The history of this volume goes back to a 1973 INQUA congress in New Zealand, where an INQUA Commission of Stratigraphy working group on major subdivisions of the Pleistocene was established. The Pleistocene series/epoch was hitherto generally subdivided into the Lower/Early, Middle and Upper/Late Pleistocene (see, among others, Zeuner, 1935, 1959) but the boundaries between these subseries/subepochs were not formally defined. The boundary between the Early and Middle Pleistocene was, in the European literature, put at the base of the Cromerian Complex (Zagwijn, 1963) or at the Brunhes/Matuyama magnetic boundary (Richmond, 1996).

In the beginning of the 1990’s, the Department of Geochemistry of Utrecht University started a series of geochemical surveys of the Leeward Islands of the Antilles that form part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. Apart from seeking a nice, warm fieldwork environment, the undertaking was motivated by the deficits in infrastructure and financial resources of these islands, which precluded the authorities to undertake such a survey on their own. By then, the International Geological Correlations Programme (IGCP; Darnley et al., 1995) had just been established to address the need for standardised geochemical databases worldwide; the then Geological Survey of the Netherlands (RGD) - now the TNO-Institute of Applied Geosciences (TNO-NITG) - participated in this programme from the start.

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.

We investigated the spatial variability of the heavy-mineral composition in the Early Pleistocene fluviatile Kedichem Formation in the Netherlands in order to meet the demand for more information about subsurface sediment composition. We first determined the spatial extension and thickness of the sediment body, then used Fuzzy clustering techniques on a database containing approx. 2000 heavy-mineral counts from the Kedichem Formation to map the spatial extension of the various sediment provenances within the formation. Three clusters could be discerned, one representing a combined Meuse-Scheldt source, the other two representing a mixed Rhine-Baltic source. We made slice maps at several depths through the formation, and plotted the cluster memberships.

The maps show an overall dominance of the Meuse-Scheldt source in the south of the Netherlands, whereas the Rhine-Baltic source occurs mainly in the central Netherlands. The methods employed show that it is possible to map and study the 3-D variation in heavy-mineral composition and hence sediment provenance in the Dutch subsurface with the use of simple statistical and visualization techniques.

A historical outline of the Eemian research in the Netherlands is presented as an introduction to recent research in the type area. At the end of the 19th and during the first part of the 20th century, Eemian sediments were recognized because of the presence of lusitanian and mediterranean mollusc species. From 1930 onwards, pollen analysis made it possible to identify also non-shell-bearing deposits and to equate them with the Eemian. At the same time this technique proved a valuable tool for understanding the vegetation development during this interglacial. Pollen zonation offered a unique possibility for the correlation of terrestrial sequences in North-West Europe.

The type area of the Eemian, near Amersfoort, was described by Harting in 1874 and was comprehensively restudied by Zagwijn (1961). A pollen zonation was introduced as a standard for the Netherlands, allowing the correlation of pollen records from both marine and non-marine depositional environments. This enabled a more detailed temporal resolution, resulting in a better understanding of the distribution of the various environments in the type area.

In the northern and central parts of the Netherlands, the identification of the marine sequence was, apart from the occurrence of the specific mollusc fauna, facilitated by the presence of a till of Saalian age underlying the Eemian deposits. The presence of deep glacial basins in these areas enabled the deposition and preservation of a complete Eemian record in a marine setting. Sediment accumulation in the basins began immediately following deglaciation at the end of the Saalian. The Eemian type sections at Amersfoort are situated near the margin of one of these basins.

Recent research of the Eemian focused on the integration of lithostratigraphic evidence and information on the sedimentary environment as derived from diatoms, dinoflagellates, foraminifers, molluscs and pollen.

During its maximum extension, the Saalian ice cap reached into the central Netherlands, where glacier tongues excavated over 100 m deep basins in the unconsolidated Middle and Early Pleistocene sediments. The basins are filled by relatively thick successions of Late Saalian, Eemian and Weichselian sediments. The fill of the Amsterdam glacial basin is among the best known and studied in the Netherlands. The Late Saalian sediments consist mainly of warves and ill-bedded clays and silts with, along its southern margin, influxes of sands from the surrounding ice-pushed ridges. During deposition of these sediments, the Amsterdam basin formed part of a large lake extending into the present North Sea. Draining of this lake at the end of the Late Saalian left small, shallow pools at the site of the glacial basins.

Late Saalian and Eemian sediments are probably separated by a short break, although sedimentation may have been continuous in the deepest part of the basin. The Eemian deposits consist in main lines of a thin, diatom-rich sapropel at the base, overlain by an up to 30 m thick clay-rich sequence covered by a wedge of sand that measures more than 20 m in the northern part of the basin and that peters out southwards. As appears from the fauna, most of the clays were deposited in a lagoonal setting shielded behind a threshold and/or barrier. The rate of sediment supply was low so that lagoonal conditions were maintained over a long timespan. Sands derived from the surrounding ice-pushed ridges and transported by longshore drift and tidal currents formed a spit at the northern margin of the basin, which moved southward after eustatic sea-level rise stabilized and the lagoon was filled by clay. Loading of this clay-rich sequence by the spit and its washover fans induced subsidence, however, because of compaction, so that marine conditions were maintained until after the Eemian highstand. Fluvial and eolian sediments of Weichselian age, locally reaching a thickness of almost 10 m, eventually levelled the Amsterdam glacial basin.

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.

We started a geochemical mapping campaign in the Early Pleistocene fluviatile Kedichem Formation in the Netherlands in order to meet the demand for more information about subsurface sediment compositions. Geochemical data were collected during a sampling campaign, and about 600 samples from the Kedichem Formation were analyzed. By linking the geochemical data with lithological classifications from the TNO-NITG borehole database, we established a geochemical prediction model.

Elements were divided into classes according to their geochemical behaviour in relation to lithological parameters. For each of the classes, we combined lithological groups in to groups with relevant geochemical differences. By calculating for each element the average composition in each of these groups, we were able to predict the geochemical composition of subsurface sediments by ‘translating’ the spatial lithological data from the TNO-NITG borehole database into geochemical data. We visualized this model by calculating and interpolating the average composition of horizontal slices of the Kedichem Formation. The model performance is fairly good, although it has a tendency to underestimate extreme values.

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.

The Amsterdam glacial basin was a major sedimentary sink from late Saalian until late Eemian (Picea zone, E6) times. The basin’s exemplary record makes it a potential reference area for the last interglacial stage. The cored Amsterdam-Terminal borehole was drilled in 1997 to provide a record throughout the Eemian interglacial. Integrated facies analysis has resulted in a detailed reconstruction of the sedimentary history.

After the Saalian ice mass had disappeared from the area, a large, deep lake had come into being, fed by the Rhine river. At the end of the glacial, the lake became smaller because it was cut off from the river-water supply, and eventually only a number of shallow pools remained in the Amsterdam basin. During the early Eemian (Betula zone, El), a seepage lake existed at the site. The lake deepened under the influence of a steadily rising sea level and finally evolved into a silled lagoon (late Quercus zone, E3). Initially, the lagoon water had fairly stable stratification, but as the sea level continued to rise the sill lost its significance, the lagoon becoming well mixed by the middle of the Corylus/Taxus zone (E4b). The phase of free exchange with the open sea ended in the early Carpinus zone (E5), when barriers developed in the sill area causing the lagoon to become stratified again. During the Late Eemian (late E5), a more dynamic system developed. The sandy barriers that had obstructed exchange with the open sea were no longer effective, and a tidally-influenced coastal lagoon formed.

The Eemian sedimentary history shown in the Amsterdam-Terminal borehole is intimately connected with the sea-level history. Because the site includes both a high-resolution pollen signal and a record of sea-level change, it has potential for correlation on various scales. Palaeomagnetic results show that the sediments predate the Blake Event, which confirms that this reversal excursion is relatively young. The U/Th age of the uppermost part of the Eemian sequence is 118.2±6.3 ka.

Unambiguously pristine and largely unpolluted sediments from the Late Weichselian and Holocene infillings of the Meuse residual channels in northern Limburg (the Netherlands) have been sampled to determine the natural compositional variation of the river’s suspended load.

Bulk geochemical and granulometric analyses demonstrate that about 70% of the variation can be ascribed to hydrodynamic mineral sorting. Clay- and fine silt-sized phyllosilicates are the most important deterministic features, hosting the bulk of AI2O3, TiO2, K2O, MgO and trace element variability (notably Ba, Cr, Ga, Rb and V). Quartz is abundant in the fine and coarse sand fractions. Na2O and the Zr-Nb-Nd-Y quartet relate to albitic feldspars and heavy minerals, respectively, in the coarse silt fraction. The granulometry should therefore be quantified if geochemical baseline data for a particular geological unit or region are drawn up and for the evaluation of potentially polluted sediments.

Although provenance has not changed, the composition of Meuse sediments cannot be considered constant over a time frame of 1000–10,000 years, due to climatic change. Weathering of phyllosilicates in both interstadial and interglacial soil environments and changing relative source-area contributions alter the detrital clay-mineral supply to raise the AI2O3 and lower the K2O and MgO contents in Holocene Meuse sediments. Early diagenetic siderite and vivianite formation in gyttjas causes relative accumulations of Fe2O3, MnO, P2O5, Co, Ni and notably Zn above the phyllosilicate background values. These accumulations are natural and show that sediments with elevated trace metal contents are not necessarily polluted. Very early atmospheric pollution in relation to ore mining and smelting activities in the Roman era, however, probably caused elevated Pb contents in Subatlantic humic clays and peat samples, long before the historic pollution of the Industrial Revolution started.

The A12O3, Fe2O3 and CaO contents are used to predict the trace-element values as a function of sample granulometry, siderite/vivianite and lime content, respectively. As such, they can provide a sound basis for environmental researchers to determine baseline values of heavy metals in bulk samples of fine-grained fluvial sediments.

In order to obtain a better understanding of the infilling of the Saalian glacial basins during the Eemian, particularly following the recent research in the Amsterdam Basin (Terminal borehole), it was necessary to re-investigate the type locality of the Eemian at Amersfoort. Both published and unpublished data from various biota (diatoms, foraminifers, molluscs, ostracods, pollen) provide new information on the changing sedimentary environments during the Eemian. Although the organic and clastic sediments of the infilling represent nearly all the pollen zones, the sedimentary sequence at Amersfoort is discontinuous: four breaks at least are recognised at the type locality.

The successive sedimentary environments and the breaks in the record are linked with the transgression of the Eemian sea, the topographic position at the margin of an ice-pushed ridge, and the changes in hydrodynamic conditions. Local conditions, such as a sandy sea bed, shallow water and a reduced water exchange near the North Sea margin, influenced the salinity of the basin. Rib counts of Cerastoderma edule shells indicate a higher salinity at the end of the Taxus (E4b) and the beginning of the Carpinus (E5) zones than that present in the modern North Sea. Local conditions were responsible for the higher salinity following the climate optimum.

During the Abies phase (the later part of regional pollen zone E5), the sea level had already fallen. The change from eu-trophic peat growth (with Alnus and Salix) to an oligotrophic Ericaceae/Sphagnum community at the end of the Eemian resulted from the change from a marine to a fresh-water environment, probably coherent with a deterioration of the climate.

The embanked floodplains of the lower Rhine river in the Netherlands contain large amounts of heavy metals, which is a result of many years of deposition of contaminated overbank sediments. The metal pollution varies greatly between the various floodplain sections as well as in vertical direction within the floodplain soil profiles. The present contribution describes the key processes producing the spatial variability of the metal pollution in floodplain soils: (1) spatial patterns of the concentrations and deposition of Cd, Cu, Pb and Zn during a single flood, which have been determined from samples collected after a high-magnitude flood event; (2) the pollution trends of the lower Rhine over the past 150 years, which were reconstructed on the basis of metal concentrations in sediments from small ponds within the floodplain area. During the flood the largest metal depositions (0.03 g/m2 Cd, 0.7 g/m2 Cu, 1.1 g/m2 Pb and 5.0 g/m2 Zn for the Rhine) occurred along the natural levees, decreasing to about one third of these values at larger distance from the river. Deposition of heavy metals occurred since the end of the nineteenth century. Periods of maximum pollution occurred in the 1930s and 1960s, when Cu, Pb and Zn concentrations were about 6–10 times as high as background values.

The resulting metal distribution in the floodplain soil profiles is illustrated by means of typical examples. Maximum metal concentrations in floodplain soils vary from 30 to 130 mg/kg for Cu, from 70 to 490 mg/kg for Pb, and from 170 to 1450 mg/kg for Zn. The lowest metal pollution is found in the distal parts of floodplain sections with low flooding frequencies, where average sedimentation rates have been less than about 5 mm/a. The largest metal accumulations occur in low-lying floodplain sections where average sedimentation rates have been more than 10 mm/a.

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.

Since 1991, several provinces in the Netherlands have put much effort in establishing soil-quality monitoring networks. The purpose of these networks is to provide insight in the trends in (geochemical) soil quality, on which new policies for environmental protection can be based, such as restrictions in certain landuse types and cleaner production processes. The soil quality networks are yet too young to serve this goal. Monitoring efforts are concentrated on micro- and macro-elements, particularly in the top layer of the soil (mainly heavy metals and PAH) as well as phreatic groundwater (mainly nitrates and phosphates) in the various regions of a province. The regional soil-quality monitoring networks focus explicitly on diffuse environmental pollution in the rural areas, which means that sample sites influenced by soil pollution caused by local sources are excluded. Regional differences in soil quality in the rural areas are primarily caused by chemical and physical differences in the natural soil composition and by differences in deposition loads (direct and indirect). Hydrological conditions can also exert a large influence, particularly for nitrate leaching. This leads to three major criteria which the network design is based upon: (1) soil type, (2) landuse (assumed to be representative for deposition), and (3) groundwater tables. Subregions are formed by combining these criteria. Subregions are considered to be more or less homogeneous at a regional scale with respect to the criteria named. Within each region, a pre-calculated number of sites, based on variability of present concentrations, have been sampled and the sample material has been analyzed. Descriptive statistical parameters could thus computed; they are the base for the geochemical soil mapping of the individual, homogeneous subregions.

A recent evaluation of all operational soil-quality monitoring networks shows that these networks are effective instruments to gain insight into the differences in quality of the soil and the phreatic groundwater between the various regions. The understanding of these differences and the processes that caused them provide the provincial authorities with valuable information for policy making and environmental management. The evaluation also reveals differences in network designs, mostly due to local differences in physical-chemical properties and political choices.

It can be concluded from the first results of the networks that the relative high loads of zinc and copper, caused by spreading manure on the farmlands in areas of intensive agricultural landuse, have led to notably higher concentrations of these elements in the top layer of the soil compared to more natural lands like forested areas. The fact that the intensive agricultural landuse is mainly situated on relatively highly permeable sandy soils results in high nitrate concentrations in the phreatic groundwater, up to concentrations far beyond EG drinking-water target levels. First monitoring results signalled several environmental problems of which most of the policy makers were already aware, but could not quantify. Delineation of the most vulnerable areas and/or areas with unacceptably high loads and quantification of concentrations of different elements enable regional governments to take appropriate measures.

The soil-quality monitoring networks will focus in the coming years on the effectiveness of the measures taken in the various areas. Efforts are being made to integrate the relatively new soil-quality monitoring networks and the longer existing groundwater-quality monitoring networks to achieve a better understanding of the (bio)geochemical cycling processes. Tuning the individual regional soil-quality monitoring networks of the various provinces will enable the provision of additional information about soil quality at a larger scale.

Many small deposits of Eemian age, including the stratotype, are found right across the North European plain. In adjacent areas, this interglacial is known by local names such as Ipswichian (Britain), Luhe or Ribains (France), Riss-Würm interglacial (Alps) and Mikulinian (Poland and Russia). It correlates primarily with MIS 5e of the deep-sea stratigraphy, though boundaries may not be exactly the same. Basins containing Eemian sediments rest directly on morainic deposits of all three Saalian ice advances, which must all, therefore, fall within MIS 6.

Indicator species of both plants and animals suggest that mean July temperatures in the early-temperate part of the interglacial were warmer than during the Holocene. For many years, palynologists have recognised a very uniform succession of temperate tree acme pollen zones and a substantial late-temperate expansion of Carpinus as hallmarks of this interglacial across much of northern Europe. In southern England, however, deposits with a similar pollen signature are being recognised on stratigraphie and palaeontological grounds as characterising not only the Ipswichian but also the previously poorly-defined interglacial stage correlating with MIS 7. High Carpinus values are known from these latter sites and from the Le Bouchet inter-glacial of the French Massif Central, also clearly correlated with MIS 7. Thus stratigraphie confusion and misinterpretations may have occurred at supposedly Eemian/Ipswichian sites unrelated to the glacial stratigraphy or to deep continuous records.

The uniformity and rapid development of Eemian vegetational successions may be ascribed to (1) rapid warming and the lack of any late-glacial climatic oscillation on the scale of the Younger Dryas, (2) the development of an open marine connection in the first half of the interglacial from the English Channel across the North and Baltic Seas to the White Sea and the Arctic Ocean, and (3) the occurrence of Saalian per-glacial refugia for Carpinus, not only in the Balkans but also on the Iberian peninsula, permitting much more rapid northward colonisation of Europe during this interglacial.

The question of climatic events within the Eemian is far from settled. Not only is the ice-core evidence ambiguous and awaiting further clarification, but the scale and synchroneity of proposed events at different continental sites in both northern and southern Europe show no clear pattern at present; clearly there is a need for more detailed investigation and interpretation. Likewise there is ongoing debate about the duration of this interglacial and its detailed correlation with the deep-sea core record and events within the North Atlantic Ocean.

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.

A method for designing efficient sampling schemes for reconnaissance surveys of contaminated bed sediments in water courses is presented. The method can be used in networks of water courses, for instance to estimate the total volume of bed sediment of a defined quality class. The water courses must be digitised as arcs in a Geographical Information System.

The method comprises six steps: (1) stratifying the water courses; (2) choosing a variogram; (3) calculating the parameters of the variance model; (4) choosing a compositing scheme; (5) choosing the values for the cost-model parameters; and (6) optimising the sampling scheme. The method is demonstrated with a survey of the main water courses in the reclaimed areas of Oostelijk Flevoland and Zuidelijk Flevoland.

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.