STRATIGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF EARLY PALAEOGENE PYROCLASTIC DEPOSITS IN THE NORTH SEA BASIN

Abstract
SUMMARY: Early Palaeogene pyroclastic sedimentation in the North Sea Basin took place in two main phases. The first (c. 58 – 57 Ma) was related to Hebridean volcanicity and the associated deposits are coarsest and most abundant in central western parts of the North Sea Basin. The second phase (c. 55 – 52 Ma) appears to have been related to volcanic activity in the Rockall-Greenland rift, with a maximum phase of explosive eruptions taking place immediately before the onset of oceanic crust generation at c. 54 – 54.5 Ma.