Evaluating and constraining the effects of Paleozoic crustal scale structural features on the fault kinematics and basin evolution of the Dutch Central Graben

Abstract

This study aimed to achieve a better understanding on how reactivated Paleozoic structure in the subsurface of the southern North Sea influenced the placement and the evolution of the Dutch Central Graben basin. The Dutch Central Graben basin opened during the Permian-Triassic transition as part of the larger North Sea rift system and is situated above the suture between the coalesced terranes of Baltica and Avalonia. By using analogue tectonic modelling, the results of this study show that fault distribution within the Dutch Central Graben basin suggest that the basin formed along a preexisting detachment of Paleozoic age. Furthermore, results show the interplay between this detachment and the interface between the ductile lower crust and brittle upper crust Avalonia, determined the placement and opening of the Dutch Central Graben. Finally, the results of this study suggest that although it is difficult to recreate using analogue modelling, that this preexisting Paleozoic detachment is likely to be a reactivated thrust structure that formed as part of a Caledonian orogenic complex that marks the transition between Avalonia and Baltica.