Eocene succession on the East Shetland Platform, North Sea

Abstract

A sand-prone Middle Eocene sequence is recognized in three cored boreholes on the East Shetland Platform. Three lithostratigraphic divisions are recognized: Lower Sand Unit, Main Sand Unit and Upper Claystone Unit. The Lower Sand Unit is of fluvio-deltaic origin, occurring on the southern part of the East Shetland Platform. The Main Sand Unit represents the subsequent transgression of the delta. The unit comprises a set of highstand shelf systems tracts separated by glauconitic bands and reflected by palynological assemblage breaks. The presence of reworked palynofloras in sediments of late Middle Eocene age implies derivation of sediment from the north-west part of the East Shetland Platform. Although it is tempting to ascribe sea level changes to the sediment pattern, a tentative correlation with the Hampshire Basin only highlights the difficulties involved.