Title
Microstructures of Early Jurassic (Toarcian) shales of Northern Europe
Author
Houben, M.E.
Barnhoorn, A.
Wasch, L.
Trabucho-Alexandre, J.
Peach, C.J.
Drury, M.R.
Publication year
2016
Abstract
The Toarcian (Early Jurassic) Posidonia Shale Formation is a possible unconventional gas source in Northern Europe and occurs within the Cleveland Basin (United Kingdom), the Anglo-Paris Basin (France), the Lower Saxony Basin and the Southwest Germany Basin (Germany), and the Roer Valley Graben, the West Netherlands Basin, Broad Fourteens Basin, the Central Netherlands Basin and the Dutch Central Graben in The Netherlands. Outcrops can be found in the United Kingdom and Germany. Since the Posidonia Shale Formation does not outcrop in the Netherlands, sample material suitable for experimental studies is not easily available. Here we have investigated lateral equivalent shale samples from six different locations across Northern Europe (Germany, The Netherlands, The North sea and United Kingdom) to compare the microstructure and composition of Toarcian shales. The objective is to determine how homogeneous or heterogeneous the shale deposits are across the basins, using a combination of Ion Beam polishing, Scanning Electron Microscopy and X-ray diffraction. The work presented here shows that the Toarcian shales of Northern Europe display considerable homogeneity in mineralogy and microstructure in the different investigated samples and formations, where the largest variability is the carbonate content ranging from almost zero up to 80%. We conclude that the outcrop locations in Germany and the United Kingdom are suitable analogues with respect to their mineralogy and microstructure for experimental studies on the Posidonia Shale in the Dutch subsurface. © 2016 The Authors
Subject
Geo
SGE - Sustainable Geo Energy
ELSS - Earth, Life and Social Sciences
Geological Survey Netherlands
Geosciences
2015 Energy
Clay microstructure
Ion-beam polishing
Posidonia Shale
Scanning Electron Microscopy
Whitby Mudstone
X-ray diffraction
To reference this document use:
http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:27cabe89-6633-4595-ae14-a04e58ef0d8a
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.coal.2016.08.003
TNO identifier
572327
Publisher
Elsevier
ISSN
0166-5162
Source
International Journal of Coal Geology, 165, 76-89
Document type
article