Palaeogeography and facies distribution in the Tertiary of Denmark and surrounding areas.

Abstract

A short review of the stratigraphical terminology and nomenclature of the Danish Tertiary is presented. The lower Paleocene (Danian) is lithologically similar to the Upper Cretaceous but has a more variable facies distribution, and is mainly restricted to the area north of the Fyn-Ringkøbing ridge. The Upper Paleocene (Selandian) is also variable in facies and consists mostly of glauconitic calys and marls. In the Eocene, volcanic ash, diatomites and extremely fine-grained clays were deposited. One of the still incompletely understood palaeogeographical peculiarities in the area during the Cretaceous to Oligocene is the predominance of sediments and faunas of open oceanic, and partly deep water type close to the Fennoscandian (Baltic) shield. Possible explanations for this anomaly are discussed.