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In several areas of the North German Basin, saline water comes close to, or even reaches the surface. Available data from wells indicate that brine stratification is under unstable conditions in the deeper underground. In order to analyse the possible transport mechanisms, 3D thermohaline simulations have been carried out for two different scenarios. The 3D regional model (230·330 km) indicates that salty water is driven to the surface by hydrostatical forces from the surrounding highlands. In addition, a smaller scale model (10·10 km) has been constructed with a grid resolution accounting for possible convective flow. The results indicate that convective flow may play a dominant role in areas with minor topography. In summary, the complex pattern of near surface occurrences of saline water probably results from the interaction of hydrostatic and thermal forces.

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