Cenozoic uplift and denudation of southern Norway: insights from the North Sea Basin

Abstract

The Cenozoic evolution of the North Sea Basin is described, drawing on subsurface data and a series of palaeogeographical maps compiled from a variety of published studies, mainly emphasizing the development of the eastern part of the basin. A model that accounts for the sedimentation history of the North Sea B asin and the topography (including maximum and mean surface elevation) of southern Norway is proposed. The model involves regional plume-related uplift of an initial low-elevation peneplain in early Paleogene time followed by repeated episodes of climatic deterioration and eustatic fall, most notably at the Eocene-Oligocene transition, in late Mid-Miocene time, and eventually culminating with the development of full glacial conditions in southern Norway in PlioPleistocene time. These episodes correspond to periods of accelerated sediment supply from southern Norway that reflect increased rates of incision (dissection) of the source area. It is argued that the present-day elevation of

The early Quaternary North Sea Basin

“…Biostratigraphic studies and clinoform geometries reported in previous more localized studies suggest paleo-water depths of 100 -300 m in the deepest part of the basin (e.g. Overeem et al 2001;Huuse 2002;Kuhlmann 2004;King 2016), in agreement with the present study. The lack of slope features on the basal Quaternary surface, as well as limited evidence for extensive facies change between the topset and the slope, is suggestive of the sediment source for the clinoforms being located a significant distance from the clinoform break point (Posamentier & Vail 1988;Mulder & Alexander 2001;Mulder et al 2003).…”

“…The two depocentres could, in fact, indicate completely separate depositional systems: one preserving solely the Scandinavian climate signal from the western coast of Norway, which drained into the northern North Sea, and the other the Northern European signal, or a mixed signal, from eastern Norway draining into the Baltic river system, routed through the southern clinoform set. Rapid northward progradation during this part of the early Quaternary has been noted in the southern North Sea previously, and has been linked with climatic cooling and increased sediment supply owing to glacial activity in the sediment source areas (Overeem et al 2001;Huuse 2002).…”

“…The role of continued regional and local tectonic activity into the late Cenozoic is still debated. Most evidence favours a model of passive thermal subsidence enhanced by sediment loading in the central North Sea and marginal uplift owing to denudation and unloading of the Norwegian landmass (Huuse 2002;Nielsen et al 2009;Anell et al 2010;Goledowski et al 2012).…”

“…It has long been known that there is a considerable thickness (c. 1 km) of Quaternary deposits in the central North Sea (Holmes 1977;Cameron et al 1987;Gatliff et al 1994). However, the discrepancies among inconsistent lithostratigraphic and chronostratigraphic studies in the five bordering countries, combined with spatio-temporal changes in climate and sediment supply (Huuse 2002) and a strong glacial overprint, have impeded the accurate definition of the basal Quaternary (2.58 Ma) across the basin (Cameron et al 1987).…”

Modelling and Comparing the Caledonian and Permo‐Triassic Erosion Surfaces with Present‐Day Topography Across Highland Scotland: Implications for Landscape Inheritance

“…This makes a modest denudation scenario (1-2 km), as proposed by Hall & Bishop (2002), much more plausible than the deep (3 km) scenario of Thomson et al (1999). This is in interesting contrast to the situation on the other side of the North Sea, where there is deep Cenozoic denudation of southern Norway (Huuse, 2002).…”