Provenance petrological study of the Upper Vendian and Cambrian clastic material; foreland of the Pomeranian Caledonides (northern Poland)

The provenance of clastic material in the oldest part of the sedimentary cover of the East European Craton, in northern Poland, is analysed. Analysis of the Żarnowiec Formation sandstones (Upper Vendian-lowest Cambrian) confirm earlier views of a local origin. The crystalline basement in the Kościerzyna IG 1 region mainly yielded enderbitic detritus while that in the Gdańsk IG 1 region provided migmatitic detritus. Triangle diagrams of the overlying, mature, sandy marine Cambrian show unequivocally that the detritus was transported from the craton interior. Analysis of mono- and polycrystalline quartz and cathodoluminescence (CL) analysis indicates erosion of metamorphic, magmatic and sedimentary rocks, and this is confirmed by CL observations of zircons. These results are consistent with the view that the Upper Vendian and Cambrian strata on the Pomeranian Caledonides foreland were formed on the passive margin of Baltica.