Flooding of the southern part of the North Sea occurred between 9000 and 8000 BP, when the rate of relative sea-level rise was on the order of 0.7 cm per year for the Dover Strait Region and 1.6 cm per year for the area north of the Frisian Islands, forcing the shoreline to recede rapidly. When relative sea-level rise decelerated after 7000 BP for the Belgian coast and 6000 BP for the central Netherlands coast, sediment supply by the tidal currents balanced the creation of accommodation space in the estuaries and other back-barrier basins. Consequently, the barrier started to stabilize, and the tidal basins and their inlets silted up. Between 5500 and 4500 BP, the Belgian coastal plain changed into a freshwater marsh with peat accumulation, and the same happened 500–1000 years later in the western provinces of the Netherlands. The E-W running barrier/back-barrier system of the Frisian Islands in the northern Netherlands stayed open until today, however, because of lower sediment supply.

The period between 4000 and 2000 BP was relatively quiet due to the strong deceleration of the rate of sea-level rise; peat cushions developed behind the barriers, which were straightened by erosion of the headlands. Major and often catastrophic flooding occurred in the Middle Ages, when the estuaries in the southwestern part of the Netherlands formed.

About 226 (± 15%) × 109 m3 sediment, mostly sand, is stored in the barriers and back-barrier basins of the Netherlands, 70% of which was deposited prior to 5000 BP. About 10% of the stored sediment is estimated to be of alluvial origin. Most of the sediment is derived by the erosion of the Pleistocene basement during recession of the barriers, but tide-induced crossshore transport from the North Sea forms an additional source for the barriers and back-barriers of the west-facing coast of the Netherlands.

The Late Permian Zechstein carbonates in the Southern Permian Basin were deposited under marine conditions. The carbonates form part of a largely progradational infill, with a gradual northward facies shift. The paleogeography of the Zechstein carbonate deposits has been reviewed recently on the base of well data, cores and publications. This has resulted in three updated maps of the carbonate units. These maps reflect the increase in knowledge of the palaeogeography of the Zechstein as a result of several decades of subsurface exploration. It is found that deposition of the carbonates was controlled by various factors, i.e., rifting during deposition of the basal Zechstein, sea-level fluctuations and basin subsidence. This resulted in an overall E-W orientated facies distribution in the Zechstein carbonates, and in the gradual northward shift of the various facies belts in time.

Reefs in the Zl Carbonate Member and off-platform highs and turbidites in the Z2 Carbonate Member have been identified as potential future exploration targets.

The hydrocarbon systems of the Mesozoic, inverted West Netherlands Basin have been analyzed using 2-D forward modelling. Three source rocks are considered in the modelling: Lower Jurassic oil-prone shales, Westphalian gas-prone coal deposits, and Lower Namurian oil-prone shales. The Lower Namurian hydrocarbon system of the basin is discussed for the first time.

According to the modelling results of the Early Jurassic oil system, the oil accumulations were filled just after the main inversion event. Their predicted locations are in agreement with exploration results. Modelling results of the Westphalian gas system, however, show smaller and larger sized accumulations at unexplored locations. The gas reservoirs were filled during the Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous rifting phase. Results of modelling of the Lower Namurian oil system indicate that gas formed by secondary cracking of the oils can have mixed with the Westphalian coal-derived gas. Such a mixing is inferred from geochemical analyses. The existence of a Lower Namurian hydrocarbon system in the West Netherlands Basin implies that hydrocarbons are possibly trapped in the Westphalian and Namurian successions. These potential traps in the basin have not yet been explored.

Fracture systems of Rotliegend gas fields in and at the margins of the northern Broad Fourteens Basin in the Dutch offshore are described in terms of orientation, frequency, origin and type, and in relation to larger-scale structures. First, fracture data collected from core and image logs have been corrected to account for the bias related to the 1-D sampling. Second, these results were integrated with data on fracture cements and diagenesis in order to assess the timing of the fracture network development.

On the basis of their regional extent three phases of fracturing and four orientation trends can be distinguished in the basin:

• (1) at Triassic times and related to early diagenesis and burial, NW-SE to NNW-SSE and NE-SW to ESE-WNW particulate-shear fractures developed;

• (2) during the Mid-Kimmerian and related to the main burial stage, shear-related and dilational-shear-fault-related fracturing occurred parallel with larger-scale faults;

• (3) during the Cretaceous and related to uplift, NW-SE and NE-SW joints propagated; a regional joint system developed outside the Jurassic rift basin, preferentially oriented E-W to ESE-WNW; these joints have not been dated accurately.

The fault-related shear fractures tend to compartmentalise the reservoirs, whereas the regional joints tend to enhance reservoir flow properties. These fracture systems are thought to play a negative or positive role, respectively, but only in fields with poor reservoir quality. Consequently, in such cases small-scale fractures should be taken into account in field development planning.

The chemical and mineralogical composition of rattlestones found near the main Dutch rivers has been studied by Mössbauer spectroscopy, INAA and XRD. Rattlestones are concretions of iron, formed in an environment of lateral iron accumulation, under the influence of periodical oxidation, around a fine core of ferruginous sediments, mainly clay and sand. The core has shrunk and detached itself from the mantle around it. 57Fe Mössbauer spectroscopy was applied to identify the iron oxides, among which goethite is predominant. The goethite crystallinity was investigated by measuring its magnetic properties and its crystallinity, which is poorest at the outer side of the stone. The latter is confirmed by the broadening of the different X-ray reflections. In addition, illite and vermiculite were identified by XRD; these clay minerals were found mainly in the core.

The elemental composition was determined by INAA. The iron content in the mantle is about 50% by weight and gradually decreases outwards, while the core contains 2–15% Fe by weight. Differences between rattlestones from the Middle Pleistocene East of the Meuse river and those from the Late Pleistocene North of it are the absence of lepidocrocite and a richer mineralogy in the former.

It is concluded that the rattlestones are formed around a fine clayey core. Groundwater supplied the iron and other (trace) elements for the genesis. It is unlikely that rattlestones are the result of oxidation of siderite.

Discrimination between quarry blasts and earthquakes has gained importance due to signature of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. In this context, large chemical explosions are significant. In the routine analysis of data from local seismograph networks, discrimination between smaller blasts and micro-earthquakes is not always clear. Many quarries are in operation and blasts far outnumber natural earthquakes in the highly industrialized northern Rhine area.

We compiled a list of active quarries in the Northern Rhine Area and mapped their locations. We then created a database from a questionnaire sent out to all quarries on the list. From the 33% of questionnaires that were returned, we discerned some representative values for the main blasting parameters and explosive consumption. In the study area of 72,000 km2, approx. 21,000 blasts are fired per year (80 per working day). Most of the blasts (72%) have total explosive charges between 400 and 4500 kg. Shots with charges above 10 tons are rare (20-30 per year). Some 80% of the blasts are ripple-fired with a nominal firing time interval of 20 ms.

Based on empirical amplitude vs. distance curves from vibration control measurements, a relation between maximum charge weight per delay time, L (kg), and a ‘quarry blast’ magnitude, MQB, is derived: MQB = 0.6·log10(L) + 0.131. Using this relation and extrapolating the database from the questionnaire shows that for magnitudes between 1 and 2, blasts occur 200–250 times more frequently than micro-earthquakes in the Northern Rhine area.

Thrust tectonics are dealt with on the basis of primarily experiments focusing on the dynamics of a developing thrust belt and on understanding and predicting normal-sequence and out-of-sequence thrusting. Field examples are presented in addition to the examples of sandbox-model experiments. The results have improved the insight into thrust-belt-forming mechanisms; the validity of the conclusions is supported by natural examples.

The experimental program was aimed at examining the effect of changes in a selection of key parameters in thrust tectonics on the geometry and the successive phases in the development of thrust sheets. Sandbox experiments were used to analyse the effects of basal friction, detachment lithology, basement relief and syntectonic sedimentation. Multilayer experiments were performed to simulate the effects of ductile detachment lithologies.

It was found that a thrust belt’s cross-sectional geometry is formed in a dynamic process during which the wedge may develop from subcritical through critical to supercritical and back to critical again. The process is illustrated with sandbox experiments, analysed by time-lapse computed tomography scans and in-situ stress measurements. On the basis of the sandbox-model results and the natural examples, we conclude that a critical examination of the boundary conditions of a fold-and-thrust belt and of changes in these conditions during the deformation process enables predictions about the geometry and kinematics of the thrust belt.

A general model is presented for the small type of fans (not to be confused with sandurs) that develop subaerially in the zone immediately before an ice front. These fans have in common with other fans that a proximal, a middle and a distal subenvironment– with distinctly different sedimentary facies– can be distinguished. The characteristics of these fans differ in several respects, however, from those formed under other conditions, particularly by the high proportion of mass-flow deposits in the proximal part, by the relative scarcity of fine particles in the middle fan, and by the relatively uniform character of the sediments in the distal fan.

The special character of this type of fan is ascribed to the interaction of a continuously changing distance between the ice front and the fan (as a result of alternating phases of ice advance and ice retreat), its position that may be surrounded by ice for a large part, and the irregular supply of debris-laden meltwater that comes sometimes even in the form of more or less catastrophic floods.

Due to the fact that terminoglacial fans have a good preservation potential only during phases of ice retreat, these fas tend to show a slight fining-upward tendency. The slope of terminoglacial fans tends to be more gentle (rarely over 2–5°) than that of fans formed under different conditions.

The provenance of coarse-grained ice-rafted detritus has been studied, based on material collected from the SE Greenland margin. The sediment was sampled by a 1.5 m3 video-grab from 1256 m water depth. The fraction > 1cm was macroscopically investigated and a thin-section analysis was made. The results clearly show that East Greenland north of the Denmark Strait is the source region of the material sampled. The main provenance is from areas adjoining Kangerdlugssuaq Fjord, Blosseville Kyst, Scoresby Sund, Kong Oskar Fjord, and Kejser Franz Joseph Fjord. It can thus be demonstrated that significant ice-stream activity and iceberg calving occurred there. Present-day iceberg production is mainly concentrated to the Scoresby Sund, but the other areas apparently represent locations of larger ice-stream activity during periods prior to the Holocene.

More generally, it can be concluded that southerly surface-water flow similar to the present East Greenland Current must also have occurred prior to the Holocene. Although either North America (Canada) or Scandinavia - or both - are generally referred to as important regions for the provenance of ice-rafted detritus, we conclude that (East) Greenland may have been an important source for (late) glacial North Atlantic ice-rafted detritus production as well.