The quaternary geology of the southern area of the Dutch part of the North Sea

Abstract

A map of the southern area of the Dutch part of the North Sea is presented. The geological history of the Quaternary can be summarized as follows. During the Late Tertiary and Early Pleistocene sedimentation of fìne sands and clays took place in a marine environment. Gradually the westwards progradation of the "Rhine-Meuse" delta caused these sediments to be covered by a veneer of fluviatile sediments of about the same grain size. In the Middle Pleistocene the sediments became coarser, but were still of fluviatile origin. Meltwater clay of the Elsterian glaciation, present in the north, marks the first observed interruption of the fluviatile sequence. After the Holsteinian interglacial, the Saalian glaciation reshaped the topography, creating ice-pushed and morainic ridges. During the Eemian interglacial a marine environment persisted, whilst the marine sedimentary series was closed by the deposition of a fresh water clay in the Early Weichselian. 3) Later during this cold phase the coversands were formed in the north, the Kreftenheye Formation being deposited by the Rhine in the south. The Holocene sea level rise resulted in the deposition of the Lower Peat Bed and a cover of tidal flat sands on top of which, after a period of non-deposition, the young seasand was deposited.