Seismic imaging of mid-Pleistocene tunnel-valleys in the North Sea Basin—high resolution from low frequencies

Seismic reflection methods provide continuous access both to stratigraphy (vertical) and to subsurface morphology (horizontal), for which the scales of interest may differ by orders of magnitude. Seismic surveys of Quaternary successions have generally sought to optimise vertical resolution, through the use of higher source frequency content. Here, I show that low-frequency bandwidth is not necessarily a limiting factor for the seismic resolution of glacigenic morpho-sedimentary features. Observations are presented from a buried network of large mid-Pleistocene (Elsterian) tunnel-valleys in the southern North Sea Basin, across a 100×130 km study area with water depths less than 30 m. Low-frequency 2D and 3D seismic multi-channel data, acquired for deeper hydrocarbon exploration, are compared with previously available high-frequency single- and multi-channel profiles (5–15 km grid spacing). The low-frequency data contribute to a new understanding of the basal morphology and fill stratigraphy of the tunnel-valleys, in part due to higher data densities (≥1 km grid spacing), but also to improved imaging of reflectors at depth. The tunnel-valleys are seen to be overdeepened troughs, shallow (≤0.5 km) relative to their widths (≤6 km). The basal unconformity defines a series of arborescent elements, convergent to the south; erosional overlap by younger elements to the north has resulted in anastomosing patterns in places. The fill is dominated by axially downlapping clinoforms, descending to the north, onlapped and overlain by subhorizontal reflectors. Well data show that sand-dominated glaciofluvial sediments are overlain by glaciolacustrine to marine muds. Better definition of the clinoforms on low- versus high-frequency multi-channel data is suggested to reflect the coarse spatial scale of the backset glaciofluvial strata. The results support a simple interpretation of time-transgressive tunnel-valley formation by coeval glaciofluvial erosion and backfill beneath the outer tens of kilometres of the northward receding Elsterian ice sheet margin. Comparable submarginal interpretations have been proposed for drainage features (tunnel-valleys and eskers) of the last deglaciation of both northern Europe and North America using integrated geomorphologic and stratigraphic methods. Commercial 2D and 3D seismic data are widely available from exploration areas such as the North Sea and are argued to constitute an underexploited resource for Quaternary research.