Buried Sub- and Proglacial Channels: 3D-Seismic Morphostratigraphy

Abstract

The geological record of glacial drainage includes both sub- and proglacial channel systems. The distinction of such types has been proposed as a guide to former ice margins in the central North Sea, based on interpretation of seismic profiles [Jansen, 1976]. However, channel systems may be spatially overlapped by ice-margin advance and retreat. 3D-seismic methods allow horizontal access to the subsurface and interpretation by geomorphological analogy [Brown, 1991]. Here, a single time-slice from the central North Sea (Fig. 1) reveals superimposed networks of buried channels over a 400 km2 area (Figs. 2, 3).