Rotliegend

The Rotliegend (often also linguistically Rotliegend (s) , but not technically recommended) or Lower Dyas is a rock unit or a unit of lithostratigraphy in the hierarchical rank of a group and the lower section of the Central and Western European Dyas . The Dyas ("the two-part", after the distinctive division in Central Europe into Rotliegend and Zechstein ) was an alternative designation of the Permian system, which could not prevail internationally. In today's scientific understanding, Rotliegend is no longer a time interval, but only a rock unit defined purely by lithological features (unit of lithostratigraphy). The Rotliegend corresponds predominantly to the international chronostratigraphic series of the Lower and Middle Permian ( Cisuralium and Guadalupium ). The upper and lower bounds are diachronous . Locally, however, the base extends far into the Upper Carboniferous, the upper limit extends e.g. T. clearly into the Upper Permian.

Kreuznach formation in Bad Kreuznach

Roter Ackerboden, Oberrotliegend (after Falke, 1954 : Waderner Gruppe) near Namborn , district of St. Wendel, Saar-Nahe basin

History and naming

The Rotliegend owes its name to the often conspicuously red colored rocks from which the rock unit is built. "Rotliegend" is an old miner expression from the Mansfeld region and describes the red rocks that are stored under the usable copper slate . Since this deaf rock was to be found in the lying surface of the copper slate, it was originally called "red dead lying surface". The red color of these sandstone layers is caused by finely distributed hematite flakes ( red iron stone ) and indicates the deposits in the hot climate .

Definition and type region

The lower limit of the Rotliegend has not yet been finally defined; it is strongly diachronous. In the Saar-Nahe basin the lower limit is at the base of the Remigiusberg Formation, in the Wetterau at the base of the Lindheim Formation, in the Thuringian Forest either at the base of the Georgenthal Formation / Möhrenbach Formation or at the base of the Ilmenau Formation. In the northern Saalesenke the lower limit is at the base of the Halle formation, on the Flechtlinger Scholle at the base of the Süplingen formation, in the Vorerzgebirgs valley at the base of the Härtensdorf formation, in the Döhlen basin at the base of the Unkersdorf formation and in northern Germany mostly at the base of the volcanic complex. The upper limit, on the other hand, is well defined almost everywhere and quasi isochronous; it is the basis of the Lower Werra clay (copper slate or copper slate formation and its equivalents). The rock unit Rotliegend contains terrestrial , fluvial , lacustrine , aeolian and volcanogenic sediments, from coarse conglomerates and breccias , through sandstones to fine-grained clays, evaporites and limestone. Mighty igneous rocks are used locally (lavas, pyroclastics , ignimbrites , less often sub-volcanic bodies). The rocks of the Rotliegend are predominantly colored red due to the desert-like conditions of the deposition area at the time of deposition. The Rotliegend reaches a thickness of over 3000 m locally. Type region is Central and Western Europe. According to the uncertainty of the lower limit, the Rotliegend begins regionally probably already in the Gzhelian , the highest chronostratigraphic level of the international Upper Carboniferous ( Pennsylvania ) and extends to the lower Wuchiapingian , the lower chronostratigraphic level of the international Upper Permian ( Lopingian ). Expressed in absolute numbers, the Rotliegend covers a period of probably over 45 million years, from around 302 to 257 million years.

Subdivision of the Rotliegend

Traditionally, the Rotliegend was divided into the Unterrotliegend and the Oberrotliegend. In the early days of lithostratigraphy of the Rotliegend, a regional distinction was also made between a Mittelrotliegend , which was later included in the Unterrotliegend. The Unterrotliegend is defined by "mixed" layers, ie the layers (or formations) alternate with gray, red or volcanic deposits. The Oberrotliegend, on the other hand, only includes red sediments, which often begin with coarse-clastic deposits. Stille (1924) interpreted this pouring as the result of tectonic movements and defined an orogenetic phase between the lower and upper red lying areas, the so-called Saalic phase . However, a correlation of this hall phase between the individual sub-basins is not possible. In the stratigraphic map of Germany, therefore, the Rotliegend was not subdivided into Unter- and Oberrotliegend.

Since a lithostratigraphic subdivision into Unter- and Oberrotliegend is difficult, Haubold and Katzung (1972) tried to replace Unter- and Oberrotliegend with the terms Autunium and Saxonium, which are mostly used as synonyms , and to define these biostratigraphically. The definition of the respective boundaries is extremely problematic, Autunium and Saxonium are useless as chronostratigraphic units. Menning et al. (2005) advise against the further use of these terms.

The Rotliegend was deposited in Germany in a number of separate basins, each of which therefore has its own sedimentation history. Correspondingly, the sediments of the individual basins cannot be correlated lithostratigraphically, or only with difficulty; therefore, separate formations were created for each sub-basin .

Saar-Nahe basin : ( Remigiusberg Formation , Altenglan Formation , Wahnwegen Formation , Lauterecken Formation , Meisenheim Formation , Disibodenberg Formation , Oberkirchen Formation , Thallichtenberg Formation , Donnersberg Formation , Wadern Formation , Sponheim Formation , Standenbühl formation , Kreuznach formation ). Some authors also group the formations into some subgroups.
Wittlicher Senke : Ürzig formation (with Springiersbach, Ignimbrit and Engelsberg subformations), Kinderbeuern formation (with Bengel, Bausendorf and Sengbüsch subformations) and Altrich formation (with Wittlich, Salmtal, Berlingen and Neuerburg -Subformations)
Wetterau : Lindheim-Formation , Altenstadt-Formation , Düdelsheim-Formation , Schöneck-Formation , Bleichenbach-Formation , Rodenbach-Formation , Altenmittlau-Formation , Glauburg-Formation , Cornberg-Formation
Eastern edge of the Rhenish Slate Mountains : Battenberg Formation
Thuringian Forest: "basal sediments" (not yet named), Georgenthal Formation , Möhrenbach Formation , Ilmenau Formation , Manebach Formation , Goldlauter Formation , Oberhof Formation , Rotterode Formation , Tambach Formation , Elgersburg Formation , Eisenach -Formation , Neuenhof formation
Stockheim Basin : Stockheim Formation , Föritz Formation , Reitsch Formation
Mühlhausen Basin : Mühlhausen Formation , Kirchheilingen Formation , Altengottern Formation
Unstrut Basin : three previously only informally named lithostratigraphic units
Rudolstadt Basin : three previously only informally named lithostratigraphic units
Geraer basin : Cretzschwitz formation , Gera formation
Northeast Saale basin: Halle formation (e.g. Galgenberg ), Hornburg formation , Eisleben formation
Flechtinger Scholle : Süplingen Formation , Roxförde Formation , Winkelstedt Formation , Uthmöden Formation , Bebertal Formation , Föhrberg Formation
Döhlen Basin and Briesnitz Basin : Unkersdorf Formation , Döhlen Formation , Niederhäslich Formation , Bannewitz Formation
Northwest Saxon Basin : Kohren Formation , Rochlitz Formation , Oschatz Formation , Wurzen Formation
Chemnitz basin (= Vorerzgebirgs-Senke pp): Härtensdorf formation , Planitz formation , Leukersdorf formation , Mülsen formation
Weißig Basin : Hutberg Formation , Napoleonstein Formation
North German part of the southern Perm Basin: (four subgroups: Altmark subgroup, Müritz subgroup, Havel subgroup ( Parchim and Mirow formation ), Elbe subgroup ( Dethlingen and Hanover formation ))
Permocarbon basins in Baden-Württemberg ( Kraichgau Basin , Schramberg Basin , Offenburg Basin , Breisgau Basin , Northern Switzerland Basin ): Schriesheim Formation , Lichtental Formation , Geisberg Formation , Michelbach Formation , Rebberg Formation , Schramberg Formation , Ibenbach sediments (informal unit), Weitenau formation
Ilfeld Basin on the southern edge of the Harz Mountains: Fuchsburg Formation , Netzkater Formation , Neustadt Formation , Sülzhayn Formation (Limbach Subformation, Sülze Subformation, Dörnsenberg Subformation), Werna Formation and Walkenried Formation
Meisdorf basin on the north-eastern edge of the Harz: Wolfstal Formation , Triftbach Formation , Ballenstedt Formation , Kirchberg Formation , Endorf Formation and Eisleben Formation
Weiden Basin in northeast Bavaria: Bechtsrieth Formation , Schadenreuth Formation , Weiden Formation , Tiefenbach Formation

Fossils

Fossils from the Rotliegend are known mainly from Saarland ( Lebach and Oberthal ), Rhineland-Palatinate ( Nierstein , Bad Sobernheim , Odernheim , Jeckenbach , Rockenhausen ), Thuringia ( Manebach , Friedrichroda , Tambach-Dietharz ), Saxony-Anhalt (Halle area / Saale) and Saxony (Chemnitz, Dresden). The animal tracks from Nierstein, the dinosaurs (amphibians) from Odernheim and Jeckenbach, the original reptiles from the “ Bromacker ” site near Tambach-Dietharz and the “ Petrified Forest ” from Chemnitz are famous .

literature

Manfred Menning, Reinhard Benek, Jürgen Boy, Bodo-Carlo Ehling, Frank Fischer, Birgit Gaitzsch, Reinhard Gast, Gotthard Kowalczyk, Harald Lützner, Wolfgang Reichel, Jörg W. Schneider : Das Rotliegend in the Stratigraphic Table of Germany 2002 - "Paternoster- Stratigraphy "on the decline. Newsletters on Stratigraphy, 41 (1-3): 91-122, Stuttgart 2005 ISSN 0078-0421
Werner Pälchen, Harald Walter (Hrsg.): Geology of Saxony Geological structure and history of development. E. Schweizerbart'sche Verlagbuchhandlung (Nägele and Obermüller), Stuttgart 2008.
Matthias Geyer, Edgar Nitsch, Theo Simon: Geology of Baden-Württemberg. 5th edition, 627 pages, Schweizerbart, Stuttgart 2011 ISBN 978-3-510-65267-9
Edgar Nitsch, Hubert Zedler: Upper Carboniferous and Permian in Baden-Württemberg. State Office for Geology, Raw Materials and Mining, Information, 22: pp. 7–102, Freiburg 2009.
Gotthard Kowalczyk, Harald Lützner: Lithostratigraphy of the Rotliegend basin. In: German Stratigraphic Commission (ed .: coordination and editing H. Lützner, G. Kowalczyk for the sub-commission Perm-Trias): Stratigraphie von Deutschland X. Rotliegend Part 1: Innervariscische Becken. Series of publications by the German Society for Geosciences, Issue 61: pp. 71–78, Hannover 2012.
Josef Paul: Rotliegend of the Harz. In: German Stratigraphic Commission (ed .: coordination and editing H. Lützner, G. Kowalczyk for the sub-commission Perm-Trias): Stratigraphie von Deutschland X. Rotliegend Part 1: Innervariscische Becken. Series of publications by the German Society for Geosciences, Issue 61: pp. 204–234, Hannover 2012.
Johannes Stets: Rotliegend in Eifel and West-Hunsrück. In: German Stratigraphic Commission (ed .: coordination and editing H. Lützner, G. Kowalczyk for the sub-commission Perm-Trias): Stratigraphie von Deutschland X. Rotliegend Part 1: Innervariscische Becken. Series of publications by the German Society for Geosciences, Issue 61: pp. 235–253, Hannover 2012.
Gotthard Kowalczyk, Anette Herbst with a contribution by Heiner Heggemann: Rotliegend in the Hessian Basin. In: German Stratigraphic Commission (ed .: coordination and editing H. Lützner, G. Kowalczyk for the sub-commission Perm-Trias): Stratigraphie von Deutschland X. Rotliegend Part 1: Innervariscische Becken. Series of publications by the German Society for Geosciences, Issue 61: pp. 378–417, Hannover 2012.
Harald Lützner, Dieter Andreas, Jörg W. Schneider, Sebastian Voigt, Ralf Werneburg: Stefan and Rotliegend in the Thuringian Forest and its surroundings. In: German Stratigraphic Commission (ed .: coordination and editing H. Lützner, G. Kowalczyk for the sub-commission Perm-Trias): Stratigraphie von Deutschland X. Rotliegend Part 1: Innervariscische Becken. Series of publications by the German Society for Geosciences, Issue 61: pp. 418–487, Hannover 2012.
Paul Brosin , Harald Lützner: Concealed Rotliegend occurrences between the Thuringian Forest and the Harz Mountains. In: German Stratigraphic Commission (ed .: coordination and editing H. Lützner and G. Kowalczyk for the sub-commission Perm-Trias): Stratigraphie von Deutschland X. Rotliegend Part 1: Innervariscische Becken. Series of publications by the German Society for Geosciences, Issue 61: pp. 488–503, Hannover 2012.
Bodo-Carlo Ehling, Ute Gebhardt: Rotliegend in the Saale basin. In: German Stratigraphic Commission (ed .: coordination and editing H. Lützner and G. Kowalczyk for the sub-commission Perm-Trias): Stratigraphie von Deutschland X. Rotliegend Part 1: Innervariscische Becken. Series of publications by the German Society for Geosciences, Issue 61: pp. 504–516, Hannover 2012.
Harald Walter: Red lying in the Northwest Saxon Basin. In: German Stratigraphic Commission (ed .: coordination and editing H. Lützner and G. Kowalczyk for the sub-commission Perm-Trias): Stratigraphie von Deutschland X. Rotliegend Part 1: Innervariscische Becken. Series of publications of the German Society for Geosciences, Issue 61: pp. 517-529, Hannover 2012.
Jörg W. Schneider, Ronny Rößler, Frank Fischer: Rotliegend of the Chemnitz basin (syn. Erzgebirge basin). In: German Stratigraphic Commission (ed .: coordination and editing H. Lützner and G. Kowalczyk for the sub-commission Perm-Trias): Stratigraphie von Deutschland X. Rotliegend Part 1: Innervariscische Becken. Series of publications by the German Society for Geosciences, Issue 61: pp. 530–588, Hannover 2012.
Wolfgang Reichel, Jörg W. Schneider: Red lying in the Döhlen basin. In: German Stratigraphic Commission (ed .: coordination and editing H. Lützner and G. Kowalczyk for the sub-commission Perm-Trias): Stratigraphie von Deutschland X. Rotliegend Part 1: Innervariscische Becken. Publication series of the German Society for Geosciences, Issue 61: 589–625, Hannover 2012.
Manfred Schauer, Harald Walter: Red lying in the Briesnitz basin in Dresden. In: German Stratigraphic Commission (ed .: coordination and editing H. Lützner and G. Kowalczyk for the sub-commission Perm-Trias): Stratigraphie von Deutschland X. Rotliegend Part 1: Innervariscische Becken. Series of publications by the German Society for Geosciences, Issue 61: pp. 626–632, Hannover 2012.
Wolfgang Reichel, Jörg W. Schneider: Red lying in the Döhlen basin. In: German Stratigraphic Commission (ed .: coordination and editing H. Lützner and G. Kowalczyk for the sub-commission Perm-Trias): Stratigraphie von Deutschland X. Rotliegend Part 1: Innervariscische Becken. Series of publications by the German Society for Geosciences, Issue 61: pp. 589–625, Hannover 2012.
Wolfgang Reichel: Rotliegend in the Weißig Basin northeast of Dresden. In: German Stratigraphic Commission (ed .: coordination and editing H. Lützner and G. Kowalczyk for the sub-commission Perm-Trias): Stratigraphie von Deutschland X. Rotliegend Part 1: Innervariscische Becken. Series of publications by the German Society for Geosciences, Issue 61: pp. 633–645, Hannover 2012.
Harald Dill: Stratigraphy and lithology of permocarbons in the Weiden basin (NE-Bavaria, FR Germany) . In: Journal of the German Geological Society . 141 (part 1), 1990, pp. 31-47 .

Remarks

↑ According to the recommendations of the Stratigraphic Commission (2005), this declinable variant should not be used, as it is more difficult to use as an international term in non-German-speaking countries (see Kowalczyk & Lützner (2012) ).

Web links

[1] According to the recommendations of the Stratigraphic Commission (2005), this declinable variant should not be used, as it is more difficult to use as an international term in non-German-speaking countries (see Kowalczyk & Lützner (2012) ).