Oligocene to Lower Pliocene deposits of the Norwegian continental shelf, Norwegian Sea, Svalbard, Denmark and their relation to the uplift of Fennoscandia: a synthesis (original) (raw)
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Norwegian Journal of Geology
The almost complete, mainly deltaic, upper Paleogene and Neogene succession in Jylland, Denmark, was previously investigated for 87Sr/86Sr ratios in 143 samples from 18 localities. In the present paper, strontium-isotope data from the Upper Oligocene-Lower Miocene parts and foraminiferal and pyritised diatoms data from 94 of these samples were used to correlate with previously published data from Norwegian wells and boreholes and one borehole in the British sector of the North Sea. For the Middle-Upper Miocene parts of the succession the correlation is based mainly on Bolboforma data. The ages of the geological formations in the Danish succession correlate readily with lithological units in the Norwegian North Sea, the Norwegian Sea shelf and the East Shetland Platform, which have all been investigated applying similar methods. The Bolboforma assemblages have their origin in the North Atlantic and the Norwegian Sea and confirm the presence of an open strait in the northern North Sea. This strait was the only seaway passage into the North Sea Basin during the Miocene. The glauconitic Utsira Formation sand (approximately 5.7-4.2 Ma), in the threshold area close to the outlet to the Norwegian Sea, overlies erosional unconformities comprising hiati of 21 my in some areas and 13 my in other areas. We believe that the unconformity below the Utsira Formation was mainly related to a fall in sea level in the Late Miocene, contemporaneous with that partly responsible for the Messinian salinity crisis. Bolboforma and dinoflagellate cysts stratigraphy indicate that the base of the Molo Formation in its southern distribution area (Draugen Field, Trøndelag Platform) is of Late Miocene age (close to 9 Ma). This part of the Molo Formation was contemporaneous with the middle/upper part of the Kai Formation.
From Depositional Systems to Sedimentary Successions on the Norwegian Continental Margin
From Depositional Systems to Sedimentary Successions on the Norwegian Continental Margin, 2014
Depositional systems to seDimentary successions on the norwegian continental margin other publications of the international association of sedimentologists special puBlications 45 linking Diagenesis to sequence stratigraphy Edited by Sadoon Morad, J. Marcelo Ketzer and Luiz F. De Ros 2012, 522 pages, 246 illustrations 44 sediments, morphology and sedimentary processes on continental shelves Advances in Technologies, Research and Applications Edited by Michael Z. Li, Christopher R. Sherwood and Philip R. Hill 2012, 440 pages, 231 illustrations 43 Quaternary carbonate and evaporite sedimentary Facies and their ancient analogues A Tribute to Douglas James Shearman Edited by Christopher G. St. C. Kendall and Abdulrahman S. Alsharhan 2010, 494 pages, 263 illustrations 42 carbonate systems During the olicocene-miocene climatic transition Edited by Maria Mutti, Werner E. Piller and Christian Betzler 2010, 304 pages, 154 illustrations 41 perspectives in carbonate geology
Marine and Petroleum Geology, 1997
ELSEVIER .2fu~im~ t/m/ Pctu~/cum G'eolq>~. Vol. 14. No. 7,X. pp. 93 I 950. lYY7 m( Five sequences are defined in the Oligocene succession of the Danish North Sea sector. Two of the sequences, 4.la and 4.3, have been identified onshore Denmark. Two types of prograding lowstand deposits are recognized. Sand-dominated deposits occur proximally, comprising sharp-based forced regressive deposits covered with prograding lowstand deposits. Clay-dominated prograding lowstand deposits occur distally in the sequences. The highstand deposits are proximally represented by thick prograding sandy deposits and distally by thin and condensed intervals. The main sediment input direction was from the north and the northeast. A succession of lithofacies, from shallow marine facies dominated by sand to outer shelf facies dominated by clay, is mapped in each of the sequences. An overall southward progradation of the shoreline took place during the Oligocene, interrupted only by minor shoreline retreats. 0 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved Tel: +45 X9 42 25 17; fax: +45 X6 13 91 4X; r-mail: geolmdwaau.dk 153-175. Christensen, L. and Ulleberg, K. (1973) Sedimentology and micropalaeontology of the Middle Oligocene Viborn Formation. Bulletin of the Danish Geological Society 22, 283-305. Clausen 0. Ft., Korstnbrd J. A. (1993) Tertiarv tectonic evolution along the Arne-Eli Trend in the Danish Central Trough. Terra Nova 5,233-243. Danielsen, M. (1989) En sedimentologisk undersogelse afTerti%re
Cenozoic evolution of the eastern Danish North Sea
Marine Geology, 2001
This paper provides a review of recent high-resolution and conventional seismic investigations in the eastern Danish North Sea and describes their implications for the development of the eastern North Sea Basin. The results comprise detailed timestructure maps of four major unconformities in the eastern Danish North Sea: the Top Chalk surface (mid-Paleocene), near top Oligocene, the mid-Miocene unconformity, and base Quaternary. The maps show that the eastern Danish North Sea has been affected by faulting and salt diapirism throughout the Cenozoic. Carbonate mounds, erosional valleys and pockmark-or karstlike structures were identi®ed at the top of the Upper Cretaceous±Danian Chalk Group.
Cenozoic stratigraphy of the Norwegian Sea continental shelf, 64 N-68 N
Norsk Geologisk Tidsskrift, 1998
This investigation is based on six exploration wells: 6607/5-1 and /5-2 (Utgard High), 6506/1 2-4 (Halten Terrace), 6610/7-1, 6610/7-2 and 6610/3-1 (Nordland Ridge). Fifteen inforrnal fa una zones are outlined. Thick, glacially derived Pleistocene and Upper Pliocene prograding shelf deposits extend along the continental margin of the Norwegian Sea. In well 6607/5-1 and 6506/1 2-4 Upper Pliocene outer to middle shelf deposits Iie unconforrnably on Upper Miocene outer shelf deposits, which are well developed in these areas. A thin interval of Middle Miocene outer shelf sediments is present in well 6607/5-1. This rests unconforrnably upon Lower/Middle Eocene middle to outer shelf deposits, which in turn rest unconforrnably upon the Upper Cretaceous. In well 6506/12-4, the Upper Miocene rests unconforrnably on outer to middle shelf sediments from the Upper Oligocene/Lower Miocene, which in turn Iie unconforrnably on the Lower/Middle Eocene. In well 6607/5-2 Upper Pliocene outer shelf sediments Iie unconforrnably on the Lower/Middle Eocene. Wells 6610/7-1 and /7-2 on the Nordland Ridge penetrate the proximal, oldest parts of the glacially derived prograding sediments of Late Pliocene age, which in this area are middle to inner shelf deposits. In addition, wells 6610/7-1 and 6610/3-1 penetrate underlying Early Oligocene coastal deposits. Lower/Middle Eocene sediments Iie below the coastal deposits in well 6610/7-1. In well 6610/7-2 Upper Pliocene deposits Iie unconforrnably upon low oxic deep basin sediments from the Upper Paleocene. Seismic profiles through this area show that the Upper Pliocene glacial deposits onlap the Lower Oligocene coastal deposits.
Large-scale development of the mid-Norwegian margin during the last 3 million years
Marine and Petroleum Geology, 2005
During the last c. 2.7 My, large quantities of glacially derived material were transported westwards from the Norwegian mainland areas and inner shelf and deposited mainly as prograding sediment wedges into a basin of intermediate depth offshore Mid Norway. The deposits are more than 1000 m thick in extensive areas, and are defined as the Naust Formation. In the Haltenbanken-Traenabanken region, the shelf edge migrated 100-150 km westwards. The narrow Møre shelf was built out only in the order of 30-50 km, mainly due to a steeper preexisting slope dipping towards a much deeper basin. In this area, the Holocene Storegga Slide, as well as older slides, displaced slope sediments towards the deeper part of the basin. In Early Naust time, the most extensive progradation occurred in the northern area, possibly due to the combined effect of land uplift and glaciations. The importance of glaciations for the progradation of the Møre shelf and areas farther south increased through the Pleistocene period. The Norwegian Channel Ice Stream became very important during the last three glaciations, and a thick succession of glacigenic debris flows was deposited on the North Sea Fan. More than 400 m of sediments accumulated during the Weichselian. All the last three glaciations supplied glacial debris beyond the shelf edge. The most extensive progradation in the north was in the Skjoldryggen region, particularly during the Elsterian glaciation. During 'ice-free' periods, hemipelagic and contouritic sediments were deposited on the slope. Such sediments are most common in the Storegga Slide area, where they hosted glide planes beneath the major slides.
The Karmsundet basin, SW Norway: stratigraphy, structure and neotectonic activity
Shallow seismic sections, multibeam bathymetric images and geotechnical investigations of the seafloor in Karmsundet and Skudenesfjorden, SW Norway, have revealed the occurrence of large slide scars and associated mass-movement deposits. The slide escarpments are up to 30-40 m high and 8 km long, with up to 20 × 10 6 m 3 of sediment released during a single event of retrogressive sliding. The slide scars show a range of associated seafloor topography, reflecting various modes of sediment displacement. The variation in the escarpment morphology and sediment deformation style can be attributed to the varied intensity of liquefaction. Sliding involved mud deposits of Allerød-Younger Dryas to early Holocene age, but partly also deposits older than ca. 12,000 14 C years bp. The sediment failures were probably triggered by seismic reactivation of a local fault by postglacial regional isostatic rebound. Prior to failure, the seafloor deposits were undercompacted and metastable due to high pore pressure, the presence of shallow gas and the relatively steep local slope created by the formation of a major scour trough by sea currents. Minor gravitational sliding may still occur along some of the escarpments, although engineering slopestability analysis indicates that the deposits can be regarded as stable in the present-day conditions of static load and the anticipated weak sporadic earthquakes with an occurrence likelihood of 10 Ϫ4 /year and a peak acceleration of 0.25 g. ᭧
Quaternary Science Reviews, 2004
High-resolution seismic data and sediment cores show that an up to 280 m thick sedimentary sequence has been deposited on the south Vøring margin, off mid-Norway, the last ca 250 ka. The sedimentary succession has been divided into six seismic units, dominated by hemipelagic sediments. Five wedge-shaped massive sequences, of marine isotope stages 8, 6 and 2, interfinger the hemipelagic deposits on the upper slope. The wedge-shaped sequences represent glacigenic debris flows that have been fed by till transported to the shelf edge by grounded ice sheets during maximum glaciations. The hemipelagic units show well-defined depocentres, of various thicknesses, on the upper continental slope. Seismic facies interpretation indicates that the sediment distribution locally has been controlled by currents. Commonly, the hemipelagic units are characterised by parallel and continuous reflectors. However, the second youngest unit identified, deposited between 15.7 and 15.0 14 C ka BP, is acoustic transparent. We suggest that this unit has been sourced by along-slope transported meltwater plume deposits, released during the initial stage of the last deglaciation of the Norwegian Channel. The hemipelagic sedimentation rates have varied considerably throughout the studied time period. Until ca 21 14 C ka BP the rates did not exceed 1.4 m/kyr, whereas during the Last Glacial Maximum the rates increased and reached values of about 36 m/kyr before decreasing again at ca 15 14 C ka BP. Observation of iceberg scourings, of MIS 8 age, about 800 m below the present day sea level, suggest that the south Vøring margin has subsided by a rate of 1.2 m/kyr in the Late Quaternary. r
Marine and Petroleum Geology, 2000
A stratigraphic framework has been developed for the Cainozoic succession of the Norwegian continental shelf and margin. This framework is consistent for the entire margin from the central North Sea to the Barents Sea and also facilitates a correlation with the deep sea record of the Norwegian Sea and North Atlantic. A local system, mainly utilising planktonic and benthic foraminiferal assemblages and Bolboforma species, is developed. It can be potentially used for regional stratigraphic syntheses. Using this framework, a more precise and detailed identi®cation and age assignments of Cainozoic, and in particular Neogene, strata can be performed. Several revisions of previous age assignments and a more detailed dating of the various sediment packages are presented. The most complete Neogene succession is recorded in the central North Sea. Further north the succession is interrupted by an increasing number of hiati of increasing duration. After a period of erosion in the late Middle to early Late Miocene there is a marked increase in the in¯ux of terrigenous sediment in the Late Miocene. A period of transgression in the Early Pliocene resulted in strongly reduced rates of deposition, and sediments of this age are preserved mainly in the central North Sea. A period of regression in earliest Late Pliocene probably resulted in erosion of most of the Norwegian continental shelf with the exception of the deeper areas of the Central and Viking Grabens. This period was immediately followed in the later part of Late Pliocene, by rapid deposition of glacially derived sediment prograding along the entire shelf. In general, Pleistocene development is a continuation of the Late Pliocene evolution, but is marked by more extensive erosion of the inner shelf. This is inferred from the¯at truncation of underlying prograding strata and the extensive build up of debris¯ow sediments within glacial fan depocentres. The entire Neogene development is closely related to the climatic evolution of high latitude regions surrounding the North Atlantic and the Norwegian-Greenland Sea. 7
Journal of Quaternary Science, 1999
Quaternary sediments along a profile crossing the southern part of the J ren escarpment, southwestern Norway, have been investigated with regard to their glacial history and sea-level variations. Deposits from at least three glaciations and two ice-free periods between Oxygen Isotope Stage 6 and the Late Weichselian have been identified. Subglacial till directly overlain by a glaciomarine regressional succession indicates a deglaciation, and amino acid ratios in Elphidium excavatum between 0.083 and 0.118 date this event to Oxygen Isotope Stage 6. Sea-level dropped from 130 to below 110 m a.s.l. Subsequently, a short-lived ice advance deposited a marginal moraine and a sandur locally on the escarpment. Stratigraphical position and luminescence dates around 148 ka BP suggest deposition during the final stage 6 deglaciation. A Late Weichselian till covers most of the surface of J ren. In addition to a well documented westerly ice flow, glaciotectonic indications of ice flow towards the north have been found. Ice flow directions and a hiatus between Oxygen Isotope Stage 6 and the Weichselian indicate enhanced erosion along the escarpment and the influence of a Norwegian Channel ice-stream.