and  the  following  MFS  of  the  3

order cycle

expressed by the shaly interval at 1168—1115 m is situated in
Chron C5An.1r (12.2—12.15 Ma). The subsequent HST is not
clearly represented in the well, most probably because of the
stratigraphic gap between the Upper and Lower Sarmatian.
The Upper Sarmatian starts with the 4

order TST at 1100 m

and the subsequent MFS at 920 m, approximately between
12.0 and 11.8 Ma. The final 4

order HST is part of the strati-

graphic gap identified at the Sarmatian/Pannonian boundary.
The occurrence of the three stratigraphic gaps is attributed to
the relative position on an intrabasinal high that made this area
sensitive to eustatic sea-level changes, resulting in erosion
during relative sea-level lowstands.

Pannonian

Papp (1951) subdivided the Pannonian of the Vienna Ba-

sin into eight biostratigraphic zones, termed A to H, based
on the evolutionary levels of endemic molluscs. Kováč et al.
(1998a) interpreted zones A—C as deltaic, zones D—E as off-

shore-dominated, and zones F—H as limnic with occasional
floodplain deposits and coals. The onset of zone F was the
time when according to Harzhauser et al. (2004) and Kováč
et al. (2004) the Vienna Basin became permanently separat-
ed from Lake Pannon and a sedimentary gap was described
between zones F and G.

Correlation of the Spannberg-21 logs with the Eichhorn-1

zonation  by  Harzhauser  et  al.  (2004)  resulted  in  the  Papp
zones  indicated  on  Figure 8.  Since  the  mollusc  fragments  in
the cuttings of Spannberg-21 were too damaged by the drilling
process to verify the biozone-correlation, this zonation is pure-
ly  lithostratigraphic.  The  paleomagnetic  results  allow  for  a
very accurate age dating of the Pannonian sequence in Spann-
berg-21,  partly  because  of  a  strong  remanent  magnetization
signal, but also because of the abundance of polarity reversals
in  the  Pannonian  and  the  continuous  sedimentary  record  in
the  well.  The  paleomagnetic  measurements  were  of  suffi-
ciently high resolution to allow identification of some short
chrons or excursions that have been described by Krijgsman
&  Kent  (2004)  but  are  not  yet  included  in  the  GPTS  (Lou-
rens  et  al.  2004).  The  Pannonian/Sarmatian  (Serravallian/
Tortonian)  boundary  is  located  in  the  lower  part  of  –  or
slightly  below  –  Chron  C5r.2n  (11.614—11.554 Ma).  Com-
plications caused by a fault crossing the well in Spannberg-21
and the erosive unconformity at the boundary make it difficult
to assign an accurate depth and age for the onset of the Pan-
nonian in this part of the basin, but a best estimate puts it at
858.5 m with an age of 11.6 Ma. The high number of tie-ins
with the GPTS (Fig. 5) allow for an accurate estimation of the
sedimentation rates in the Pannonian (Fig. 7). During the Ear-
ly  Pannonian  this  is  found  to  be  on  average  0.36 m/kyr  and
decreases  to  about  0.30 m/kyr  from  10.6 Ma  onwards  (at  a
well  depth  of  about  480 m).  This  decrease  in  sedimentation
rate  in  Spannberg-21  occurred  at  a  time  when  distal  deltaic
deposition was followed by more proximal deposition related
to the transition from Papp’s (1951) zone C to zone D. At a
depth of about 300 m, equivalent to an age of 10—9.9 Ma, the
log signatures of the sand layers change from predominantly
coarsening-upward,  typical  for  mouth  bars  in  delta-front  de-
posits, to fining-upward with sharp bases, typical for channel
deposits  in  deltaic  and  fluvial  systems.  Plant-rootlets  identi-
fied on the electrical borehole images suggest a terrestrial en-
vironment, interpreted as the onset of zone F (Papp 1951) and
also referred to as the lignitic series. Between 9.6—9.4 Ma the
Spannberg-21  data  indicate  a  stratigraphic  gap  (Fig. 7),  above
which there is a sequence of fining-upward, cross-bedded sand-
stone beds up to 15—20 m thick and often with erosional bases,
interpreted as fluvial channels. The stratigraphic break is corre-
lated to the transition from Papp’s (1951) zone F to zone G.

Implications for basin evolution

The findings of this study can be placed in the context of the

tectonic history of the Vienna Basin and its surroundings, and
the  global  eustasy  record.  The  sequence  considered  here  is
post-Karpatian  and  therefore  focuses  on  the  pull-apart  phase
of the basin. The seismic line in Figure 3 suggests that in the
Middle Badenian major accumulations were deposited to the
SE  of  the  Spannberg  ridge  and  prograded  towards  the  SE,

166

PAULISSEN, LUTHI, GRUNERT, ĆORIĆ and HARZHAUSER

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GEOLOGICA CARPATHICA, 2011, 62, 2, 155—169

while from the Late Badenian onwards significant accommo-
dation space was created between the Spannberg ridge and the
Steinberg Fault, mostly because of an increased activity of the
latter  due  to  pull-apart  tectonics.  Thicknesses  of  the  Upper
Badenian and Sarmatian in this area are 2—3 times higher than
on  the  Spannberg  ridge.  The  increased  sedimentation  rates
during  the  Sarmatian  (particularly  in  the  Upper  Sarmatian)
found in this study suggest that the basin subsidence and the
creation  of  accomodation  space  also  extended  to  the  relative
high of the Spannberg ridge, although not to the same degree
as in the adjacent areas. The Spannberg ridge, in fact, seems to
have acted as a hinge area, with a tilt to the SE in the Middle

Badenian followed by a downward pivoting of the area to the
NW of the ridge, forming a half-graben between the Steinberg
Fault and the Spannberg ridge. In the Pannonian, by contrast,
the sedimentary thicknesses are more constant throughout the
area, indicating a reduced activity of the Steinberg Fault and a
more aggradational infill of the basin in its last phase. The ba-
sin infill in this area therefore closely reflects the tectonic de-
velopment of the Vienna Basin, and this is also reflected in an
overall coarsening-upward sequence as shown by the gamma
ray log of the Spannberg-21 well in Fig. 5.

In order to analyse whether eustasy also played a role in the

basin infill the calculated sedimentation rates in Spannberg-21

Fig. 8. Stratigraphy of the Spannberg-21 well based on seismic data, well correlation, biostratigraphy and magnetostratigraphy for the Sarma-
tian and Pannonian interval compared to standard stratigraphy and plotted versus time. The Central Paratethyan stages are according Strauss et
al. (2006), Harzhauser et al. (2004) and Harzhauser & Piller (2004) and the GPTS according to Lourens et al. (2004). The sedimentation rates
are calculated for the magnetostratigraphic intervals and are corrected for tectonic dip but not for compaction. The gamma-ray log was
stretched linearly between the magnetostratigraphic tie-ins with the stratigraphic gaps taken into account. Lithostratigraphic correlation of the
Pannonian is based on Harzhauser et al. (2004) using the biozone-correlation of Papp (1951). The 3

order cycles are after Hardenbol et al.

(1998), the Miocene isotopic events Mi5 and Mi6 according to Turco et al. (2001) and Westerhold et al. (2005) and the oxygen isotope strati-
graphy from Abreu & Haddad (1998). Global glacioeustatic sea-level changes are derived from the

O record of ODP Site 1085 (Westerhold

et al. 2005) with dashed horizontal lines indicating the corresponding timing of the 4

order MFS in the Sarmatian interval in Spannberg-21.

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GEOLOGICA CARPATHICA, 2011, 62, 2, 155—169

were used to construct a log as a function of time (Fig. 8). The
gamma ray log is stretched linearly between tie-in points
(Fig. 7), and stratigraphic time gaps are blanked out. This
depth-time converted log is compared in Figure 8 to the 3

or-

der cycles of Hardenbol et al. (1998), the oxygen isotope
curves from Abreu & Haddad (1998) and the short periods of
glaciation in the Miocene (so called Mi-events) described by
Miller et al. (1991), which were further refined by Turco et al.
(2001) and Westerhold et al. (2005). The latter also converted
the

O record retrieved from ODP site 1085 into a record of

sea-level changes by applying a gradient of 0.11 ‰ for a 10 m
change in sea level, using the linear equation of Bemis et al.
(1998) and assuming a 3 °C cooling of deep waters (Fig. 8).

There is no obvious relationship between lithology and sed-

imentation rates in Figure 8. The two MFS of the two Sarma-
tian 4

order cycles (indicated by mfs in Fig. 8) are seen to

correspond to two minima in the

O record and thus to the

global glacio-eustatic highstands of Westerhold et al. (2005).
The MFS of the Lower Sarmatian cycle also corresponds to a

O minimum of Abreu & Haddad (1998). The following

sea-level lowstand expressed in the ODP 1085 record across
the Ser4/Tor1 boundary as well as in the isotopic record of
Abreu & Haddad (1998) is found to coincide with the 3

or-

der lowstand in the Upper Sarmatian. An alternative explana-
tion of the Sarmatian 4

order cycles proposed by Harzhauser

& Piller (2004), is that they were caused by tectonic modula-
tions due to an increased uplift of the Alps. The latter is rough-
ly coeval with the Paratethyan retreat from the North Alpine
Foreland Basin, which resulted in increasing amounts of
coarser sediment from the Alps being shed into the Vienna
Basin. This accelerated tectonic activity is reflected in our data
by the high sedimentation rates during the Late Sarmatian and
the movement of the Steinberg Fault.

The onset of the Pannonian coincides with the Ser4/Tor1

boundary, namely the glacio-eustatic sea-level lowstand at the
onset of the TB 3.1 cycle. At the end of this cycle, the Tor2
boundary coincides with the change of the sedimentary envi-
ronment from deltaic to terrestrial at 9.6—9.4 Ma, coeval with
the transition from zone F to zone G. Papp’s (1951) zones A to
F can thus be considered to comprise an entire 3

order cycle

in accordance with Harzhauser et al. (2004). The question re-
mains whether this 3

order cycle should be directly related to

the TB 3.1 cycle because Lake Pannon, and therefore also the
Vienna  Basin,  had  probably  lost  its  connection  to  the  global
seas  for  that  time  (Kázmér  1990;  Rögl  1999;  Magyar  et  al.
1999). Juhász et al. (2007) discussed different models for the
response  of  fluvio-deltaic  systems  in  the  Pannonian  Basin  to
tectonic and climatic controls and concluded that the 3

order

cycles are mainly driven by regional scale tectonic changes
and that only the 4

- and higher order cycles may be driven by

climatic cycles of the Milankovitch band. A climatic control
for the 3

order stratigraphic boundary could be argued based

on  the  work  of  Böhme  et  al.  (2008)  who  established  a  long
proxy  record  of  precipitation  for  Southwest  and  Central  Eu-
rope for the Middle to Late Miocene. They described a “wash-
house  climate”  (10.2—9.8 Ma)  characterized  by  warm  global
conditions and high levels of precipitation followed by a peri-
od  of  relatively  low  precipitation  (9.7—9.2 Ma)  that  corre-
sponded  to  a  cool  global  event  (Westerhold  et  al.  2005;

Winkler  et  al.  2002).  These  two  phases  match  well  with  the
evolution  of  Lake  Pannon  since  during  the  “washhouse  cli-
mate” the lake reached its maximum extent at approximately
10.5—10 Ma (Harzhauser et al. 2008) and the stratigraphic gap
of  9.6—9.4 Ma  encountered  in  Spannberg-21  coincides  with
the subsequent Central European dry period. The same climat-
ic  argument  can  be  used  for  the  transition  from  the  distal  to
proximal deltaic setting, dated at 10.4—10.6 Ma where the av-
erage  sedimentation  rates  decrease  from  0.36  to  0.30 m/kyr.
This could be linked to a punctuated period of global climate
cooling,  the  Mi6  event  that  was  astronomically  dated  at
10.4 Ma by Turco et al. (2001) and Westerhold et al. (2005)
(Fig. 8).  The  detailed  sedimentation  rates  shown  on  Figure 8
decrease from 0.47 m/kyr in the preceding Lower Pannonian
to 0.27 m/kyr during this period of global sea-level lowstand.
This  interpretation  could  be  validated  if  such  an  event  was
found to be coeval across the basin, but if found to be hetero-
chronous it might have to be attributed to a progradational ba-
sin infill.

In conclusion, the data presented herein suggest that the in-

fill history of the Vienna Basin is controlled by regional tec-
tonic activity, but modulated by eustatic influences. The latter
are  most  pronounced  during  times  of  greatest  subsidence  of
the  basin  and  full  connectivity  with  the  Paratethyan  Sea  and
Lake Pannon respectively. In the later stages of the basin in-
fill, when subsidence slowed and the connectivity to the Pan-
nonian  basins  complex  was  no  longer  fully  and  permanently
established, the eustatic signal is more difficult to detect and
may have been driven by the coupling of global climatic pro-
cesses that caused global eustatic sea-level variations. There-
after,  much  of  the  Vienna  Basin  was  essentially  filled,
subsidence ceased and much sediment was by-passed towards
the Pannonian Basin to the Southeast and further down the ba-
sin drainage.

Acknowledgments: This research is supported by the Nether-
lands  Research  Centre  for  Integrated  Solid  Earth  Science
(ISES). We would like to thank Miroslav Pereszlényi and An-
drás  Uhrin  as  well  as  two  anonymous  referees,  whose  com-
ments significantly improved the manuscript. We are grateful to
OMV for access to the well and for permission to publish the re-
sults,  and  in  particular  to  Jost  Püttmann  for  facilitating  this
study. OMV and Schlumberger Wireline Services are thanked
for  financial  support.  Furthermore  we  thank  LETI/CEA  and
Geo-Energy for allowing the acquisition of the GHMT-tool and
help  in  the  transfer  of  knowledge.  Finally  Schlumberger  is
thanked  for  the  in-house  software  to  process  the  GHMT  data
and for providing the Geoframe and Petrel software.

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