Stratigraphy and structure of the Slovenian part of the Pannonian Superbasin: a brief overview

The Slovenian part of the Pannonian Superbasin has a complex geological history marked by intense tectonic activity during the Neogene. The area can be divided into three different segments: the areas north and south of the Periadriatic Fault and the Krško area. Sedimentation varied laterally during the Early Miocene and early Middle Miocene (Badenian), then gradually became more uniform. In the north, the development of two large syn-rift basins, the Mura–Zala and the Styrian Basins, significantly influenced sedimentation, while the basins in the south were not connected to any of the larger basins. The connection of the Central Paratethys with the Mediterranean and therefore with the global ocean was established in the Early and Middle Miocene (Karpatian and Badenian) through the Slovenian (Trans-Tethyan Trench) Corridor. Middle Miocene (Sarmatian) sedimentation took place in predominantly brackish environments, suggesting that the connection with the Mediterranean had closed. The thick post-rift Pannonian (Upper Miocene–Pliocene) sequence is characterized by deltaic sediments, consistent with the gradual filling of the basins. Owing to renewed compressional deformation affecting this part of the Pannonian basin system, some intramontane basins formed in the Pliocene.