Microfacies of the Emen Formation (Lovetch Urgonian Group, Lower Cretaceous, Fore-Balkan)

Detailed microfacial analysis of three sections of the Emen Formation (Lovech Urgonian Group, Central Fore-Balkan) revealed thirteen different facies types corresponding to distinct sedimentary environments on the carbonate platform, such as basin, external and internal platform. Among these, facies types of the internal platform seem to be the most common. The section near the "Al. Stamboliyski" dam differs from the one near Emen village and from a drillhole section ("Preobrazhenski manastir") because of the diverse compositional structures of the limestones and the large number of shaly-terrigeneous intercalations. The upper part of the "Al. Stamboliyski" section is composed of mixed muddy-terrigeneous facies types. These characteristics are interpreted as the result of different settings on the carbonate platform in terms of paleogeography, reflecting also changing of the depositional conditions through time. This study, based on the quantified curves of vertical evolution of microfacies associations, provides a key to the temporal and spatial evolution of sedimentation during the deposition of the Emen Formation. The facies types described in this study can be directly compared to those recently defined in the Lower Cretaceous carbonate platform of Southern France.