Delta Evolution German North Sea - Thickness of Late Cenozoic Sediments

Description

The maps show the thickness of the respective seismic units in meters. These are seven mapped units identified above the Middle Miocene unconformity based on seismic and borehole geophysical data. The publication "Late Cenozoic evolution of the German North Sea - Sedimentation in a subsiding basin" (Thöle et al., 2014) documents, among other things, a detailed description of these units. Sedimentation in the southern North Sea was dominated from the middle Miocene into the Pleistocene by a delta system advancing from east to west, the so-called Eridanos Delta (sensu Overeem et al., 2001). The dimensions of this fossil delta are comparable to those of the largest delta systems on Earth today (Schwarz, 1996). The evolution of this depositional system has been the subject of numerous scientific studies in recent decades (e.g., Sörensen et al., 1997; Overeem et al., 2001; Kuhlmann, 2004), but these have focused mainly on the neighboring North Sea sectors and relatively little was known about the German part. However, for the overall understanding of the deltaic sedimentation prevailing in this time interval and its evolution, the German part is indispensable, since from the Upper Miocene until the late Pliocene, the main depositional area of the giant delta was predominantly located in the present-day German North Sea sector. Based on extensive seismic data and geophysical borehole information, a detailed mapping of the late Cenozoic delta deposits in the German North Sea sector has been carried out for the first time. The subdivision of the sedimentary sequence, which was previously only roughly subdivided or not subdivided at all, was carried out according to seismostratigraphic and sequence-stratigraphic concepts (e.g. Mitchum et al., 1977; Catuneanu, 2006). Then, seven regionally significant seismic horizons above the Middle Miocene unconformity were identified and temporally calibrated using new biostratigraphic dating. They subdivide the Late Cenozoic sedimentary sequence into seven main depositional units, namely SU1 to SU7. The units, each bounded at its base and top by prominent unconformities, reflect successive phases of deltaic development. Literature: Thöle, H., Gaedicke, C., Kuhlmann, G., and Reinhardt, L. (2014). Late Cenozoic sedimentary evolution of the German North Sea – A seismic stratigraphic approach: Newsletters on Stratigraphy, 47, (3), 299-329. Mitchum, R.M.J., Vail, P.R., Sangree, J.B. (1977). Seismic stratigraphy and global changes of sea-level, part 6: stratigraphic interpretation of seismic reflection patterns in depositional sequences. In: Payton, C. (Ed.), Seismic Stratigraphy Applications to Hydrocarbon Exploration. American Association of Petroleum Geologist Memoir, vol. 26. AAPG, Tulsa, pp. 117-133. Sørensen, J. C., Gregersen U., Breiner M. und Michelsen O. (1997). High-frequency sequence stratigraphy of Upper Cenozoic deposits in the central and southeastern North Sea areas, Marine and Petroleum Geology, 14 (2), 99-123. Overeem, I., G. J. Weltje, C. Bishop-Kay, and S. B. Kroonenberg (2001). The Late Cenozoic Eridanos delta system in the Southern North Sea Basin: a climate signal in sediment supply?, Basin Research, 13 (3), 293-312. Kuhlmann, G. (2004). High resolution stratigraphy and paleoenvironmental changes in the southern North Sea during the Neogene. An integrated study of Late Cenozoic marine deposits from the northern part of the Dutch offshore area, cummulative thesis, 209 pp, Utrecht University, Utrecht. Catuneanu, O., 2006. Principles of Sequence Stratigraphy: New York, Elsevier, 386 p.

Resources

Name Format Description Link
0 https://download.bgr.de/bgr/geologie/GPDN-Deltaentwicklung/cps3/All_Thickness_Grids.zip
0 https://download.bgr.de/bgr/geologie/GPDN-Deltaentwicklung/shp/All_Thickness_Shapes.zip

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  • geopotenzial-deutsche-nordsee
  • geologie
  • gpdn

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  • TECH

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