Plio-pleistocene palaeogeography of the southern north sea basin (3.75-0.60 Ma)

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Quaterna~'ScienceReviews.Vol. 15. pp. 391--405, 1996. 1Pergamon PII: S0277-3791 (96)00022-4

Copyright© 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd. Printed in Great Britain. All rights reserved. 0277-3791/96 $32.00

PLIO-PLEISTOCENE PALAEOGEOGRAPHY OF THE SOUTHERN NORTH SEA BASIN (3.75-0.60 Ma) BRIAN M. F U N N E L L School of Environmental Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich NR4 7TJ, U.K.

Abstract - - Palaeogeographical maps are presented for the southern North Sea basin, from approximately l°W to 7°E, and 51-55°N, for the period from approximately 3.75-0.60 Ma, Reconstructions centre on: 3.75 Ma (Coralline Crag/Brunssumian); 2.55 Ma (Red Crag/Brielle Ground/Reuverian); 2.40 Ma (Red Crag/Westkapelle Ground/Praetiglian-Early Tiglian); 2,00 Ma (Norwich Crag/Smith's Knoll and IJmuiden Ground/Middle Tiglian); 1.75-1.70 Ma (Cromer Forest Bed (Paston)/Winterton Shoal/Late Tiglian-Eburonian); 1.40 Ma (Kesgrave/Yarmouth Roads/Waalian); 1.15 Ma (Kesgrave/Yarmouth Roads/Menapian); and 0.60 Ma (Cromer Forest Bed (West Runton)/Yarmouth Roads/Cromerian Complex). From 3.75-2.40 Ma the basin is mainly a marine area fringed to the east and south by fluviatile deposition, and broadly open via the southwest to the Atlantic. Following marked marine regression and cooling at around 2.40 Ma, the period from 2.00-1.70 Ma is mainly one of renewed marine transgression and warmer conditions, during which a Great European delta built out, fed mainly from the east and south, into the southern North Sea. From 1.40-0.60 Ma marine waters were almost entirely excluded from the area, and temperate intervals ahemated with increasingly glacial episodes, whilst the Great European delta continued to expand northwards into the northern North Sea. Copyright © 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd INTRODUCTION

QSR

B r u n s s u m i a n to C r o m e r i a n C o m p l e x S t a g e (for Formations see Table 1). The latest comprehensive consideration of correlations between the United Kingdom and The Netherlands stratigraphy was presented by Gibbard et al. (1991). The United Kingdom offshore stratigraphy has been fully described by Cameron et al. (1992), and The Netherlands offshore succession has recently been summarised by Laban (1995). The palaeogeography of the southern North Sea during this period has previously been presented by Zagwijn and Doppert (1978) and Zagwijn (1979, 1989), and reconstructions for the United Kingdom sector of the North Sea and onshore U.K. are portrayed in Cameron et al. (1992). The reconstructions presented here are a development of maps first presented at a meeting of the Quaternary Research Association in Norwich (1988), and published by Funnell (1991). The revised maps incorporate thinking on the influence that global sea-level changes may have had on southern North Sea basin stratigraphy, as outlined in Funnell (1995).

Palaeogeographical maps generally aim to portray the physical geography, or sedimentary environments of a particular area, at some time in the past. The evidence on which such reconstructions are based rarely covers the whole of the area at any one time, and in general the tighter the time restriction the less comprehensive is the evidence. For this reason it is often necessary to relax the time constraint, and to encompass a broader time interval, in order to achieve reasonable areal coverage (Smith et al., 1994). However, within the temporal constraints selected, strict attention needs to be given to the accuracy of temporal correlations and the existence of actual evidence. In this way palaeogeographical maps can be directly related to actual observations. Given these reservations, the construction of palaeogeographical maps provides a good way of testing the robustness and comprehensiveness of our understanding of the stratigraphy of a region. The method identifies gaps in knowledge, and directs attention to specific lines of enquiry that may substantially improve our future u n d e r s t a n d i n g of both r e g i o n a l s t r a t i g r a p h y and palaeoenvironmental history. For the purposes of this paper the Plio-Pleistocene is considered to be the period from ca. 3.75-0.60 million years ago (Ma). It spans the latest part of the Gilbert, the whole of the Matuyama and the early part of the Brunhes palaeomagnetic chrons (magnetochrons). In terms of the United Kingdom succession it includes the Coralline, Red and Norwich Crag Formations, the Kesgrave Group and the Cromer Forest-bed Formation (for Stages see T a b l e 2). In The N e t h e r l a n d s it r a n g e s f r o m the

AROUND 3.75 Ma (BRUNSSUMIAN)

Age and Correlation of Deposits The Coralline Crag of eastern England contains a wide variety of warm water marine fossils, including several planktonic species relating to the open ocean. These species allow correlation with the oceanic biostratigraphical zones, whose relationships to global palaeomagnetic z o n e s are now w e l l - k n o w n in d e e p - s e a s e d i m e n t s (Berggren et al., 1985: Shipboard Scientific Party, 1992). 391

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TABLE 1. Map East England formations (members)

North Sea formations

8

YarmouthRoads

Veghe123

Urk27

0.60 Ma

7

Cromer Forest Bed /Colchester 7 Sudbury

Yarmouth Roads

Kedichem 2-~

Enschede26

1.15 Ma

6

Sudbury

Tegeten

Harderwijk

1.40 Ma

5

Cromer Forest Bed6 /Sudbury ~ Norwich Crag4

Yarmouth Roads ~5 /Markham's Hole j4 Winterton Shoal~3/Crane

Tegelen

Harderwijk

1.75 Ma

Maassluis /Tegelen

Harderwijk

2.00 Ma

Maassluis 2~ /-Tegelen2° Kieselo61ite

Maassluis/ -Harderwijk25 Scheemda

2.40 Ma

Oosterhout /Kieselo61ite Oosterhout ~9 /Kieselo61ite ~8

Oosterhout /Scheemda Oosterhout /Scheemda24

2.55 Ma

4 3

Red Crag (SizewellThorpeness, Ludham)

Smith's KnolP2 /IJmuiden Ground" /Nettlebed-VCrane Westkapelle Ground ~° /Crane 9

2

Red Crag2 (Walton)

Brielle Ground8

1

Coralline Crag ~

Coralline Crag

Belgian formations South Netherlands (members) formations

(Beerse) t7

Lillo (Kruisschans) Lilloj6 (Luchtbal)

North Netherlands Age formations

3.75 Ma

~Charlesworth, 1835; Reid, 1890.2Reid, 1890; Funneil and West, 1977.-~Gibbard, 1989; Whiteman and Rose, 1992?Woodward, 1881; Funnell and West, 1977.sWhiteman and Rose, 1992?Reid, 1890; Funnell and West, 1977.7Whiteman and Rose, 1992.SLong et al., 1988.gCameron et al., 1992.~°Cameron et al., 1989, 1992)~Cameron et al., 1989, 1992.z2Cameronet al., 1989, 1992)3Cameron et aL, 1989, 1992)4Cameron etal., 1989, 1992)SCameron etaL, 1989, 1992)6Doppert et aL, 1975; Doppert, 1980)TVandenbergheand Kasse, 1989)8Doppert et al., 1975/gDoppert et al., 1975; Doppert, 1980.2°Doppertet aL, 1975.2~Doppertet al., 1975; Doppert, 1980.22Doppert et al., 1975.23Doppertet al., 1975.24Doppertet al., 1975.~Doppert et al., 1975.26Doppertet al., 1975.27Doppertet al., 1975. Jenkins and Houghton (1987) concluded, on the basis of the calcareous nannoplankton (coccoliths), that the age of the Coralline Crag fell within the range of nannofossil zones top NN15 to NN19, with a most likely age equivalent to the lowest NN16. Jenkins et al. (1988) (see also Jenkins and Houghton, 1987) concluded, on the basis of the planktonic foraminifera, that its age fell within the range of planktonic foraminiferal zones N19 to N21. Hodgson and Funnell (1987) recorded the algal cyst B o l b o f o r m a c o s t a t a from the Coralline Crag. So far this species has only been recorded from nannofossil zone N N I 5 in the North Atlantic (Jenkins and Houghton, 1987; Jenkins et al., 1988) but it clearly ranges further back in time in the southern North Sea deposits (Hodgson and Funnell, 1987). Taken together the nannofossil and planktonic algal cyst occurrences indicate an age for the Coralline Crag close to the boundary between zones NNI5 and NN16. This level was attributed an age of 3.56 Ma on the palaeomagnetic time scale of Berggren et al. (1985) (cf. Shipboard Scientific Party, 1992). This becomes ca. 3.75 Ma on the astronomically calibrated time scale of Shackleton et al. (1995) (cf. Valet and Meynadier, 1993). This level falls between the Cochiti (normal) subchron, (within the reversed Gilbert chron), and the base of the normal Gauss chron of the palaeomagnetic time scale. As the base of the Gauss chron is taken to mark the base of the Late Pliocene, the Coralline Crag can be firmly allocated to the late Early, or mid Pliocene (cf. Cameron et al., 1992, Fig. 90). It is not possible to specify the total age range of the Coralline Crag, but it is likely to fall well within the overall range of ca. 1.3 million years, indicated by Jenkins and Houghton (1987) and Jenkins et al. (1988).

The probable stratigraphical range of the Coralline Crag relative to the Belgian and Netherlands successions has been discussed by Hodgson and Funnell (1987). It has been correlated with the Luchtbal Sands of the Lillo Formation (BFNS ( C i b i c i d e s l o b a t u l u s peak) Zone) of Belgium on the basis of benthic foraminifera (Doppert et al., 1979), a correlation which is supported by both ostracods (Wilkinson, 1980) and molluscs (Cambridge, 1977). Pollen from both the Coralline Crag (Andrew and West, 1977; Gibbard and Peglar, 1988), and from the Luchtbal Sands (Zagwijn and Staalduinen, 1975) have been correlated with the Brunssumian Stage of The Netherlands terrestrial pollen biozone succession. The benthic foraminifera of the Coralline Crag correlate with those of the FB zone of The Netherlands (Doppert, 1980, 1985; Hodgson and Funnell, 1987). This zone characterises most of the marine lower Oosterhout Formation, which gives place either upwards or south and eastwards to Brunssumian Stage deposits of the fluviatile Kieselo61ite or Scheemda Formations. In the reference borehole the FB zone characterises all, (except the lowest 13 m), of the lower 120 m of the 173 m section through the Oosterhout Formation (Doppert, 1980).

Palaeogeography and Facies of Deposits A palaeogeography for the southern North Sea during mid Pliocene times, at around 3.75 Ma, is presented in Fig. 1. (Compare with Cameron et al. (I 992), Figs 85 and 104), Funnell (1991), Fig. 1), Zagwijn (1989), and Zagwijn and Doppert (1978), Fig. 8).) Cameron et al. (1992) and Balson et al. (1993) have inferred that the large-scale tidal cross-bedding exhibited

B.M. Funnell: Plio-PleistocenePalaeogeographyof the SouthernNorth Sea Basin 0 I

MAP 1

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BRUNSSUMIAN c. 3.75 Ma

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FIG. 1. Coastal configurationof Brunssumianca. 3.75 Ma. by the Coralline Crag indicates deposition mainly as offshore sandbanks, similar in scale to those found off the East Anglian coast at the present day. No fluviatile or shoreline deposits of the same age have been found in eastern England, but a depth of deposition of around 50 m has been inferred from the Coralline Crag benthic foraminifera (Hodgson and Funnell, 1987). Added to the present day maximum elevation of the Coralline Crag of about +20 m O.D., this suggests that sea-level may have been at least 70 m higher relative to that of the present day. The eastern margin of the sea is essentially indeterminable, as no marginal marine deposits have survived. It is likely, however, as this was a time of higher global and regional sea-levels (Funnell, 1995), that the North Sea was connected to the Atlantic by a relatively deep and broad seaway towards the south-west. This would be consistent with, (a) the planktonic (pelagic) elements found in the Coralline Crag faunas and floras; (b) the Lusitanian aspect of its marine faunas; (c) the evidence of strong south-west-directed bottom currents (Balson et al., 1993); and (d) the prevalence of bryozoan-dominated deposits, similar to those accumulating in the western English Channel at the present day. As pointed out by Cameron et al. (1992), although Pliocene deposits similar to the Coralline Crag have been found offshore, these are all to the east of the onshore deposits, and the Chalk cuesta from East Anglia northwards, may well have remained above sea-level throughout the Pliocene.

The Luchtbal Sands of Belgium, and the Oosterhout Formation of the SW Netherlands, whilst distinctly more minerogenic than the Coralline Crag, are also relatively rich in shells and shell beds. Some of these are clearly 'tempestites' (Hodgson, 1989), laid down by offshoredirected rip-currents, generated by the build-up of seawater against a shoaling shoreline under storm conditions. Towards the north-east the Oosterhout Formation comprises sands, grey and greenish clays and sandy clays with moderate to low glauconite content. These pass south-east and east into the fluviatile Kieseio61ite and Scheemda Formations. The inferred coastline is after Zagwijn (1989).

AROUND 2.55 Ma (LATE REUVERIAN) Age and Correlation of Deposits The Red Crag Formation of eastern England rests unconformably against the Coralline Crag. As originally defined it consisted of four members, the Walton, Newbourn, Butley and Ludham Crags (Funnell and West, 1977). Of these the Walton Crag Member is taken to be the oldest. Substantial deposits of Red Crag exist in north-east-south-west-trending troughs in the vicinity of Stradbroke (Beck et al., 1972), and Aldeburgh, which are not readily correlatable with any of the previously

394

Quaternar>' Science Reviews: Volume 15

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FIG. 2. Coastal configurationof Late Reuverianca. 2.55 Ma. defined members. Zalasiewicz et al. (1988) have allocated Red Crag deposits in the vicinity of Aldeburgh to two separate members, the Sizewell Member below, and the Thorpeness Member above. Unlike the Coralline Crag, the Walton Crag contains cool-water species of North Pacific origins, such as the marine gastropod Neptunea angulata and the benthic foraminifera Elphidiella hannai (Funnell, 1995). Direct correlation with the oceanic biostratigraphical zones and the global palaeomagnetic time scale is not possible, because of the inadequacy of planktonic faunas in the Walton Crag (Funnell, 1987). However, intermediate correlation with the Belgian and Netherlands successions provides an indirect linkage to those time scales. Benthic foraminifera from the Walton Crag were matched by Funnell (1961a) with those from deposits in ZeeuwschVlaanderen from which Reuverian C pollen had been obtained (Zagwijn, 1960). More recently Hunt (1989) has equated pollen, from the Walton Crag itself, to the latest Reuverian C substage of The Netherlands succession. A correlation with the Late Reuverian therefore seems to be well established. This result is consistent with the similarity between the Walton Crag marine mollusca and those of the Kruisschans Member of the Lille Formation of Belgium and the upper Oosterhout Formation of The Netherlands, both of which yield Late Reuverian pollen spectra (Zagwijn, 1985). At present all except the very latest Reuverian

deposits in The Netherlands are reported to exhibit normal palaeomagnetic polarity, and correlation with the later part of the Gauss normal chron has always been assumed (Gibbard et al., 1991; Zagwijn, 1985, 1989 (see later for discussion of earlier interpretations of van Montfrans, 1971a, b and Zagwijn, 1974, 1975a, b, 1979)). The astronomically calibrated date for the top of the Gauss is now 2.60 Ma (Shackleton et al., 1995; Funnell, 1995). Previous dates given for this boundary, used in earlier references to the North Sea basin data, range between 2.43 and 2.40 Ma (cf. 2.47 Ma of Berggren et al., 1985; Shipboard Scientific Party, 1992).

Palaeogeography and Facies of Deposits There is little difference in the extent of the fluviatile Scheemda (North German rivers, including Baltic river input) and Kieselorlite (Rhine and Meuse rivers) Formations in the (early Late Pliocene) Late Reuverian (C) substage compared with the (late Early Pliocene) Brunsummian Stage. The molluscan and foraminiferal faunas of the upper part of the marine Oosterhout Formation are very little changed also, apart from the introduction of North Pacific species such as Neptunea angulata and Elphidiella hannai. Offshore marine deposits of the Brielle Ground Formation characterise the Dutch sector, but in the British sector most deposits of this age are very similar to

B.M. Funnell: Plio-PleistocenePalaeogeographyof the SouthernNorth Sea Basin the onshore marine deposits of the same age, and have therefore also been referred to the Red Crag Formation (Cameron et al., 1984, 1992). The onshore Red Crag Formation probably extends into the Praetiglian and Early Tiglian (A-B), and only the Walton Member is clearly equivalent to the Late Reuverian. However the extensive, essentially unfossiliferous Red Crag Formation deposits identified by Mathers and Zalasiewicz (1988) in south-west Suffolk and northwest Essex, like the deposits reported from Rothamsted at +131 m O.D. by Dines and Chatwin (1930) and Netley Heath at +183 m O.D. (Chatwin, 1927; John and Fisher, 1984), may well be of Late Reuverian, rather than any later age. As in the Brunssumian (Coralline Crag) a broadly open seaway to the Atlantic towards the southwest is probable, maintaining strong marine floral and faunal links for the Lusitanian elements of the biota (Funnell, 1995: Meijer and Preece, 1995). AROUND 2.40 Ma (PRAETIGLIAN-EARLY TIGLIAN) A g e and Correlation o f Deposits Praetiglian

The palynologically defined Praetiglian Stage in The Netherlands succession (Zagwijn, 1957, 1960) represents the first major cooling of climate in north-west Europe during the Plio-Pleistocene transition (Zagwijn, 1974, 1975a, b, 1985). van Montfrans (1971a, b) demonstrated that, in contrast to the normal magnetisation of the Reuverian C sediments, Praetiglian deposits were reversely magnetised. In subsequent publications this normal to reversed polarity reversal, (which was early attributed (implicitly) to the Gauss/Matuyama palaeomagnetic boundary), was placed first within the Praetiglian with an allocated age of 2.43 Ma (Zagwijn, 1974, 1975a, 1979), and later within the late Reuverian at an allocated age of 2.40 Ma (Zagwijn, 1985, 1989; Gibbard et al., 1991). In as much as the Praetiglian Stage is most likely to reflect the strong global cooling implied by ~JsO stages 100, 98 and 96, which post-date the Gauss/Matuyama boundary (Shackleton et al., 1995), it is more probable that this boundary, which now has a revised age of 2.60 Ma, should fall within the Reuverian (cf. Funnell, 1995). The Praetiglian Stage occurs in the Scheemda, lower Tegelen and upper Kieselo61ite fluviatile Formations, and straddling the boundary between the Oosterhout and Maassluis marine Formations in The Netherlands (Gibbard et al., 1991: Zagwijn. 1985, 1986). In the marine formations the transition between the FA2 Buccella-Cassidulina and the FA1 A m m o n i a Quinqueloculina foraminiferal subzones, which characterise the upper Oosterhout and lower Maassluis Formations respectively, is marked by the occurrence of the distinctive species Elphidium oregonense, which is therefore a marker for the Praetiglian in The Netherlands

395

mariiae sequences, (van Voorthuysen et al., 1972; Doppert, 1980). Deposits of equivalent age to the Praetiglian have not been certainly identified in eastern England. The most likely correlatives are those referred to as the PreLudhamian Stage (Gibbard et al., 1991). Although these are marine deposits, unlike The Netherlands Praetiglian they have not so far yielded the distinctive foraminiferal species Elphidium oregonense (Funnell, 1987, 1995). Both the Pre-Ludhamian and the overlying Ludhamian are normally magnetised (Montfrans, 1971a, b; Funnell, 1987, 1995), unlike The Netherlands Praetiglian (see above). The normal polarity episode spanning the Pre-Ludhamian and Ludhamian of the Stradbroke succession may relate to any one of the normal polarity events between the 2.44 Ma 'X' event and the 2.13 Reunion event (Funnell, 1995), although the earliest, the 'X' event, would be most consistent with a Praetiglian age for the Pre-Ludhamian (cf. Funnell, 1995). The persistence into Pre-Ludhamian sediments of the planktonic foraminiferan Neogloboquadrina atlantica, which continued in the North Atlantic until the 5~80 stage 95/94 transition (Funnell, 1995) would also be consistent with a possible 'X' event age. Apart from the type Pre-Ludhamian deposits of Stradbroke (Beck et al., 1972) a possible Pre-Ludhamian age has been inferred for the Sizewell Member of the Red Crag Formation (Zalasiewicz et al., 1988). Offshore the Westkapelle Ground Formation has been recognised as Praetiglian and (Early) Tiglian in age, possibly extending at its base into the late Reuverian (Cameron et al.. 1992). Early Tiglian

In The Netherlands the Early Tiglian (Tiglian A-B) occurs in the lower part of the fluviatile Harderwijk Formation, the fluviatile Tegelen Formation and the marine Maassluis Formation. In eastern England the Ludhamian, which characterises the Ludham Crag and earliest Norwich Crag Formation (Funnell and West, 1977; Funnell, 1987), part of the Red Crag Formation of Stradbroke (Beck et al., 1972), and possibly the Thorpeness Member of the Red Crag Formation of Aldeburgh (Zalasiewicz et al., 1988). is currently considered to correlate with the Tiglian A of The Netherlands succession (Gibbard et al., 1991). The succeeding Thurnian, which occurs near the base of the Norwich Crag Formation (Funnell and West, 1977) may correlate with Tiglian B (Gibbard et al., 1991 ). Some offshore pollen spectra from the Westkapelle Ground Formation have been directly correlated with the Thurnian (Cameron et al., 1992). Westkapelle Ground Formation sediments have also been shown to contain two normal polarity events (Cameron et al., 1984). Originally it was suggested that these might correspond to the 'X' (2.44 Ma) and Reunion (2.13 Ma) events (Cameron et al., 1984, 1992), but they might equally well correspond to two unnamed events at 2.39 and 2.33 Ma, now known from this part of the palaeomagnetic record (Funnell, 1995).

396

Quaternary Science Reviews: Volume 15

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52

B.M. Funnell: Plio-PleistocenePalaeogeographyof the SouthernNorth Sea Basin

Palaeogeography and Facies of Deposits The Sizeweil, Thorpeness and Ludham Crag Members of the Red Crag Formation (Zalasiewicz et al., 1988; Funnell and West, 1977) are all coarse, shelly sands, probably deposited as sand waves in south-west-northeast trending troughs. Considered by Funnell (1972) to have been created by tidal scouring, others have attributed these troughs to faulting or folding (Bristow, 1983; Woodland, 1946). As these sediments are likely to have been deposited some tens of metres below sea-level the general limits of the troughs at their western margin in Fig. 4 can only be taken as a very approximate coastline. To the south-west Mathers and Zalasiewicz (1988) have traced Red Crag Formation deposits to heights of 90 m above OD, but these could belong to an earlier phase of Red Crag deposition than that represented in the troughs. It is possible that the seemingly lateral off-lapping relationship of the Walton (Reuverian C), Newbourn and Butley horizons in the Red Crag Formation, with their progressively colder and shallower water molluscan and foraminiferal assemblages (Harmer, 1900, 1902; Funnell and West, 1977; Dixon, 1979) at least partly represents the strong marine regression that is associated with the onset of the Praetiglian in The Netherlands. In The Netherlands the Praetiglian and Early Tiglian Stages represent a period of significant marine regression, with fluviatile Harderwijk and Tegelen Formations overstepping the marine Maassluis Formation (Zagwijn and Doppert, 1978). The transition in both foraminiferal and molluscan zones at the Oosterhout/Maassluis boundary, corresponding with the Praetiglian Stage, indicates significant shallowing in the water depths of deposition in The Netherlands marine sequence. Offshore a similar shoaling of marine deposition has been reported from boreholes in the Westkapelle Ground Formation (Cameron et al., 1992). Both the extension of the fluviatile Scheemda-Harderwijk and Kieselorlite-Tegelen Formations across areas previously occupied by the marine Maassluis Formation represents the first major expansion of the continental, eastern, southeastern and southern rivers into the southern North Sea basin. This appears to have occurred at a time of significant sea-level fall. and the Westkapelle Ground Formation remained mainly a pro-delta shelf accumulation, receiving inter-tidal, sub-tidal and fore-setted delta front deposits mainly from the western (English) shoreline and basinwards of the trough-limited Red Crag Formation deposits. AROUND 2.0 Ma (MIDDLE TIGLIAN)

Age and Correlation o f Deposits Middle Tiglian ( C l - 4 b )

The Middle Tiglian (C1--4b) of The Netherlands succession represents a warm temperate interval in the Tiglian Stage (Zagwijn, 1957, 1960, 1975a, b, 1985;

397

Gibbard et al., 1991). It occurs in the Harderwijk and Tegelen Formations and the upper part of the marine Maassluis Formation. A firm correlation with the Antian\Bramertonian Stage in the Norwich Crag Formation was inferred by Gibbard et al. (1991). Here again warm temperate conditions are indicated both by pollen and foraminifera (West, 1961; Funnell, 1961b; Funnell and West, 1962, 1977; Funnell et al., 1979), and, as in The Netherlands this appears to be a period of marine transgression relative to the Praetiglian (and Tiglian A-B). In southwest Suffolk and north-west Essex, Mathers and Zalasiewicz (1988) have traced the Chillesford Sand Member of the Norwich Crag Formation over an extensive area overlying the Red Crag Formation, and in Norfolk, Norwich Crag Formation deposits, including Bramertonian Stage sediments, extend well to the west of the limits of the Ludham Crag Member of the Red Crag Formation (Funnell, 1961b; Funnell et al., 1979). Offshore the Smith's Knoll Formation has yielded dinoflagellate cysts and pollen assemblages which resemble those of the Antian Stage of eastern England (Cameron et al., 1984, 1992; Gibbard et al., 1991). The Smith's Knoll Formation is composed of fore-setted delta-front deposits coming from a westerly direction. Originating from a south-easterly direction, the contemporary IJmuiden Ground Formation, which consists of up to 190 m of delta-front deposits, abuts the Smith's Knoll Formation along a south-southeast-north-northwest trending line, and has yielded Late Tiglian pollen (Cameron et al., 1989, 1992: Gibbard et al., 1991). (The correlation of the IJmuiden Ground Formation with the Praetiglian suggested by Zagwijn (1989) is inconsistent with subsequent dating of the Westkapelle and IJmuiden Ground Formations and believed to be incorrect (Funnell, 1995).) To the north the offshore bar deposits of the Crane Formation are partially overlapped by the youngest parts of the IJmuiden Ground Formation, implying a minimum age of Late Tiglian. and have themselves yielded a molluscan fauna comparable with the Antian and Baventian (Gibbard et al., 1991) or Baventian\Pre-Pastonian a of the Norwich Crag Formation (Cameron et al., 1992). Late Tiglian (C4c)

In The Netherlands the Tiglian C4c substage is notable for the cold conditions indicated by the pollen and an associated marine regression (Zagwijn and Doppert, 1978). There appears little doubt that this substage corresponds with the Baventian\Pre-Pastonian a Stage of the eastern English succession (Gibbard et al., 1991), which is characterised by cold climate pollen, foraminifera and molluscs (West, 1961; Funneil and West, 1962, 1977; Norton and Beck, 1972; Zalasiewicz et al., 1991). The Baventian is normally magnetised (van Montfrans, 1971a, b; Hallam, 1995), and reversed magnetism has recently been established for overlying Pastonian sediments (Hallam and Maher, 1994). It s e e m s very likely that the Baventian\Pre-Pastonian a, and the

398

Quaternar3' Science Reviews: Volume 15 into the Norwich Crag Formation, including the Bramertonian Stage, near Norwich (Funnell et al., 1979: Meijer and Preece, 1995) suggest that it did not extend far beyond its preserved limits. Similarly, the substantially extended limits of the Chillesford Sand Member of the Norwich Crag Formation discovered by Mathers and Zalasiewicz (1988), may include a tidal perimarine facies close to the marine limits at this time. The Crane Formation, north of the influence of deltaic deposition, has been interpreted as an offshore bar accumulation of shelly sand (Cameron et al., 1992).

Tiglian C 4 c - - t e r m e d the Beerse Glacial by Vandenberghe and Kasse (1989)--of The Netherlands succession, correspond to the Oiduvai subchron and 8~80 stage 68 (Funnell, 1995). Normally magnetised Tiglian C4c sediments, of the IJmuiden Ground Formation, have been identified in borehole G16-22, at 54°N, 5°E, in the Dutch sector of the southern North Sea (Laban, 1995), and normally magnetised sediments of probable Olduvai age have also been recorded from the upper part of the pro-delta deposits of the IJmuiden Ground Formation from borehole 89/05 at ca. 54°N, 2°E (Cameron et al., 1992; Thompson et al., 1992).

AROUND 1.75-1.70 Ma (LATE TIGLIAN-EBURONIAN)

Palaeogeography and Facies of Deposits The Middle Tiglian (C1-4b) was the last time that marine deposits (of the Maassluis Formation) extended widely across The Netherlands, and during this time, as the fluviatile deposits of the Harderwijk (North German rivers, including Baltic river component) and Tegelen (rivers Rhine and Meuse) extended north-westwards, the fore-setted delta-front, marine deposits of the IJmuiden Ground Formation spread out across the pro-delta deposits of that formation to meet up with the Smith's Knoll Formation delta-front deposits spreading from the west. The western margin of the sea in eastern England is not too well defined, but evidence of fresh-water inputs

MAP

Age and Correlation of Deposits Figure 5 is intended to represent in part the Late Tiglian substages (TC5-6), corresponding to an age of about 1.75 Ma, which approximates stage 63 of the 8J80 record (Funnell, 1995). In The Netherlands the fluviatile Harderwijk Formation was deposited in the north, by north German rivers, and the latest, fluviatile Tegelen Formation was deposited in the south, by the Rhine, Meuse and other southern rivers such as the Scheldt system (Zagwijn, 1985). Although offshore deposition of the IJmuiden Ground

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FIG. 5. Shorelineand delta configurationin the southern North Sea during Late Tiglian ca. 1.75 Ma.

B.M. Funnell: Plio-PleistocenePalaeogeography of the Southern North Sea Basin

ered to be the Pastonian Stage (Gibbard et al., 1991). This is represented by the Paston Member, which was referred to the Cromer Forest Bed Formation by Funnell and West (1977), although some (British Geological Survey, 1993; Cameron et al., 1992) have later referred it to the Norwich Crag Formation. The Paston Member appears to be a weakly developed marine transgression that did not penetrate far inland beyond the present-day coastline of north-east Norfolk and east Suffolk. In this respect it closely resembles the Late Tiglian marine deposits found in the vicinity of Brielle in The Netherlands (Meijer and Preece, 1995). There are no certain onshore deposits in eastern England of Eburonian age, except possibly that the earliest Stoke Row Member, of the Kesgrave Group Sudbury Formation (Whiteman and Rose, 1992), could be of this age (see related discussion of the Waterman's Lodge Member for Fig. 6).

Formation (see Fig. 4) is considered to have extended into the Late Tiglian (Laban, 1995; Cameron et al., 1992), as most of that formation appears to have been deposited in the Middle Tiglian (C1-4b), on this map we have shown the facies distribution in the slightly later Winterton Shoal Formation, in which Eburonian 'glacial' deposits have been found (Laban, 1995). Palaeogeography and Facies of Deposits Palaeogeographic reconstructions by Zagwijn and Doppert (1978, Fig. 8), Zagwijn (1979, Fig. III-3), and Zagwijn (1989, Fig. 13) show that during the Late Tiglian the coastline was mainly seaward of that of the present-day Netherlands, except for a small embayment south of the Hook of Holland, near Brielle (Meijer, 1988; Zagwijn, 1989; Meijer and Preece, 1995; Gibbard et al., 1991). Offshore the slightly later Eburonian Winterton Shoal Formation comprises (Cameron et al., 1987, Fig. 6.3; Cameron et al., 1992, Figs 98 and 104): pro-delta deposits, fore-setted delta-front deposits, with fringing marine delta-top deposits to both east and west. Sediment sourced from both English and Continental directions met within the delta-front facies, pro-grading ultimately northwards over the pro-delta deposits. Onshore in eastern England the equivalent of the Late Tiglian (C5-6) of The Netherlands succession is consid0 M--. ^ ' P,t" O

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AROUND 1.40 Ma (WAALIAN) Age and Correlation of Deposits Figure 6 has been constructed to approximate the Waalian Stage (Table 2). This is a generally warm stage (Zagwijn, 1960), that is likely to embrace several lighter 5180 stages including 37, 47 and 55 (cf. Funnell, 1995). Although the stage probably extends from about 1.6-1.2 3

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Quaternary Science Reviews: Volume 15

400

TABLE 2. Map

East England stages

Netherland stages and substages

Age

8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Cromerian8 Pastonian 7 Bramertonian6/Antian 5 Ludhamian 4 Pre-Ludhamian 3 'Waltonian' Reuverian C z° Gedgravian ~

'Cromerian Complex' ~7 Menapian j6 Waalian ~5 Tiglian C5-6 ~4 Tiglian C1-4b ~3 Tiglian A ~zPraetiglian H 2.55 Ma Brunssumian 9

0.60 Ma 1.15 Ma 1.40 Ma 1.75 Ma 2.00 Ma 3.75 Ma

~Harmer, 1902; Curry et al., 1978flHarmer, 1900; Mitchell et al., 1973; Funnell and West, 1977)West, 1961; Funnell and West, 1977.4Beck et al., 1972; Funnell and West, 1977; Gibbard et al., 1991.SWest, 1961; Funnell and West, 1962, 19777Funnell et al., 1979; Gibbard et al., 1991.TWest and Wilson, 1966; Funnell and West, 1977; West, 1980.SWest and Wilson, 1966; Funnell and West, 1977.gZagwijn, 1990.1°Zagwijn, 1985.J~Zagwijn, 1975a, b, 1985.1ZZagwijn, 1975a, b, 198573Zagwijn, 1975a, b, 198574Zagwijn, 1975a, b, 1985.~SZagwijn and Doppert, 1978; Zagwijn and De Jong, 1984; Zagwijn, 198576Zagwijn et al., 1971; Zagwijn, 1974, 1975a, b, 1985.~7Zagwijn, 1975a, b, 1985. Ma (ibidem), a representative age of 1.40 Ma is assigned to this reconstruction. No deposits of this age can be clearly identified in eastern England. For a considerable interval following the Pastonian (Table 2) no biostratigraphical or magnetostratigraphic information is available from the British succession, although it can be speculated that some part of the Kesgrave Group Sudbury Formation (Whiteman and Rose, 1992), p o s s i b l y the W a t e r m a n ' s L o d g e Member, may be of Waalian age (cf. Funnell, 1995). Offshore a Waalian sequence has been identified in the Yarmouth Roads Formation (Cameron et al., 1987, Fig. 6.4; Cameron et aL, 1992, Figs 102 and 104), in Borehole G16-12 at 56°N, 5°E (Laban, 1995; Zagwijn, 1992, 1979; Cameron et al., 1986). To the north the Yarmouth Roads Formation is considered to give place at this time to the marine Markham's Hole Formation (Cameron et al., 1987, Fig. 6.4; Cameron et al., 1992, Figs 99 and 104). The Netherlands onshore succession is characterised by the Kedichem Formation deposits laid down by the Rhine, Meuse and southern rivers, and the Harderwijk Formation deposited by the north German rivers, including Baltic river input (Gibbard et al., 1991; Zagwijn, 1989, Fig. 14; Zagwijn, 1979, Fig. III-4).

Palaeogeography and Facies o f Deposits

Evidence of fluviatile deposits contributing to the western margin of the southern North Sea basin at this time are not at all clear. Even if the possible correlation of the W a t e r m a n ' s Lodge M e m b e r of the Sudbury Formation to part of the Waalian Stage is correct, it is difficult to trace this member towards the coast to the north-east. Are any of the Kesgrave Group gravels in the vicinity of Norwich (Postma and Hodgson, 1988) of this age? Were they sourced via the same Bytham river route (Rose, 1994) as the Ingham Sands and Gravels (Hamblin and Moorlock, 1995)? Also, were the equivalents of this member from the Middle Thames possibly not preserved in Essex and Suffolk (cf. Whiteman, 1992), or subject to eastward diversion (Rose et al.,

1976; Hamblin and Moorlock, 1995) of the Kesgrave Group as a whole? Offshore the Yarmouth Roads fluviatile/perimarine deposits (Cameron et al., 1992, 1987) were subject to marine transgression, which reached the present-day south-west Netherlands coastline in the vicinity of Brielle (Meijer and Preece, 1995; Gibbard et al., 1991; Meijer, 1988), but seems to have failed to reach the present-day eastern English coastline (Cameron et al., 1992). Northnorth-west-directed fore-sets in the delta-front deposits of the seismostratigraphic Markham's Hole Formation indicate that the predominant contribution to the progradation of the Great European (Ur-Frisia) Delta was coming from the southern and eastern continental rivers, with only a subordinate contribution from English rivers.

AROUND 1.15 Ma (MENAPIAN) A g e and Correlation o f Deposits

Figure 7 has been constructed for the Menapian Stage, corresponding to an age of about 1.15 Ma. This marked cool period probably correlates with stage 35 of the 8t80 record (Funnell, 1995). The Menapian includes a normal palaeomagnetic event (van Montfrans, 1971a, b) which may well be the Cobb Mountain, 1.19 Ma event (Funnell, 1995). In The Netherlands the Menapian sees the accumulation of the fluviatile Enschede Formation to the north, deposited by the northern German rivers (without a Baltic c o n t r i b u t i o n ) , and the f l u v i a t i l e K e d i c h e m Formation in the south, deposited by the Rhine and Meuse (Zagwijn, 1985). No marine or perimarine sediments of this age are found onshore in The Netherlands (Zagwijn, 1989). Palaeogeography and Facies of Deposits

Offshore fluviatile/perimarine delta-top deposits of the Yarmouth Roads Formation (Cameron et al., 1987, Fig. 6.7; Cameron et al., 1992, Fig. 102) extend to the present-day coast of eastern England, and as far north as 54°N, where they give place to the Outer Silver Pit Formation of marine delta-top and inter- and sub-tidal

B.M. Funnel: Plio-PleistocenePalaeogeography of the Southern North Sea Basin 0

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AROUND

0.60 M a ( C R O M E R I A N )

Age and Correlation of Deposits Figure 8 is an attempt to reconstruct the gross southern North Sea basin palaeogeography around the time of deposition of the West Runton Member of the Cromer Forestbed Formation (Funnell and West, 1977). The West Runton Freshwater Bed, which constitutes the West Runton Member, is part of the type site of the English Cromerian Stage (s.s.), comprising the first two pollen biozones of the stage (West and Wilson, 1966). This bed has recently yielded a spectacular, almost complete skeleton of the early mammoth Mammuthus trogontherii (Stuart, 1995). The English Cromerian Stage cannot be correlated unequivocally with any one of the Cromerian Complex 'interglacials' recognised in The Netherlands succession (Gibbard et al., 1991). It appears to post-date the Brunhes/Matuyama boundary, and is therefore unlikely to correspond with NCrl (or any earlier Bavelian 'inter-

glacial'), and it seems to be earlier than NCr4 (Gibbard et al., 1991). Neither NCr2 nor NCr3 are precisely similar, and it is therefore even possible that it represents an 'interglacial' not yet know from The Netherlands succession. Mammalian evidence suggests that it is most likely to correlate with NCr2 (Turner and Van Kolfschoten, in press), and it is clear (Bridgland et al., 1990; Bridgland, 1994, p.17), that it equates with some part of the middle Netherlands 'Cromerian Complex'. Until and unless dating of the Cromerian type section is achieved, only an approximate age of ca. 0.60 Ma can be estimated, based on the grounds that it post-dates the Brunhes/Matuyama bounddry (0.78 Ma), and may be equivalent to 8180 stage 15, or 17 (cf. Funnel, 1995). Cromerian (s.l.) sediments have been identified in several parts of the Kesgrave Group Colchester Formation (Whiteman and Rose, 1992; Bridgland, 1994), in deposits of the Little Oakley Member (Bridgland et al., 1990), and at Ardleigh, Broomfield and Wivenhoe (Gibbard et al., in press). Offshore Cromerian (s.l.) deposits have been identified in the northern and upper part of the strongly diachronous Yarmouth Roads Formation (Cameron et al., 1992).

Palaeogeography and Facies of Deposits The eastern margin of the map indicates the general route of the Thames during the Cromerian (s.l.)

402

Quaterna~ Science Reviews: Volume 15 0 i

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(Bridgland, 1994), corresponding to the Little Oakley Member (Whiteman, 1992). There is no clear evidence of any west to east input of fluviatile material into the North Sea during Cromerian (s.I.) times north of Aldeburgh (Hamblin and Moorlock, 1995), unless part of the 'Bytham river' Ingham Sand and Gravel sequence (Rose, 1994; Hamblin and Moorlock, 1995) is of Cromerian age. Hitherto the only biostratigraphically determinable deposits of Cromerian (s.s.) age, apart from Sugworth, are near to the present-day coastline at West Runton in north Norfolk (Funnell and West, 1977; West, 1980), and at Ardleigh and Broomfield in Essex (Gibbard et al., in press). The Yarmouth Roads Formation indicates extensive northward progradation of the Great European (Ur-Frisia) Delta (Jeffery and Long, 1989; Cameron et al., 1987, Fig. 6.7; Cameron et al., 1992, Figs 102 and 103), fed by the 'Bytham', Thames, Rhine, Meuse and north German rivers to beyond Aberdeen (57°N) at about this time. Indications of marine conditions within both the English Cromerian Stage (s.l.), and in The Netherlands Cromerian Complex at Noordbergum (NCr4), is somewhat surprising--unless the delta-top was very fiat, concurrently subsiding, and therefore subject to significant marine transgression as a result of only limited sea-level rise. In The Netherlands the Cromerian Complex deposits of the Urk and Veghel Formations show the increased

dominance of the Rhine-Meuse rivers--the general courses of which are taken from Zagwijn (1979, Fig. III6)--over the north German rivers, which were no longer supported by a Baltic input. DISCUSSION Although all the components of the maps described above have been published previously by earlier authors, they represent a new attempt to document and synthesise results across the whole of the southern North Sea basin, including all relevant English, Belgian, Dutch and offshore formations in the Plio-Pleistocene time span. The progressive exclusion of the sea, and growth of the Great European (Ur-Frisia) Delta was already shown on the palaeogeographical maps of Zagwijn and Doppert (1978) and Zagwijn (1979, 1989), and was made explicit in relation to the offshore stratigraphy by Cameron et al. (1992). These main conclusions are not likely to be changed. However, significant uncertainties still exist regarding the chronostratigraphy of both the offshore and some of the onshore formations. In many cases both biostratigraphic and magnetostratigraphic are inadequate to establish reliable contemporaneity of deposition of different facies, even where their geographical preservation is good or adequate. Improvements in our understanding of the Plio-Pleistocene palaeogeographical evolution of the

B.M. Funnell: Plio-Pleistocene Palaeogeography of the Southern North Sea Basin southern North Sea basin will remain critically dependent on our ability to improve its chronostratigraphy. Only then will it be possible to distinguish more clearly between the effects of climatic and sea-level changes (Funnell, 1995) and of tectonic changes (Cameron et al., 1992) in the development of the basin's palaeogeography. Looking at the literature it is clear that the effort and expertise expended in establishing a reliable chronostratigraphy (by either biostratigraphical or magnetostratigraphical methods) for these sequences, has not yet adequately complemented the resources spent on mapping the often diachronous lithostratigraphy of this fascinating area.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I thank Richard West for allowing himself to be inveigled into the study of pollen in marine sediments in the late 1950s, and for the stimulus and good humour of his collaboration over many subsequent years, I am clearly greatly indebted to the many members of the British and Dutch Geological Surveys, without whose extensive research and publications regarding the southern North Sea Basin, over many years, the synthesis I have attempted in this paper would not have been possible. I am also most grateful to Phil Gibbard and Jim Rose for their helpful advice on various aspects of the fluviatile sequences, and to Phillip Judge for conscientiously drawing the maps.

REFERENCES Andrew, R. and West, R.G. (1977). Pollen spectra from the Pliocene Crag at Orford. Suffolk. New Phytologist, 78, 709-714. Balson, P.S., Mathers. S.J. and Zalasiewicz, J.A. (1993). The lithostratigraphy of the CoraUine Crag (Pliocene) of Suffolk. Proceedings of the Geologists'Association, 104, 59-70. Beck, R.B., Funnell, B.M. and Lord, A.R. (1972). Correlation of Lower Pleistocene Crag at depth in Suffolk. Geological Magazine, 109, 137-139. Berggren, W.A., Kent, D.V. and Van Couvering, J. (1985). In: Snelling, N.J. (ed.), The Chronology of the Geological Record, pp. 211-260. Geological Society London Memoir. Bridgland, D.R. (1994). Quaternary. of the Thames. Joint Nature Conservation Committee, The Geological Conservation Review Series, No. 7, Chapman and Hall, London, 441 pp. Bridgland, D.R., Gibbard, P.L. and Preece, R.C. (1990). The geology and significance of the interglacial sediments at Little Oakley, Essex. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London, B328, 307-339. Bristow, C.R. (1983). The stratigraphy and structure of the Crag of mid-Suffolk, England. Proceedings of the Geologists' Association, 94, 1-12. British Geological Survey (1993). 1:250,000 Series. Quaternary Geology. East Anglia: Sheet 52°N 00°E. Cambridge, P.G. (1977). Whatever happened to the Boytonian? A review of the marine Plio-Pleistocene of the southern North Sea. Bulletin of the Geological Society of Norfolk, 29, 23-45. Cameron, T.D.J., Bonny, A.P., Gregory, D.M. and Harland, R, (1984). Lower Pleistocene dinoflagellate cyst, foraminiferal and pollen assemblages in four boreholes in the southern North Sea. Geological Magazine, 121, 85-97. Cameron, T.D.J., Laban, C. and Schiittenhelm, R.T.E, (1986). 1:250,000 series. Quaternary Geology. Indefatigable: Sheet 53°N/02°E. British Geological Survey and Geological Survey of The Netherlands. Cameron, T.D.J., Stocker. M.S. and Long, D. (1987). The history

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