This review aims to present an updated lithostratigraphic framework of the northern Danube Basin in Slovakia, consistent with recent shifts in geochronology and depositional system redefinitions based on sedimentology and seismic stratigraphy. Several transgressive–regressive sequences are distinguished: The Lower Badenian (Middle Miocene), represented by the Špačince Fm, mainly occurred in peripheral Blatné and Želiezovce sub-basins. The central part of the Danube Basin formed an elevation during this period, coinciding with the onset of intermediate volcanic activity. The Upper Badenian (Middle Miocene), encompassed within the Pozba Fm, saw the flooding of the central Danube Basin, signifying a change in transport direction. The inception of this cycle is well constrained by recently published multiple 40 Ar/ 39 Ar dating to c. 13.8 Ma. The Sarmatian deposition (Middle Miocene), characterized by the Vráble Fm, also occurred in newly significantly deepened Komjatice and Rišňovce sub-basins, coinciding with a gradual cessation of calc-alkaline volcanism, observed only at the basin's eastern edge. The Pannonian (Upper Miocene) deposition includes lacustrine Ivanka, deltaic Beladice and alluvial Volkovce formations, representing interconnected depositional systems prograding towards Lake Pannon. The subsequent evolution entails a post-rift stage (9.5–6 Ma), primarily marked by the alluvial Volkovce Fm deposition, and basin inversion, with alluvial deposition mostly confined to the basin centre and differentially eroded basin margins (from 6 Ma to the present).

This study examines the suitability of the authigenic 10Be/9Be dating method to the dating of the deposits of an incising river, taking as an example the Nová Vieska river terrace, which accumulated during the neotectonic inversion of the Danube Basin (western Slovakia). The succession was formed by a wandering river with minor preservation of proximal floodplain muds. The frequent occurrence of mud intraclasts reflects a significant input of eroded material from underlying, older successions. The ages of 13 authigenic 10Be/9Be dating samples formed three groups: (1) samples from below the base of the river terrace yielded dates of ~4.13–3.70 Ma; (2) muddy intraclasts from the river terrace an age range of ~2.79–1.96 Ma; and (3) in situ muddy layers had ages in the range of ~1.91–1.39 Ma. The large mammal fossil assemblage from channel thalweg deposits yielded a biostratigraphic age of ~3.6–2.2 Ma, matching the age of intraclasts, and thus emphasizing the redeposited origin of those fossils. The relatively wide range of authigenic 10Be/9Be dating ages is interpreted as a result of the redeposition of mud from older strata on three scales: decimeter-scale intraclasts, millimeter-scale rip-up clasts mixed into the newly formed beds, and formation of two authigenic rims with different age and 10Be/9Be record around individual particles. Considering these observations, an age range of in situ layers of ~1.91–1.39 Ma is proposed as the depositional age of the river terrace. The effect of redeposition is thus shown to be potentially limiting to the application of authigenic 10Be/9Be dating to incising rivers, and stands in marked contrast with aggrading river settings, where redeposition of older sediment is limited and the degree of 10Be/9Be variability is low.

The late Badenian and Sarmatian (Serravallian) evolution of depositional environments in the Danube Basin (Zeliezovce Depression) has never been fully explored. Here, we clarify the paleoenvironmental changes which took place in this area during the late Badenian and Sarmatian on the basis of sedimentological, petrographic, biostratigraphic and paleobotanical analyses performed at multiple sections. The combination of these methods with sequence stratigraphy allowed us to divide the sedimentary record into three main intervals: 1) the transgressive late Badenian rocky shore deposits (transgressive and/or highstand system tract), followed by a gap in the stratigraphic record (that can approximately coincide with the latest Badenian falling stage system tract). 2) Earliest Sarmatian terrestrial deposits connected with the beginning of the Sarmatian transgression (synchronous with the lowstand system tract). 3) The early Sarmatian deltaic environment influenced by tidal processes associated with the highstand system tract. The fossil leaf association indicates a climatic turnover from subtropical to temperate conditions between the earliest (lowstand system tract) and the early Sarmatian (highstand system tract). Sediments of the late Sarmatian (falling stage system tract) were not deposited or were later eroded. However, they may be present in the neighbouring depressions, which tectonically opened during the late Sarmatian. The Badenian-Sarmatian boundary in the Zeliezovice Depression is developed in transgressive shallow marine to terrestrial volcano-sediments as is typical for this boundary in most other Paratethys depocentres.

The Danube Basin, located in the junction of the Eastern Alps and Western Carpathians, comprises up to 600 m thick alluvial succession, which was previously assigned to the Quaternary without geochronological constraints. The internal stratigraphy and timing of the succession remained unknown, although it has potential to provide an important record of geological evolution of the region. The present study involves Al-26/(10) Be burial dating of 17 samples from wells along with facies correlation from the NW margin towards the basin centre, with the purpose of recovering the Pliocene-Quaternary depositional archive. Obtained ages ranging from 0.58 +/- 0.06 to 339 +/- 2.11 Ma allow for four separate members to be distinguished. The lowermost Kolarovo Fm. with inferred depositional age of similar to 5-2.6 Ma shows lateral variability with gradual shift of channel fills composed of sands and gravelly sands across the floodplain/pond fades from NW to SE. An abrupt increase of sediment supply: accommodation ratio was observed at similar to 2.6 Ma, and led to the dominance of amalgamated gravelly channel fills in the centre of the basin. Another sharp increase of sediment supply was observed at similar to 12 Ma, reflected in a brief period of dominance of gravelly channel fill facies across the basin. This highly supplied environment then gradually occupied the whole basin after similar to 0.9 Ma. Petrographic study implies a distant provenance for the period similar to 5.0-2.6 Ma. The subsequent interval is characterised by sediment sourcing from uplifting mountains of the Western Carpathians on the margins of the Danube Basin, drained by the Vah River. A notable change appeared after similar to 0.9 Ma, when the Eastern Alpine provenance of clasts brought by the Danube River prevailed. Based on a review of existing data about regional tectonics and climate, the changes in this depositional record are interpreted as an interplay of climate changes (similar to 2.6 Ma and similar to 1.2 Ma) and local vertical movements affecting both sediment input and drainage network patterns. The accommodation space was formed without contribution of fault activity according to the observed settings. A noteworthy observation is time transgressive shift of fades boundaries in the Pliocene-Quaternary succession. (C) 2018 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Coarse-grained sediments of the Devinska Nova Ves Formation (Middle Badenian) are cropping out at the western margin of the Male Karpaty Mts., between Devinska Nova Ves and Kuchyňa villages. In the studied area, this formation is represented by various lithofacies. The most abundant are breccia, gravel and sand. Less abundant is the presence of shale and coaly shale with lignite seams. In one place, south of the Kuchyňa village, also a presence of volcanic tuff was examined in this formation. The breccia is built by chaotic, nonstratified, mostly angular blocks and debris of granitoid rocks. Less frequent is poorly rounded debris of crystalline schists, vein quartz and quartzite in the breccia. Its matrix is silty sand and represents a material of fossil weathering rind. Locally, the Devinska Nova Ves Fm. is represented by gravel with well rounded pebbles of granitoids, quartzite and crystalline schists in the Marianka village and south of the Lozorno village. All these rock types can be derived from the Tatric units of the Male Karpaty Mts., but their vertical distribution (MKZ-1 well) show an inverse trend, than awaited from normal stratigraphic superposition. This is an evidence of the existence of a crystalline nappe unit (Bratislava nappe), above the Mesozoic successions (Borinka unit). Most of the sediments were deposited in the lateral debris apron and alluvial fan environments. In the terminal part of the coarse grained formation, a part of the rounded gravel shows reworking by sea waves in the littoral zone, beyond the frontal part of the alluvial fans. Sand represents a very common lithotype in the Devinska Nova Ves Formation, containing also thin intercalations of fine gravel, and 1–2 cm thick interbeds of shale. The sand is genetically related mostly to the distal alluvial sand skirt deposits, but the distal part of them, cross stratified, with reworked pebble trains, clearly show the deposition in littoral environment of alluvial deltas. Shale lithofacies is present only rarely in the Devinska Nova Ves Formation. It is represented by pale greenish grey, rusty variegated noncalcareous clay. It contains an abundant association of palynomorphs, documenting hydrophilous and riparian paleoflora. The shales were accumulated on alluvial interfluve plains, and more distally they transit into similar delta plain facies. The tuff, found south of the Kuchyňa village, is of white and grey white color. It is matrix supported, and consists of clasts and fragments of glass. It is a product of an ash-fall of rhyolite composition. On the tuff`s bedding planes we have found imprints of leaves and lithocarps. This tuff can be probably derived from the Central Slovakian neovolcanic area, from where rhyolite volcanism is known from the Early Badenian time only, that forces us to consider also to the Lower Badenian age of the basal part of the Devinska Nova Ves Fm., similarly like it is in the Austrian part of the Vienna Basin.

Late Miocene and Pliocene history of the Danube Basin: inferred from development of depositional systems and timing of sedimentary facies changesThe development of the northern Danube Basin (nDB) was closely related to the Late Miocene geodynamic evolution of the Pannonian Basin System. It started with a wide rifting which led to subsidence of several basin depocenters which were gradually filled during the Late Miocene and Early Pliocene. In the Late Pliocene the subsidence continued only in the basin's central part, while the northern marginal zone suffered inversion and the uplifted sedimentary fill began to be eroded. Individual stages of the basin development are well recorded in its sedimentary succession, where at least three great tectono-sedimentary cycles were documented. Firstly, a lacustrine cycle containing Lower, Middle and lowermost Upper Pannonian sediments (A-F Zones;sensuPapp 1951) deposited in the time span 11.6-8.9 Ma and is represented in the nDB in Slovakia by the Ivanka and Beladice Formations. In the Danube Basin of the southern part in Hungary, where the formations are defined by the appearance of sedimentary facies in time and space, the equivalents are: (1) the deep-water setting marls, clays and sandy turbidites of the Endrod and Szolnok Formations leading to the overlying strata deposits of the basin paleoslope or delta-slope represented by the Algyő Formation, and (2) the final shallow-water setting deposits of marshes, lagoons and a coastal and delta plain composed of clays, sands and coal seams, represented by the Újfalu Formation. The second tectono-sedimentary cycle was deposited in an alluvial environment and it comprises the Upper Pannonian (G and H Zones;sensuPapp 1951) and Lower Pliocene sediments dated 8.9-4.1? Ma. The cycle is represented in the nDB, by the Volkovce Formation and in the southern part by the Zagyva Formation in Hungary. The sedimentary environment is characterized by a wide range of facies from fluvial, deltaic and ephemeral lake to marshes. The third tectono-sedimentary cycle comprises the Upper Pliocene sediments. In Slovakia these are represented by the Kolárovo Formation dated 4.1-2.6 Ma. The formation contains material of weathering crust preserved in fissures of Mesozoic carbonates, diluvial deposits and sediments of the alluvial environment.