Putting the Carboniferous of NW Europe in a Regional Context; the Southern Permian Basin Atlas Project

摘要

The Southern Permian Basin Atlas (SPBA)-project is a joint project of the Geological Surveys of the United Kingdom, Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, Germany and Poland. The aim of the Atlas is to present a comprehensive overview of over 150 years of petroleum exploration/exploitation and geological research in the Southern Permian Basin Area. The Pre-Devonian up to Quaternary structural and stratigraphical development will be described in a separate chapter for each stratigraphic interval. The most important products created for the chapter on the Carboniferous include a basinwide tectonostratigraphic panel, a base Permian subcrop map, basinwide well-correlation panels and palaeogeographic maps. Although in some areas a serious lack of data exists, the maps and correlation panels present a detailed overview of the Carboniferous geological development of the NW European Carboniferous Basin (NWECB) that was not achieved before. However, it must be realised that despite the economic importance of the Carboniferous sedimentary sequence as a source for “Southern Permian Basin” hydrocarbons, the structural development of the NWECB still remains poorly understood. For instance, the application of a thermal sag model as the dominant subsidence mechanism during the Westphalian is problematic as the basinwide correlation panels do not show a characteristic thermal sag thickness change. Another important question is if and how the Lower Carboniferous carbonate platforms which have been found in the UK extend to the east. A supra-national mapping approach like the SPBAproject forms an important source to stimulate further investigation of these kind of problems.