Evolution and Correlation of Late Carboniferous-early Permian basins of Central Europe

 

The transition from the Late Carboniferous to the Early Permian marked a major tectonic reorganization of the Variscan orogen in Central Europe, changing from continental collision to an extensional tectonic regime. This period was characterized by large-scale strike-slip faulting, intense volcanism, and the formation of numerous continental basins associated with graben and half-graben structures. These basins preserve an important archive of the late- and post-Variscan tectonic, magmatic, climatic, and environmental evolution of Central Europe.

However, correlating sedimentary successions between individual basins remains challenging because sedimentation was strongly influenced by volcanism, tectonic deformation, changing basin geometries, and shifting depositional systems. As a result, stratigraphic successions commonly differ significantly between neighbouring basins.

Within a variety of different Late Carboniferous to early Permian Basins we applied high-precision zircon U–Pb CA-ID-TIMS geochronology to establish accurate temporal frameworks for these basin systems and to improve the regional correlation of late- and post-Variscan geological evolution.

 
 
Overview map

 

 

Figure1: Overview map of the central European Variscan basement massifs and major structural boundaries defining the Variscan zones (Rhenohercynian Zone (RHZ), Saxothuringian Zone (STZ), and Moldanubian Zone (MZ)). Also shown are Late Carboniferous-early Permian molasse basins (from west to east): CB — Chemnitz Basin, BAB — Bourbon l'Archambault-Basin, AB — Autun Basin, SNB — Saar-Nahe Basin, WTB — Wetterau Basin, TFB — Thuringian Forest Basin, WBB — Western Bohemian Basins, DB — Döhlen Basin, WB — Weißig Basin, ISB — Intra-Sudetic Basin, BB — Boscovice Basin, KB — Krkonoše Piedmont Basin. (from Käßner et al. (2026), CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

Correlation of Basins

 

 

Figure 2: Correlation of Late Carboniferous/early Permian continental basin of the Variscan orogen, based on published and own U-Pb CA-ID-TIMS data. The top panel shows the major fault direction that was active during sedimentation and caused the elongation direction of the basins. References available upon request. (from Käßner et al. (2026), CC BY 4.0, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)

 

Collaboration and Funding

  • Sächsisches Landesamt für Umwelt, Geologie und Landwirtschaft
  • Museum für Naturkunde Chemnitz
  • Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG), Project Number: 565412265

Publications

Peer-reviewed publications

Käßner, A., Tichomirowa, M., Rößler, R. (2026) The Carboniferous/Permian transition from Variscan orogenic collapse to active rifting in Central Europe, established from zircon U-Pb CA-ID-TIMS geochronology and Sr isotope analysis on volcanic rocks of the continental Chemnitz Basin (Germany), Gondwana Research 155: 396–412.

Marchetti, L., Stubenrauch, J., Käßner, A., Tichomirowa, M., König, S., Pint, A., Voigt, T. (2026) First high-precision radioisotopic age from the Permian Bromacker lagerstätte (Tambach Formation, Germany) and implications for biochronology and biota evolution, Gondwana Research 155:283–299.

Käßner, A., Tichomirowa, M., Rößler, R., Görz, I. (2024) Zircon U–Pb CA–ID–TIMS constraints on the chronology of the Late Carboniferous–early Permian continental Döhlen Basin and its correlation with the Thuringian Forest Basin (Central and Eastern Germany), International Journal of Earth Sciences 113:1599–1618.

Voigt, S., Schindler, T., Tichomirowa, M., Käßner, A., Schneider, J. W., Linnemann, U. (2022) First high‑precision U–Pb age from the Pennsylvanian‑Permian of the continental Saar–Nahe Basin, SW Germany, International Journal of Earth Sciences 111: 2119-2147. 

Käßner, A., Tichomirowa, M., Lapp, M., Leonhardt, D., Whitehouse, M., Gerdes, A. (2021) Two-phase late Paleozoic magmatism (~ 313–312 and ~ 299–298 Ma) in the Lusatian Block and its relation to large scale NW striking fault zones: evidence from zircon U–Pb CA–ID–TIMS geochronology, bulk rock- and zircon chemistry, International Journal of Earth Sciences 110:2923–2953. 

Lützner, H., Tichomirowa, M., Käßner, A., Gaupp, R. (2021) Latest Carboniferous to early Permian volcano-stratigraphic evolution in Central Europe – U-Pb CA-ID-TIMS ages of volcanic rocks in the Thuringian Forest Basin (Germany), International Journal of Earth Sciences 110, p. 377–398.

Press releases

https://www.friedensteine.de/pressemeldungen/der-bromacker-ist-4-millionen-jahre-aelter-als-bisher-angenommen