Sea-Level History During the Birth of a Foreland Basin: The Famennian–Visean of “Velbert 4”, Westernmost Rhenish Massif, Germany

Abstract

The core “Velbert 4” (Velbert anticline, westernmost Rhenish Massif) records the development from a mixed carbonate–siliciclastic late Famennian (“Strunian”) ramp to a Tournaisian carbonate platform, a Visean calciturbiditic platform slope, and finally the installation of a deep, black alum shale-filled foreland basin during the latest Visean. The long-term trend was controlled by the advancing Variscan orogeny. The trend was modulated by short-term sea-level fluctuations, which among others caused the Hangenberg crisis, the mid-Tournaisian deepening event, a major erosional unconformity during the late Tournaisian, and a pronounced sequence boundary at the Asbian–Brigantian boundary.