Abstract
Abstract Variations in water depth with time at a point within a marine sedimentary basin can in theory be evaluated by fitting a tectonic subsidence curve for the point to a subsidence model. By combining results from numerous points, palaeobathymetric maps can be constructed for specified time horizons. This has been attempted for the Cenozoic interval in part of the Western Central Graben in the United Kingdom sector of the North Sea Basin. A modified version of the instantaneous extension model has been used as the basis for the method. The initial results suggest that water depths over most of the study area increased dramatically from the end of the Danian to the end of the Eocene. Thereafter sedimentation outpaced subsidence, reducing water depths at first slowly (Oligocene-Pliocene) and then rapidly (Pleistocene). These results are reviewed with reference to observational data: palaeontological and sedimentological data, stratigraphical data from seismic reflection profiles and data on the uplift and denudation histories of the adjacent land masses. The review procedure both illustrates the strengths of the method and highlights areas in which refinements are necessary. The iterative nature of this study, in which the observational data are used progressively to constrain the tectonic subsidence model, is emphasized.
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