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Geological Society, London, Special Publications; 1996; v. 101; p. 121-128;
DOI: 10.1144/GSL.SP.1996.101.01.08
© 1996 Geological Society of London

Regional Studies: Stratigraphy, Tectonics and Volcanism

An integrated palynological-palynofacies approach to the zonation of the Paleogene in the Forties-Montrose Ridge area, central North Sea

Susan E. Wood & Richard V. Tyson

Newcastle Research Group, Fossil Fuels and Environmental Geochemistry (Postgraduate Institute), Drummond Building, University of Newcastle, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU, UK

A palynological and palynofacies study of late Paleocene and early Eocene sediments of the central North Sea has been undertaken using 467 core samples from 11 wells on the Forties-Montrose Ridge. Conventional dinoflagellate cyst (dinocyst) biostratigraphy gives poor precision within the narrow (c. 2.5 million years) time interval studied. Furthermore, dinocysts are often present in only very low numbers and are frequently poorly preserved. An alternative local zonation scheme is proposed on the basis of downwell variations in quantitative palynofacies and palynomorph occurrence data, and on angiosperm pollen ratios. Integration of these three sets of data indicates a potential sevenfold subdivision of the mid-Sele Formation (S2) to upper Lista Formation (L3) interval in this area, with up to five divisions within the Forties Sandstone Member. This composite zonation scheme appears to work reasonably well for the studied wells, and preliminary comparisons with independent biostratigraphic data from two of our wells indicate a partial correlation with the dinocyst zones.