Lačný A., Vojtko R., Velšmid M., Dušeková L. & Papčo J., 2020: Geological control of the origin of dolines in the Plavecký Karst (Malé Karpaty Mts., Slovakia). Acta Geologica Slovaca, 12, 2, 137–152.

Geological control of the origin of dolines in the Plavecký Karst (Malé Karpaty Mts., Slovakia)

Alexander Lačný^1,2, Rastislav Vojtko², Marek Velšmid³, Laura Dušeková⁴ & Juraj Papčo⁵

¹State Nature Conservancy of the Slovak Republic, Little Carpathians Protected Landscape Area, Štúrova 115, 900 01, Modra, Slovakia; alexander.lacny@sopsr.sk
²Comenius University, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Department of Geology and Paleontology, Ilkovičova 6, Bratislava, Slovakia; alexander.lacny@uniba.sk, rastislav.vojtko@uniba.sk
³Cavers of the Plavecké Podhradie o.z., Plavecké Podhradie 284, 906 36 Plavecké Podhradie, Slovakia; mvelsmid@kike.sk
⁴State Nature Conservancy of the Slovak Republic, National Park Malá Fatra, Hrnčiarska 197, 013 03 Varín, Slovakia; laura.dusekova@sopsr.sk
⁵Slovak University of Technology, Faculty of Civil Engineering, Department of Theoretical Geodesy, Radlinského11, 810 05 Bratislava, Slovaka; juraj.papco@stuba.sk

Abstract

The Plavecký Karst is located in the northern part of the Malé Karpaty Mts. and is exclusively linked to a diverse type of Triassic carbonates of the Hronic Unit, which forms the complex higher nappe system of the Central Western Carpathians. The Plavecký Karst has well-developed underground and surface karstic forms; however, the most typical landforms are dolines. The origin of the dolines in the investigated area is influenced by lithological, tectonic, topographic, and morphostructural predisposition, and they were formed by corrosion, collapses, suffusion, and subsidence processes. In the study area, altogether, 83 dolines and 8 very shallow karstic depressions with muddy bottoms were documented and investigated. Many of them are concentrated in the Biele Hory geomorphological part, as well as the central part of the study area with suitable conditions for doline formation. The dolines are less frequent in the Brezovské Karpaty Mts. and Bukovská Brázda Furrow, where the Plavecký Karst partially extends. Significant dolines were not concentrated directly in the valley bottoms, nor on the karst plateau; however, the dolines follow important lithological boundaries. Most importantly, there are boundaries between predominantly shallow water carbonates of the Middle to Upper Triassic formations and siliciclastic rocks of the Permian to the Lower Triassic in age. In addition to this predisposition, the dolines also follow important lithological boundaries between different types of carbonate rocks, such as boundaries among open marine and shallow water carbonate formations. Furthermore, the dolines have a positive spatial correlation with the faults, having displaced the carbonate formations of the Hronic Unit.

Key words: morphometric analyses, doline, fault, lithology, Plavecký Karst, Malé Karpaty Mts., Western Carpathians

Manuskript doručený: 2020-09-06

Manuskript revidovaný: 2020-10-15