Model of the evolution of the North Sea Basin (IMAGE)
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a) The terrestrial Old Red Sandstone dominated the Devonian sediments in the North Sea Basin. b) The Varisian orogeny occurred in the Late Carboniferous, forming a foreland basin at the front of the orogenic belt. The sediments in the North Sea Basin were mainly deposited in the continental and transitional facies. c) The Varisian orogeny and mantle plume uplift during the Early and Middle Permian led to overall uplift of the North Sea Basin, and a limited number of lacustrine sediments developed in the center of the basin. d) The Viking Basin began to form during the Permian and underwent a southward Zechstein transgression at the end of the Permian. The expansion of the Paleo−Tethys Ocean caused Gondwana to move away from the blocks surrounding the North Sea Basin. Concurrently, the Paleo−Tethys Ocean subducted at a low angle towards the southern part of the North Sea Basin, causing the lithosphere to begin to thin. e) During the Triassic, the Viking Corridor gradually opened up, and the Rhaetian transgression led to integration of the Paleo−Arctic and Paleo−Tethys oceans. f) In the Middle Jurassic, mantle plume uplift resulted in uplift and erosion in the central part of the North Sea Basin. g) The thermal subsidence after the uplift caused by the mantle plume formed trigeminal rift grabens and caused extensive marine sedimentation in the Late Jurassic. In the Late Cretaceous, the Alpine micro-block collided and proliferated in the southern part of the North Sea Basin, forming the Alpine orogenic belt. The connection between the North Sea Basin and Mediterranean was terminated. h) The uplift of the Iceland mantle plume since the Miocene led to uplift of the British Islands and Norwegian into land, basically forming the present structural framework of the North Sea Basin.
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