Palaeogene deposits in North-East Greenland

Scattered occurrences of Palaeogene sediments are found in North-East Greenland, where they overlie unconformably Cretaceous sediments and are capped by Palaeogene basalts. These sediments have received little attention (Watt 1994), except for relatively recent studies (Nøhr-Hansen & Piasecki 2002; Jolley & Whitham 2004; Larsen et al. 2005; Heilmann- Clausen et al. 2008). As part of an ongoing petroleum geological study that focuses on the Jurassic–Cretaceous succession, the Palaeogene sediments were included to better constrain their age, depositional environment and relation to the basalts. Several localities were investigated on Wollaston Forland, Sabine Ø and Hold with Hope, a few of which are described here (Fig. 1)

Lithostratigraphy of the Cretaceous–Paleocene Nuussuaq Group, Nuussuaq Basin, West Greenland

The Nuussuaq Basin is the only exposed Cretaceous–Paleocene sedimentary basin in West Greenland and is one of a complex of linked rift basins stretching from the Labrador Sea to northern Baffin Bay. These basins developed along West Greenland as a result of the opening of the Labrador Sea in Late Mesozoic to Early Cenozoic times. The Nuussuaq Basin is exposed in West Greenland between 69°N and 72°N on Disko, Nuussuaq, Upernivik Ø, Qeqertarsuaq, Itsaku and Svartenhuk Halvø and has also been recorded in a number of shallow and deep wells in the region. The sediments are assigned to the more than 6 km thick Nuussuaq Group (new) which underlies the Palaeogene plateau basalts of the West Greenland Basalt Group. The sediment thickness is best estimated from seismic data; in the western part of the area, seismic and magnetic data suggest that the succession is at least 6 km and possibly as much as 10 km thick. The exposed Albian–Paleocene part of the succession testifies to two main episodes of regional rifting and basin development: an Early Cretaceous and a Late Cretaceous – Early Paleocene episode prior to the start of sea-floor spreading in mid-Paleocene time. This exposed section includes fan delta, fluviodeltaic, shelfal and deep marine deposits. The Nuussuaq Group is divided into ten formations, most of which have previously been only briefly described, with the exception of their macrofossil content. In ascending stratigraphic order, the formations are: the Kome Formation, the Slibestensfjeldet Formation (new), the Upernivik Næs Formation, the Atane Formation (including four new members – the Skansen, Ravn Kløft, Kingittoq and Qilakitsoq Members – and one new bed, the Itivnera Bed), the Itilli Formation (new, including four new members, the Anariartorfik, Umiivik, Kussinerujuk and Aaffarsuaq Members), the Kangilia Formation (including the redefined Annertuneq Conglomerate Member and the new Oyster–Ammonite Conglomerate Bed), the Quikavsak Formation (including three new members: the Tupaasat, Nuuk Qiterleq and Paatuutkløften Members), the Agatdal Formation, the Eqalulik Formation (new, including the Abraham Member), and the Atanikerluk Formation (including five members: the Naujât, Akunneq (new), Pingu (new), Umiussat and Assoq (new) Members)

Organic geochemistry of an Upper Jurassic – Lower Cretaceous mudstone succession in a narrow graben setting, Wollaston Forland Basin, North-East Greenland

The Oxfordian–Ryazanian was a period of widespread deposition of marine organic-rich mudstones in basins formed during the early phases of the rifting that heralded the formation of the present-day North Atlantic. Occasionally, uninterrupted deposition prevailed for 20 million years or more. Today, mudstones of this time interval are found on the shelves bordering the North Atlantic and adjacent areas from Siberia to the Netherlands. Here, we report data on two fully cored boreholes from Wollaston Forland (North-East Greenland, approx. 74° N), which represent an uninterrupted succession from the upper Kimmeridgian to the Hauterivian. The boreholes record basin development at two different positions within an evolving halfgraben, located at the margin of the main rift, and thus partially detached from it. Although the overall depositional environment remained an oxygen-restricted deep-shelf setting, rifting-related changes can be followed through the succession. The Kimmeridgian was a period of eustatic highstand and records the incipient rifting with a transgressive trend straddling the transition to the lower Volgian by a gradual change from deposits with high levels of total organic carbon (TOC) and kerogen rich in allochthonous organic matter to deposits with lower TOC and a higher proportion of autochthonous organic matter. This is followed by a slight regressive trend with lower TOC and increased proportions of allochthonous organic matter until rifting culminated in the middle Volgian–Ryazanian, indicated by increasing autochthonous organic matter and higher TOC, which prevailed until basin ventilation occurred towards the end of the Ryazanian. The properties of the reactive kerogen fraction remained rather stable irrespective of TOC, underlining the effect of terrigenous matter input for TOC. These variations are also captured by biological markers and stable carbon isotopes. The deposits are very similar to equivalent successions elsewhere in the proto-North Atlantic region, albeit the proportion of terrigenous kerogen is greater

Geology of the Femern Bælt area between Denmark and Germany

Geological and geotechnical investigations in the Femern Bælt area were undertaken from 1995 to 2010 (Rambøll Arup JV 2011) in preparation for the fixed link between Lolland in Denmark and Fehmarn in Germany. As a result, new data have been acquired on the stratigraphy and distribution of the deposits and the major structures and tectonic influence on the layers close to the surface. Previous investigations of Cretaceous–Palaeogene deposits on southern Lolland (Fig. 1) were limited due to lack of outcrops and borehole data. Two deep boreholes and geophysical surveys (1952–1953) revealed: (1) the presence of a salt diapir at Rødbyhavn, (2) upper Maastrichtian chalk 29–143 m below Quaternary deposits and (3) an erosional window in the Palaeogene cover. Boreholes to the east of Rødbyhavn (1992–1994) revealed the sediment distribution on southern Lolland and showed that Cretaceous and Palaeogene deposits are cut by several NW–SE-orientated faults. This paper presents a summary of lithostratigraphic and biostratigraphic investigations and a brief description of the geological development in the area

Cretaceous and Cenozoic dinoflagellate cysts and other palynomorphs from the western and eastern margins of the Labrador–Baffin Seaway - Fig. 5

New palynological analysis of samples from 13 offshore wells on the Canadian Margin and six wells on the West Greenland Margin has led to a new event biostratigraphic framework for Cretaceous– Cenozoic strata of the Labrador Sea – Davis Strait – Baffin Bay (Labrador–Baffin Seaway) region. This framework is based on about 150 dinoflagellate cyst taxa and 30 acritarch, algal, fungal and plant microfossil (mostly miospore) taxa. In the systematics we include three new genera of dinocysts (Scalenodinium, Simplicidinium and Taurodinium), 16 new species of dinocysts (Chiropteridium gilbertii, Chytroeisphaeridia hadra, Cleistosphaeridium elegantulum, Cleistosphaeridium palmatum, Dapsilidinium pseudoinsertum, Deflandrea borealis, Evittosphaerula? foraminosa, Ginginodinium? flexidentatum, Hystrichosphaeridium quadratum, Hystrichostrogylon digitus, Impletosphaeridium apodastum, Scalenodinium scalenum, Surculosphaeridium convocatum, Talladinium pellis, Taurodinium granulatum and Trithyrodinium? conservatum), four emendations of dinocyst genera (Alterbidinium, Chatangiella, Chiropteridium and Surculosphaeridium), six new combinations for dinocyst species (Alterbidinium biaperturum, Deflandrea majae, Kleithriasphaeridium mantellii, Simplicidinium insolitum, Spongodinium grossum, Spongodinium obscurum), one new acritarch species (Fromea quadrangularis), one new miospore species (Baculatisporites crenulatus) and one new combination for miospores (Tiliaepollenites crassipites). Most of the taxa included provide age information, almost exclusively last occurrences (range ‘tops’), but some are useful mainly for environmental interpretations. Collectively, they provide a powerful tool for helping to establish the geological history of the Labrador–Baffin Seaway