Subsidence analysis and modelling of the Roer Valley Graben (SE Netherlands)
article
The Roer Valley Graben (southeastern Netherlands) forms the most northern branch of the European Cenozoic Rift System. Sedimentary backstripping of exploration wells provides control on vertical tectonic motions during the complex post-Paleozoic geodynamic evolution of the area. The Roer Valley Graben evolved by repeated reactivation of Permo-Carboniferous fracture systems. At least three episodes of extension-related subsidence are recorded. These occurred during the Late Permian-Early Triassic (> 255-240 Ma), the Middle Jurassic (168-165 Ma) and the late Cenozoic (36-0 Ma). A Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous stretching phase is weakly inferred from incomplete data. Crustal stretching values calculated from the tectonic subsidence curves can account for the reflection seismic controlled crustal configuration of the Roer Valley Graben area. Results demonstrate a close relationship between the Roer Valley Graben and the basins in the North Sea during the Mesozoic. In contrast, the Cenozoic evolution of the Roer Valley Graben is independent from that of the North Sea and is related to the development of the Rhine Graben. © 1992.
TNO Identifier
231913
ISSN
00401951
Source
Tectonophysics, 208(1-3), pp. 159-171.
Pages
159-171
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