The Miocene extensional Pannonian superbasin, volume 1: Regional Geology: introduction

The Pannonian Basin is a collage of Miocene extensional basins surrounded by the folded belts of the Alps, Carpathians and Dinarides. All these subbasins developed in a back-arc basin setting providing a snapshot in the general evolution of continental extensional basins. In fact, the Pannonian Basin is the locus typicus for back-arc extensional basins within the Alpine-Tethyan orogenic belt developed on highly extended continental crust without advancing to the opening of an oceanic realm. The Pannonian Basin is a classic petroleum province that has been explored by the industry for more than a century. The quantity of geological and geophysical data acquired in this large (more than 200,000 km 2 ) basin complex, spreading across ten countries (listed in a clockwise sense: Austria, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia and Slovenia), is staggering. Across this large area in Central and Eastern Europe, about 90% of its pre-rift basement is covered by the syn- to post-rift sedimentary basin fill emphasizing the importance of subsurface geology. The aim of this volume is to provide an overview of the regional geology, stratigraphy and structure of this superbasin, with most of its subbasins described in a consistent, modern style with useful cross-referencing.