The Early and Middle Miocene transgression at the southern border of the North Sea Basin (northern Belgium)

2005 ◽  
Vol 40 (4) ◽  
pp. 441-456 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephen Louwye
Keyword(s):  
North Sea ◽  
Middle Miocene ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Sea ◽  
Southern Border

Clay mineralogy of the Tertiary onshore and offshore strata of the British Isles

Clay Minerals ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-46 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. M. Huggett ◽  
R. W. O'B. Knox
Keyword(s):  
North Sea ◽  
Volcanic Ash ◽  
Middle Miocene ◽  
Clay Mineralogy ◽  
British Isles ◽  
Subsequent Increase ◽  
The North ◽  
Clay Deposits ◽  
The North Sea ◽  
Clay Formation

AbstractTertiary sediments are of restricted occurrence in the onshore British Isles but occur extensively offshore, attaining thicknesses of ~4 km in the Faroe—Shetland Basin and ~3 km in the North Sea Basin. Clay mineral stratigraphic studies of the North Sea Paleocene to Lower Miocene successions show a dominance of smectite (and smectite-rich illite-smectite) with minor illite, kaolin and chlorite. Abundant smectite in the Paleocene and Eocene reflects alteration of volcanic ash derived from pyroclastic activity associated with the opening of the North Atlantic between Greenland and Europe. However, the persistence of high smectite into the Oligocene and Middle Miocene indicates that smectite-rich soils on adjacent land areas may also have been an important source of detrital clays. An upwards change to illite-dominated assemblages in the Middle Miocene reflects higher rates of erosion and detrital clay supply, with a subsequent increase in chlorite reflecting climatic cooling. The persistence of smectite-rich assemblages to depths of >3000 m in the offshore indicates little burial-related diagenesis within the mudstone succession, possibly as a consequence of over-pressuring. Despite the importance of Paleocene and Eocene sandstones as hydrocarbon reservoirs in the North Sea and Faroe-Shetland basins, there are few published details of the authigenic clays. The principal clay cements in these sandstones are kaolin and chlorite, with only minor illite reported.The offshore successions provide a valuable background to the interpretation of the more intensively studied, but stratigraphically less complete, onshore Tertiary successions. The most extensive onshore successions occur in the London and Hampshire basins where sediments of Paleocene to earliest Oligocene age are preserved. Here clay assemblages are dominated by illite and smectite with subordinate kaolin and chlorite. The relatively large smectite content of these successions is also attributed primarily to the alteration of volcanic ash. Associated non-smectitic clays are largely detrital in origin and sourced from areas to the west, with reworking of laterites and “china clay” deposits developed over Cornish granites. Authigenic clays include glauconite (sensu lato), early diagenetic kaolin that has replaced muscovite (principally in the London Clay Formation of the London Basin) and smectite that has replaced ash. Pedogenesis has extensively modified the assemblages in the Reading Formation and Solent Group. Tertiary sediments are largely missing from onshore northern and western Britain, but clays and sands of Eocene and Oligocene age are locally preserved in small fault-bounded basins. Here, clay assemblages are dominated by kaolin with minor illite.

Shallow marine Lower and Middle Miocene deposits at the southern margin of the North Sea Basin (northern Belgium): dinoflagellate cyst biostratigraphy and depositional history

2000 ◽  
Vol 137 (4) ◽  
pp. 381-394 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. LOUWYE ◽  
J. DE CONINCK ◽  
J. VERNIERS
Keyword(s):  
North Sea ◽  
Depositional Environment ◽  
Middle Miocene ◽  
Depositional History ◽  
Shallow Marine ◽  
Dinoflagellate Cyst ◽  
Southern North Sea ◽  
The North ◽  
Southern Margin ◽  
The North Sea

Detailed dinoflagellate cyst analysis of the Lower–Middle Miocene Berchem Formation at the southernmost margin of the North Sea Basin (northern Belgium) allowed a precise biostratigraphical positioning and a reconstruction of the depositional history. The two lower members of the formation (Edegem Sands and decalcified Kiel Sands) are biostratigraphically regarded as one unit since no significant break within the dinocyst assemblages is observed. The base of this late (or latest) Aquitanian–Burdigalian unit coincides with sequence boundary Aq3/Bur1 as defined by Hardenbol and others, in work published in 1998. A hiatus at the Lower–Middle Miocene transition separates the upper member (the Antwerpen Sands) from the underlying member. The greater part of the Antwerpen Sands were deposited in a Langhian (latest Burdigalian?)–middle Serravallian interval. The base of this unit coincides with sequence boundary Bur5/Lan1. Biostratigraphical correlation points to a diachronous post-depositional decalcification within the formation since parts of the decalcified Kiel Sands can be correlated with parts of the calcareous fossil-bearing section, up to now interpreted as Antwerpen Sands. The dinoflagellate cyst assemblages are dominated by species with a inner neritic preference, although higher numbers of oceanic taxa in the upper part of the formation indicate incursions of oceanic watermasses into the confined depositional environment of the southern North Sea Basin.

scholarly journals Stratigraphie architecture of the Upper Cretaceous and Cenozoic along the southern border of the North Sea Basin in Belgium

2004 ◽  
Vol 83 (3) ◽  
pp. 155-171
Author(s):  
N. Vandenberghe ◽  
S. Van Simaeys ◽  
E. Steurbaut ◽  
J.W.M. Jagt ◽  
P. J. Felder
Keyword(s):  
North Sea ◽  
Late Cretaceous ◽  
Upper Cretaceous ◽  
Control Mechanisms ◽  
Time Intervals ◽  
The North ◽  
Tectonic Events ◽  
Geological Information ◽  
The North Sea ◽  
Southern Border

AbstractThe Late Cretaceous and Cenozoic sedimentary record in the Campine Basin along the southern border of the North Sea Basin is analysed in terms of sequence stratigraphy. All available biostratigraphic, and in some cases, magnetostratigraphic data are used to constrain the sequence chronostratigraphy. The relative geographic extent of the strata is used as an indication of the relative sea level. Tectonic and eustatic components could be distinguished in several cases using regional geological information. Generally, sequences consist of transgressive and highstand systems tracts only and have flat, abrasion-type lower boundaries. Lowstand deposits are only identified as infill of erosional space, which generally implies marked tectonic uplift. Several eustatic and tectonic events can be correlated with similar events known elsewhere in the North Sea Basin. The time intervals spanned by the different sequences vary considerably, pointing out different control mechanisms.

scholarly journals Stratigraphic architecture of the Upper Cretaceous and Cenozoic along the southern border of the North Sea Basin in Belgium

2004 ◽  
Vol 83 (3) ◽  
pp. 155-171 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Vandenberghe ◽  
S. Van Simaeys ◽  
E. Steurbaut ◽  
J.W.M. Jagt ◽  
P.J. Felder
Keyword(s):  
North Sea ◽  
Upper Cretaceous ◽  
Control Mechanisms ◽  
Time Intervals ◽  
The North ◽  
Tectonic Events ◽  
Stratigraphic Architecture ◽  
Geological Information ◽  
The North Sea ◽  
Southern Border

AbstractThe Late Cretaceous and Cenozoic sedimentary record in the Campine Basin along the southern border of the North Sea Basin is analysed in terms of sequence stratigraphy. All available biostratigraphic, and in some cases, magnetostratigraphic data are used to constrain the sequence chronostratigraphy. The relative geographic extent of the strata is used as an indication of the relative sea level. Tectonic and eustatic components could be distinguished in several cases using regional geological information. Generally, sequences consist of transgressive and highstand systems tracts only and have flat, abrasion-type lower boundaries. Lowstand deposits are only identified as infill of erosional space, which generally implies marked tectonic uplift. Several eustatic and tectonic events can be correlated with similar events known elsewhere in the North Sea Basin. The time intervals spanned by the different sequences vary considerably, pointing out different control mechanisms.

scholarly journals The Miocene–Pliocene hiatus in the southern North Sea Basin (northern Belgium) revealed by dinoflagellate cysts

2010 ◽  
Vol 147 (5) ◽  
pp. 760-776 ◽  
Author(s):  
STEPHEN LOUWYE ◽  
STIJN DE SCHEPPER
Keyword(s):  
North Sea ◽  
Time Interval ◽  
Dinoflagellate Cysts ◽  
Depositional History ◽  
Southern Boundary ◽  
Accommodation Space ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Sea ◽  
Southern Border ◽  
First Time

AbstractA palynological analysis with marine palynomorphs (dinoflagellate cysts, acritarchs, green algae) and terrestrial palynomorphs (pollen and spores) of the Kasterlee and Poederlee formations provides new insights in the depositional history at the southern border of the North Sea basin (northern Belgium) around the Miocene–Pliocene transition. Dinoflagellate cyst stratigraphy constrains the age of the Kasterlee Formation in the Oud-Turnhout borehole between 7.5 and 5.32 Ma. The upper boundary of the formation can be correlated with sequence boundary Me2 at 5.73 Ma of Hardenbol and co-workers, which further constrains its age to the time interval 7.5–5.73 Ma. The palynomorph assemblages reflect a near-coast depositional environment. Where present, the Kasterlee Formation thus terminates the Miocene series in northern Belgium. The overall shallow nature of the latest Miocene deposits is related to a sea-level lowering caused by the onset of globally cooling conditions. For the first time, palynology is applied to estimate the age of the Poederlee Formation, suggesting it was deposited during the Mid-Pliocene warm period. Dinoflagellate cysts and sequence stratigraphy together constrain the age of the unit between 3.21 and 2.76 Ma, and possibly even between 3.21 and 3.15 Ma. The Poederlee Formation was deposited in neritic environments, which shoaled in the upper part of the unit as a consequence of the decreasing availability of accommodation space. We demonstrate that the magnitude of the hiatus between the Miocene and Pliocene series varies strongly at the southern boundary of the North Sea Basin, and lasts in the Antwerp area c. 3.2 million years and c. 2.52 million years in the Campine area.

scholarly journals Miocene oil-bearing diatom ooze from the North Sea

2018 ◽  
pp. 29-32 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emma Sheldon ◽  
Erik S. Rasmussen ◽  
Karen Dybkjær ◽  
Tor Eidvin ◽  
Fridtjof Riis ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
North Sea ◽  
Middle Miocene ◽  
Economic Interest ◽  
Sector Boundary ◽  
Quaternary Deposits ◽  
Oil Accumulation ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Sea

In recent years there has been an increased interest in Neogene hydrocarbon accumulations in the North Sea. The production of gas from Pliocene–Quaternary deposits in the Dutch sector, the discovery of oil-bearing Miocene sands in the Lille John area and oil accumulation in middle Miocene deposits in the T-1 well in the northern part of the Danish Central Graben area, have documented Neogene hydrocarbon accumulations. Some of these deposits are of economic interest. This study presents an oil-bearing, middle Miocene diatom ooze in the Valhall Field (well 2/8-G-2), within the Norwegian sector (Fig. 1). The Valhall Field is located just north of the Danish–Norwegian sector boundary.

Periodical Events in the North Sea Basin

1945 ◽  
Vol 82 (6) ◽  
pp. 237-244 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. H. F. Umbgrove
Keyword(s):  
Fault Zone ◽  
North Sea ◽  
Opposite Direction ◽  
North West ◽  
The North ◽  
Rhine Graben ◽  
The North Sea ◽  
Southern Border

The North Sea Basin is enclosed on its western and eastern sides by two axes of elevation, viz. the Pennines (a5 of Text-fig. 7) and the axis of Erkelenz (a3). The fault-zone of the Limburg coal district broadens towards the north-west into the graben of the central Netherlands. In the opposite direction it is connected with the Rhine-graben. The southern border of the North Sea Basin is formed by the Brabant Massif. It dates from at least pre-Carboniferous times, but its influence as a geanticlinal ridge of elevation was manifest in many Mesozoic and Cenozoic epochs. In a voluminous memoir Stevens (6) pointed out that the present morphology of Belgium—e.g. the pattern of the rivers—still reveals the influence of this important element.

scholarly journals Molluscan Assemblages from the Marine Middle Miocene of South Jutland and their Environments. Vol. I.

1958 ◽  
Vol 79 ◽  
pp. 1-355
Author(s):  
Theodor Sorgenfrei
Keyword(s):  
North Sea ◽  
Middle Miocene ◽  
Short Review ◽  
Shell Morphology ◽  
Environmental Relationships ◽  
The North ◽  
Northwest Germany ◽  
Genetic Features ◽  
The North Sea ◽  
The Individual

This is a study of the fossil record of marine Miocene beds in South Jutland, Denmark. The beds have been defined as the Arnum formation and referred to the middle Miocene Hemmoor stage as known in Northwest Germany. The object of the work is to increase knowledge of the Danish Miocene and to contribute data on the development of the North Sea Basin during Miocene time.The introduction deals with the history of Tertiary stratigraphy in Europe and some related problems. Discrepancies and uncertainties regarding the correlation and dating of beds in the separate basins have been particularly emphasized. It is often possible to trace disagreements to the acceptance of unsound fossil evidence. Therefore it is concluded that the lithologic and fossil records of the individual basins should be known in much greater detail before adequate inferences as to the contemporaneity of particular beds can be made. It is also suggested that guide fossils should only be designated when statistically justified.The chapters on the South Jutland Miocene contain an outline of the geo-graphic distribution of the formations, a lithologic description of the water well sections from which the fossil material was derived, and definitions of the Arnum formation (marine) and the underlying Ribe formation (non-marine). The following formations are now recognized in the Miocene sequence of South Jutland:Gram formation: late Miocene Arnum formation and Ribe formation: middle Miocene Klintinghoved formation: early Miocene.The chapters on paleontology consist of a description of the molluscan fauna of the Arnum formation, a discussion of the environmental relationships of recent mollusca, and a section on biostratigraphy and paleobiology.The description of species follows a rigid pattern. The intention being to include as many pertinent facts as possible while using a minimum of technical terms. The variation of shell properties is illustrated by diagrams in a few species, and in some families genetic features have been particularly discussed. The chapter is terminated by a short review and some conclusions regarding the significance of shell morphology.The chapter on environmental relationships of recent mollusca includes discussion of the effects of inanimate environments on shell morphology and the distribution of mollusca. It is maintained that the reaction of recent mollusca to variations in their environment should be known in greater detail in order to provide a sound basis for biostratigraphic conclusions depending on the evidence of fossil mollusca.A discussion of the commonly adopted correlation procedures initiates the chapters dealing with biostratigraphy and paleobiology. It is shown that the "percentage" method by which faunas are correlated on the basis of percentages of species in common should be regarded with much criticism. New correlation formulae, in which are included the total numbers of species in the faunas involved are suggested. It is shown by these formulae and other evidence that the fauna of the Arnum formation in its entirety is apparently in better agreement with the Reinbek and Hemmoor faunas of Germany than with any other fauna of the North Sea Basin.The paleobiological analysis of the fauna of the Arnum formation is based on: the biology of living species; the actual frequencies of the mollusca in the different drilled sections; and the environmental relationships of recent mollusca. It is inferred that a decrease in salinity took place during deposition of the formation. The faunules of the different fossiliferous levels are shown to be derivatives of one community: the Aporrhais alata - Nassa sp.sp. community which inhabited relatively shallow waters of the middle Miocene North Sea Basin.In conclusion some comments are made on the correlation of the well sections as supported by paleobiology. The Nassa cimbrica and N. Fuchsi zones are defined, and the different elevations of correlated levels in the drilled sections are related to structural displacements.

scholarly journals Lithostratigraphy of the Upper Oligocene – Miocene succession of Denmark

2010 ◽  
Vol 22 ◽  
pp. 1-92 ◽  
Author(s):  
Erik Skovbjerg Rasmussen ◽  
Karen Dybkjær ◽  
Stefan Piasecki
Keyword(s):  
North Sea ◽  
Middle Miocene ◽  
Three Dimensions ◽  
Marine Clay ◽  
Shallow Marine ◽  
North East ◽  
The North ◽  
Upper Oligocene ◽  
The North Sea ◽  
Delta Progradation

This paper presents a revised lithostratigraphic scheme for the uppermost Upper Oligocene – Miocene succession of Denmark. The marine Oligocene Brejning Clay Member is upgraded to formation status and includes the Sydklint Member and the Øksenrade Member (new). The shallow marine and deltaic deposits of mainly Early Miocene age are included in the Ribe Group (new) while the fully marine Middle and Upper Miocene clay-rich deposits are referred to the Måde Group (new). The Ribe Group is subdivided into 6 formations: the Vejle Fjord Formation is revised and includes the Skansebakke Member, the Billund Formation (new) includes the Addit and Hvidbjerg Members (new), the Klintinghoved Formation is redefined formally and includes the Koldingfjord Member (new), the Bastrup Formation (new) includes the Resen Member (new), the Vandel Member is a new member in the Arnum Formation (revised), the Odderup Formation is redefined and includes the Stauning Member (new) and the coalbearing Fasterholt Member. The Måde Group is subdivided into the Hodde, Ørnhøj (new), Gram and Marbæk (new) Formations. Subdivision of the Upper Oligocene – Miocene succession into two groups, the Ribe and Måde Groups, is compatible with the North Sea lithostratigraphic framework where they correlate with the upper part of the Hordaland Group and the Nordland Group, respectively. The revised lithostratigraphic framework correlated in three dimensions provides rigorous constraints on the palaeogeographic interpretation of the Late Oligocene – Miocene period. Three major deltaic units (Billund, Bastrup and Odderup Formations) prograded from the north and north-east into the North Sea Basin during the Early – early Middle Miocene. Delta progradation was punctuated by deposition of marine clay and silt associated with minor transgressive events (Vejle Fjord, Klintinghoved and Arnum Formations). During the Middle–Late Miocene, marine depositional conditions dominated (Hodde, Ørnhøj and Gram Formations). A fourth and final progadational event (Marbæk Formation) commenced in the latest Tortonian heralding the emergence of present-day Denmark (including the North Sea sector).

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