Volume 2 provides an overview of the Mesozoic and Cenozoic evolution of Central Europe. This period commenced with the destruction of Pangaea and ended with the formation of the Alps and Carpathians and the subsequent Ice Ages. Separate summary chapters on the Permian to Cretaceous tectonics and the Alpine evolution are also included. The final chapter provides an overview of the fossils fuels, ore and industrial minerals in the region.
The Southern Permian Basin, as its name suggests, is a historical heartland for hydrocarbon production from the Palaeozoic Rotliegend interval. However, in this mature basin the Mesozoic presents further possibilities to offer resource security to NW Europe. Such opportunities include increasing efficiency in the production of discovered hydrocarbons, exploration for further hydrocarbons (both conventional and unconventional) and efficient exploration for, and production of, geothermal energy. All these potential resources require a grounding in technically sound geoscience, via traditional scientific observation and the application of new technologies, to unlock their value. The main aim of this volume is to bring together the work of academics and industry workers to consider cross-border geoscience including contributions on Poland, Germany, The Netherlands, the United Kingdom and adjacent areas. The work presented intends to contribute to the development and discovery of further Mesozoic energy resources across the basin.
The Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS), focus of this special publication, is a prolific hydrocarbon region and both exploration and production activity remains high to this day with a positive production outlook. A key element today and in the future is to couple technological developments to improving our understanding of specific geological situations. The theme of the publication reflects the immense efforts made by all industry operators and their academic partners on the NCS to understand in detail the structural setting, sedimentology and stratigraphy of the hydrocarbon bearing units and their source and seal. The papers cover a wide spectrum of depositional environments ranging from alluvial fans to deepwater fans, in almost every climate type from arid through humid to glacial, and in a variety of tectonic settings. Special attention is given to the integration of both analogue studies and process-based models with the insights gained from extensive subsurface datasets.
The NAG-TEC project was a collaborative effort by the British Geological Survey, the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland, the Geological Survey of Ireland, the Geological Survey of the Netherlands, the Geological Survey of Northern Ireland, the Geological Survey of Norway, Iceland GeoSurvey and the Faroese Geological Survey (Jarðfeingi), along with a number of academic partners and significant support from industry. The main focus was to investigate the tectonic evolution of the region with a particular emphasis on basin evolution along conjugate margins. A key outcome was the development of a new tectonostratigraphic atlas and database that includes comprehensive geological and geophysical information relevant for understanding the Devonian to present evolution of the NE Atlantic margins. These provide the foundation upon which ongoing research and exploration of the area can build. This Special Publication provides some of the first scientific results and analysis based on the project, including regional stratigraphic analysis and correlations, crustal structure and interpretation of geophysical data sets, plate kinematics and the evolution of igneous provinces.
Required reading for geologists working in the offshore areas, Volume 10 continues the series from the Norwegian Petroleum Society. This work provides an up-to-date review of the late Palaeozoic to present sedimentary history of the Norwegian offshore areas in the North Sea and Mid-Norway basins. Case studies, overview articles and analogue examples from adjacent areas such as Greenland and Denmark, present new ideas on the development of the Norwegian margin from the Carboniferous through the Mesozoic and Cenozoic.In particular, new evidence and interpretations are presented on well-known major reservoir-bearing successions such as the Statfjord Formation and Dunlin Group in the Northern North Sea, and the Åre and the Tilje Formations in the Mid-Norway area. Furthermore, the Upper Jurassic succession in the Haltenbanken area is described, giving new evidence on the interplay between extensional tectonics and sedimentation during the second major rift phase in the area.The Cretaceous and Cenozoic periods are treated extensively, showing their importance as overall deep water sedimentary systems with proven and potential reservoir rocks, such as in the Ormen Lange Field, and for causing burial of Jurassic rocks to advantageous depths for hydrocarbon generation. The Recent sedimentary history of the Norwegian margin is treated with examples of the glacial history and giant submarine slides which understanding is vital for the placement of offshore installations.The book is organised based on geologic time, from Palaeozoic through Mesozoic to Cenozoic examples. It includes a set of palaeogeographic maps from the Carboniferous through to the Cenozoic. In addition, there are numerous examples of core photographs, well log data, correlation panels and seismic as well as outcrop photographs and logs from the analogue examples. Comprehensive reference and keyword lists are also included.
"The Making of a Land - Geology of Norway" takes the reader on a journey in geological time, from primordial times to the present day. A fantastic journey from the summits of Norway's spectacular rugged and weather-beaten mountains to the riches concealed in the sedimentary rocks on the continental shelf. This book displays the treasures of Norwegian geology for everyone to see. Norway's geological resources represent the foundation of its welfare state. During several centuries first the mining, and then the oil industries have been economic mainstays, and this will continue in the future. The book presents a description both of Norway and the planet we inhabit and depend on for our survival. It is lavishly illustrated with photographs and maps from all over the country.
Scandinavia and its Arctic territories of Svalbard and Greenland represent geographical regions with a long history of Mesozoic palaeontology. However the last few decades have witnessed a surge of new discoveries, especially from the famous Triassic and Late Jurassic Lagerstätten of East Greenland and Spitsbergen in the Svalbard Archipelago, together with the Late Cretaceous strata of southern Sweden and UNESCO World Heritage locality at Stevns Klint in Denmark; the latter recording one of the most complete terminal Mesozoic rock successions known globally. Collectively, these deposits encompass the spectrum of Mesozoic biotic evolution from the explosive radiation of marine faunas after the Permian-Triassic extinction and seminal specialization of amniotes for life in the sea, to the Late Triassic–Jurassic domination of the land by dinosaurs and Cretaceous development of modern terrestrial floras and marine ecosystems. This volume authored by leading experts in the field encapsulates key aspects of the latest research, and will provide a benchmark reference for future investigations into the Scandinavian Mesozoic world.
Published by the Geological Society on behalf of PGC Ltd. (1 hardback volume in slipcase). The 8th Conference on the Petroleum Geology of NW Europe was held in September 2015 and marked the 50th anniversary of the first commercial discovery offshore in the North Sea (West Sole, in September 1965). Its focus was ‘50 Years of Learning – a Platform for Present Value and Future Success’ and its objective was to provide an update on discoveries, developments, technologies and geological concepts from the region. The 39 extensively illustrated technical papers cover the full width of recent activity and are divided into the following sections: Plays and fairways; Play assessment; Recent successes and learnings from failures; Infrastructure-led exploration and development; Late-life fields, re-development and the ‘next life’; Onshore exploration and development. The proceedings volume follows the format of many of the previous conferences since the first in 1974. Collectively these provide a unique documentation of the discovery and development of several NW European hydrocarbon provinces. The volume will be of interest to all geoscientists involved in exploration and development in NW Europe. It provides a fascinating overview of how creativity can continue to reveal hidden resources in an area that has been called ‘mature’ for at least the last 20 of its 50-year history.
The geological evolution of Central Asia commenced with the formation of a complex Precambrian–Palaeozoic orogen. Cimmerian blocks were then accreted to the southern margin in the Mesozoic, leading to tectonic reactivation of older structures and discrete episodes of basin formation. The Indian and Arabian blocks collided with Asia in the Cenozoic, leading to renewed structural reactivation, intracontinental deformation and basin development. This complex evolution resulted in the present-day setting of an elongated Tien Shan range flanked by large Mesozoic–Cenozoic sedimentary basins with smaller intramontane basins distributed within the range. This volume presents multidisciplinary results and reviews from research groups in Europe and Central Asia that focus on the western part of the Tien Shan and some of the adjacent large sedimentary basins. These works elucidate the Late Palaeozoic–Cenozoic tectono-sedimentary evolution of the area. Emphasis is given to the collision of terranes and continents and the ensuing fault reactivations. The impact of climatic changes on sedimentation is also examined.
The solid rock mass of Sweden forms a natural field laboratory revealing insight into the westward growth and reworking of one of the planet’s ancient continental nuclei. Three major geological units are exposed in different parts of the country: the western part of the Fennoscandian Shield, mainly sedimentary rocks deposited on this crystalline rock mass and the Caledonide orogen. This volume synthesizes the tectonic evolution of Sweden over more than 2500 million years from the Neoarchean to the Neogene. Following an introduction describing the lithotectonic framework of the country and the organization of the volume, the tectonic evolution is addressed essentially chronologically. Different phases of intracratonic rifting, accretionary orogeny, continent-continent collisional orogeny and platformal sedimentation are identified. Sweden is one of Europe’s major suppliers of metals, and the country’s mineral resources are also presented in the context of the lithotectonic framework. Sweden: Lithotectonic Framework, Tectonic Evolution and Mineral Resources has been designed to interest a professional geoscientific audience and advanced students of Earth Sciences.
