Lithostratigraphy of the Upper Oligocene - Miocene succession of Denmark

This paper presents a revised lithostratigraphic scheme for the uppermost Upper Oligocene – Miocene succession of Denmark. The marine Oligocene Brejning Clay Member is upgraded to formation status and includes the Sydklint Member and the Øksenrade Member (new). The shallow marine and deltaic deposits of mainly Early Miocene age are included in the Ribe Group (new) while the fully marine Middle and Upper Miocene clay-rich deposits are referred to the Måde Group (new). The Ribe Group is subdivided into 6 formations: the Vejle Fjord Formation is revised and includes the Skansebakke Member,the Billund Formation (new) includes the Addit and Hvidbjerg Members (new), the Klintinghoved Formation is redefined formally and includes the Koldingfjord Member (new), the Bastrup Formation(new) includes the Resen Member (new), the Vandel Member is a new member in the Arnum Formation (revised), the Odderup Formation is redefined and includes the Stauning Member (new) and the coalbearing Fasterholt Member. The Måde Group is subdivided into the Hodde, Ørnhøj (new), Gram and Marbæk (new) Formations. Subdivision of the Upper Oligocene – Miocene succession into two groups, the Ribe and Måde Groups, is compatible with the North Sea lithostratigraphic framework where they correlate with the upper part of the Hordaland Group and the Nordland Group, respectively. The revised lithostratigraphic framework correlated in three dimensions provides rigorous constraints on the palaeogeographic interpretation of the Late Oligocene – Miocene period. Three major deltaic units (Billund, Bastrup and Odderup Formations) prograded from the north and north-east into the North Sea Basin during the Early – early Middle Miocene. Delta progradation was punctuated by deposition of marine clay and silt associated with minor transgressive events (Vejle Fjord, Klintinghoved and Arnum Formations). During the Middle–Late Miocene, marine depositional conditions dominated (Hodde, Ørnhøj and Gram Formations). A fourth and final progadational event (Marbæk Formation) commenced in the latest Tortonian heralding the emergence of present-day Denmark (including the North Sea sector)

The Billund delta: a possible new giant aquifer in central and western Jutland

The search for new, deep-seated drinking water resources in Denmark has increased significantly during the past five years as a result of the discovery of excessive amounts of nitrate, pesticides and other pollutants in shallow groundwater boreholes (e.g. Nygaard et al. 2004, this volume). To find and map these aquifers, a multidisciplinary sequence stratigraphic approach has successfully been applied to the Miocene deposits of southern Jutland, where especially the Odderup and Ribe Formations are known as a main aquifer for drinking water from several test wells (Rasmussen et al. 2002). Recently, a more systematic study of the Miocene succession in central and western Jutland has been initiated by the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS) under contract with local authorities. It includes detailed sedimentological descriptions of outcrops, sedimentological and log-interpretations of new stratigraphic boreholes and interpretation of new high-resolution seismic data (Fig. 1). A number of outcrops and wells have been studied palynologically, resulting in a detailed dinoflagellate cyst stratigraphy and in palynofacies interpretations. The results of these studies have been integrated in the regional geological and stratigraphic model (Fig. 2). Two new aquifers have been discovered: the Bastrup sand and the Billund sand. The Bastrup sand has already been exploited as a main aquifer in central and southern Jutland, and has been referred to either the Ribe or Odderup Formations. However, new stratigraphic results reveal that the Bastrup sand is a separate unit in the Miocene succession. The Billund sand is a deep-seated aquifer located more than 100 m and often more than 150 m deep, and is therefore not penetrated by standard water supply wells which rarely reach c. 100 m. The Billund sand was first revealed by multichannel seismic data deriving from former oil-exploration carried out in the Billund area (Fig. 3A). The resolution of these seismic data is very poor, but one interpretation of the dipping reflectors (clinoforms) seen in Fig. 3A was of a delta complex. This agrees with outcrop studies along the fjords of eastern Jutland which suggest that a spit complex was deposited in this area during the Early Miocene. The Billund sand was tested by the Vandel Mark well in 2001, which penetrated c. 40 m of sand at a depth of 200 m. The presence of a regional major sand body was later confirmed by new high-resolution seismic data and by the Billund and Løvlund wells in 2002. The Billund well penetrated 50 m of medium- to coarse-grained sand, and chemical tests of the water quality were good. However, a water supply well at Fjand in western Jutland has had problems with so-called ‘brown water’ – water enriched in organic matter (humus). Saline water may also be expected close to older deep-seated faults. This paper summarises the results of a mapping programme of the Billund sand initiated in the summer of 2003

Discrepancy between Sr isotope and biostratigraphic datings of the upper middle and upper Miocene successions (Eastern North Sea Basin, Denmark)

AbstractOne hundred and fifty-six 87Sr/86Sr analyses have been performed on 129 samples from 18 outcrops and boreholes in Oligocene–Miocene deposits from Jylland, Denmark. These analyses were mainly conducted on mollusc shells but foraminiferal tests, Bolboforma and one shark tooth were also analysed.The main purpose of the study is to compare the ages of the Danish succession suggested by the biostratigraphic zonation on dinoflagellate cysts (Dybkjær and Piasecki, 2010) with the ages based on analyses of the 87Sr/86Sr composition of marine calcareous fossils in the same succession.Analyses of samples from the Danish Brejning, Vejle Fjord, Klintinghoved, Arnum, Odderup, Hodde, Ørnhøj and Gram formations gave ages between 25.7My (late Oligocene) and 10.3My (late Miocene). The Sr isotope ages from the lower part of the succession, i.e. Brejning to Odderup formations, agree with the age estimates based on biostratigraphy. However, the 87Sr/86Sr ratios of fossil carbonates from the middle–upper Miocene, Hodde to Gram succession consistently indicate ages older than those recorded by biostratigraphy. Post-depositional processes as an explanation for this offset are inconsistent with good preservation of shell material and little reworking. A palaeoenvironmental cause for the observed mismatch is therefore indicated.Search for geological events that could explain the older ages obtained by Sr isotope compositions have not led to any conclusions and we had recognised the same problem in earlier reports and communications. We conclude that this is a general and possibly global, middle–late Miocene problem that has to be reconsidered and explained geologically

Miocene vegetation and climate in the eastern North Sea Basin, onshore Denmark, compared to the present

Despite often being referred to as a ‘coolhouse climate’, the climate during the Miocene (23.03–5.33 Ma) was overall humid, warm and temperate. It was paced by orbitally driven cooler periods (the Oligocene–Miocene Transition and Mi-events) overprinted by a climatic optimum. Global cooling during the Late Miocene brought more arid conditions with climate seasonality, which varied across western Eurasia. Sedimentary archives from onshore Denmark comprise shallow marine siliciclastic deposits and discrete brown coal layers. Hence, they allow us to infer past climates and environments using both marine and terrestrial fossils. The backbone for Miocene stratigraphy and palaeoclimate reconstruction in the eastern North Sea Basin (present-day Denmark) is the Sønder (Sdr.) Vium sediment core, which penetrates a shallow marine succession and spans an interval from c. 22 to 8 Ma. Here, we present an improved age model for the core. During the Miocene, forested lowlands predominated in the eastern North Sea Basin. Coastal areas included rich riparian landscapes and delta areas of lignite-forming swamp forest. Compilations of existing proxy records (pollen, spores, leaves, plant fragments and the organic biomarkers alkenones and membrane lipids) collectively show that the climate here was warm and moist during the Early and Middle Miocene, while the Late Miocene was characterised by climate cooling and modernisation of the vegetation. The interval preceding the Miocene Climatic Optimum was already warm and moist, and the onset was not characterised by a significant increase in temperature and precipitation. Instead, the palynoflora indicates homogeneous vegetation and only a weak signal of warming shown by a minor increase of, for example, sabaloid palms and Mastixiaceae

A revised lithostratigraphy for the Palaeogene – lower Neogene of the Danish North Sea

Intense drilling activity following the discovery of the Siri Field in 1995 has resulted in an improved understanding of the siliciclastic Palaeogene succession in the Danish North Sea sector (Fig. 1). Many of the new wells were drilled in the search for oil reservoirs in sand bodies of Paleocene–Eocene age. The existing lithostratigraphy was based on data from a generation of wells that were drilled with deeper stratigraphic targets, with little or no interest in the overlying Palaeogene sediments, and thus did not adequately consider the significance of the Palaeogene sandstone units in the Danish sector. In order to improve the understanding of the distribution, morphology and age of the Palaeogene sediments, in particular the economically important sandstone bodies, a detailed study of this succession in the Danish North Sea has recently been undertaken. An important aim of the project was to update the lithostratigraphic framework on the basis of the new data. The project was carried out at the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS) with participants from the University of Aarhus, DONG E&P and Statoil Norway, and was supported by the Danish Energy Agency. Most scientific results cannot be released until September 2006, but a revised lithostratigraphic scheme may be published prior to that date. Formal definition of new units and revision of the lithostratigraphy are in preparation. All of the widespread Palaeogene mudstone units in the North Sea have previously been formally established in Norwegian or British wells, and no reference sections exist in the Danish sector. As the lithology of a stratigraphic unit may vary slightly from one area to another, Danish reference wells have been identified during the present project, and the lithological descriptions of the formations have been expanded to include the appearance of the units in the Danish sector. Many of the sandstone bodies recently discovered in the Danish sector have a limited spatial distribution and were sourced from other areas than their contemporaneous counterparts in the Norwegian and British sectors. These sandstone bodies are therefore defined as new lithostratigraphic units in the Danish sector, and are assigned Danish type and reference sections. There is a high degree of lithological similarity between the Palaeogene–Neogene mudstone succession from Danish offshore boreholes and that from onshore exposures and boreholes, and some of the mudstone units indeed seem identical. However, in order to acknowledge the traditional distinction between offshore and onshore stratigraphic nomenclature, the two sets of nomenclature are kept separate herein. In recent years oil companies operating in the North Sea have developed various in-house lithostratigraphic charts for the Paleocene–Eocene sand and mudstone successions in the Danish and Norwegian sectors. A number of informal lithostratigraphic units have been adopted and widely used. In the present project, these units have been formally defined and described, maintaining their original names whenever feasible, with the aim of providing an unequivocal nomenclature for the Palaeogene – lower Neogene succession in the Danish sector. It has not been the intention to establish a sequence stratigraphic model for this succession in the North Sea; the reader is referred to the comprehensive works of Michelsen (1993), Neal et al. (1994), Mudge & Bujak (1994, 1996a, b), Michelsen et al. (1995, 1998), Danielsen et al. (1997) and Rasmussen (2004)

Paleocene/Eocene carbon feedbacks triggered by volcanic activity

The Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) was a period of geologically-rapid carbon release and global warming ~56 million years ago. Although modelling, outcrop and proxy records suggest volcanic carbon release occurred, it has not yet been possible to identify the PETM trigger, or if multiple reservoirs of carbon were involved. Here we report elevated levels of mercury relative to organic carbon—a proxy for volcanism—directly preceding and within the early PETM from two North Sea sedimentary cores, signifying pulsed volcanism from the North Atlantic Igneous Province likely provided the trigger and subsequently sustained elevated CO2. However, the PETM onset coincides with a mercury low, suggesting at least one other carbon reservoir released significant greenhouse gases in response to initial warming. Our results support the existence of ‘tipping points’ in the Earth system, which can trigger release of additional carbon reservoirs and drive Earth’s climate into a hotter state