Cretaceous-Tertiary palaeo-bathymetry in the northern North Sea; integration of palaeo-water depth estimates obtained by structural restoration and micropalaeontological analysis

Temporal and spatial variations in palaeo-water depth are crucial parameters in basin analysis since changes in palaeo-bathymetry detail the amount of sediment underfill during basin evolution. By carefully integrating seismic-stratigraphic observations with palaeo-water depth estimates from structural restoration and micropalaeontological data, changes in accommodation space throughout the Cretaceous-Tertiary post-rift interval are documented on a regional scale in the northern North Sea. Since it is not possible to determine the palaeo-water depth exactly, we have focussed on determining most likely water depth figures, and identifying the principal shallowing and deepening trends. The inferred trends from the investigated wells are generally in good agreement with each other on a regional scale, especially when the tectonic position within the basin is taken into account. The inferred general trends are: (1)general shallowing superimposed on several transgressive / regressive events during the Early Cretaceous; (2) deepening from the early Cenomanian to mid-Campanian; (3)shallowing from the mid-Campanian to latest Maastrichtian; (4) deepening in the Early to Late Paleocene; (5) shallowing from the Late Eocene to Late Miocene; (6) deepening from the Late Miocene to Early Pliocene; (7) shallowing during Pliocene time. The early Cenomanian to latest Maastrichtian and the late Eocene to Pliocene events correspond with changes in eustatic sea level, but the deepening / shallowing trends were probably amplified by tectono-thermal effects. The events in the Early Cretaceous, Early to Late Paleocene, and Late Miocene to Early Pliocene cannot be explained by the eustatic sea-level curve, and therefore need to be explained by purely tectono-thermal events.