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org/ at Pennsylvania State University on September 18, 2016

A re-evaluation of Middle and Upper Jurassic stratigraphy and the

flooding history of the Moray Firth Rift System, North Sea
RICHARD J. D A V I E S 1, K E V I N J. S T E P H E N 2 & J O H N R. U N D E R H I L L
Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Edinburgh, West Mains Road,
Edinburgh, EH9 3JW, UK
1Present address: Mobil North Sea Ltd, Grampian House, Union Row, Aberdeen,
ABIO1SA, UK
2present address: 65 Tanys Dell, Harlow, Essex CM20 2LN, UK

Abstract: The application of a sequence stratigraphic approach to the study of the Middle
and Upper Jurassic of the Moray Firth has enabled the stratigraphy of disparate onshore and
offshore successions to be linked and clarified. The results allow for the construction of
regional correlation panels, chronostratigraphic diagrams and palaeogeographic maps
which illustrate the tectono-stratigraphic evolution of the basin and importantly show a new
flooding history for this arm of the North Sea rift system. It is now demonstrable that the
Inner Moray Firth (IMF) and Outer Moray Firth (OMF) were separated by a topographic
high centred around the Ross Granite area (UKCS blocks 13/28 and 13/29) from the
Bajocian until the latest mid-Oxfordian. New biostratigraphic results demonstrate that the
first marine influx into the Buchan Trough area of the OMF was Callovian in age
(significantly earlier than previous models) and probably marked connection with the South
Viking and/or North Central Grabens. Similar marine depositional systems are envisaged to
have developed in the geographically isolated IMF basin and Buchan Trough area of the
OMF basin during the Callovian, early and mid-Oxfordian. The unification of these marine
basins occurred during the latest mid-Oxfordian via the South Halibut Trough, with a
subsequent early Kimmeridgian connection via the Halibut Platform. The new flooding
model suggests that the drowning of the rift arm was more rapid than previously believed
and that within the rift itself any relief associated with a Mid-Jurassic doming episode, which
created 'the Mid-Cimmerian Unconformity' had effectively diminished by this time.
Although the deflation of a triple junction-centred dome remained an important process in
the basin's Mid-Jurassic evolution it was not the sole causal control on rift-arm stratigraphy.
Instead the complexities of the Mid- and Late Jurassic flooding of the Moray Firth are
interpreted to be the result of both short- and long-term regional sea-level changes
superimposed upon a complex evolving rift topography.

During the past two decades the study of basin
analysis has undergone a revolution with the
application of seismic and sequence strati-
graphic concepts as originally outlined by Pay-
ton (1977), Wilgus et al. (1988) and Van
Wagoner et al. (1990). One advantage of
applying these techniques is that they emphasize
the need for an integrated approach to basin
studies, thereby enabling the establishment of a
rigorous chronostratigraphic framework that
would have been lacking had more traditional
methods been employed.
The Moray Firth Graben of the North Sea, is
an approximately W-E-trending Mesozoic rift
basin that stretches from the intersection of the
Central and Viking Grabens ('the triple junc-
tion') in the east to the Jurassic exposures of the
Scottish coastline in the west (Fig. 1). The basin
(Fig. 2) offers the opportunity to link onshore
outcrops with a subsurface database in order to
provide an integrated basin fill history. The aim
of this paper is to use both outcrop sections and a
borehole-derived database, comprising bio-
stratigraphic data and composite logs for over
400 exploration and production wells, in order to
establish a sequence stratigraphic framework.
The results allow for significant improvements to
be made in the understanding of the tectono-
sedimentary evolution of the Moray Firth during
the Mid- and Late Jurassic.
The tectono-sedimentary history of the Ju-
rassic interval of the Moray Firth basin is

FromHurst, A. etal. (eds), 1996, Geologyof the HumberGroup:CentralGrabenand MorayFirth, UKCS, 81

Geological Society Special Publication No. 114, pp. 81-108.
 Downloaded from http://sp.lyellcollection.org/ at Pennsylvania State University on September 18, 2016
82
4W 0 4E
I I
liiiiiiiSiiiiiiiiii J
KEY.
IMI:: Jrltlel Moray Firth OMF: Outer Moray Firth
f'G: ('entral Graben VG: Viking Gral',en
[] .huasssic platform 1"-"1 Jurassic basin
Fig. 1. Map depicting the main tectonic elements of
the North Sea rift system with the location of the IMF
and OMF indicated.
complex but has been subdivided, using seismic
criteria into pre-, syn- and post-rift phases of
deposition (Andrews & Brown 1987). This study
concentrates on the pre- to syn-rift Bathonian to
Kimmeridgian interval, a period that was
characterized by the deposition of a variety of
non-marine, marginal marine and fully marine
sediments that accumulated during the trans-
gressive episode that typified much of northwes-
tern Europe at this time (see Vail & Todd 1981 ;
Hallam 1988; Haq et al. 1988; Ziegler 1990).
Previous work on this part of the Jurassic
Series has been primarily focused upon the
economically significant areas within the basins,
such as the Beatrice oilfield (e.g. Linsley et al.
1980) and the prolific oilfields of the Witch
Ground Graben (for a summary see Harker et al.
1993) with the result that there are numerous
publications dealing with field-specific, litho-
stratigraphic breakdowns (Fig. 3). Published
regional studies in the Witch Ground Graben
area have rationalized some field-based schemes
(e.g. O'Driscoll et al. 1990; Harker et al. 1993).
In contrast, the onshore parts of the study area
have a far longer history of research and the
stratigraphy of these areas is relatively well
defined (e.g. Sykes 1975; Batten et al. 1986;
Wignall & Pickering 1993). Regional Jurassic
tectono-stratigraphic syntheses that adhere to a
rigorous biostratigraphic framework are less
common although this situation has recently
been redressed by studies in the Viking Graben
R.J. DAVIES E T A L .
(e.g. Mitchener et al. 1992; Sneider et al. 1995);
South Viking Graben (Cockings et al. 1992);
Inner Moray Firth (Underhill 1991a, b; Stephen
et al. 1993) and more extensive North Sea studies
by Ziegler (1990), Partington et al. (1993a, b),
Rattey & Hayward (1993), and Underhill &
Partington (1993, 1994).
The fundamental prerequisite fcir the investi-
gation of the offshore database has been a
well-constrained palynological and micropalae-
ontological dataset. Downhole bioevents have
been related to the relevant ammonite zones of
the Boreal realm (Cope et al. 1980) using the
published biostratigraphic schemes of Woollam
56 N
& Riding (1982), Riley & Fenton (1982) and
Partington et al. (1993b) (Fig. 7). In addition it
has been possible to incorporate more recent
ammonite identifications obtained from wells in
key areas of the Witch Ground Graben area of
the OMF (Brealey 1990).
Methodology
General considerations
The ability to identify objectively surfaces that
have chronostratigraphic significance is essential
to any sequence stratigraphic analysis. There are
three such surfaces that can be used to subdivide
the stratigraphy into chronostr~tigraphically
constrained sediment packages:
(1) the maximum flooding surface (MFS) and
its associated condensed section;
(2) the unconformity and its correlative con-
formity (sequence boundary, SB);
(3) the transgressive surface (TS) or surface of
maximum regression.
Although these surfaces have been clearly
defined in the literature by, for example, Van
Wagoner et al. (1988, 1990), three differing
approaches have been proposed to divide the
stratigraphic record into sedimentary cycles of
third-order duration (i.e. 0.5-3.0 Ma, Vail et al.
1991). Firstly these respective approaches define
the depositional episode bounded by maximum
flooding surfaces and their correlative hiatal
surfaces (Frazier 1974), equivalent to the genetic
stratigraphic sequence of Galloway (1989).
Secondly, the depositional sequence bounded by
unconformities and their correlative conformi-
ties (i.e. sequence boundaries), for example see
Vail et al. (1991). Lastly the third approach has
been to identify the transgressive~regressive cycle
(Busch & Rollins 1984; Embry & Podruski 1988;
Embry 1995) bounded by the transgressive
surface, or the transgressive surface coincident
with the sequence boundary. Each sequence
stratigraphic surface can be locally coincident
with one or other of the remaining surfaces.
 Downloaded from http://sp.lyellcollection.org/ at Pennsylvania State University on September 18, 2016

MIDDLE AND UPPER JURASSIC MORAY FIRTH 83

Fig. 2. Outcrop sections and exploration well database. Those wells labelled are included within the five
correlation panels used to eludicate the tectono-stratigraphic development of the Moray Firth basin.
(Structural framework from Andrews et al. 1990 and Johnson et al. 1993).

The choice of the most appropriate surface
with which to bound third-order sedimentary
cycles has been found to be strongly dependent
upon both the database used and the depo-
sitional setting. In outcrop studies many authors
have shown that the sequence boundary pro-
vides the most appropriate surface to correlate
(e.g. Van Wagoner et al. 1990). However, in
studies based upon the interpretation of subsur-
face datasets (seismic and well logs) such as this,
it is apparent that the sequence boundary is
difficult to recognize objectively and correlate in
the basin interior where it has little or no
lithological expression (Stephen et al. 1993;
Underhill & Partington 1994; Embry 1995).
Embry (1995) proposed a solution to this
problem by bounding sedimentary cycles by
transgressive surfaces. In this type of study two
principal drawbacks are found to be associated
with this choice. Firstly, although the trans-
gressive surface can be confidently traced across
most of the basin it can easily be mis-correlated
in nearshore settings (e.g. Demarest & Kraft
1987; Thorne & Swift 1993). Indeed, outcrop
studies have shown that the exact position of the
TS is difficult to identify objectively in incised
valley deposits (Box 1996). Secondly, in deep
marine depositional settings, which are charac-
teristic of much of the Upper Jurassic in the
North Sea basin, it is often extremely difficult to
accurately distinguish the transgressive surface
(i.e. identify the the top of the prograding
complex, sensu Van Wagoner et al. 1988). Both
of these problems are significantly compounded
in the absence of core.
The MFS is distinctive in wireline logs and
using the rich microfauna and microflora to-
gether with macrofauna recovered from cored
condensed sections (e.g. Brealey 1990) it is the
most readily dated sequence stratigraphic sur-
face (Loutit et al. 1988; Vail et al. 1991). The
timing of maximum flooding is controlled by
various factors including sediment supply, tec-
tonic subsidence and topset area, and as few of
these are likely to be constant throughout the
sedimentary basin it is most likely that, in detail,
the MFS will be diachronous. However, within
the confines o f the best biostratigraphic resolution
currently employed by Jurassic stratigraphers in
the North Sea MFSs do appear to be isochron-
ous, as clearly demonstrated by Partington et al.
(1993a, b).
The best surface to identify and consequently
to correlate in this study, and thus the most
appropriate surface with which to define third-
order sedimentary cycles is the MFS. This differs
from the parasequence-defining marine flooding
surfaces (FS) as defined by Van Wagoner (1990)
and used in a similar study by Harker & Rieuf
(this volume). It should be noted however that
 Downloaded from http://sp.lyellcollection.org/ at Pennsylvania State University on September 18, 2016

84 R.J. DAVIES ETAL.

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 Downloaded from http://sp.lyellcollection.org/ at Pennsylvania State University on September 18, 2016
MIDDLE AND UPPER JURASSIC MORAY FIRTH
we do not advocate the use of the MFS to define
third-order cycles for all sequence stratigraphic
investigations, but consider this approach the
most appropriate in this well-based study. The
methodology employed is very similar to that
propounded by Galloway (1989). However, as
detailed below, we only distinguish two 'systems
tracts' (regressive and transgressive) in compari-
son to later modifications of the Galloway (1989)
model where three geometric systems tracts are
distinguished (Xue & Galloway 1993).
Systematic approach to the Moray Firth
Jurassic
The methodology adopted in this study follows
the approach detailed in Stephen et al. (1993).
(1) Initially, outcrop and core studies concen-
trated upon defining lithology and palaeoen-
vironments. This detailed facies analysis allowed
for the definition of upward shoaling and upward
deepening sediment packages.
(2) These intervals, were then related to
progradation and regression of the shoreline and
retrogradation and transgression of the shore-
line with, where necessary, correlation to wire-
line log trends being made using core
calibration.
(3) The stratigraphy was then divided into re-
gressive-transgressive (R-T) couplets bounded
by MFSs (surfaces of maximum transgression)
and centred upon TSs (surfaces of maximum re-
gression). Maximum flooding surfaces are pos-
itioned on wireline logs at the inversion from
retrogradational to progradational stacking pat-
terns. These consistent cuspate log markers co-
incide with high gamma ray readings (gamma
peaks), low sonic velocities (sonic troughs) and
low resistivity readings (resistivity troughs).
However, because of the potential for radio-
active U to be concentrated in sediments de-
posited under anoxic conditions, U This anomaly in approach results from it being
concentration is likely to behave more indepen-
dently of changes in relative sea level than the
other radioactive elements (e.g. Myers & Wig-
nail 1987), and may therefore suppress the cu-
spate log motif on the gamma ray log.
Consequently, at times of anoxia (i.e. during
the deposition of the Kimmeridge Clay For-
mation) recourse has preferentially been made
to the sonic and resistivity logs for the pos-
itioning of the key sequence stratigraphic sur-
faces.
(4) Biostratigraphic data were then incorpor-
ated to accurately date and correlate these
regressive-transgressive (R-T) cycles across the
basin using both first and last downhole appear-
85
ances of key microfossils together with ammo-
nites or other diagnostic macrofossils (Fig. 7).
(5) Finally, within the regressive part of the
R - T cycle any evidence for notable changes in
stacking patterns and/or basinward shifts in
facies was determined in order to locate, date
and correlate the sequence boundary. In many
cases this clear identification of the sequence
boundary is not feasible due to the difficulty in
distinguishing between the highstand systems
tract and the lowstand prograding wedge of the
lowstand systems tract (terminology sensu Van
Wagoner et al. 1988).
On the whole it has been only those MFSs
which could be correlated across the entire basin
that have been used as R-T cycle bounding
surfaces. Additional maximum flooding surfaces
have however been locally identified in parts of
the Inner Moray Firth in the upper Callovian
and lower Oxfordian and in parts of the Outer
Moray Firth in the middle Kimmeridgian
(Stephen & Davies in press). Examples of the
sedimentological characteristics of typical R-T
cycles in the both basins are given in Figs 5 and 6
respectively*. The legend for these and all
further figures is given in Fig. 4.
Two types of cycle are used as building blocks
for documenting the stratigraphic breakdown
detailed in this paper and by Stephen & Davies
(in press). These are third-order cycles
(0.5-3Ma, Vail et al. 1991) and second-order
cycles (3-50 Ma, Vail et al. 1991). As previously
described the MFS is used to bound the
third-order regressive-transgressive (R-T) cycles
primarily because this surface is easily recog-
nized in well logs, dated and therefore cor-
related. However, it has proved to be more
sensible to bound second-order cycles by trans-
gressive surfaces (surface of maximum re-
gression) thus the second-order cycles identified
are transgressive-regressive (T-R) cycles (simi-
lar to those defined by Busch & Rollins 1984).
far easier to define surfaces of peak regression
rather than surfaces of maximum transgression
at the second-order temporal scale. For example
in deep marine parts of the IMF basin especially
in the Kimmeridgian and younger sedimentary
fill, palaeobathymetric information derived
from microfossils is rarely adequate to dis-
tinguish zones of maximum water depths. The
transgressive surfaces which bound the tops of
* Additional detail regarding the identification of the
cycles used in the paper can also be found in PhD
theses' by Davies and Stephen kept at the University
of Edinburgh.
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86 R.J. DAVIES ET AL.

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 Downloaded from http://sp.lyellcollection.org/ at Pennsylvania State University on September 18, 2016

MIDDLE AND UPPER JURASSIC MORAY FIRTH 87

the second-order T - R cycles are identified at the
position of the most proximal sedimentation
within a series of regressively stacked third-
order R-T cycles. This corresponds to the
maximum basinward extent of delta plain facies.
Surfaces and cycles
It has been possible to consistently recognize,
correlate and date ten third-order R - T cycles (as
illustrated by the two wells in Fig. 8) within the
Bathonian to Kimmeridgian interval. These
third-order cycles stack into two and one half
second-order transgressive-regressive cycles.
Because both hierachies of cycle have bounding
surfaces that have unique biostratigraphic
characteristics confident correlations can be
made throughout the Moray Firth basin. These
cycles form the stratigraphic framework shown
in Figs 8 and 9, which is employed in the form of
correlation panels, chronostratigraphic dia-
grams and palaeogeographic maps as a tool with
which to illustrate the stratigraphic evolution of
the basin.
Correlation transects
The following five correlation panels provide
examples of where these sedimentary cycles
have been identified and correlated. Each panel
shows distinctive features which have helped
clarify the tectono-sedimentary evolution of the
basin.
Transect 1 (Fig. 10): onshore to offshore
correlation
The exact relationship between the outcrop
sections at Brora and Balintore with the suc-
cession encountered in the boreholes drilled in
the western part of the IMF has long been
debated (e.g. Linsley et al. 1980; MacLennan &
Trewin 1989). As detailed in Stephen & Davies
(in press) the Bathonian to middle Oxfordian
interval comprises two second-order T - R cycles
bounded by transgressive surfaces dated as
intra-Bathonian, upper Bathonian and upper-
most middle Oxfordian. Only the latter trans-
gressive surface can be dated to ammonite zone
resolution (Tenuiserratum Zone; Stephen &
Davies in press). Third-order R-T cycles can
only be identified categorically within the fully
marine uppermost Bathonian to middle Ox-
fordian second-order T - R cycles (Fig. 8). The
third-order MFSs identified offshore often cor-
respond to distinctive zones of chemical sedi-
mentation onshore, the significance of which is
discussed by Stephen & Davies (in press). For
example, a horizon of carbonate concretions
within the lower Callovian Brora Shale Member
at Brora can be correlated into the Mid-Shale of
the Beatrice Field (the Calloviense MFS).
The route in which the sea entered the IMF is
equivocal. Detailed well log correlations pre-
sented by Stephen et al. (1993) indicate that
initial marine transgressions probably came
from the west or southwest (contra MacLennan
& Trewin 1989; Bradshaw et al. 1992). This is
consistent with the deepest marine and most
distal conditions existing in this area (e.g.
Balintore). A lower Callovian age (Macroce-
phalus/Calloviense Zone) can be assigned to the
initial transgressive event on the basis of both
macro- and micro fossil recoveries (Sykes 1975;
MacLennan & Trewin 1989). It is probable that
marine connections existed between the IMF
and the Hebridean basins across the then
relatively low lying Northern Highlands
(Stephen et al. 1993), perhaps along the trace of
the Great Glen fault as previously inferred by
Ziegler (1990).
Transect2 (Fig. 11): a w e s t - e a s t
correlation via the South Halibut Trough
In the IMF the base of the studied interval occurs
at the unconformable junction between the
Middle Jurassic Brora Coal Formation and the
Lower Jurassic Orrin Formation. This important
unconformity is known as the 'Mid-Cimmerian
Unconformity' (MCU; see Stephen et al. 1993;
Underhill & Partington 1993, 1994). Com-
monly, between 10 and 500 ft of alluvial facies
are drilled at the base of the studied interval in
both the IMF and the OMF (known as the Brora
Coal Formation and Pentland Formation re-
spectively). In both areas this non-marine unit is
capped by a coal (which in the OMF attains
cumulative thicknesses of up to 65 ft - 20/5b-2).
The Discus/Macrocephalus MFS (Fig. 9) is

Fig. 5. Graphic log, gamma ray, sequence stratigraphic surfaces and lithostratigraphic breakdown for the a
cored section from (a) well 11/30-A8 (Beatrice field) and (b) well 13/28-2 (Ross field). The figure is intended to
show the sedimentological character of typical regressive/transgressive cycles and the sequence stratigraphic
surfaces that can be defined within these sedimentary cycles. The Ross Sandstone marks the initiation of
marine sedimentation upon a palaeohigh that separated the IMF from the OMF until the latest middle
Oxfordian. Note the preferential usage of the iithostratigraphic scheme advocated by Stephen et al. (1993)
rather than that of Richards et al. (1993).
 Downloaded from http://sp.lyellcollection.org/ at Pennsylvania State University on September 18, 2016

88 R.J. DAVIES ET AL.

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-
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.,, ~

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Fig. 6. Graphic log, gamma ray, sequence stratigraphic surfaces and lithostratigraphic breakdown for the
cored sections from (a) wells 15/17-4 (Piper field) and (b) well 15/21a-A1 (Scott Field). Well 15/17-4 was
defined as the type well for the Piper Formation by Deegan & Scull (1977) and has been subsequently used by
other authors to define lithostratigraphic units that have an Oxfordian and Kimmeridgian age. The studied
interval is sand dominated, difficult to date and sedimentologically very different to other age equivalent
successions in the OMF. In contrast well 15/21a-A1 lends itself more to readily to a lithostratigraphic and
sequence stratigraphic subdivision.
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 Downloaded from http://sp.lyellcollection.org/ at Pennsylvania State University on September 18, 2016

M I D D L E A N D U P P E R J U R A S S I C M O R A Y FIRTH 89

I 1 I I I I

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i : i

Fig. 8. The third-order R - T cycles and the second-order T - R cycles identified by Stephen & Davies (in press)
in two wells from the IMF and OMF basins. The 11/30-2 well is from the Beatrice Field of the IMF (part of this
interpretation has previously been published by Stephen et al. 1993). The well shows a more complete Middle
Jurassic succession than well 15/21a-15 from the Scott Field of the OMF where there is a significant
unconformity between the Bajocian and Bathonian rocks at the base of the well and the succeeding middle
Oxfordian and upper Oxfordian paralic and marine sediments.
 Downloaded from http://sp.lyellcollection.org/ at Pennsylvania State University on September 18, 2016

90 R . J . DAVIES E T A L .

o I A/~
~.~ I , . , ~ . . . 11-
~, ....... o

~_~

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=-_~

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uB!pa~ ue'~~ i ue!u~

Fig. 10. Sequence stratigraphic correlation between the Bathonian to middle Oxfordian strata of Brora,
Balintore and Beatrice. Key condensed sections can be used to sub-divide stratigraphy and link
onshore-offshore successions within a tightly constrained chronostratigraphic framework.
 Downloaded from http://sp.lyellcollection.org/ at Pennsylvania State University on September 18, 2016

MIDDLE A N D UPPER JURASSIC M O R A Y FIRTH 91

11/30-2
CSTAGE GAMMA SONIC
0 API 120 140 msecs/ft 40
i i t i

20/5b-2
GAMMA P SONIC
API 12~ 140 msecs/ft

G. jurassica

S. crystallinum

)
M
cladophora

uIOALEN
I
R.

C. continuum
E. O X F andC.sellwoodi
- OMF)

~_11500~

< 67O0

--11800-

Pliens

KEY
-- 6 7 0 0 -- Depths in feet.

[ C.continuum.I These ties correspond to the first downhole appearrance

(FDA) of the species.

I.O.E Intra-Oxfordian event

Fig. 12. Comparisons between wells 11/30-2 and 20/5b-2 illustrate the very similar stratigraphic successions that
developed in the IMF and in the Buchan Trough part of the OMF basin during the Bajocian to middle
Oxfordian (stratigraphic cycle nomenclature from Stephen and Davies in press). Dinoflagellate cysts for well
20/5b-2 were recovered by IEDS Ltd. C. continuum and C. sellwoodi (C. sellwoodi - uncertain identification)
have an F D A within the late Callovian (see Fig. 7) and W. fimbriata has an F D A within the early Oxfordian
(see Fig. 7) C. continuum and W. fimbriata were considered to be reworked by IEDS Ltd who date the entire
section (approx. 10 600 ft to 11 400 ft) as late Oxfordian. The FDAs of R. cladophora, S. crystallinum and G.
jurassica are all consistent with the late Oxfordian date for the shale succession above the early to middle
Oxfordian section. Similar log responses and thicknesses are observed within the Oxfordian shales. In the IMF
these shales have been split into two component intervals on the basis of their sonic responses (fast and slow
shales).
 Downloaded from http://sp.lyellcollection.org/ at Pennsylvania State University on September 18, 2016

92 R.J. DAVIES ET AL.

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 Downloaded from http://sp.lyellcollection.org/ at Pennsylvania State University on September 18, 2016
MIDDLE AND UPPER JURASSIC MORAY FIRTH
identified just below this coal in the IMF
(Stephen & Davies in press). As recognized by
MacLennan & Trewin (1989) there is a minor
transgressive hiatus between these alluvial/
coastal plain sediments in the western parts of
the IMF and the overlying series of marginal
marine and fully marine sands and shales
identified between the Discus/Macrocephalus
MFS and the Glosense MFS (i.e. the contact
between the Brora Coal and the Brora Roof Bed
at Brora and Balintore). A broadly similar
succession is noted in wells drilled within the
Buchan Trough area of the OMF, for example,
wells 20/5b-2 and 21/1-5. Here, marine shelfal
sands and shales, are identified above the paralic
Pentland Formation and below the Glosense
maximum flooding event (earliest late Ox-
fordian). In well 21/1-5 the upward coarsening
succession is capped by a coal below the
Glosense maximum flooding event.
There are therefore two separate phases of
coal accumulation in the OMF, the bases of
which record significant basinward shifts in
facies (see Stephen & Davies in press). The
sequence boundary beneath the upper coal in
well 21/1-5 is believed to be associated with
maximum regression at the top of the Jb 4
Callovian to middle Oxfordian second-order
T - R cycle. Biostratigraphic evidence indicates
that the Brora Coal Formation is Bathonian to
earliest Callovian in age (MacLennan & Trewin
1989; Stephen et al. 1993). The stratigraphic
position of the Pentland Formation in the Outer
Moray Firth is consistent with a broadly similar
age and the authors are aware of no biostrati-
graphic data that would contradict this. How-
ever, the base of the unit may extend into the
Bajocian (Harker et al. 1987). From this transect
the essentially coeval Pentland and the Brora
Coal Formations appear to have been geo-
graphically isolated, separated by a high, cen-
tred around the middle of the Moray Firth basin
(the Ross Granite area) which may be a similar
feature to the tectonic high discussed by Boldy &
Brealey (1990) and O'Driscoll et al. (1990).
The Discus/Macrocephalus, Calloviense, Ath-
leta and Lamberti MFSs onlap this palaeo-high
from the west in the IMF (Stephen et al. 1993).
In the Outer Moray Firth a MFS that has a
poorly constrained late Callovian age onlaps it
from the east. Callovian to lower Oxfordian
paralic facies have been proven in the Ross Field
by MacDonald (1993; the Parry Sandstone)
which suggests that at this time marine basins
lying in the eastern and western parts of the
Moray Firth were not linked through the
southern parts of Quadrant 13 or northern parts
of Quadrant 19. The palaeo-high forms part of
93
the widespread 'Mid-Cimmerian Unconformity'
(MCU; Stephen et al. 1993; Underhill &
Partington 1993, 1994). The first MFS to link the
IMF and OMF over the central parts of the high
(i.e. over the Ross Granite) is the Glosense MFS
(of earliest late Oxfordian age), with the initial
link (i.e. the transgressive surface) having a
latest mid-Oxfordian age. The transgression
resulted in a marked shift in shallow marine
facies from the eastern parts of the IMF to the
eastern parts of the OMF (i.e the Witch Ground
Graben).
A similar Bathonian to middle Oxfordian
succession has been noted between wells in the
IMF and some wells in the OMF. For the first
time marine shelf sands and shales have been
identified between the Pentland Coal and the
Glosense MFS in the OMF. The first downhole
appearances of the dinoflagellate cysts C. sell-
woodi(?), C. continuum ( l l l 7 0 f t ) and W.
fimbriata (11 090 ft) from 20/5b-2 (all recovered
from chippings by IEDS Ltd, but were con-
sidered to have been reworked) provide good
evidence for upper Callovian and lower Ox-
fordian marine facies in the OMF (Fig. 12;
contra Harker & Rieuf this volume). Further
supportive evidence comes from the fact that the
wireline log character of this well and well 21/1-5
show very close similarity with most wells in the
IMF (e.g. 11/30-2: Fig. 12). Wells such as 20/5b-2
and 21/1-5 (Fig. 11) show what is apparently a
unique stratigraphic signature within the OMF.
These wells should not be ignored as they
provide important new information that is
integral to our understanding of the flooding
history of the Moray Firth during the Mid- and
Late Jurassic.
Non-marine and paralic sediments (generally
known as the Skene Member) are seen to
overstep the Pentland Formation, Rattray For-
mation or Triassic sediments. Harker et al.
(1993) considered the Skene Member to be of
mid-Oxfordian or older Oxfordian age. How-
ever, the identification of Callovian and lower
Oxfordian marine sediments within the Buchan
Trough area deposited during a phase of overall
base-level relative rise necessitates a contem-
poraneous belt of paralic facies (namely the
Skene Member) in areas landward of these
marine deposits - as illustrated by the lateral
facies changes envisaged between the Glosense
and Athleta/Lamberti MFSs in wells 20/3-2,
20/5b-2, 21/1-5 and 15/21a-15 of Fig. 11. Based
solely upon these regional stratigraphic criteria
it cannot be ruled out that the Skene Member
may in places have an extended age range of
early Oxfordian and Callovian and that no
significant unconformity separates the Pentland
 Downloaded from http://sp.lyellcollection.org/ at Pennsylvania State University on September 18, 2016

94 R . J . DAVIES E T A L .

114 O4 14 14 U |

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 Downloaded from http://sp.lyellcollection.org/ at Pennsylvania State University on September 18, 2016
MIDDLE AND UPPER JURASSIC MORAY FIRTH
Formation from the overlying Skene Member of
the Sgiath Formation.
The distinct change in the gamma and sonic log
trends in the South Halibut Trough and IMF
areas at the time of the Baylei maximum flooding
event marks the start of a gradational lithological
transition from what is generally known as the
Heather Formation to the Kimmeridge Clay
Formation (see Fig. 3 for the lithostratigraphic
nomenclature). In the Witch Ground Graben
area this log change occurs somewhat later than
the lower Kimmeridgian (Baylei) but prior to the
Eudoxus maximum flooding event. The onset of
the deposition of the Kimmeridge Clay For-
mation is therefore markedly time-transgressive,
starting earlier in the Inner Moray Firth and
South Halibut Trough parts of the basin and later
in the Witch Ground Graben.
Transect 3 (Fig. 13): northeast-southwest
correlation through the IMF
This correlation panel shows that the Brora Coal
Formation is widely distributed over the western
parts of the IMF where it onlaps onto the MCU
and attains thicknesses of up to 500 ft. This
alluvial/coastal plain was transgressed in the early
Callovian and a series of minor third-order R-T
cycles can be discerned within the retrogradatio-
nal Beatrice Formation (Stephen et al. 1993). In
block 11/30 these shallow or marginal marine
sandstones constitute the main reservoir unit of
the Beatrice field (Linsley et al. 1980). The
position of the peak transgression is marked by a
distinctive log motif which can be dated as
occurring very close to the Callovian-Oxfordian
Stage boundary. A ubiquitous coarsening up-
wards trend is apparent above this surface
culminating in the deposition of the Alness
Spiculite Member. This period of shelfal re-
gression is associated with a reduction in the
amount of accommodation space in proximal
depositional settings. In these locations (blocks
13/28-13/30 and blocks 12/13-12/14) sedimentary
by-passing of the shelf appears to have taken
place (see also Stephen & Davies in press fig. 10).
The junction between the Uppat and Heather
Formations is marked by rapid deepening
(Andrews & Brown 1987; Underhill 1991a, b;
Thomson & Underhill 1993) and this trans-
gressive surface, which occurs prior to the
Glosense maximum flooding surface (top of the
Jb 4.10 cycle) can be correlated from the IMF into
most parts of the OMF. Seismic evidence from
the IMF and South Halibut Trough area suggests
that this rapid increase in accommodation space
is linked to the onset of rifting in the Moray Firth
basin (Andrews & Brown 1987; Underhil11991a,
95
b; Thomson & Underhill 1993; Davies 1995).
Deep marine mudrock deposition characterises
the upper Oxfordian in this area, although locally
around the basin margins shallow marine de-
posystems are evident (e.g. well 12/13-1).
Importantly, a further major transgression in
earliest Kimmeridgian times (the Baylei maxi-
mum flooding event) drowned all known shallow
marine shorelines in the IMF and resulted in the
widespread deposition of the anoxic Kimmeridge
Clay Formation. A distinct change in basin
morphology can be inferred during the Kimmer-
idgian from a dramatic change in the architecture
of the depositional elements, with turbidite
sands, albeit initially volumetrically restricted,
but becoming an important component of the
basin fill in the Volgian, replacing the shoreface
sands characteristic of the Callovian and Ox-
fordian (e.g. wells 12/21-3 and 12/21-4 of Fig. 13).
Transect 4 (Fig. 14): a west-east correlation
via the Halibut Platform
The extensive belt of non-marine facies (Brora
Coal Formation and Pentland Formation) at the
base of the studied stratigraphic interval de-
scribed previously are not represented north of
the Halibut Horst. Instead thin representatives of
the Brora Coal and the Pentland Coal For-
mations are only drilled in the extreme western
and eastern extremities of the Halibut Platform
(wells 12/14-1 and well 14/19-4 respectively). In
the west the Brora Coal Formation and the
Athleta, Lamberti, and Densiplicatum MFS's
onlap the MCU in an easterly direction. An
investigation of younger sediments is limited as
these have been removed due to fault block
rotation during late Oxfordian and Kimmeridg-
ian times (well 12/14-1).
Several of the upper Oxfordian maximum
flooding events above the Densiplicatum MFS
which were identified south of the Halibut Horst
(Fig. 11) cannot be reliably defined north of the
Halibut Horst. Despite this, the ubiquitous
Baylei MFS once again marks an important
lithological and sedimentological change. Ma-
rine connection between the IMF and OMF
basins across the Halibut Shelf appears to have
occurred during early Kimmeridgian times which
is significantly later than the late Oxfordian date
recorded to the south of the Halibut Horst.
Transect 5 (Fig. 15): a north-south
correlation through the Witch Ground
Graben
The WGG was the locus for most of the sand
deposition in the Moray Firth during the late
 Downloaded from http://sp.lyellcollection.org/ at Pennsylvania State University on September 18, 2016
96 R.J. DAVIES ET AL.
Oxfordian and Kimmeridgian. Underlying these
sand-prone units is the Rattray Formation (a
series of igneous rocks) and the Pentland
Formation with some interbedding of the two
formations occurring locally e.g. well 15/17-4.
Between the Glosense and Serratum maximum
flooding events (lowermost upper Oxfordian to
intra-upper Oxfordian), a distinctive SB, marked
by the deposition of stacked distributary channel
facies (which are barren of microfossils) above
marine sediments has been identified in wells
such as 15/21a-20 and others in the northeastern
parts of block 15/21. Dramatic thickness changes
occur between these MFSs and this is considered
by Boldy & Brealey (1990) and O'Driscoll et al.
(1990) to be the result of movement on N-S- or
NE-SW-trending extensional faults. Ebdon &
Lane (1994) envisage no movement on these
faults in blocks 15/21 and 15/22 with the
thickening being the result of compaction of the
underlying Skene and Saltire Member. However
Davies (1995) has shown using seismic data for
another part of the OMF (the South Halibut
Trough) where both seismic packages and
individual extensional faults are clearly imaged
that NE-SW-trending extensional were active
during the mid-Oxfordian to Kimmeridgian.
Although compaction-driven subsidence may be
a factor, we envisage continued late Oxfordian
extension and we would therefore agree with
O'Driscoll et al. (1990) who suggested that the
NE-SW lineaments controlled the orientation of
channels within the Scott Member. We interpret
the stacked channels to have filled a NE-SW-
oriented incised valley. The base of this incised
valley is marked by a sequence boundary which is
the only sequence boundary that thus far, can be
objectively and convincingly correlated within
the studied interval in the OMF.
In the northern extremities of the OMF (for
example wells 14/15-2 and 15/17-4), few marine
upper Oxfordian sediments have been located. In
the northern parts of the WGG the upper
Oxfordian is considered to be mainly paralic and
a lateral facies change is envisaged between this
area and the southern parts of the WGG. In well
14/15-2 marginal marine sediments contain age
diagnostic dinoflagellate cysts (FDAs of G.
cladophora and L. mirabile) indicative of a
lowermost Oxfordian to early Kimmeridgian age
which suggests that the northern parts of the
WGG were more proximal and probably closer to
the sediment source. There is a second major
lateral facies change further to the south where
marine shelfal sands of upper Oxfordian and
Kimmeridgian age (between the Glosense and
Eudoxus MFSs) pass into marine shelfal muds. A
sharp-based sand, encased within the upper
Oxfordian shelfal marine muds occurs in well
15/26b-5 (between the Glosense and Baylei
maximum flooding events). A sedimentological
study of the core suggests that it was deposited
rapidly by gravity processes (Davies 1995). This
sand is detached from the Scott delta of the W G G
area. The marked basinward shift in facies
identified generally at or near the base of the Scott
Member may be the result of a fall in relative sea
level that resulted in the emplacement of a
detached turbidite sand body adjacent to the
Renee Ridge.
Correlation of upper Oxfordian and Kimmer-
idgian time lines within this transect differs from
previous publications (O'Driscoll et al. 1990;
Harker et al. 1987; Harker et al. 1993). Here the I
shale, dated as A. Rosenkrantzi Zone in age in
well 15/17-4 by Harker et al. ( 1987,1993) (Fig. 15
and Fig. 6a), is not correlated regionally within
this study and in fact, it is very difficult to
differentiate from the Baylei maximum flooding
event. In these figures the Rosenkrantzi maxi-
mum flooding event is placed at the base of a
coarsening upward sand unit that reaches a
maximum thickness in the Piper Field (15/17-4),
but thins to the south (wells 15/17-9 and
15/21a-20).
Palaeogeographic maps
Four out of the 11 events which are outlined in
Figs 8 and 9, and illustrated in the chronostrati-
graphic diagram, are pervasive enough to allow
for the construction of four palaeogeographic
maps for the intervals that they bound (Fig. 16).
The maps (Figs 17 and 18) show the maximum
progradational extent of facies located between
the most prominent and readily correlatable
MFSs along with the use of the MCU as a basal
surface to the first interval mapped. The maps
incorporate recently released well results and
thus build upon and refine the palaeogeographic
maps of Stephen et al. (1993).
Bajocian to B a t h o n i a n p a l a e o g e o g r a p h y
(Fig. 17a)
Boldy & Brealey (1990) have suggested that a
major north-south-trending positive structure
similar to the Fladen Ground Spur existed in
Quadrant 14 during the Bajocian and Bathonian.
Stephen et al. (1993), working in the western part
of the Moray Firth, have documented in detail the
progressive onlap and backstepping of sand
prone facies from the west to east onto a high that
existed during the Mid- and early Late Jurassic in
the eastern parts of Quadrant 13. The palaeogeo-
graphic map presented in Fig. 17a refines and
links these earlier observations. The Moray Firth
developed as two geographically isolated non-
 Downloaded from http://sp.lyellcollection.org/ at Pennsylvania State University on September 18, 2016

MIDDLE AND UPPER JURASSIC MORAY FIRTH 97

0
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 Downloaded from http://sp.lyellcollection.org/ at Pennsylvania State University on September 18, 2016

98 R . J . DAVIES E T A L .

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 Downloaded from http://sp.lyellcollection.org/ at Pennsylvania State University on September 18, 2016

MIDDLE AND UPPER JURASSIC MORAY FIRTH 99

marine basins separated by an area of nonde-
position and/or erosion where Devonian and
Permo-Triassic sediments, as well as the Ross
Granite, are considered to have formed a
palaeo-high. If there had been a link between the
isolated delta/alluvial plain sediments and other
time equivalent units, it is considered to have
been to the west in the IMF and to the east in the
OMF.
Callovian, early Oxfordian and mid-
Oxfordian palaeogeography (Fig. 17b)
The belt of paralic sediments over the Witch
Ground Graben area and the South Halibut
Trough (the Skene Member - nomenclature of
Harker et al. 1993; Fig. 3) is considered to be
predominantly middle Oxfordian but probably
also Callovian and lower Oxfordian in age. In the
Buchan Trough a tongue of shelfal muds, with
peripheral fringing sands (most likely to be of
Callovian to middle Oxfordian in age) are
considered to be the time-equivalent marine
facies belts. These sediments exhibit a very
similar petrophysical log motif to well detailed,
contemporaneous marine sediments in the IMF
(Fig. 12). MacDonald (1993) has clearly demon-
strated the existence of Callovian and lower
Oxfordian alluvial/coastal plain sediments in the
Ross field area (Blocks 13/28 and 13/29). It is
therefore most plausible that the two marine
basins were separated by a belt of alluvial plain
sediments across the eastern parts of the South
Halibut Trough basin at this time (northern parts
of Quadrant 20 and the southern parts of
Quadrant 14).
Rattey & Hayward (1993) have produced a
palaeogeographic map (for their middle Callo-
vian to middle Oxfordian J40 sequence) that
clearly shows lower Oxfordian marine sediments
in the WGG, north of the Renee Ridge and a
marine connection to the Viking Graben (in a
very similar way to that of Fig. 17b). They also
show what appears to be a high separating lower
Oxfordian successions in the IMF and OMF
basins. Ziegler (1990) has also suggested that the
earliest marine transgression into both the IMF
and the Witch Ground Graben occurred in
earliest Callovian times. Therefore although a
Callovian to mid-Oxfordian marine incursion
within the OMF has been identified before this is
the first time that this marine depocentre has been
constrained to the Buchan Trough (rather than
the Witch Ground Graben) and that well and
biostratigraphic data have been presented to
verify such a conclusion.
Late Oxfordian palaeogeography (Fig.
18a)
During the earliest late Oxfordian marine muds
blanketed much of the IMF and the OMF basins
for the first time covering the older marine
Buchan Trough basin and the non-marine and
marginal marine Skene Member (Fig. 18a). At
this time the locus of marine shelf sand deposition
shifted from the eastern IMF to the eastern OMF
(the WGG). Volumetrically the IMF contains
insignificant quantities of shelfal marine sands
compared with the OMF region.
It appears that the first marine linkage (of latest
mid-Oxfordian age) took place via the South
Halibut Trough area. The area north of the
Halibut Horst, called the Halibut Platform,
unfortunately has a sparse coverage of wells.
However, some of these wells contain contem-
poraneous delta plain sediments or show no late
Oxfordian stratigraphy. Paralic sediments fringe
the eastern and western ends of the Halibut
Platform and are overlain by marine sands and
shales of Kimmeridgian age. It remains uncertain
as to whether the Halibut Horst was emergent at
this time. Evidence from the eastern tip of this
important structure (located in block 15/21)
suggests that Mid-Jurassic volcanics followed by
Oxfordian and early Kimmeridgian marginal
marine and marine sediments were deposited on
what is now a significant positive structure
(Hibbert & Mackertich 1993).
The main locus of shallow marine shelfal sands
was within the WGG area. These sand units are
generally known as the sands of the Sgiath
Formation (Harker et al. 1993). Isopach patterns
for this unit show a well-developed NE-SW trend
(O'Driscoll et al. 1990; Boldy & Brealey 1990).
Such patterns are considered to be related to
NE-SW extensional faulting at this time. O'Dri-
scoll et al. (1990) consider the NE-SW-trending
faults to have been important in directing fluvial
channels through blocks 15/21 and 15/17.

Fig. 16. Chronostratigraphic diagram summarising the salient features of the correlation transects presented
within this paper (the code for the acronyms is given in Fig. 4). Overall the loci of shallow marine sand
deposition is seen to backstep through time from the IMF (the Beatrice A and B sands, the Alness Spiculite and
the Ross Sands) to the OMF (the Scott and Piper sands). The age of the Skene Member has been extended
from the middle Oxfordian (the age originally suggested by Harker et al. 1993) into the Callovian. Significantly
the transect does not pass through the Buchan Trough area and therefore does not show the Callovian, lower
Oxfordian and middle Oxfordian marine sediments that are considered to have been deposited and preserved
in this area.
 Downloaded from http://sp.lyellcollection.org/ at Pennsylvania State University on September 18, 2016

100 R. J. DAVIES E T AL.

,~~, f I '~7 ~A
Delta Plain ~ Shelf Sand [ - ~ Shelf Mud ~ Volcanics

APPARENTLY ISOLATED CAI.JA)VIAN

SAND IDENTIFIED IN THIS REGION,
THE REMAINING
PALAEOSHORELINE TO THE N O R T H
ISAT PRESENT HIGHLY
SPECULATIVE.

. ~176
~

[ PETERHEA~

GRAMPIAN HIGHLANDS I I ,0,= I

l
Direction of Sediment transport
marine flooding dirction
 Downloaded from http://sp.lyellcollection.org/ at Pennsylvania State University on September 18, 2016

MIDDLE AND UPPER JURASSIC MORAY FIRTH 101

Kimmeridgian palaeogeography (Fig. 18b)
During the Kimmeridgian the W G G remained
the focus for shallow marine shelfal sand
development (Fig. 18b). In the Halibut Platform
area the upper Oxfordian paralic sediments, as
shown in Fig. 14, are capped by marine shale of
Kimmeridgian age. In the WGG, the isopach
patterns published by O'Driscoll et al. (1990) for
this stratigraphic interval show thickening of sand
units towards the hanging walls of the extensional
faults that bound the Halibut Horst and the
petrography of the sands is consistent with a
Halibut Horst source. The N E - S W isopach trend
noted for the upper Oxfordian stratigraphic
interval is no longer apparent (O'Driscoll et al.
1990).
In the remainder of the basin significant
changes in the style of sedimentation are
recorded in the areas adjacent to extensional
faults. Instead of shallow marine sands, deeper
marine boulder bed conglomerates (such as the
Kintradwell and Helmsdale Boulder Beds; Pick-
ering 1984) and turbidite sandstones are de-
veloped (e.g. the AIR na Cuile Sandstone
Formation onshore; Wignall & Pickering 1993).
However, these sandstones are volumetrically
restricted and anoxic muds (the Kimmeridge
Clay Formation) predominate in most areas.
Remaining questions
The Witch Ground Graben
As already mentioned the W G G continues to
provide significant problems for the objective
correlation of maximum flooding events.
Although the I shale that was identified by Maher
(1981) in the Piper Field (well 15/17-4) has been
correlated to the Mid-Shale of the Rob-Roy and
Ivanhoe fields (block 15/21; Boote & Gustav
1987; O'Driscoll etal. 1990; & Harkeretal. 1993),
ammonites recovered by Brealey (1990) from the
Mid-Shale of wells 15/21-4 and 15/21a-12 (ter-
minology of Boldy & Brealey 1990 and Parker
1991) do not match with the ammonites recov-
ered from the I shale of well 15/17-4. Ammonites
extracted to within 5ft of the base of the
Mid-Shale (well 15/21a-15, Brealey 1990) have
been assigned to the R. baylei zone (the first
ammonite zone of the Kimmeridgian Stage).
Maher (1981) reported on ammonites from the I
shale of the Piper Field (well 15/17-4) and stated
'The lower half of the I shale contains ammonite
forms which correspond to the middle zone of
[the] upper Oxfordian and the upper half
contains forms indicative of the upper part of the
upper Oxfordian'. Harker et al. (1987, 1993)
report on forms representative of the Pseudocor-
data or Rosenkrantzi ammonite zones (upper-
most Oxfordian). More recently the I shale has
been called the 'Baylei flood' by Harker & Rieuf
(this volume). This new age assignment is not
consistent with the ammonites reported by
Maher (1981). Indeed, although both of these
shales commonly have the same palynological
and micropalaeontological fingerprint, the cor-
relation of the I shale of block 15/17 to other
marine shales in the Witch Ground Graben that
have an early Kimmeridgian age (e.g. in blocks of
15/21 and 15/22) goes against the present
macrofaunal evidence and therefore such cor-
relations should be treated with caution.
In summary the I shale does not correlate to the
Mid-Shale of well 15/21a-20. Instead, the Mid-
Shale of well 15/21a-20. (the Baylei maximum
flooding event) is more likely to be correlated to
the E shale of well 15/17-4 (the E shale as defined
by Maher 1981). This correlation is consistent
with the palynological recovery from the E shale
of the Piper Field (Watson & Dyer pers. comm.)
and the palynological recovery made by indepen-
dent sampling just below the E shale of well
15/17-4. This resulted in the recovery of S.
crystallinum (FDA, first downhole appearance at
8526 ft) which has a first downhole appearance in
the Baylei ammonite zone onshore (Woollam &
Riding 1982) although extended ranges into the
Mutabilis Zone have been shown offshore in
block 15/21 and 15/22 by Brealey (1990) and
Boldy & Brealey (1990).
The I shale of well 15/17-4 (which probably has
within it the Serratum and Rosenkrantzi maxi-
mum flooding surfaces; Partington etal. 1993b) is
correlated with two minor MFSs which are both
stratigraphically below the Mid-Shale in the
15/21a-20 well (Fig. 15). Sediments previously
named Piper Sands in the Piper Field by Deegan
& Scull (1977), Maher (1981), Harker et al.
(1987) and Harker et al. (1993) - essentially
between the I shale and E shale of this a r e a - are

Fig. 17. Two palaeogeographic maps for (a) the Bajocian and Bathonian and (b) the uppermost Callovian to
lowermost Oxfordian. Palaeogeographic map (a) illustrates the isolated nature of the IMF and OMF basins at
this time. The first marine incursion into the IMF took place via the Scottish Highlands (Stephen et al. 1993)
with incursion into the OMF taking place from the east. Palaeogeographic map (b) is difficult to display as the
mid-Oxfordian was a time of maximum second-order regression and erosion of earlier Oxfordian sediments is
thought to have taken place in proximal locations in both the Inner and Outer Moray Firth basins (see Fig. 8).
The extensive belt of paralic sediments in the OMF is poorly dated. In this publication it is considered to be
coeval with Callovian to middle Oxfordian marine units in the OMF (Skene Member- see Fig 16).
 Downloaded from http://sp.lyellcollection.org/ at Pennsylvania State University on September 18, 2016

102 R. J. DAVIES E T A L .

(A) ' ~d~ / ~ "

(B)

HNORTI
IGHI.

.....~ Direction of Sediment transport

marine flooding ~ direction
Fig. 18. Palaeogeographic maps for the late Oxfordian (a) and the Kimmeridgian (b) showing the distribution
of the Scott and Piper sands. In the IMF a change in the style of sedimentation occured in the earliest
Kimmeridgian with basin floor fan sandstones deposited over fault-bounded shelf breaks dominating
volumetrically rather than shoreface sandstones deposited in a ramp setting, as would characteristic in the
Callovian and Oxfordian.
 Downloaded from http://sp.lyellcollection.org/ at Pennsylvania State University on September 18, 2016
MIDDLE AND UPPER JURASSIC MORAY FIRTH
actually extremely condensed outside the area
and are only represented by a thin coarsening
upward cycle in wells such as 15/21a-15,15/21a-20
and 15/17-9 (Figs. 11 and 15). The fact that the
correlation of sequence stratigraphic surfaces in
the transect through the W G G (Fig. 15) is still
highly problematic is partly due to the lateral
variability of the reservoir units and the lack of
resolution afforded by Oxfordian and Kimmerid-
gian biostratigraphic markers, an issue that has
already been discussed by Partington et al.
(1993b). The correlation of wells in the WGG
presented here reflects the latest opinions of the
authors (for further discussion refer to Davies
1995). A thorough testing will only be possible
through the careful documentation of ammonite
recoveries from cored intervals. Improved strati-
graphic resolution in this area therefore awaits
further studies akin to those of Brealey (1990)
and the release of key wells drilled in hanging-
wall localities rather than sections drilled on the
footwalls to extensional faults.
The f l o o d i n g history a n d the implications
Marine sedimentation during the Callovian,
early and mid-Oxfordian seems to have prevailed
at least in blocks 20/5, 21/1 and 21/2 and no
significant unconformity exists between the
Bajocian and Bathonian and younger Callovian
and Oxfordian successions sediments at least in
wells such as 20/5b-2 and 21/1-5. Evidence for this
older stratigraphy is preserved in the hanging wall
of the E-W-trending Buchan Fault but may
possibly be preserved in as yet undrilled areas to
the south and east. Lateral sedimentary links to
these marine successions have been removed by
later erosion and nondeposition or coeval
sediments are indeed present in the form of the
poorly dated Skene Member drilled in the OMF.
This has important implications for unravelling
the tectonostratigraphic evolution of the Moray
Firth because previous models for the Moray
Firth envisage that a simple progressive Callo-
vian, Oxfordian and Kimmeridgian eastwards
directed marine flooding accounts for the depo-
sitional architecture preserved in this area of the
North Sea rift system (Underhill & Partington
1993, 1994). The progressive axial migration of
marine waters from west to east along the rift
arm, has been considered to be largely a response
to the deflation of the North Sea dome (Ziegler
1990; Underhill & Partington 1993).
Two westerly routes of marine entry into the
Inner Moray Firth basin have been invoked by
previous workers. Ziegler (1990) considers a
narrow hypothetical seaway existed along the
trace of the Great Glen Fault whilst Underhill
(1991a) and Underhill and Partington (1993,
1994) also argue for a marine linkage with
103
Jurassic sections of the Western Isles but across
the Northern Highlands because of the apparent
inactivity of the Great Glen fault system at this
time. Both of these routes are considered feasible
but may be impossible to distinguish (Stephen et
al. 1993).
Given the likelihood that a palaeotopographic
high existed in both the eastern IMF and the
western OMF centred around the Ross Granite
area, there remain two plausible models for the
first marine entry into the OMF. Flooding could
have taken place from the east via the Central
and/or Viking Grabens, and/or flooding could
have come from the west, south of the Ross
Granite and the Ross Field. The presence of delta
plain sediments of Callovian to lower Oxfordian
age in the Ross Field (blocks 13/28 and 13/29 -
MacDonald 1993), along with the high identified
here argues against a marine link from the IMF at
this time. Marine linkage through the South
Halibut Trough in the latest middle Oxfordian is
thought to be related to the initiation of rifting,
which has been constrained in this area with 3D
seismic data as being restricted to the middle
Oxfordian to Kimmeridgian (Davies 1995). As
such the timing and duration of rifting in this area
of the OMF is very similar to that envisaged for
the IMF basin (Andrews & Brown 1987;
Underhil11991a, b; Thomson & Underhil11993;
Stephen et al. 1993 contra Frost & Rose this
volume; and Harker & Rieuf this volume). In
contrast in the Viking Graben and the Witch
Ground Graben active E-W extension has been
demonstrated by Cockings etal. (1992) and Boldy
& Brealey (1990), to have occurred earlier,
during the Bajocian and Bathonian. The impli-
cation is that core areas of the previously domed
triple junction experienced early extension and
this created the accomodation space that allowed
for marine inundation during the Callovian. The
necessary prerequisite of generating accomo-
dation space by extension can be argued for the
eastern OMF but not for the Inner Moray Firth
and the western parts of the Outer Moray Firth.
This supports a model of connection with the
Central and Viking Grabens rather than with the
Inner Moray Firth. In addition the Buchan
Trough zone is closer to areas of contempor-
aneous marine sedimentation in the Central and
Viking Grabens (e.g. Cockings et al. 1992) than to
known areas of contemporaneous marine sedi-
mentation in the Inner Moray Firth. This also
suggests a marine linkage from the east/southeast
rather than the west (Fig. 17), with sediment
supply coming from an extensive belt of paralic
facies (the Skene Member) located to the north
and west (Quadrants 14/15/20; Fig. 17).
A reliable test of this westward and/or north-
westward directed flooding model in the OMF
awaits more drilling in the area south of the
 Downloaded from http://sp.lyellcollection.org/ at Pennsylvania State University on September 18, 2016
104 R.J. DAVIES ET AL.
Ross Granite - blocks 19/1, 19/2, 19/3 and 19/4.
At this stage, however it appears that eastward-
directed marine inundation in the IMF was
accompanied by westward- and/or north-
westward-directed marine flooding in the OMF
during the Callovian (Fig. 18) - contra Harker &
Rieuf (this volume).
The onlap patterns presented by Underhill &
Partington (1993, 1994) are significantly differ-
ent in the eastern end o f the rift arm from those
presented here. The progressive west to east
flooding of the basin appears to be an oversim-
plification as this work shows that in detail
discrete parts of the basin (Buchan Trough,
South Halibut Trough, Witch Ground Graben
and Halibut Platform) were flooded at different
times. Unlike the western IMF areas, it is
evident that the Bajocian to Callovian flooding
was not directed towards a deflating triple
junction centred on the former dome in the east,
but from the Viking Graben and/or Central
Graben region. The transgression was probably
controlled in part by (a) extension that took
place in the triple junction area that allowed for
the deposition of Bajocian and Bathonian delta
plain sediments (b) the subsequent topography
generated by differential subsidence during
complex Late Jurassic rifting in the basin.
It should be remembered that within this
study there is an inherent bias towards data from
within the rift-arm, rather than from its flanking
inter-rift areas. As a result we have good well
coverage that shows how the differentially
subsiding rift arm flooded, but far less infor-
mation regarding the dynamic behaviour of the
inter-rift areas (the North Sea dome surface).
This is not unique to the Moray Firth rift-arm,
and the only information concerning this im-
portant question is likely to be gleaned from
inter-rift areas where no significant extension
was taking place. Underhill & Partington (1994)
use key exposures along the continuous outcrop
that runs SW from the Yorkshire Coast and,
using these data, suggest that dome deflation is
equivalent to rift drowning. In other words, rift
subsidence and dome deflation are probably
coupled processes. We consider the Moray Firth
marine flooding patterns to be the result of a
complex superimposition of a number of inter-
acting factors, these being: (a) a long term
(Bathonian to Kimmeridgian) sea level rise (first
sub-order; Jacquin & Graciansky in press),
similar to that documented by Vail & Todd
(1981); Hallam (1988); Haq et al. (1988) and
possibly driven by dome deflation; (b) erosion
and nondepostion associated with higher fre-
quency cycles (second and third order; Jacquin
& Graciansky in press) which are used here and
documented by Stephen & Davies (in press); (c)
the palaeotopography of the Moray Firth basin
prior to rifting (e.g. the high centred on the Ross
Granite and the remnants of a North Sea dome)
and (d) the spatial and temporal characteristics of
Mid- and Late Jurassic extension in the basin,
much of which has subsequently been over-
printed by seismic-scale extensional faulting, but
which may account for the apparent isolation of
Callovian and early Oxfordian marine sediments
in the OMF.
Conclusions
The most effective surface for regional cor-
relation and stratigraphic subdivision within this
study is the maximum flooding surface. Internal
sequence stratigraphic surfaces can be identified
but with less objectivity. Despite the limitations
in the sequence stratigraphic technique in some
areas of the Moray Firth, several important
conclusions regarding the tectono-stratigraphic
evolution of the basin are apparent.
(1) Regressive-transgressive (R-T) third-
order cycles, defined using readily identifiable
and datable maximum flooding surfaces, provide
a consistent and robust stratigraphic framework
when integrated with biostratigraphic data and
sedimentological information. Using the frame-
work adds new detail to our understanding of the
evolution of the Moray Firth and more specifi-
cally shows that the Inner and Outer Moray Firth
basins had a very similar tectono-sedimentary
history during the Mid- and Late Jurassic.
(2) Previous models have suggested that there
is a significant unconformity between the Middle
Jurassic Fladen Group and overlying Oxfordian
and younger sediments in the OMF. It is
suggested here that in the Buchan Trough area
only a minor unconformity exists. Outside the
Buchan Trough, for example in the WGG, the
time gap is likely to be variable in duration. The
paralic/non-marine aspect of the sediments
overlying the unconformity (the Skene Member)
makes the accurate dating of the first renewal of
deposition in these areas problematic.
(3) The Inner Moray Firth and Outer Moray
Firth developed as two geographically isolated
basins during the Bajocian to mid-Oxfordian.
Despite this, very similar sedimentary suc-
cessions and cycles were developed in both areas
possibly reflecting the dominant control of
regional relative sea-level changes rather than
that of local (sub-basin and half-graben) exten-
sion or local variations in sediment supply.
(4) Initial marine flooding of the IMF was
from the west (i.e across what are now the
Northern Scottish Highlands) in early Callovian
 Downloaded from http://sp.lyellcollection.org/ at Pennsylvania State University on September 18, 2016
MIDDLE AND UPPER JURASSIC MORAY FIRTH
times. New results indicate that initial marine
flooding of the Outer Moray Firth occurred at
about the same time but was westward- and~or
northwestward- directed, coming from the east/
southeast via the Central and/or Viking Grab-
ens. The initial marine flooding of the O M F
probably took place through extensional graben
that formed above the collapsing triple junction
area.
(5) The Inner Moray Firth and Outer Moray
Firth basins were unified in the latest middle
Oxfordian via the South Halibut Trough area.
They were subsequently linked during the early
Kimmeridgian through a route north of the
Halibut Horst via the Halibut Platform.
(6) The new flooding model suggests that the
North Sea D o m e had little relief and limited
control on the exact direction of marine flood-
ing especially in the eastern parts of the Moray
Firth basin during the Bathonian to Kimmerid-
gian. Instead by this time the pattern of marine
flooding is likely to have been controlled pri-
marily by regional sea-level changes superim-
posed upon basin palaeotopography and,
perhaps most significantly, the spatial and tem-
poral characteristics of extension within the
differentially subsiding rift arm.
The opinions expressed in the paper are those of the
authors alone and do not necessarily reflect those of a
sponsoring company or employer. The following
companies are thanked for their help in facilitating
the release of proprietary data: Amerada Hess,
Amoco (UK), BP, Deminex, Elf Enterprise Caledo-
nia, Enterprise Oil, Fina, IEDS, Kerr McGee, Mobil
North Sea Ltd, Pict Petroleum, Premier, Shell/Esso,
SPT, Ultramar (Lasmo). The following were invalu-
able in helping us gain access to the extensive data-
base used in this study : S. Boldy, M. Clutson, R.
Fitzpatrick, S. Fowler, A. Fraser, T. Garlick, A.
Hewitt, F. Issard, P. Jackson, M. Leischmann, A.
Leonard, J. McCrackin, C. Nieto, M. Oddy, C.
Powell, R. Savage, J. Stafforth and D. Walter. Our
present knowledge of the Jurassic evolution of the
Moray Firth has been enhanced through discussions
with B. Casey, R. Dyer, S. Harker, D. O'Driscoll, R.
Poddubiuk, S. Prosser, M. Rieuf, L. Riley and P.
Watson. M. Partington is thanked for assisting with
biostratigraphic and stratigraphic work in the IMF. I.
Harding (University of Southampton) and J. Keating
examined palynological preparations for selected
samples from wells 15/17-4 and 13/30-3 respectively.
Geohistory analysis undertaken by J. Turner at
Edinburgh University for wells in the Moray Firth has
advanced our understanding of the temporal and
spatial changes in tectonic subsidence and sediment
supply during the Mid- and Late Jurassic. We thank
J. Dixon, S. Hesselbo, B. Levell, C. Ebdon, J.
Turner and J. Fleming for helping to improve the
manuscript. The authors are particularly grateful to
N. Milton whose advice has made for a considerably
105
improved final text. Amerada Hess and Shell/Esso are
thanked for funding the PhDs undertaken by R. J. D.
and K. J. S. respectively.
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