Upper Pliocene and Lower Pleistocene stratigraphy in the Southern Bight of the North Sea
Cameron, T.D.J.; Laban, C.; Schüttenhelm, R.T.E. (1989). Upper Pliocene and Lower Pleistocene stratigraphy in the Southern Bight of the North Sea, in: Henriet, J.-P. et al. (Ed.) The Quaternary and Tertiary geology of the Southern Bight, North Sea. pp. 97-110 In: Henriet, J.-P. et al. (Ed.) (1989). The Quaternary and Tertiary geology of the Southern Bight, North Sea. Ministry of Economic Affairs. Belgian Geological Survey: Brussel. 241 pp., more |
| Authors | | Top | - Cameron, T.D.J.
- Laban, C.
- Schüttenhelm, R.T.E.
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| Abstract | The British Geological Survey and Rijks Geologische Dienst have jointly compiled a 1:250,000 map of the Quaternary sediments of the Southern Bight of the North Sea between 52° and 53° N and 2° and 4° E. The Upper Pliocene and Lower Pleistocene succession in this area contains an upward transition from marine to deltaic and fluviatile sediments and is more than 350 m thick at 53° N, 3°30'E. The succession is clearly punctuated by unconformities on seismic profiles, defining the boundaries between six separate seismo-stratigraphic units. Each unit has characteristic lithology and seismic facies and there are significant differences in one or more components of the analysed fossil assemblages of dinoflagellate cysts, faraminifera, or pollen and spores between succeeding seismic formations. The unconformities each indicate an interval of stratigraphic hiatus within the Lower Pleistocene offshore. The total succession describes a history of repeated and widespread marine transgression and regression in the Southern Bight area during the early Pleistocene. |
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