HISTORY OF STRATIGRAPHY IN LITHUANIA

Algimantas GRIGELIS

Lithuanian Academy of Sciences, Vilnius

International Symposium

Alcide d’Orbigny 1802-1857

His life and work.

Stratigraphy: from d’Orbigny

until today Museum of National History,

1 - 7 July 2002, Paris, France

Presentation

Daybreak of Stratigraphy

Lithuania, as other countries surrounding the Baltic Sea, belongs to the oldest pre-Cambrian East-European Craton. Slow, differentiated tectonic movements prevailed here during the whole Phanerozoic since Late Proterozoic Riphean-Vendian time. The sedimentary cover was formed; uplifting and marine basins replaced by land changed periods of sinking. Fossil fauna and flora remnants found in the sediments of former marine basins are the main source of information about the Earth’s history events.

Geological Survey of Lithuania

Goes Back More Than 220

Years

• 1780 Botanist Jean Emmanuel Gillibert, professor of the Principal School of grand Duke of Lithuania, Vilnius, published a first geological observation.

• 1803 A year after Alcide d’Orbigny and Ignacy Domeyko Ancuta were born, a chair of Mineralogy was established in the oldest Vilnius University.

1830s

• 1830 Zoologist and palaeontologist Eduard Eichwald discovered ammonites in Jurassic outcrops in the vicinity of Papilė in northwest Lithuania.

• 1830 Naturalist Dubois de Montpereux, governor of nobleman Baron von Ropp family in Pakruojis, compiled a first “geognostic” map of Lithuania.

1840s

• 1830-1837 The Jurassic system was the first one to be found in the area based on ammonite determinations by Eduard Eichwald, Leopold von Buch and George Pusch.

• 1841 Devonian outcrops were described from north Lithuania during the notable expedition leaded by Roderick Impey Murchison and Eduard de Verneuil expedition to European Russia.

Second half of 19th century

• Constantine Grewingk, professor of Dorpat (Tartu) University, was the first who dated the Permian (in 1857) and Triassic (1878) sedimentary rocks in the northern part of the area.

• The Cretaceous and Palaeogene outcrops and faunal remnants in erratic boulders were found in South Lithuania and neighbouring Eastern Prussia (Ostpreussen) by C.Grewingk, Anton Giedroyć – chief geologist of the Russian Geological Committee, Gustav Berendt and Alfred Jentzsch, scientists of the Königsberg University.

From the 1880s to the 1920s

• Jozef Siemiradzki, Vladimir N. Rjabinin, Roland Brückmann, Ernst Krenkel, Klaus Boden, Roland Brinkmann published the first palaeontological monographs concerning the well-known Jurassic fossils from Papilė.

• Moreover, in this period the first wells for underground water supply were drilled. The borings brought new data on distribution of pre-Quaternary rocks of different geological age.

Roland Brückmann (1904)

• Notably, Brückmann’s edition of Lithuanian-Kurish Jurassic foraminifera (1904) was the first application of micropalaeontological method in Lithuania. It appears 78 years after the first Orbigny’s publication “Tableau Métodique de la Classe de Céphalopodes… Suite “Foraminifères” (1826) which introduced micropalaeontological method.

Juozas Dalinkevičius (1893-1980)

• The data obtained during 19th century were firstly systematised by Juozas Dalinkevičius, professor of Geology and Mineralogy in Kaunas University, in the 1930s and 1940s. Devonian, Late Permian, Jurassic, Mid Cretaceous fossils of various groups being studied in this period. In addition, the new boreholes drilled in Lithuania discovered thick Early Palaeozoic sedimentary series, i.e. Cambrian, Ordovician, and Silurian, beneath the Devonian, Permian and Cretaceous.

• Particularly important was an idea, concluded by J.Dalinkevičius in 1940s, about completeness of geological sequence in the whole Baltic Syneclise on the southwestern border of the East-European Craton, and about oil prospecting in the Lower Palaeozoic sediments.

Development of Modern

Stratigraphy • 1945 The idea of oil prospecting of the Lower Palaeozoic

has stimulated a lot of geological works in Lithuania. • 1946-1991 Many geological mapping and deep oil

prospecting boreholes were drilled during a Soviet period.

• It was stated, the basement of pre-Cambrian crystalline rocks in Lithuania, in the Baltic Syneclise basin, lies at the depths of 600-2000 m, deepening southwestwards to 2900-3000 m in Kaliningrad and to 4000-6000 m in north Poland. Hence, the total thickness of Vendian—Phanerozoic sequence exceeds 3,000 m in the area.

• A highly rich geological and palaeontological material was brought from boreholes for scientific research. This situation allowed to develop detail biostratigraphy of all the geological systems, and many available methods of palaeontology, micropalaeontology and palaeobotany were used. The results achieved could be difficult to imagine.

Major Step Forward

• Therefore, in the second half of 20th century, the detailed stratigraphic subdivision of all of the geological systems was elaborated, based on extremely well preserved fossils from deep boreholes.

• Around 100 monographs were devoted to palaeontology and biostratigraphy. Detailed stratigraphic charts were compiled, based mainly on theories of zonal stratigraphy, ecostratigraphy and basin analysis.

The Most Complete Sequence

• The sedimentary sequence is stratigraphically most complete in a whole East European Craton. In spite of rather intense changes in palaeogeographic conditions, the sedimentary cover is completed by a broad spectrum of marine, lagoonal and continental deposits. The international (global), regional and local stratigraphic units (stratons) are determined in the stratigraphic charts of every geological system.

Regional Stages

• Regional stages are subdivided into the units depending on methods and purposes of end-user:

• Lithostratigraphic units – groups, formations, members, beds; • Biostratigraphic units - zones (chronozones); • Sequence stratigraphy units; • Magnetostratigraphy units; • Climatostratigraphy units (Quaternary); • Crystalline rock units – complexes, groups, formations.

Local Units

• A relative age of smaller stratons is most often determined by methods of biochronology, i.e. relative stratigraphy. The rules of a rather complicated stratigraphic classification and terminology are followed after recommendations of the International Stratigraphic Guide (Salvador, Ed. 1994) and Lithuanian Stratigraphic Guide (Grigelis, Ed. 2002).

Period 1960-1980

• Prof. Dalinkevičius elaborated the background of Lithuanian stratigraphy in 1928-1960. In the next decades (1960-1980) the main fundamental investigations were made by T.Jankauskas (Vendian-Cambrian), J.Paškevičius (Ordovician-Silurian), V.Karatajūtė-Talimaa (Lower-Middle Devonian), S.Žeiba (Devonian-Carboniferous), P.Suveizdis (Permian), J.Kisnėrius (Triassic), L.Rotkytė (Jurassic), A.Grigelis (Jurassic, Cretaceous, Paleogene).

Period 1980-2000

• In two latest decades the investigations made by L.Paškevičienė, T.Jankauskas, N.Sidaravičienė, A.Brazauskas, E.Laškovas, P.Lapinskas, P.Musteikis, V.Narbutas, Val.Katinas, P.Šimkevičius, R.Mertinienė, Vl.Katinas, V.Baltakis et al., enabled to establish the very detailed stratigraphy and on this basis, to develop the basin models and palaeogeographic reconstructions of all the geological periods of Phanerozoic in Lithuania.

The Last Decade

• 1990s - 2000s are especially notable for publication of conference proceedings, magazine articles and monographs. Russian language was replaced by

English. Several IGCP international and bilateral projects were fulfilled. The group of scientists – stratigraphers - were awarded the national prizes.

Basic Works

• A particular mention should be made about a basic work done by N.Sidaravičienė “Stratigraphic Units of Lithuania” (1999) and the newest “Lithuanian Stratigraphic Guide” (completed by A.Grigelis, 2002). These books should be in use by every geologist, student, teacher, and decision maker.

Publications on Stratigraphy

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1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000 2002

Books

Articles

Abstracts

Conclusion

• It could be concluded that modern Lithuanian Phanerozoic stratigraphy has used main possibilities offered by this method. Subdivision of sedimentary rock sequences of different geological age is done in such a detailed manner that is possible to be reached by palaeontological and lithological investigations. Elaboration of the detailed stratigraphic charts relies mainly upon the concept of zonal stratigraphy, which is based on detailed research of fossil remnants.

Last Page

• Otherwise, not every geological sequence contains enough fossil findings. Taking it into account, peculiarities and common relations of sedimentary rocks of different facies and different genesis (marine, lagoonal, continental) have been studied, and ecostratigraphic, faunal community, lithostratigraphic, palaeoecological and – at least – basin analysis methods have been used.

D’Orbigny’s Palaeontology in Lithuania

• Jurassic Foraminifers:

• Generas: Vaginulina d’Orbigny, 1826

• Citharina d’Orbigny in de La Sagra, 1839

• Marginulina d’Orbigny, 1826

• Globulina d’Orbigny, 1839

• Jurassic Ammonoids:

• Vertumniceras mariae d’Orbigny

• Erymnoceras coronatum d’Orbigny

• Aulacostephanus eudoxus d’Orbigny

• Cretaceous Foraminifers:

• Cibicides voltzianus d’Orbigny

• Gavelinella clementiana d’Orbigny • Cretaceous Bivalvia: • Pecten robinoldinus d’Orbigny

• Cardium vindinense d’Orbigny • Cretaceous Cephalopoda (ammonites): • Baculites anceps d’Orbigny

• Palaeogene Foraminifers:

• Globigerina bulloides d’Orbigny

Two World Citizens

Alcide d’Orbigny relations with

Ignacy Domeyko (France and Chile)

D’Orbigny named the fossil Cephalopoda

discovered by Domeyko in 1841 in Chile:

Nautilus Domeykus d’Orbigny [Source - Zd.J.Ryn 2002]