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Lower pleistocene dinoflagellate cyst, foraminiferal and pollen assemblages in four boreholes in the Southern North Sea

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 May 2009

T.D.J. Cameron ,
A.P. Bonny ,
D.M. Gregory  and
R. Harland
T.D.J. Cameron
Affiliation:
Institute of Geological Sciences, Keyworth, Nottingham, NG12 5GG
A.P. Bonny
Affiliation:
81 Abbey Road, Chertsey, Surrey, KT16 8NG
D.M. Gregory
Affiliation:
Institute of Geological Sciences, Keyworth, Nottingham, NG12 5GG
R. Harland
Affiliation:
Institute of Geological Sciences, Keyworth, Nottingham, NG12 5GG
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Abstract

Neogene and Lower Pleistocene stratigraphy in the Southern North Sea has been investigated in four I.G.S. boreholes between East Anglia and the Netherlands. The foraminifera of the Red Crag Formation in Borehole 81/51 are closely similar to Upper Pliocene assemblages in Holland. The overlying succession is clearly punctuated by unconformities in seismic profiles, separating four early Pleistocene formations in the boreholes, and indicating intervals of significant stratigraphic hiatus offshore. The Westkapelle Ground and Smith's Knoll Formations correlate with Thurnian and Antian Stage deposits in East Anglia. Pollen spectra in the Winterton Shoal and Yarmouth Roads Formations are similar to Baventian and Bramertonian assemblages in Britain. The autochthonous marine and allochthonous terrestrial microfauna and flora provide conflicting evidence of early Pleistocene palaeoclimate. The dinoflagellate cysts and foraminifera indicate that each formation was deposited in a warm temperate neritic environment. The pollen record, containing evidence of fluctuation between boreal and mixed coniferous–deciduous regional forest cover, suggests alternation between cool and warm temperate palaeoclimate.

Type
Articles
Information
Geological Magazine , Volume 121 , Issue 2 , March 1984 , pp. 85 - 97
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1984

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