Drowning of the Miocene Billund delta, Jylland: land–sea fluctuations during a global warming event

Abstract

Lower Miocene strata from boreholes and, in particular, at outcrops in the Lillebælt and Limfjorden areas of Jylland provide a natural laboratory for studying the drowning of a major delta system during a period of global warming. Detailed studies of sedimentary structures, fossil algae, spores and pollen give information about depositional environments, local temperatures and precipitation. By comparing with the global climatic record from the same period, a detailed reconstruction of the flooding of a low-relief delta system can be made, with emphasis on the global warming after the glacial event Mi1a. The local temperature increase following the Mi1a event is estimated to be c. 5°C.