Paleoecological and sedimentological characterisation of Middle Miocene sediments from the Hrvatska Kostajnica area (Croatia)

The Miocene deposits of the Hrvatska Kostajnica (KOS-I) area belong to the south-western marginal part of the Pannonian Basin System (PBS). Investigation of the lithostratigraphical column included: mineralogical, geochemical, sedimentological and integrated palaeontological (calcareous nannofossil, foraminifers, ostracodes, palynomorphs) analyses. Badenian and Sarmatian sediments of this column were deposited in a marine offshore environment with local input of terrigenous material represented by marls and silty marls. Based on palaeontological data, the recorded palaeoclimate was subtropical in the late Badenian changing to a warm temperate climate of the early Sarmatian. Marly sediments predominantly consist of carbonate (calcite and aragonite) and clay minerals, while quartz and plagioclase are less abundant. Most samples contain a small amount of zeolite minerals from the clinoptilolite/heulandite series. Among the clay minerals, smectite and illite/muscovite are the most abundant. Based on provenance analyses we concluded that the Badenian-Sarmatian marls were predominantly formed by the weathering of acidic (Si-rich) source rock derived material from the neighbouring Inner Dinarides.