Zechstein reefs of the Main Dolomite in Poland and their seismic recognition

Abstract

Seismic techniques provide facilities for tracing reflections from high-velocity anhydritic-carbonate sets sandwiched by low-velocity salts within the Zechstein deposits of Poland. Especially important for Zechstein deposits and most of all for the Main Dolomite (Ca2) is the slope of the Werra platform extending along the basin margin. During the Main Dolomite (Ca2) sedimentation, the slope of platform had separated the lagoon from the interior being then the starved basin.
The barrier reef was coincident with the slope, and with rapid thickening of the overlying Stassfurt Salts. The carbonate buildups referred to as "the pinnacle reefs" and "the atoll reefs" were deposited in this very starved basin. The best hydrocarbon prospects are believed to be the pinnacle and atoll zones extending around the entire basin.