Sedimentology of the Eocene succession in BGS Borehole 99/3

The evolution of the Faroe-Shetland Basin during the Eocene is currently the subject of
considerable interest. Subsidence during the Eocene has produced a succession in which shelf
and slope deposits, some of which might have potential as hydrocarbon reservoirs, overlie nonmarine
and shallow marine sedimentary rocks. The rate of subsidence in the basin, and
identification of the exact depositional environments in which the sediments were deposited,
have some bearing on the interpretation of the time of onset on North Atlantic deep water
circulation.
The sedimentology of the Eocene succession in BGS Borehole 99/3 is of some relevance to this
discussion as it has been interpreted to be part of a contourite drift, implying that deep marine
circulation was active. The mudstones and muds in the core, however, contain little definitive
evidence for contour current activity, nor have any down-slope depositional events been
identified.