The Permian–Triassic Boundary in Continental Sedimentary Succession at the SE Margin of the Central European Basin (holy Cross Mountains, Poland)

AbstractWe studied the upper Permian and Lower Triassic deposits from the northern and northwestern marginal part of the Holy Cross Mountains (SE part of the Central European Basin or CEB, Poland) to examine stratigraphic continuity between these two systems, and to revise the currently existing stratigraphic framework. A previously existing informal lithostratigraphic scheme has been revisited and placed in a broader chronostratigraphic and palaeoenvironmental context. Sedimentary continuity across the Permian–Triassic (P/T) boundary has been confirmed by the presence of Lueckisporites virkkiae Bc morphological norm and Lundbladispora obsoleta–Protohaploxypinus pantii palynomorphs. Facies development reflects an interplay between climatic variations and tectonism during late Permian – Early Triassic time. The P/T boundary was placed between the Siodła Formation and overlying Szczukowice and Jaworzna formations, which coincides with the classical Zechstein–Buntsandstein boundary in the SE part of the CEB. The facies changes recorded in the studied terrestrial succession of the P/T boundary shed light on the environmental dynamic prior, during and after one of the biggest biotic crises in Earth’s history.