Palynology of the Triassic–Jurassic transition of the Danish Basin (Denmark): a palynostratigraphic zonation of the Gassum–lower Fjerritslev formations

Abstract

The Upper Triassic–Lower Jurassic succession in the Danish Basin is penetrated by many deep wells that were drilled during former hydrocarbon exploration campaigns, but it is today targeted for geothermal energy and storage of CO₂. The Stenlille salt dome on Sjælland sandstones of the Gassum Formation, sealed by the overlying Fjerritslev Formation mudstones, has been used for decades as a seasonal storage for natural gas. With its comprehensive dataset of seismics, geophysical well logs and conventional core data from 20 wells, the Stenlille succession serves as a model for other salt domes currently being evaluated as potential CO₂ storage sites in the basin. Over the last decade the cored Triassic–Jurassic boundary succession has contributed to the understanding of environmental and palynological events during the end-Triassic mass extinction. Core, sidewall core and cutting samples from several of the closely situated Stenlille wells are here used to establish a high-resolution palynostratigraphic zonation scheme covering the entire Rhaetian to Sinemurian succession by integrating new analyses with previously published data. The palynological dataset has allowed the recognition of nine formally described spore-pollen zones, of which eight are new, while two previously described dinoflagellate cyst zones are subdivided into three informal subzones each. The palynological zonation is integrated with a sequence stratigraphic framework and will form the basis for the dating of future well sections in the Danish Basin and other basins and for correlation to outcrops. The large palynological dataset further shows that the vegetation around the Danish Basin was remarkably stable during the early to middle Rhaetian, but that events related to the emplacement of the Central Atlantic Magmatic Province accelerated ecosystem changes for c. 175 ky in the late Rhaetian and earliest Hettangian, including ∼25 ky of successional recovery before the terrestrial ecosystem had again stabilised.

Keywords:

• Rhaetian
• Hettangian
• Sinemurian
• spores
• pollen
• Denmark
• dinoflagellate cysts
• palynomorphs
• biostratigraphy

Acknowledgements

This study benefitted from Geocenter Denmark research grants 3-2010 and 6-2013 to SL, and from the CCUS2020 grant to GEUS that allocated time for the study. The authors are grateful for helpful reviews from two anonymous reviewers as well as helpful comments from the editor Jim Riding.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Data availability statement

The detailed palynological data of this study can be found in the Supplemental material.

Correction Statement

This article has been corrected with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.