Meiofauna, trace metals, TOC, sedimentology, and oxygen availability in the Late Miocene sublittoral deposits of Lake Pannon

The Late Miocene fine-grained deposits have been investigated in the Vienna Basin to attest oxygen availability for infauna and epifauna in the sublittoral of the long-lived Lake Pannon. A clay and fine silt of the deeper lacustrine facies of a bay passed vertically into a silty clay, silt, and fine sand rhythmic deposition reflecting successive progradation of brackish prodelta to distal delta front colonized by a dense benthic population. A fully oxygenated environment is supposed in the Congeria subglobosa Beds and prodelta accentuated by ichnofauna, ostracods, and abundant in taxa and specimens, low total organic content, and trace elements concentration. A limited anoxic event caused by temporarily worsened circulation has been detected in non-calcareous greyish-blue homogenous clay with a noticeable high concentration of Ni, Co, and Pb coupled with absence of fossils, bioturbation, and low total organic carbon content. © Springer-Verlag 2009.