Evidence for active tilting of the NW-German Basin from correlations between fluvial landscape and geological subground

The catchment basin of the River Hunte (Lower Saxony, NW-German Basin) was studied on a mesoscale (length of ~90 km) to investigate the influence of the geological subground on modern morphology. A Geo Information System (GIS) was used to calculate linear correlation coefficients between the depth of geological strata (Base Zechstein to Base Quaternary) and the height of the modern landscape (Holocene Alluvial Plain, Lower Weichselian Terrace, catchment basin and watershed). High linear correlation coefficients between the Base of Tertiary and the height of the modern topography (catchment basin [r²=0.87], Lower Weichselian Terrace [r²=0.95] and Holocene Alluvial Plain [r²=0.95]) indicate control of the modern topography by the depth of the geological subsurface via tilting of the entire basin. Most likely northward tilting of the NW-German Basin forces the River Hunte to flow in a northerly direction by relative uplift of the hinterland (Wiehengebirge, Rhenish Massif) and subsidence of the North Sea area.