Mapping of young tectonic and halocinetic structures in Schleswig-Holstein by interpretation of seismic profiles and fieldwork

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Frank Sirocko
• Subject Area: Palaeontology
• Term: from 2002 to 2007
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 5370017

A pilot study of seismic profiles together with RWE/DEA has shown that faults offsetting the base of the Tertiary often effect the morphology of the land surface. In this proposal we will use all seismic lines accessable in the "Schwerpunktprogramm" (SPP) for the entire area of Schleswig-Holstein to map systematically faults in the uppermost 500m of the crust and project them to the land surface. The projected fault lines are incorporated in a GIS (Geoscientific Information System) and aerial photographs/fieldwork are used to see if corresponding patterns in vegetation and surface morphology can be detected. The area of Schleswig-Holstein is characterised by widespread salt diapirism with deep troughs at the flanks; however there are also deep faults that reach from well below the base of the Permian up to the surface and appear independent of halocinesis. Mapping both types of faults for the entire area of the state will show where recent/subrecent tectonism/halocinesis was active and thus give evidence on the state of the basin since the retreat of the last continental ice sheets some 20.000 years ago.

• DFG Programme: Priority Programmes
• Subproject of: SPP 1135: Dynamics of Sedimentary Systems under Varying Stress Regimes: The Example of the Central European Basin System
• Participating Persons: Dr. Sven Christensen; Dr. Reinhard Kirsch