Palynological and petrological characterisation of a North Sea Palaeocene volcaniclastic sequence

A short cored borehole (82/15) drilled by the British Geological Survey in the Inner Moray Firth Basin, North Sea, penetrated a thin lignite overlain by a volcaniclastic unit. The terrestrially sourced Late Palaeocene palynoflora of the lignite is comparable to those recovered from the Thanet Beds of southern England and to the intrabasaltic sediments of Ardnamurchan, Scotland. Petrological analysis of the volcanics enables a close comparison to be made to the MORB-type Preshal Mhor basalts of Skye and the tuffaceous sands of the uppermost Andrew Formation of the Outer Moray Firth Basin. Palynological analysis of samples from the uppermost Andrew Formation of the Outer Moray Firth Basin and Viking Graben confirms the comparison.