The Miocene evolution of the area transitional from the Eastern Alps to the Pannonian Basin System was studied through the paleogeographic evolution of the Slovenj Gradec Basin in northern Slovenia. It is based on mapping, section logging, nannoplankton biostratigraphy, and petrography. The results are correlated with the lithological column of the borehole MD-1/05. The evolution of the basin is connected with the development of the Pannonian Basin System, and the global 3^rd order cycles, which influenced the connection with the Mediterranean Sea. Sedimentation started in the Karpatian in a fluvial to lacustrine environment and terminated at the end of the Early Badenian. During this period, three transgression–regression cycles were recorded. The first transgression occurred in the Karpatian and corresponds to the TB 2.2. cycle. The sediments reflect proximity of the hinterland. After a short break in sedimentation, the Early Badenian deposition followed. It marks the second transgression into the SGB, the first Badenian, correlated with the TB 2.3 cycle. There are signs of a transitional environment, which evolved to marine in advanced stages. At the high-stand system tract, the sea flooded the entire Slovenj Gradec Basin. Subsequent reduced quantity and diversity of the microfossils marks the onset of the second regression stage. It is followed by the third transgression, the second in the Badenian, correlated with the TB 2.4 cycle. The late Early Badenian deposition continued in the lower-energy, though occasionally still turbulent environment. Silty sediments with upward increasing content of organic matter indicate shallowing of the basin, until its final diminishing. Layers of fresh-water coal already bear witness to the existence of restricted swamps. After the Early Badenian, the area of the Slovenj Gradec Basin became dry land, exposed to erosion.

We applied an interdisciplinary approach to analyze the late Quaternary activity of the Sava Fault in the Slovenian Southern Alps. The Sava Fault is an active strike-slip fault, and part of the Periadriatic Fault System that accommodated the convergence of Adria and Europe. It is one of the longest faults in the Southern Alps. Using high-resolution digital elevation models from lidar and photogrammetric surveys, we were able to overcome the challenges of assessing fault activity in a region with intense surface processes, dense vegetation, and relatively low fault slip rates. By integrating remote sensing analysis, geomorphological mapping, structural geological investigations, and near-surface geophysics (electrical resistivity tomography and ground penetrating radar), we were able to find subtle geomorphological indicators, detect near-surface deformation, and show distributed surface deformation and a complex fault pattern. Using optically stimulated luminescence dating, we tentatively estimated a slip rate of 1.8 ± 0.4 mm/a for the last 27 ka, which exceeds previous estimates and suggests temporal variability in fault behavior. Our study highlights the importance of modern high-resolution remote sensing techniques and interdisciplinary approaches in detecting tectonic deformation in relatively low-strain rate environments with intense surface processes. We show that slip rates can vary significantly depending on the studied time window. This is a critical piece of information since slip rates are a key input parameter for seismic hazard studies.

Neogene sedimentary successions are found in eastern and northeastern Slovenia. Their formation was closely related to the evolution of the western part of the Pannonian Basin System and the Central Paratethys; it was influenced by global transgressive and regressive cycles as well as by global, regional and local tectonics. Several formations and beds were defined within the Neogene sedimentary successions which can be found in three separate areas. The first one includes the formations north of two major fault systems, the Periadriatic Fault System and the Mid-Hungarian Zone, which were associated with the Mura-Zala and the Styrian Basins, respectively. Successions south of these major faults are not formally connected to any of the major basins and developed in two distinct parts: a strip between Tunjice and Kozjansko to the north and the Krško area to the south. From the Egerian to the early Badenian, different areas exhibit different types of sedimentation, whereas from the middle Badenian onwards, sedimentation in different zones is partly comparable, depending on the type of depositional environment. Egerian and Eggenburgian sediments are only found south of the above-mentioned major fault zones, whereas Karpatian sedimentation only occurred north of them. Sediments in both areas are characterized by alternation of shallow marine, brackish and terrestrial sedimentation. In contrast, sedimentary environment in the Badenian evolved from a terrestrial, mainly fluvial environment with alluvial fans, through a transitional stage (delta and lagoon) to a shallow and deep marine environment. The Sarmatian sequences reflect a brackish environment with decreasing salinity and continue into extensive Pannonian delta systems that gradually fill the basins from west to east. The formations that correspond to the Pannonian in the Mura-Zala Basin can be correlated with the formations in the Krško area. The Pliocene is characterized by terrestrial sedimentation with the formation of rivers and lakes in the newly established intramontane basins.

Pronounced tectonic and paleogeographic changes were detected in the Alpine–Pannonian region during the Miocene at the interface between the Alps, the Dinarides, and the Pannonian Basin. To understand the major tectonic, paleogeographic, and paleoclimatic changes during this period, geochemical and mineralogical investigations were carried out on the fine-grained clastic sedimentary rocks in the Tunjice Hills. The paleoweathering indicates a cold and/or arid to a warm and humid period. The paleoclimate and the regional climatic conditions correspond well with the Middle Miocene Climatic Optimum. The mineral composition shows an abundance of quartz and calcite. Quartz is associated with detrital origin from volcanic and metamorphic rocks of the Eastern and Southern Alps and with authigenic processes in sediments. Calcite is related to authigenic origin formed in shallow marine environments and to detrital provenance from the Southern Alps. Not all discriminant functions based on major oxides provided adequate results in determining the tectonic setting. The source rocks were subjected to oceanic island arc and collision. Moreover, sedimentation was influenced by both active and passive margin settings. The former is related to the Alpine collision, which continued from the Cenozoic onward, and the latter is connected to the processes associated with the formation of the Pannonian Basin System, which began in the late Early Miocene.

In Slovenia, mass movements are not only a threat to the population, but also a major environmental and social science challenge. Lithologically heterogeneous areas have been found to be problematic, and the Miocene Slovenj Gradec basin (in northeast Slovenia) is one such area. For this area, we developed landslide and rockfall susceptibility maps based on detailed geological research combined with statistical modeling schemes. Crucial factors include lithological composition, land use, geological structural elements, slope curvature, aspect and inclination, and bed dipping. The approach taken in the development of mass movement susceptibility maps presented here is transferable to other areas defined by heterogeneous lithology. Such maps could prove useful spatial planning, forestry, environmental protection, landscape architecture, and other fields.