The Pliocene Lillo, Poederlee, Merksplas, Mol and Kieseloolite Formations in northern Belgium: a synthesis

Abstract

The Pliocene of Belgium subcrops in the northern part of the country and for more than a century has been the subject of many palaeontological and stratigraphical studies thanks to numerous temporary excavations that became accessible during the civil works for the expansion of the Antwerp Harbour. It was only during subsurface mapping from the 1980s onwards, in combination with cored and geophysical logged drillings, that these data became integrated which has led to new stratigraphical insights. The data relating to the current stratigraphy have now been inventoried, assessed, synthesized and a refined stratigraphical framework and correlation scheme is presented.