Fluvial sedimentation from the Fennoscandian area into the North-West European Basin during the Late Cenozoic

Abstract

Late Cenozoic deposits in the North-West European Basin with a typical gravel composition, called the Baltic Gravel Assemblage, have been studied from the literature and in the field. The gravel indicates a provenance from the Fennoscandian area and is characterized by a high proportion of translucent quartz and the presence of silicified palaeozoic sediments. From the available data it is concluded that one river system, called the Baltic River System, was the transporting agent of the Miocene, Pliocene and Pleistocene deposits containing the Baltic Gravel Assemblage. In the Miocene the sedimentation was to the south and west. From-the Late Miocene into the Early Pleistocene the main transport was towards the west. The Baltic River system was destroyed by the inland-ice of the Menapian glacial.