Two sedimentary successions from Hârtop (Hârtop A, B), Șomuz drainage basin, revealing middle Miocene (lower Sarmatian sensu lato) of Moldavian Platform deposits were analysed in order to reconstruct the depositional paleoenvironment and the local shoreline behaviour of the Central Paratethys Basin. The studied sections are mainly sandy with few silty and argillaceous interlays. The sedimentary facies analysis led to the separation of 10 sedimentary facies grouped in two Facies Associations (FA), each one describing a typical sedimentary sub-environment. The two identified Facies Associations described the upper shoreface (FA 1) and the lower shoreface (FA 2) typical for a shallow non-deltaic marginal marine depositional environment. The stacking of these facies association suggests a progradational trend of the depositional systems. The micropaleontological assemblages revealed a scarce fauna of shallow water foraminifera and ostracods specific for the neritic area, confirming the basin depth indicated by the sedimentology of the deposits.

THE DEPOSITIONAL ENVIRONMENT OF UPPER ȘOMUZ FORMATION REVEALED BY HÂRTOP OUTCROPS, Carpathian Journal of Earth and Environmental Sciences February 2025, Vol. 20, No. 1, p. 57 – 65; DOI:10.26471/cjees/2025/020/313