Nappe Tectonics in the Southeastern Part of the Rheinisches Schiefergebirge

Palaeogeography and tectonic structure of allochthonous units in the German part of the Rheno-Hercynian Belt (Central European Variscides)

“…This area was previously often described as "Übergangsfazies" or "nördliche Randfazies" of the northeastern "Lahn-Syncline" (e.g., Kegel 1922;Bender 1965Bender , 1978. On its NW side, it is bounded to the Hörre-Gommern Zone by a steep reverse fault (Weidbacher Überschiebung; Engel et al 1983b). Dominating lithologies are Emsian sandstones, Eifelian through to Late Devonian shales with lenses of hemipelagic limestones, and Tournaisian/Early VisØan radiolarian cherts, which often show close affinities to the Hörre-Gommern Zone.…”

“…Its most conspicuous feature is a thick sequence of Early Carboniferous deep-water quartz-sandstones (Homrighausen 1979), which is unique in the Rheno-Hercynian area. While Engel et al (1983b) included these sandstones into the northwestern part of a composite allochthon, Wachendorf (1986), Meischner (1991), and Schwan (1991) maintained a par-autochthonous concept.…”

“…Later, most tectono-stratigraphic units were interpreted as parautochthonous (e.g., Wachendorf 1986;Meischner 1991;Schwan 1991). The allochthonous nature of the Gießen-Harz Nappe, with its Late Devonian flysch turbidites and small occurrences of oceanic metabasalts, is now generally acknowledged (Krebs and Wachendorf 1974;Weber 1978;Dörr and Preiss 1982;Engel et al 1983b;Wedepohl et al 1983;Dörr 1986) and the tectonic debate is focused upon a narrow belt of Late Devonian and Early Carboniferous sediments, the Hörre-Gommern Zone. Its most conspicuous feature is a thick sequence of Early Carboniferous deep-water quartz-sandstones (Homrighausen 1979), which is unique in the Rheno-Hercynian area.…”

Comment on: “Palaeogeography and tectonic structure of allochthonous units in the German part of the Rheno–Hercynian Belt (Central European Variscides)” by Huckriede et al., International Journal of Earth Sciences 93:414–431 (2004)

“…Accordingly, some of the units ranked as South Laurussian in Huckriede et al are better considered North Gondwana-derived (e.g., the Blankenburg Zone and the Bicken-Ense Unit in the northern part of the Hö rre-Gommern Zone), with according implications for the tectonic setting. The Bicken-Ense Unit forms tectonically part of the Lower Nappe sensu Oczlon (1994 Oczlon (1993, 1994) Engel et al (1983, Walliser and Alberti (1983) Eckergneis Not addressed Thrust unit derived from Mid-German Crystalline High (Oczlon 1993 Altenberger and Besch (1993) report that a ca. 413 Ma syn-collisional S-type granitoid in the Mid-German Crystalline High (Bö llstein Odenwald) was preceded by formation of an accretionary wedge.…”

Palynology of the lower carboniferous (Mississippian) kammquartzite formation in the rhenohercynian zone, Germany

“…Reworking of greywackes under shallow marine conditions was taken as the source of the quartzites (MHsCHNER 1991). (3) Based on MEISCHNER'S arguments and the totally atypical lithology of the Kammquartzite Formation, this unit was interpreted as the front of a tectonic nappe structure transported from the southern margin of the Kulm Basin (ENGEL et al 1983, WALLISEI~ & ALI~ERTZ 1983. Models (2) and (3) necessitate derivation of the quartzitic sediment either directly from the greywackes by reworking, or from a source area very close to that of the greywackes.…”