The Dinantian stratigraphy of the East Midlands: a seismostratigraphic approach

Abstract

Six tectonically controlled seismic sequences have been identified in the Dinantian succession of the Widmerpool Gulf, East Midlands and they have also been recognized in outcrop sections in Derbyshire and the Bowland Basin. These correlations are made possible by integrating and calibrating sequence boundaries with the biostratigraphical evidence from foraminifers, conodonts and palynomorphs and relating these to the tectonostratigraphical evolution of the basin. It is suggested that the current chronostratigraphical stages of the Dinantian do not always reflect major regional stratigraphical events and that the seismic sequence stratigraphy erected herein may provide a more applicable chronostratigraphical subdivision of the Dinantian of the East Midlands and northern England.