Crustal observations beneath the southern North Sea and their tectonic and geological implications |
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Authors: | Richard H.B. Rijkers Ed J.Th. Duin |
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Affiliation: | Geological Surrey of The Netherlands, P.O. Box 157, 2000 AD, Haarlem, The Netherlands |
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Abstract: | In 1991, a deep seismic reflection line, MPNI-9101, was acquired in the southern North Sea from the Mesozoic Broad Fourteens Basin, across the West Netherlands Basin onto the London-Brabant Massif (LBM). The resultant section shows a strongly reflective lower crust beneath the area of Mesozoic basin development. This lower crustal reflectivity continues to be strong beneath the LBM. The travel time to the base of the reflective zone increases from approximately 11.0 s beneath the Mesozoic basins to 12.5 s beneath the LBM, suggesting a southward thickening of the crust (Rijkers et al., 1993). Based on these travel times and information from deep wells and refraction surveys. Moho depth is estimated to increase from about 31 km beneath the Mesozoic basins to about 38 km beneath the LBM. This difference in depth to the Moho can partly be explained by coaxial stretching of the crust beneath the Mesozoic basins. In comparison with the Mesozoic basins, the crust beneath the LBM was thickened during the Caledonian and Variscan orogenies. |
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