Bright white sands consisting almost exclusively of quartz (sometimes called ‘silver sands’) occur throughout the world; those in Europe commonly date from the late Paleogene and early Neogene. They have a clearly sedimentary origin, and they may have originated in various types of environments, but precise data are lacking because sedimentary research into these deposits (that have a high economic value) has been scarce. It is most likely that diagenetic processes are largely responsible for their exceptional appearance, but it is highly unlikely that all silver sands were subject to the same diagenetic conditions.

The precise origin of most of the silver sands is still enigmatic. In the case of the silver sands in the Dutch/German/Belgian border area, it appears that long-lasting in situ leaching by humic acids (resulting in an extremely low percentage of heavy minerals), in combination with differential cementation (and later partial dissolution of the cement), must be held responsible for the wide variety of the characteristics of these sands, including locally sharp boundaries with the underlying sands, lack of precipitates at the contact plane with the underlying sands, and the joint occurrence of strongly weathered and fresh specimens of the same heavy-mineral species.

Spacio-temporal distribution patterns of North Sea Basin Early Oligocene (Rupelian) pteropoda (holoplanktonic gastropods: Mollusca, Gastropoda, Euthecosomata) are studied. These patterns indicate three short term invasions of a single pteropod species during the Rupelian. These invasions are indicated here as Clio blinkae Event, Praehyalocylis laxeannulata Event and Clio jacobae Event. The conspicuously short occurrences of the species, their abundances and some lithological features of the pteropod bearing strata lead to the conclusion that these plankton events are linked to sea level high-stands allowing currents from the worlds oceans to enter into the North Sea Basin.

The literature suggests that the Asquempont fault, a supposedly important reverse fault forming the limit between the Lower to lower Middle Cambrian and the Ordovician in the Sennette valley, is poorly understood. Nevertheless, this fault is commonly equated with a pronounced NW-SE-trending aeromagnetic lineament, the Asquempont lineament, and both the geometry of the Asquempont lineament and the supposed reverse movement of the Asquempont fault are used to develop large-scale tectonic models of the Brabant Massif. New outcrop observations in the Asquempont area, the “type locality” of the Asquempont fault, in combination with outcrop and borehole data from surrounding areas, show that the Asquempont fault is not an important reverse fault, but instead represents a pre-cleavage, low-angle extensional detachment. This detachment formed between the Caradoc and the timing of folding and cleavage development and is not related to the aeromagnetic Asquempont lineament. The Asquempont area also contains several relatively important, steep, post-cleavage normal faults. Apparently, these occur in a WNW-ESE-trending zone between Asquempont and Fauquez, extending westward over Quenast towards Bierghes. This zone coincides with the eastern part of the WNW-ESE-trending Nieuwpoort-Asquempont fault zone, for which, on the basis of indirect observations, previously a strike-slip movement has been proposed. Our outcrop observations question this presumed strike-slip movement. The Asquempont fault may be related to the progressive unroofing of the core of the Brabant Massif from the Silurian onwards. Possibly, other low-angle extensional detachments similar to the Asquempont fault occur in other parts of the massif. Possible candidates are the paraconformity-like contacts depicted on the most recent geological map of the Brabant Massif.

The presence of a magnesian vivianite (Fe2+)2.5(Mg,Mn,Ca)0.5(PO4)2·8H2O, has been identified in a soil sample from a Roman camp near Fort Vechten, The Netherlands, using a combination of Raman microscopy and scanning electron microscopy. An unsubstituted vivianite and baricite were characterised for comparative reasons. The split phosphate-stretching mode is recognised around 1115, 1062 and 1015 cm−1, while the corresponding bending modes are found around 591, 519, 471 and 422 cm−1. The substitution of Mg and Mn for Fe2+ in the crystal structure causes a shift towards higher wavenumbers compared to pure vivianite. As shown by the baričite sample substitution causes a broadening of the bands. The observed broadening however is larger than can be explained by substitution alone. The low intensity of the water bands, especially in the OH-stretching region between 2700 and 3700 cm−1 indicates that the magnesian vivianite is partially dehydrated, which explains the much larger broadening than the observed broadening caused by substitution of Mg and Mn in vivianite and baričite.

In this article we study the morphodynamics of the Slufter on the short-term (months) and long-term (years to decades). The Slufter is a small, shallow tidal inlet located on the island of Texel, the Netherlands. A narrow (tens of meters) channel connects the North Sea with a dune valley of 400 ha. This narrow channel is located in between a 400-700 m wide opening in the dunes. Approximately 80% of the basin of the Slufter is located above mean high water level and is flooded only during storms, when a threshold water level is exceeded.

Analysis of historical aerial photographs revealed that the inlet channel migrates about 100 m per year. In the 1970's it migrated to the south, while since 1980 it is migrating to the north. When the channel reached the dunes at the north side of the dune breach the channel was relocated to the south by man. The channel inside the backbarrier basin was less dynamic. It shows a gradual growth and southward migration of a meander on a decadal time scale.

The short-term dynamics of the Slufter were studied during a field campaign in 2008. The campaign aimed at identifying the dominant hydrodynamic processes and morphological change during fair weather conditions and during storm events. During fair weather flow velocities in the main inlet channel were 0.5-0.8 m/s at water depths of 0-1.5 m, slightly ebb-dominant and associated morphological change was small. When water levels were above critical levels during a storm period the hydrodynamics in the main channel drastically changed. The flow in the main channel was highly ebb dominant. Long ebb periods with typical flow velocities of 2 m/s were alternated by much shorter flood periods with typical velocities of 0.5-1 m/s. This resulted in a net outflow of water via the main channel, while we measured a net inflow of water at the beach plain. During the storm period in 2008 we measured a 10 m migration of the channel to the north.

We conclude that the Slufter is a storm-dominated tidal inlet system.

Shortly after the river Rhine enters the Netherlands, it bifurcates into three branches. A predefined, fixed discharge distribution over the bifurcation points is vital, since the dikes are designed with a predefined distribution in mind. Recent observations show that the discharge distribution that is anticipated at design discharge conditions differs from the predefined one. One of the goals of the national program Room for the River is therefore to restore the discharge distribution. To control the hydraulic processes during flood events, the construction of two adaptable spillways in the direct neighbourhood of the bifurcation points is proposed as a possible solution. The spillways are capable of maintaining the proper discharge distribution. They can also act as regulators during the construction phase of the flood managements plans of the project Room for the River. Hence, the discharge ratio and thus the water levels are such that the safety-standards are not violated. The morphological consequences are most probably very small, provided that strong erosion during flood events can be prevented and the autonomous bed degradation stays within reasonable limits.

A small faunule of fragmentary Hettangian (earliest Jurassic) psiloceratoid ammonites collected from dark-coloured, clay-rich sediments in a subrosion pipe at Quarry III of the Winterswijk quarry complex is described. The genera Alsatites, Saxoceras and Schlotheimia are determined by comparison to extensive literature on coeval, north German faunas. Taphonomic features are apparent indicating condensation and reworking. Despite this, the portion of the subrosion pipe sediment fill which yielded this material can be dated as middle to late Hettangian.

Radiocarbon dating of peat has its intrinsic problems. This is often caused by mobile organic fractions. For the Weichselian Pleniglacial, another methodological problem arises: the limit of the 14C dating method. This is discussed in terms of bulk (i.e. non-selected material, generally dated conventionally) vs AMS (i.e. selected botanical remains) dates, contamination, background and calibration, guided by a series of peat samples from the Belgian/Dutch border.

The Late Pleistocene surface paleohydrography of the New Jersey Pine Barrens consisted of a series of broad braided alluvial surfaces with meandering paleochannels. This drainage is best explained in terms of impermeable (i.e. frozen) substrate, high sediment load, variable or decreasing discharge, and eolian sedimentary dynamics. Evidence for eolian activity is provided by wind-abraded sand grains, coversand, dunes, ventifacts, deflation hollows and wind-polished boulders. In several places stream avulsion occurred due to channel infilling by locally-derived wind-blown sediment. The braided and meandering river systems that characterise the tundra and polar semi-desert lowlands of the Western Canadian Arctic are described as modern analogs.

Turtle remains ascribed to the family Cheloniidae (Testudines, Cryptodira, Chelonioidea), collected from the lamarcki zone (Middle Turonian) at Wüllen (NW Germany) are described. The material consists of a right humerus, a scapula, a complete costalia, and costalia fragments of a single individual with the humerus indicating a primitive cheloniid of the ‘toxochelyid grade’. The present material, as well as previously recorded chelonioid humeri from the Cenomanian and Turonian of Germany illustrate a progressive diversification of chelonioids during the early Late Cretaceous.

In an area east of Leuven (central Belgium), a buried sandy estuarine deposit of Oligocene age contains a dark colored organic layer of about 4 m thick. Our results suggests that the organic matter is an illuvial horizon, therefore warranting the hypothesis that the layer may qualify for a giant buried spodic horizon rather than a remainder of a Tertiary oil seepage as suggested by Van Riessen and Vandenberghe (1996). Of particular importance is the micro-morphological evidence, which reveals that the mainly monomorphous organic matter is present as ubiquitous coatings and concentrations around the quartz grains. These coatings show the for Podzols very typical polygonal cracked patterns. The geochemical signature (stable carbon isotope analysis) also gives strong indications for a continental origin of the organic carbon and therefore support the pedogenetic origin of the horizon. The paleopedological scene into which this soil has developed is inferred from the data.

This special issue of the Netherlands Journal of Geosciences / Geologie en Mijnbouw contains research papers offering important new insights into aspects of the occurrence of gas-production-induced seismicity in Groningen, the Netherlands. The issue is a ‘work in progress’ and provides a snapshot of our knowledge at the end of 2016, which is when most of the contributions were written.

2D Basin modelling was used to evaluate the response of source rock maturation, and of petroleum expulsion, migration, accumulation and preservation to the evolution of the southern part of the inverted Broad Fourteens Basin. Modelling results show that the temperature, maturation and petroleum generation history as well as migration characteristics of both the Jurassic oil systems and the Carboniferous gas systems vary over short distances relative to the differences in burial history of the basin. Model results indicate that no major gas accumulations are preserved in the Slochteren Formation along the cross-section at present-day. Gas accumulations are predicted in sandstone-dominated Triassic units in the southern part of the section. Present-day oil accumulations predicted in the Vlieland Sandstone Formation sealed by the Vlieland Claystone Formation (in P9 and Q1 crestal structures) are in accordance with known oil accumulations. Additional oil accumulations are predicted in the sandstone-dominated Middle Werkendam Member, and in sandstones of the Delfland Subgroup.

The modelling offers an explanation for the different geochemical compositions of the accumulated oils in the P9 and Q1 areas. Modelling implies, that the oils in the Q1 oil field were sourced by remigrated oils expelled over time, from early mature to mature source rocks of the Posidonia Shale Formation. The biodegraded and water-washed nature of the Q1 oil is explained by the concentrated topography-induced groundwater flow through the Vlieland Sandstone Formation during the Late Cretaceous inversion of the basin. The oils accumulated in the P9 area were sourced from an early mature part of the Posidonia Shale Formation and were probably not affected by water washing and biodegradation because of post-inversion charging of the reservoir.

In the aftermath of the Permo-Triassic mass extinction event, several reptile lineages radiated to form major components of marine faunas during the entire Mesozoic. The Lower Muschelkalk, which was deposited within a shallow inland sea in the Germanic Basin during the Middle Triassic, is one of the most important regions for understanding the early evolution of Mesozoic marine reptiles. Here, we present a new specimen from the Lower Muschelkalk of Winterswijk in the Netherlands, comprising an isolated left dentary that is morphologically distinct from any well-known Triassic vertebrate. We provide a detailed description of the jaw and the teeth using histological and micro-computed tomographic analyses. The anterior teeth are fang-like and curved, whereas the posterior teeth are wider and triangular-shaped. Tooth implantation is thecodont and teeth are ankylosed to the base of the alveolus. Replacement teeth are developed directly lingual to the functional teeth, starting with the formation of a resorption cavity on the dorsal surface of the alveolar margin. The replacement pattern cannot be observed in detail but is regular in the posterior part of the dentary with each tooth being alternated with an empty alveolus. The specimen can likely be assigned to Eosauropterygia based on its jaw morphology and dental morphology and replacement pattern, and it is remarkably similar to maxillae referred to the enigmatic Lamprosauroides goepperti from the Lower Muschelkalk of Poland. The dentary from Winterswijk lacks enlarged, ‘alveolarised’ crypts and corresponding distinct dental lamina foramina (DLFs) for the replacement teeth, a configuration that is typical of Sauropterygia, but which was likely not omnipresent in this clade. The specimen also exhibits loosely folded plicidentine at the roots of the teeth, likely representing the first identification of this feature in Sauropterygia.

In this study we apply an evidence-based approach to model population-size fluctuations and their corresponding impact on land use during the Roman and early-medieval periods in the Rhine–Meuse delta in the present-day Netherlands. Past-population numbers are reconstructed based on Roman and early-medieval settlement patterns. Corresponding impacts of these demographic fluctuations on potential land use are calculated by integrating the newly developed demographic overviews with archaeological and geoscientific data using a new land-use model termed ‘Past Land-Use Scanner’ (PLUS). The primary aims are to reconstruct first-millennium palaeodemographics and to explore the potential of simulation modelling for testing the feasibility of archaeological hypotheses regarding past land use. Results show that in the study area the first millennium AD was characterised by two periods during which major population growth occurred: the middle-Roman period (AD 70–270) and early-medieval period C (AD 725–950). A major demographic decline of 78–85% occurred during the late-Roman period (AD 270–450), after which first-millennium population numbers never again reached middle-Roman period levels. The modelling outcomes demonstrate that the impact of population fluctuations (growth vs decline) on the limits of the natural landscape during the first millennium in general was low. During these thousand years, the natural landscape almost without exception (only scenario D deviates) provided sufficient options for arable farming, meadows and pastures and was not a limiting factor for population growth. These results underline the added value of simulation modelling for testing the feasibility of archaeological hypotheses and analysing human–landscape interactions in the past.

A combination of geological and anthropogenic processes have rendered theU.S. Gulf Coast in general – and the Mississippi Delta in particular –extremely sensitive to coastal hazard. Thus, the Katrina disaster was not aquestion of ‘if’ but of ‘when’. This contribution outlines thegeo-environmental context of the Mississippi Delta that evolved during the20th century and set the stage for Hurricane Katrina’s devastation. Thisincludes a brief discussion of the processes responsible for coastal erosionand wetland loss, the proposed measures to combat these problems, and thepolicy decisions (or, rather, the lack thereof) made so far. A connection ismade with the 1953 storm surge that devastated the southwestern Netherlandsand had a profound impact on Dutch science and engineering by providing theimpetus for the widely known and highly praised Delta Plan, as well as forunprecedented studies of Holocene sea-level change. Whether a similar routewill be followed for the Gulf Coast is primarily dependent on the amount ofpolitical will. Results are presented of recent studies of crustal movementsin the Mississippi Delta that show surprising long-term stability of thePleistocene basement, evidence that could prove critical for decision makerswith regard to the rebuilding process. Finally, the neglect of theprecarious situation along the Gulf Coast by the federal government isviewed as a possible metaphor for current U.S. policies with respect toscience in general, and to global warming in particular.

In fully developed evaporite cycles, effective viscosity contrasts of up to five orders of magnitude are possible between different layers, but the structures and mechanics in evaporites with such extreme mechanical stratification are not well understood. The Zechstein 3 unit in the Veendam salt pillow in the Netherlands contains anhydrite, halite, carnallite and bischofite, showing this extreme mechanical stratification. The Veendam Pillow has a complex multiphase salt tectonic history as shown by seismic reflection data: salt withdrawal followed by convergent flow into the salt pillow produced ruptures and folds in the underlying Z3-anhydrite–carbonate stringer and deformed the soft Z3-1b layer

We analysed a unique carnallite- and bischofite-rich drill core from the soft Z3-1b layer by macroscale photography, bulk chemical methods, X-ray diffraction and optical microscopy. Results show high strain in the weaker bischofite- and carnallite-rich layers, with associated dynamic recrystallisation at very low differential stress, completely overprinting the original texture. Stronger layers formed by alternating beds of halite and carnallite show complex recumbent folding on different scales commonly interrupted by sub-horizontal shear zones with brittle deformation, veins and boudinage. We attribute this tectonic fragmentation to be associated with a softening of the complete Z3-1b subunit during its deformation. The result is a tectonic mélange with cm- to 10 m-size blocks with frequent folds and boudinage. We infer that these structures and processes are common in deformed, rheologically strongly stratified evaporites.

A basin-scale hydrogeological study of the inverted northern Broad Fourteens Basin, Netherlands offshore, has resulted in a reconstruction of geological evolution, an estimate of Late Cretaceous topography and model scenarios of syn-inversion meteoric water infiltration. This study was performed in the scope of a basin-scale analysis of the hydrogeological setting and hydrodynamic evolution of the Broad Fourteens Basin. This analysis is aimed at obtaining quantitative knowledge of depositional history and hydrogeological parameters, and qualitative knowledge of hydrodynamic evolution of the Broad Fourteens Basin from Carboniferous to present-day. We present an overview of the tectonic and depositional history, the most likely hydrogeological setting and model scenarios of Late Cretaceous meteoric water infiltration in the northern Broad Fourteens area.

We constructed a detailed south-west north-east geological cross-section of the present-day northern Broad Fourteens Basin, and reconstructed Late Cretaceous basin geometry and topography. Using this geometry in a numerical model of density-dependent topography-driven fluid flow, we modelled several scenarios of meteoric water infiltration with estimated ranges of basin-scale permeabilities and water table head. Results indicate that a deep freshwater lens was developed during Late Cretaceous inversion, if the basin-scale hydraulic conductivity of the Rijnland and Altena Groups was at least 1⋅10-9 to 1⋅10-10 m/s, which is in general the highest value for claystones.

The fluvial sequences of the Milton and the Letchworth formations in the south Midlands of England and neighbouring regions represent at least two pre-existing rivers, the Milton and Brigstock streams, underlying Middle Pleistocene glacial sediments. The Milton Formation includes sand sourced from the Midlands bedrock. This implies that both streams were aligned in a northwest to southeast direction. This direction parallels the contemporaneous courses of the rivers Thames and Trent, the former turning towards the east and northeast to enter the North Sea. Their alignments indicate that the Milton and Letchworth streams formed left-bank tributaries of the Thames, joining the river in Hertfordshire and Essex, as illustrated in the article. This reconstruction has important implications for the interpretation of the proto-Soar river of the south Midlands, represented by the Baginton Formation. Although originally thought to represent a late Middle Pleistocene line, this southwest to northeast aligned system was reinterpreted as the headwaters of a pre-Anglian ‘Bytham river’, a1ligned towards East Anglia. However, recent work has shown that this river could not have existed in the pre-Anglian since there is no link between the Midlands and East Anglian spreads. Recent re-recognition that the Baginton Formation deposits do represent a later, post-Anglian drainage line is reinforced by the identification of the Milton and Letchworth streams, whose catchments occupied the area later drained by the proto-Soar. Overall, the main drainage alignment in southern England during the pre-Anglian period was dominated by northwest–southeast-draining consequent rivers adjusted to the regional geological dip. After widespread drainage disruption caused by the Anglian glaciation, northeast–southwest-orientated subsequent streams eroded frost-susceptible clay bedrock under periglacial and permafrost conditions, and beheaded the courses of some of the older consequent streams.

Accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS) radiocarbon (14C) dating of Cerastoderma edule (Linnaeus 1767) and Mytilus edulis (Linnaeus 1758) shells sampled in AD 1889 near the island of Wangerooge gave a new local correction factor ΔR of −85 ± 17 14C years for the Wadden Sea area. The value is considerably higher than the available scattered data from the North Sea, which were obtained from pre-bomb growth rings of living Arctica islandica (Linnaeus 1767). This can be explained by the incorporation of 14C-depleted terrestrial carbon into the shell material which compensates the intensified exchange of CO2 between atmosphere and shallow coastal water, e.g. by tidal currents. Additionally, two examples of application of the new ΔR value in coastal research give deeper insights into the dynamics of bivalve shell preservation in the Wadden Sea and the need for further research to clarify the Holocene reintroduction of Mya arenaria (Linnaeus 1758) into European waters.