Application of fluid flow systems analysis to reconstruct the post-Carboniferous hydrogeohistory of the onshore and offshore Netherlands

Abstract

The reconstruction of the post-Carboniferous hydrogeohistory of the onshore and offshore Netherlands is part of an ongoing TNO project on fluid flow systems analysis on geological timescales. The scope of the project is to assess the present-day hydrogeological and fluid flow conditions of the sedimentary basins in the onshore and offshore Netherlands and to analyse and model the evolution of fluid flow systems in these basins in order to increase the process-based knowledge of the causes of present-day physico–chemical characteristics of rocks and fluids in the sedimentary fill of the Dutch part of the North Sea Basin. This article concerns the first phase of the project and provides an overview of the characteristic features of the post-Carboniferous evolution of external and internal processes acting on the sedimentary fill and their role in shaping the hydrogeological and hydrodynamical setting of the Netherlands. The post-Carboniferous evolution of the fluid flow conditions is described for five geological time periods. During each time period different forces have acted simultaneously on the fluids and different fluid flow systems have coexisted and interacted. The present-day active driving forces and processes influencing fluid flow conditions include sedimentary loading, gas generation, tectonic forces, topographic relief of the water ,table, fluid density differences and human activities. The article presents a brief outline of the resulting fluid flow systems. Observed direct and indirect indicators of fluid flow (pressure, temperature, salinity, sediment-diagenetic minerals) are consistent with the reconstructed hydrogeological and hydrodynamic setting of the Netherlands.