Reconstructing the Late Cretaceous inversion of the Roer Valley Graben (southern Netherlands) using a new model that integrates burial and provenance history with fission track thermochronology

Abstract

[1] Apatite fission track thermochronology is a powerful tool for the reconstruction of the thermal and geological evolution of sedimentary basins. However, reconstructing basin evolution using thermochronological data is complicated by the fact that sediments also record the thermal history of their source areas. Moreover, samples frequently contain grains from multiple source areas. We have constructed a new numerical model that integrates sediment burial and thermal history with provenance history scenarios and that uses the derived thermal history to calculate synthetic apatite fission track data. We have applied this model to study the evolution of the Roer Valley Graben and to explore the dependency of fission track data on provenance and basin thermal history. Samples that are buried at shallow depths (<1400 m) preserve a mix of late Paleozoic and early Mesozoic provenance ages that correspond to the Caledonian and Variscan orogenic events of the sediment source areas, the London-Brabant and Ardenno-Rhenish massifs, respectively, with varying degrees of subsequent exhumation. Using this knowledge about the inherited thermal history, fission track data of Mesozoic sediments could be used to constrain the Late Cretaceous inversion of the basin with an accuracy of ±250 to ±500 m. These results show that inversion-related exhumation was localized, reaching a maximum of 750 to 1250 m in the eastern part of the basin, while not exceeding 500 m in the western half of the basin. These results are in agreement with the distribution of preserved preinversion sediments and syninversion sediment accumulations that flank the northeastern part of the basin.

Weichselian and Holocene climate history reflected in temperatures in the upper crust of the Netherlands

“…Depending on the thickness and conductivity of the sediment layer, this effect may dominate the effect of the surface temperature variations.In the Netherlands, the influence of the sediments causes large but local variations in the subsurface temperature (Bonté et al, 2012). For example, thick upper Carboniferous (Silesian) deposits, mainly composed of shale, have a strong insulation effect in the province Zuid-Holland, whereas evaporitic (high conductive) sediments in the Zechstein layers in the northern part of the country cause a relative warm shallow (<1 km) subsurface and lower temperatures at depths around 2 km.Groundwater flow can have a substantial effect on the subsurface temperature, even in a relatively flat region like the Netherlands: Luijendijk (2012) showed that topography-driven groundwater flow in the Roer Valley graben, despite its relatively low relief, caused locally more than 25°C of cooling at a depth of 1.5 km. The thermal response of sediments on changes in surface temperature also depends on the direction and velocity of groundwater flow (e.g.…”

“…Groundwater flow can have a substantial effect on the subsurface temperature, even in a relatively flat region like the Netherlands: Luijendijk (2012) showed that topography-driven groundwater flow in the Roer Valley graben, despite its relatively low relief, caused locally more than 25°C of cooling at a depth of 1.5 km. The thermal response of sediments on changes in surface temperature also depends on the direction and velocity of groundwater flow (e.g.…”

High-resolution quantitative reconstruction of Late Cretaceous-Tertiary erosion in the West Netherlands Basin using multi-formation compaction trends and seismic data: implications for geothermal exploration

“…A similar pattern was also observed in the Roer Valley Graben, the south-eastern continuation of the West Netherlands Basin. Here studies suggest a maximum of 1200 m of erosion along the north eastern boundary fault (Luijendijk et al 2011). The amount of estimated maximum erosion is smaller than that determined for the neighbouring Broad Fourteens Basin, where 3000-3500 m of maximum erosion was suggested to have occurred along the central anticline of the basin (Nalpas et al 1995, Abdul Fattah et al 2012).…”

Reservoir characterisation of aquifers for direct heat production: Methodology and screening of the potential reservoirs for the Netherlands

“…In the Netherlands various studies addressed burial anomalies and have shown that they can be significant over large regions (e.g. Worum, 2004;Van Dalfsen et al, 2005;Van Wees et al, 2009;Luijendijk et al, 2011;Nelskamp & Verweij, 2012). Burial anomalies can be detected in various ways.…”