Skip to main content

Main menu

  • Home
    • Journal home
    • Lyell Collection home
    • Geological Society home
  • Content
    • Online First
    • Issue in progress
    • All issues
    • All collections
    • Thematic Collections
    • Supplementary publications
    • Open Access
  • Subscribe
    • GSL fellows
    • Institutions
    • Corporate
    • Other member types
  • Info
    • Authors
    • Librarians
    • Readers
    • GSL Fellows access
    • Other member type access
    • Press office
    • Accessibility
    • Help
    • Metrics
  • Alert sign up
    • RSS feeds
    • Newsletters
  • Submit
  • Geological Society of London Publications
    • Engineering Geology Special Publications
    • Geochemistry: Exploration, Environment, Analysis
    • Journal of Micropalaeontology
    • Journal of the Geological Society
    • Lyell Collection home
    • Memoirs
    • Petroleum Geology Conference Series
    • Petroleum Geoscience
    • Proceedings of the Yorkshire Geological Society
    • Quarterly Journal of Engineering Geology and Hydrogeology
    • Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society
    • Scottish Journal of Geology
    • Special Publications
    • Transactions of the Edinburgh Geological Society
    • Transactions of the Geological Society of Glasgow
    • Transactions of the Geological Society of London

User menu

  • My alerts
  • Log in
  • My Cart

Search

  • Advanced search
Journal of the Geological Society
  • Geological Society of London Publications
    • Engineering Geology Special Publications
    • Geochemistry: Exploration, Environment, Analysis
    • Journal of Micropalaeontology
    • Journal of the Geological Society
    • Lyell Collection home
    • Memoirs
    • Petroleum Geology Conference Series
    • Petroleum Geoscience
    • Proceedings of the Yorkshire Geological Society
    • Quarterly Journal of Engineering Geology and Hydrogeology
    • Quarterly Journal of the Geological Society
    • Scottish Journal of Geology
    • Special Publications
    • Transactions of the Edinburgh Geological Society
    • Transactions of the Geological Society of Glasgow
    • Transactions of the Geological Society of London
  • My alerts
  • Log in
  • My Cart
  • Follow gsl on Twitter
  • Visit gsl on Facebook
  • Visit gsl on Youtube
  • Visit gsl on Linkedin
Journal of the Geological Society

Advanced search

  • Home
    • Journal home
    • Lyell Collection home
    • Geological Society home
  • Content
    • Online First
    • Issue in progress
    • All issues
    • All collections
    • Thematic Collections
    • Supplementary publications
    • Open Access
  • Subscribe
    • GSL fellows
    • Institutions
    • Corporate
    • Other member types
  • Info
    • Authors
    • Librarians
    • Readers
    • GSL Fellows access
    • Other member type access
    • Press office
    • Accessibility
    • Help
    • Metrics
  • Alert sign up
    • RSS feeds
    • Newsletters
  • Submit

Discussion on the North Sea Silverpit Crater: impact structure or pull-apart basin?

K. Thomson, P. Owen and K. Smith
Journal of the Geological Society, 162, 217-220, 1 January 2005, https://doi.org/10.1144/0016-764904-070
K. Thomson
11School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK (e-mail [email protected] ac.uk)
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Search for this author on this site
P. Owen
22Watcombe, 92 Church Road, Winscombe, N. Somerset BS25 1BP, UK (e-mail: [email protected])
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Search for this author on this site
K. Smith
33British Geological Survey, Murchison House, West Mains Road, Edinburgh EH9 3LA, UK (e-mail: [email protected])
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Search for this author on this site
PreviousNext
  • Article
  • Info & Metrics
  • PDF
Loading

Ken Thomson writes: The suggestion that the Silverpit Crater is a pull-apart basin (Smith 2004) and not an impact structure (Stewart & Allen 2002) demonstrates that its origin requires further investigation. As noted by Underhill (2004) the coincidence of the structure with a salt withdrawal basin suggests that halokinesis may provide an alternative mechanism. Although the model provided by Smith involves salt movement it is overly complex as strike-slip detachment tectonics are not required. Instead gravitational collapse of the post-salt cover provides a simpler mechanism.

The Southern North Sea is dominated by the development of large linear salt swells (Jenyon 1988; Stewart & Coward 1995). Elevation and tilting of the swell flanks results in gravitational instability and a range of deformation styles can develop (Jenyon 1988; Stewart & Coward 1995; Thomson 2004). The instability commonly leads to listric faulting of the post-salt cover down slope, towards the adjacent salt low (Jenyon 1988; Stewart & Coward 1995; Thomson 2004). Detachment levels for the listric faults occur at a number of stratigraphic levels. The top of the Upper Permian Zechstein Group salt, which forms the swells, provides a detachment at the base of the post-salt cover whilst detachment within the post-salt cover in both the Triassic Röt Halite and within the Upper Cretaceous chalk have also been recognized (Jenyon 1988; Stewart & Coward 1995; Thomson 2004). The majority of the flank collapse faults dip in the same direction as the cover rocks they displace (i.e. towards the salt withdrawal basin and away from the swell), but occasionally listric faults can be found which dip away from the salt withdrawal basin, towards the swell (Jenyon 1988). Associated with the listric faulting rollover anticlines can develop in the hanging walls (Stewart & Coward 1995) whilst slump folds …

View Full Text

Please note that if you are logged into the Lyell Collection and attempt to access content that is outside of your subscription entitlement you will be presented with a new login screen. You have the option to pay to view this content if you choose. Please see the relevant links below for further assistance.

INDIVIDUALS

Log in using your username and password

– GSL fellows: log in with your Lyell username and password. (Please check your access entitlements at https://www.geolsoc.org.uk/fellowsaccess)
– Other users: log in with the username and password you created when you registered. Help for other users is at https://www.geolsoc.org.uk/lyellcollection_faqs
Forgot your username or password?

Purchase access

You may purchase access to this article for 24 hours and download the PDF within the access period. This will require you to create an account if you don't already have one. To download the PDF, click the 'Purchased Content' link in the receipt email.

LIBRARY USERS

Log in through your institution

You may be able to gain access using your login credentials for your institution. Contact your library if you do not have a username and password.
If your organization uses OpenAthens, you can log in using your OpenAthens username and password. To check if your institution is supported, please see this list. Contact your library for more details.
If you think you should have access, please contact your librarian or email [email protected]

LIBRARIANS

Administer your subscription.

CONTACT US

If you have any questions about the Lyell Collection publications website, please see the access help page or contact [email protected]

PreviousNext
Back to top

In this issue

Journal of the Geological Society: 162 (1)
Journal of the Geological Society
Volume 162, Issue 1
January 2005
  • Table of Contents
  • Table of Contents (PDF)
  • Index by author
Alerts
Sign In to Email Alerts with your Email Address
Citation tools

Discussion on the North Sea Silverpit Crater: impact structure or pull-apart basin?

K. Thomson, P. Owen and K. Smith
Journal of the Geological Society, 162, 217-220, 1 January 2005, https://doi.org/10.1144/0016-764904-070
K. Thomson
11School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK (e-mail [email protected] ac.uk)
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
P. Owen
22Watcombe, 92 Church Road, Winscombe, N. Somerset BS25 1BP, UK (e-mail: [email protected])
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site
K. Smith
33British Geological Survey, Murchison House, West Mains Road, Edinburgh EH9 3LA, UK (e-mail: [email protected])
  • Find this author on Google Scholar
  • Find this author on PubMed
  • Search for this author on this site

Citation Manager Formats

  • BibTeX
  • Bookends
  • EasyBib
  • EndNote (tagged)
  • EndNote 8 (xml)
  • Medlars
  • Mendeley
  • Papers
  • RefWorks Tagged
  • Ref Manager
  • RIS
  • Zotero
Permissions
View PDF
Share

Discussion on the North Sea Silverpit Crater: impact structure or pull-apart basin?

K. Thomson, P. Owen and K. Smith
Journal of the Geological Society, 162, 217-220, 1 January 2005, https://doi.org/10.1144/0016-764904-070
del.icio.us logo Digg logo Reddit logo Twitter logo CiteULike logo Facebook logo Google logo Mendeley logo
Email to

Thank you for sharing this Journal of the Geological Society article.

NOTE: We request your email address only to inform the recipient that it was you who recommended this article, and that it is not junk mail. We do not retain these email addresses.

Enter multiple addresses on separate lines or separate them with commas.
Discussion on the North Sea Silverpit Crater: impact structure or pull-apart basin?
(Your Name) has forwarded a page to you from Journal of the Geological Society
(Your Name) thought you would be interested in this article in Journal of the Geological Society.
CAPTCHA
This question is for testing whether or not you are a human visitor and to prevent automated spam submissions.
Print
Bookmark this article
  • Tweet Widget
  • Facebook Like
  • Google Plus One
  • Article
    • References
  • Info & Metrics
  • PDF

Related Articles

Similar Articles

Cited By...

More in this TOC Section

  • Discussion on ‘Tabelliscolex (Cricocosmiidae: Palaeoscolecidomorpha) from the early Cambrian Chengjiang Biota and the evolution of seriation in Ecdysozoa’ by Shi et al. 2021 (JGS, jgs2021-060)
  • Discussion on ‘Acheulian and Tephra from Upland Western Maharashtra, (Deccan Volcanic Province), Peninsular India’, by Deo et al. 2021 (SP 515)
  • Reply to discussion on ‘Acheulian and Tephra from Upland Western Maharashtra, (Deccan Volcanic Province), Peninsular India', by Deo et al. 2021 (SP 515)
Show more: Discussion
  • Most read
  • Most cited
Loading
  • Virtual outcrop-based analysis of channel and crevasse splay sandstone body architecture in the Middle Jurassic Ravenscar Group, Yorkshire, NE England
  • The naming of the Permian System
  • The Eocene−Oligocene transition in Nanggulan, Java: lithostratigraphy, biostratigraphy and foraminiferal stable isotopes
  • The Ediacaran origin of Ecdysozoa: integrating fossil and phylogenomic data
  • False biosignatures on Mars: anticipating ambiguity
More...

Journal of the Geological Society

  • About the journal
  • Editorial Board
  • Submit a manuscript
  • Author information
  • Supplementary Publications
  • Subscribe
  • Pay per view
  • Copyright & Permissions
  • Activate Online Subscription
  • Feedback
  • Help

Lyell Collection

  • About the Lyell Collection
  • Lyell Collection homepage
  • Collections
  • Open Access Collection
  • Open Access Policy
  • Lyell Collection access help
  • Recommend to your Library
  • MARC records
  • Digital preservation
  • Developing countries
  • Geofacets
  • Manage your account
  • Cookies

The Geological Society

  • About the Society
  • Join the Society
  • Benefits for Members
  • Online Bookshop
  • Publishing policies
  • Awards, Grants & Bursaries
  • Education & Careers
  • Events
  • Geoscientist Online
  • Library & Information Services
  • Policy & Media
  • Society blog
  • Contact the Society

Published by The Geological Society of London, registered charity number 210161

Print ISSN 
0016-7649
Online ISSN 
2041-479X

Copyright © 2022 Geological Society of London