Title
Chronostratigraphy of Late Neogene sediments in the southern North Sea Basin and paleoenvironmental interpretations
Author
Kuhlmann, G.
Langereis, C.
Munsterman, D.
Jan van Leeuwen, R.
Verreussel, R.
Meulenkamp, J.
Wong, T.
TNO Bouw en Ondergrond
Publication year
2006
Abstract
A chronostratigraphic framework has been established for Upper Neogene sediments from the northern Netherlands offshore sector, southern North Sea. Data of dinoflagellate cysts, pollen and foraminifers from eight boreholes are integrated and the resulting biostratigraphic events are connected to an additionally retrieved paleomagnetic record. The sedimentary succession comprises at the base Late to Middle Miocene sediments and spans the Piacenzian to Gelasian stages, from 3.6 to 1.8 Ma, including the paleomagnetic Gauss-Matuyama boundary and the Olduvai subchron. Sedimentation rates vary between 30 cm/kyr in the lower part of the succession and reach up to 84 cm/kyr in the upper part. These rates are high enough to record short paleomagnetic events and for the first time the presence of the so-called X-event has been recorded and dated at around 2.44 Ma in a sedimentary setting. The name 'North Sea event' is proposed here. The paleoclimatic and paleoenvironmental information pictures the onset of Northern Hemisphere Glaciation and the subsequent intensification of glacial conditions with its impact on the North Sea sea region. The paleoenvironmental changes are characterised by a stepwise development and five successive intervals are distinguished. During the first interval, a warm climate and an open marine setting prevailed. The second interval is characterised by dominantly cold climatic conditions with occasional warmer periods. During the third interval, the environment became restricted marine and a stable freshwater layering occurred, which facilitated the development of sea-ice in the shallow sea. Within the fourth interval, extreme cold (arctic) conditions were predominant, and shallowing continued. The fifth interval shows fluvial to deltaic, paralic conditions. From then on, facies differences from the nearby delta system overruled the basin-wide signals at the studied location. © 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Subject
Geosciences
biostratigraphy
chronostratigraphy
Neogene
North Sea
Paleoenvironment
paleomagnetism
X-event
borehole
chronostratigraphy
data set
dinoflagellate cyst
foraminifera
glaciation
Miocene
Neogene
offshore structure
paleoenvironment
paleomagnetism
pollen
seawater
sediment budget
Atlantic Ocean
Benelux
Eurasia
Europe
Netherlands
North Sea
Western Europe
Dinophyceae
Foraminifera
To reference this document use:
http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:4d8cd634-7da1-4be5-9d2b-b1421c679714
TNO identifier
239486
ISSN
0031-0182
Source
Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 239 (3-4), 426-455
Document type
article