Sequential dip-slip fault movement during rifting: a new model for the

evolution of the Jurassic trilete North Sea rift system

R. J. Davies1, J. D. Turner2 and J. R. Underhill2
1
ExxonMobil Exploration Co., 233 Benmar, Houston, Texas 77060, USA
(e-mail: richard_davies@email.exxonmobil.com)
2
Department of Geology and Geophysics, Grant Institute, The University of Edinburgh, West Mains Road,
Edinburgh EH9 3JW, UK (e-mail: jturner@glg.ed.ac.uk/jru@glg.ed.ac.uk)

ABSTRACT: Controversy has long surrounded the kinematics of faulting in the

Middle–Late Jurassic North Sea trilete rift system. Integration of structural styles and
subsidence analysis derived from well-constrained seismic interpretation enables a
new, unified model to be proposed in which strike-slip was negligible, dip-slip
extension predominated throughout the rifting episode and normal faults were active
sequentially not synchronously. Extension was initiated on N–S and NNE–SSW
trending faults during the Bathonian and Callovian, NE–SW and E–W structures
during the Oxfordian and NW–SE faults during the Kimmeridgian and Volgian. The
results allow us to speculate that fault activity was driven by variations in the
prevailing far-field stress regime that were superimposed upon a trilete junction that
formed as consequence of Middle Jurassic thermal doming. Significantly, rotation
of the stress field during rifting is similar in other rifts, such as the Afro-Arabian
system.

KEYWORDS: stress, sequence, kinematics, dip-slip fault, rotation (geology)

INTRODUCTION contemporaneously may in fact be flawed and that sequential

It is generally accepted that active extension in the North Sea
(Fig. 1) took place during the Permo-Triassic and during the
Middle and Late Jurassic (Roberts et al. 1995; Faerseth 1996)
and that the formation of the North Sea trilete rift system
during the latter event was preceded by the development of a
Middle Jurassic thermal dome (Ziegler 1990; Underhill &
Partington 1993). The rift itself is arguably one of the most
studied ones in the world, with over 2000 well penetrations and
a comprehensive coverage of 2D and 3D seismic data. Despite
this, no agreement has been reached with regard to the
kinematics of Middle and Late Jurassic rifting.
Middle to Late Jurassic rifting was essentially accommodated
by movement on four fault sets (Fig. 1). An explicit or implicit
assumption of all of the recent models that purport to explain
the kinematics of the system is that all fault sets in the area
around the triple junction were active at the same time. Making
this assumption has forced many of these models, whether
proposing a constant or changing extension direction, to
include oblique-slip activity for one or more of the active fault
sets. This is fundamental, as this interpretation underpins what
we believe is an important misconception that still exists within
the published literature regarding Middle and Late Jurassic rift
development, namely that some or all of the faults were the
result of either oblique-slip or strike-slip fault movement.
In this paper we use 2D and 3D seismic and well data from
the UK sector of the North Sea triple junction area to propose
a new unified model for the post-dome rifting phase. We
do this by first examining the validity of the evidence for
oblique-slip and/or strike-slip extension rather than simply
dip-slip extension. We then put forward stratigraphic data that
suggest that the assumption that all fault sets were active
fault activity occurred instead. The systematic variation in the
timing of initiation of fault movement during rifting appears to
have depended upon the orientation of the faults themselves.
This is an important part of a new model we propose, in which
Middle and Late Jurassic rifting started with the development of
a thermal dome and the formation of a trilete junction centred
on the dome, followed by progressive sequential dip-slip
movement on N–S/NNE–SSW, NE–SW, E–W and NW–SE
intra-rift extensional faults. We finally speculate as to what
process may have driven the sequential faulting.
PREVIOUS STUDIES
Interpretation of subsurface data suggests that Jurassic rifting
was initiated during the Bathonian in the Viking Graben, with
the remainder of the Jurassic being dominated by active faulting
in all three rift arms. During this extensional episode a
first-order transgression took place over Northwest Europe
(Jacquin et al. 1998). This led to the retreat of extensive Middle
Jurassic delta plain and shoreface systems due, in part, to the
subsidence generated by the deflation of the North Sea dome
(Underhill & Partington 1993). Marine environments were
established throughout the North Sea and this period was
dominated by the deposition of shallow marine shoreface sands
and associated sediments in a shelf setting (Fig. 2; Rattey &
Hayward 1993). During the Kimmeridgian and Volgian the
shoreface systems were replaced by turbidites and debris flows,
after rifting had resulted in the development of significant
bathymetric relief (Rattey & Hayward 1993). Extension ceased
in the Ryazanian and was followed by post-rift subsidence
during the Cretaceous and Cenozoic.

Petroleum Geoscience, Vol. 7 2001, pp. 371–388 1354-0793/01/$15.00  2001 EAGE/Geological Society of London
372 R. J. Davies et al.

Fig. 1. A structure map of the

North Sea trilete rift system (after
Bartholomew et al. 1993) showing the
intersection of four fault populations
which strike in N–S/NNE–SSW,
NE–SW, E–W and NW–SE directions.

Fig. 2. Stratigraphic column, including

(a) the Middle and Late Jurassic and
(b) the pre-Middle Jurassic.
IAU, Intra-Aalenian or Mid
Cimmerian unconformity; ICU,
Intra-Callovian unconformity;
IOU, intra-Oxfordian unconformity
(after Davies et al. 1999).

We focus on the development of the immediate triple fault orientations can be identified within the triple junction
junction area (Fig. 1) – the Moray Firth rift arm, the Central area, the axes of the three rift arms themselves strike N–S/
Graben (as far south as Quadrants 29 and 30) and the Viking NNE–SSW, E–W and NW–SE. All faults – except the NE–SW
Graben (as far north as Quadrant 9). Although four intra-rift faults of the Inner Moray Firth – are broadly parallel to one of
 Jurassic rifting of the North Sea 373

Fig. 3. Seismic line over the Puffin high within the Central Graben showing a series of high-angle deep faults (marked X) cross-cutting the
Rotliegendes above which there are a series of lower angle faults cross-cutting the Mesozoic section (marked Y). Similar fault patterns elsewhere
within the Central Graben have been interpreted as strike-slip faults with high-angle faults at depth linked through a salt section to lower angle
faults within the carapace (Sears et al. 1993). This gives the appearance of a flower structure. In this particular example we interpret the
predominant sense of motion to be dip-slip with de-coupling between the deeper and shallower faults and potentially gravitational movement
of the Mesozoic carapace downdip from east to west, to the immediate left of the well penetration. Structural geometries are also controlled by
salt withdrawal and or dissolution (Z) above deeper Rotliegendes faults (Hodgson et al. 1992).

the three rift zones. Fault growth and linkage occurred during
extension and rifting within the North Sea (e.g. Dawers &
Underhill 2000; McLeod et al. in press). However, we aim to
examine the timing of faulting on the most prominent intra-rift
faults that dominate the structural architecture of the three rift
arms, disregarding minor faults in relay ramps and breached
relay ramps which may have been controlled by local stress
conditions.
Over the last decade the primary areas of focus for those that
have proposed that strike-slip and oblique-slip faulting were
important aspects of Jurassic rifting have been the Central
Graben and parts of the Moray Firth. The majority of the
supportive evidence presented has been 2D and 3D seismic
data acquired over the Central Graben (Bartholomew et al.
1993; Sears et al. 1993; Eggink et al. 1996). Both the Triassic and
Jurassic rift phases have affected sections containing Permian
Salt (Penge et al. 1993). Key lines of evidence for postulating
oblique-slip and strike-slip faulting were:
(1) the apparent anastomosing and, in places, rhombohedral
planform geometry of Jurassic faults, above what were
considered to be long-lived, repeatedly reactivated base-
ment shear zones;
(2) in cross-sectional view, the vertical linkage (through salt
cover in some cases) of the zones of basement shear Fig. 4. (a) Geoseismic section from the Central Graben (after
with splaying low-angle, shallower faults, dissecting the Helgesen 1999), that crosses (b) a series of NE–SW striking faults at
Mesozoic cover, with these being interpreted as flower base Cretaceous level and (c) N–S and E–W striking faults at
Rotliegendes level. The common interpretation has been to link the
structures; high-angle, sub-vertical deeper faults (marked X) to shallower faults
(3) the generation of apparent uplift and subsidence between that are of lower angle (45) – marked Y – giving apparent flower
the basement shear zones. geometries. This structural configuration can be accounted for
without making this linkage and Helgesen (1999) suggests that there
Additional supporting evidence was the apparent similarity is no direct hard linkage between the upper and lower faults.
between the planform geometry of the faults as imaged near the Helgesen’s interpretation is consistent with dip-slip extension within
base Cretaceous level and those created in sandbox modelling this part of the Central Graben.
374 R. J. Davies et al.

Fig. 5. 2D regional seismic line from the Inner Moray Firth that traverses a number of NE–SW striking faults (marked in red). Note the major
normal fault on the western side of the line, separating the Sutherland Terrace from the Beatrice half-graben. The Beatrice block is dissected by
a number of small offset planar normal faults (marked X). Note there is little or no clear evidence for rotation on the fault block during the
Callovian and Bathonian (between Top Triassic to Top A Sand seismic picks). Also note some evidence for syn-extensional thickening of the
J2.1–J2.3 interval, which gives an indication that extension was occurring during the Late Oxfordian to Early Volgian (marked Y). All the planar
normal faults are of Jurassic age. The flower structure centred on the Great Glen fault (marked Z) is much younger and has no effect on Jurassic
sediment thickness variations (Underhill 1991a, 1991b).

of oblique-slip faults (Eggink et al. 1996). The development of
flower structures was considered to be the result of an obliquity
between interpreted NW–SE orientated basement lineaments
and what was considered to be an overall E–W extension
direction. In plan view the manifestation of the low-angle faults
at near base Cretaceous level was that of a series of linked fault
traces that had a rhombohedral geometry.
These observations led to the interpretation that the Central
Graben was the result of oblique-slip faulting. A strike-slip
origin for the Inner Moray Firth originated from a regional
synthesis that made the assumption that rifting occurred at the
same time in each rift arm and that the faults within the Central
Graben and the Viking Graben were dip-slip normal faults
(Roberts et al. 1990). For their kinematic model to work,
Roberts et al. (1990) had to advocate significant strike-slip
movement on one basin bounding fault of the Inner Moray
Firth – the Great Glen Fault. Many local, field-scale studies
have, in fact, determined that fault arrays were predominantly
dip-slip (see Abbots 1991). There have been fewer proponents
of dip-slip fault activity and extension orthogonal to the rift
zone (e.g. Underhill 1991a; Erratt 1993; Davies et al. 1999;
Erratt et al. 1999). With the exception of the Inner Moray
Firth, Roberts et al. (1990) were also strong advocates of
predominantly dip-slip extension in the North Sea region.
As a result of the uncertainty regarding fault kinematics, two
schools of thought have developed with regard to the control-
ling extension direction. One advocates a constant extension
direction during Jurassic times (Speksnijder 1987; Badley et al.
1988; Roberts et al. 1990; Ziegler 1990; Bartholomew et al. 1993;
Brun & Tron 1993; Faerseth 1996) and the other advocates a
changing extension direction (Doré & Gage 1987; Thomas &
Coward 1995; Eggink et al. 1996; Davies et al. 1999; Erratt et al.
1999).
FAULT KINEMATICS ASSESSED FROM SEISMIC
DATA
The role of Permian salt
In the Central Graben, Permian salt has had a profound effect
on the structural and stratigraphic evolution of the Permo-
Triassic and Jurassic successions. Where salt is present, two
areas offer contrasting structural configurations: intra-rift
highs/rift margins with thin salt sections and intra-rift basinal
lows with thick salt sections.
Within the areas of thin salt, grounding of pods of Triassic
sediments occurred probably due to loading, thin-skinned
extension and reactive and active diapirism; the salt commonly
deformed into a complex series of salt walls (Wakefield et al.
1993). Jurassic sediments were subsequently deposited above
the salt walls, in accommodation space generated by salt
evacuation and/or dissolution. This dynamic interplay between
the underlying basement (top Rotliegendes) structure, salt
deposition and subsequent loading and salt movement has been
encapsulated within salt tectonic models, such as the ‘podology’
model (Hodgson et al. 1992) involving low-angle faults that cut
the Mesozoic section as a result of differential loading of the
Permian salt by Triassic sediments. Jackson & Vendeville
(1992) have also shown that salt walls and diapirs can develop
in similar settings due to syn-sedimentary thin-skinned exten-
sion. Complex faults and folds may also have developed as a
result of forced folding of the Mesozoic carapace above
 Jurassic rifting of the North Sea
basement horsts (Erratt 1993). Irrespective of the exact struc-
tural model, it is clear that a range of complex structural
configurations developed due to the influence of salt. Some of
these configurations have been interpreted to be the result of
oblique-slip and strike-slip faulting.
Dip-slip versus oblique-slip and strike-slip faulting
Although we do not provide an exhaustive structural interpret-
ation of the Central Graben, the two examples presented below
are within the central parts of the rift zone and are represen-
tative of the structural architectures seen elsewhere. Our
interpretation considers the faults to be normal dip-slip faults
that, in some cases, have listric geometries. Such examples have
been considered to be oblique-slip and strike-slip faults, inter-
pretations that have underpinned the development of an
oblique-rifting model for the Central Graben (Bartholomew
et al. 1993; Sears et al. 1993). This, in turn, has been integrated
into a kinematic model for the triple junction as a whole
(Bartholomew et al. 1993). This model would have the three
rifts arms cross-cut by numerous strike-slip and oblique-slip
faults, with the North Sea being some kind of obliquely-rifted
triple junction.
Puffin intra-rift high
The Puffin high is an intra-rift high, located in the axis of the
Central Graben (Fig. 1). It is one structure used as evidence by
the proponents of oblique-slip and strike-slip faulting (Eggink
et al. 1996). On the Puffin high, a relatively thin Permian salt
section separates the Mesozoic section from the Rotliegend
basement. Our mapping of 3D data over the Puffin high
suggests that the salt separates a deep, high-angle fault set that
dissects the top Rotliegendes reflector from a shallower series
of low-angle faults (25–45) in the Mesozoic section (Fig. 3).
The low-angle faults are not aligned in this cross-sectional view
with the underlying high-angle faults that cut the basement. We
interpret these shallow faults to have formed due to gravita-
tionally driven movement of the Mesozoic carapace on the salt,
above an inclined Rotliegendes basement. We do not link the
high-angle, deep faults with the low-angle, shallower faults.
These and similar configurations imaged on the western margin
of the Central Graben (Stewart et al. 1999) are consistent with
predominantly dip-slip movements both of the faults offsetting
the basement and the faults in the Mesozoic strata (Fig. 3).
Although there are no alignments of deep and shallow faults
and no mappable connecting fault planes between the two,
recent interpretations commonly show a single high-angle fault
strand at depth, splaying to a series of lower angle faults in the
shallow section (Bartholomew et al. 1993; Sears et al. 1993;
Eggink et al. 1996). Such interpretations have resulted in
structural configurations similar to a classic flower structure,
that would be consistent with strike-slip and oblique-slip fault
kinematics. The high-angle faults that cut the basement, some
of which are the bounding faults to the Puffin high, were
considered to be sinistral oblique-slip faults by Eggink et al.
(1996). Bartholomew et al. (1993) and Sears et al. (1993) also
maintained that the bounding faults of the Puffin high were
zones of basement shear.
Axis of the Central Graben
Where the Permian salt is thicker, within intra-basinal lows for
example, a different structural configuration is seen. In the axis
of the Central Graben (Blocks 22/30 and 29/4 and 29/5)
acquisition of 3D seismic data is now revealing the crucial
relationship between the basement (top Rotliegendes), the
375
Permian salt and the overlying Triassic and Jurassic strata
(Fig. 4a). Mapping by others (Helgesen 1999) also shows there
to be two separate, rather than linked fault sets. Helgesen
mapped a lower set of high-angle faults that cut the basement
(top Rotliegendes) and a shallower series of planar faults that
cut the Mesozoic section. In Block 22/30 the faults that cut the
Palaeozoic strata have E–W and N–S orientations (Fig. 4b, c).
In plan view, these deeper faults are oblique to the overlying
Mesozoic faults. The shallower faults have an overall NW–SE
orientation, but are arcuate in many places. They appear to
control the geometry of the Upper Jurassic and Cretaceous
successions that infill the minibasins that formed above the
rotated fault blocks (Fig. 4a). The Permian salt is of variable
thickness and forms pillow and ‘detached’ pillow structures
(Fig. 4a). The base of the Triassic is tilted and has grounded on
the footwall highs of the underlying Rotliegendes fault blocks.
Helgesen’s (1999) interpretation of how this geometry devel-
oped is that Late Jurassic extension led to N–S and E–W
striking faults at Rotliegendes level. Salt diapirism and evacua-
tion, along with movement on the shallower faults that cut the
Mesozoic section, led to the grounding and rotation of the
Triassic and Jurassic strata on the edges of the basement blocks
and these acted as pivot points (Fig. 4a). In common with our
structural interpretation of the Puffin high, Helgesen (1999)
does not interpret the deep through-going sub-vertical faults as
connecting with shallower flower structures. Helgesen’s struc-
tural configuration is more consistent with dip-slip extension
than pervasive wrench faulting. We therefore suggest that it is
possible to interpret both the Puffin and Helgesen examples
within the context of dip-slip rather than oblique-slip and
strike-slip faulting. In both cases the fault sets are separated by
a salt unit with no through-going ‘hard’ linkage between the
deep, high-angle faults and the shallower low-angle faults.
Much of the structural complexity within the Puffin high can be
attributed to the effect of salt wall formation and subse-
quent salt dissolution or collapse, above faulted and tilted
Rotliegendes blocks.
Inner Moray Firth
The Inner Moray Firth is a further area where contradictory
accounts of the dominant fault kinematics exist (cf. Roberts
et al. 1990; Underhill 1991a; Frost & Rose 1996) and the debate
remains active (Argent et al. 2000; Cains 2000). One important
difference with the Central Graben is the absence of a thick
Cretaceous and Cenozoic post-rift sedimentary cover. This
improves seismic resolution, yielding the best imaging of
Jurassic faults and successions in the North Sea and clear
examples of Late Jurassic syn-sedimentary growth faults
(Underhill 1991a, b).
The 2D seismic line we present shows a dissected half-
graben wedge (Fig. 5). This seismic line does, in contrast to the
others we present (Figs 6, 8 and 9), show the characteristic
features of a classic flower structure that would support an
interpretation of strike-slip fault movement (Underhill &
Brodie 1993). The high-angle faults within the flower all link at
depth to form a single fault trace that we interpret to be
essentially vertical. The component faults to the flower struc-
ture cut though the entire Mesozoic section. Although the
structure is a characteristic of strike-slip faulting, we interpret
the planar normal faults to have formed during the Jurassic and
the flower structure to have had no role in Jurassic rifting,
forming during Tertiary compression (Thomson & Underhill
1993; Underhill & Brodie 1993). Only where Jurassic faults
have been inverted and reactivated during later Tertiary
compression (Thomson & Underhill 1993; Argent et al. 2000)
376 R. J. Davies et al.
Fig. 6. (a) Seismic line from the Nevis South fault block, with (b)
structure map at near base Cretaceous level. Two large offset planar
normal faults of N–S and NNE–SSW trend bound the block, which
shows limited internal fault dissection. The fault on the western side
shows signficant offset (1 second TWT). The intra-Aallenian uncon-
formity is mapped across the block. Younger intra-Callovian and
intra-Oxfordian unconformities are related to fault block rotation.
Both correspond to truncated footwall successions and significantly
younger divergent hanging wall wedges (marked X and Y). Fault
block rotation took place during the Bathonian, Callovian and
Oxfordian.
would it be acceptable to interpret some strike-slip movement,
which of course would post-date the Jurassic rifting, upon
which we focus here. Mapping of the depocentres also
demonstrates that their form is that of an extensional
half-graben, an interpretation which is consistent with the
absence of local structural and sedimentological variation along
the strike of the planar faults. This, along with basic mapping of
these structures, shows that they are the result of dip-slip not
oblique-slip or strike-slip faulting. The flower structure itself is
related to the Great Glen Fault, which was interpreted to have
been a major basin bounding strike-slip fault by Roberts et al.
(1990). In their model the implicit assumption that Jurassic
faults were active contemporaneously required some faults, in
this case the Great Glen Fault, to have had a major strike-slip
component of motion during the Jurassic. This interpretation
was challenged by Underhill (1991a) who advocated a minimal
component of strike-slip movement during the Jurassic and this
was also later the conclusion of Roberts & Holdsworth (1999).
Our interpretation of the Central and Moray Firth grabens is
that intra-rift faults are predominantly dip-slip in origin and not
through-going sub-vertical strike-slip or oblique-slip faults.
In the Moray Firth and the Viking Graben the role of
basement lineaments in controlling the exact location of
Mesozoic faults remains unclear. If a basement lineament
control were dominant in the Moray Firth or Viking Graben we
would not expect to see the systematic and progressive fault
growth and linkage histories that have been recognized recently
in the Northern North Sea and elsewhere (e.g. Dawers &
Underhill 2000; Davies et al. 2000; McLeod et al. in press).
Recent unpublished work has also demonstrated that Triassic
faults in the Northern North Sea dip in the opposite sense to
Jurassic faults and were not reactivated during Jurassic rifting.
In addition, in the Central Graben, the Helgesen (1999)
interpretation would indicate that the exact orientation of the
Jurassic faults is not directly controlled by any underlying
basement lineaments.
TIMING OF FAULT MOVEMENT ASSESSED FROM
SEISMIC DATA
2D and even recent 3D seismic data are rarely of enough
resolution to allow for division of the Jurassic into seismic
sequences so detailed as to indicate the timing of fault move-
ment. This is commonly the result of the deterioration in
seismic resolution due to the depth of burial and/or the
presence of a chalk cover. The Jurassic section can also be thin
on the footwalls of extensional faults and may be dissected by
the through-going fault planes. This makes the mapping of
stratal units across fault blocks difficult. It is also easy to
overestimate the duration of active extension using seismic data
alone (Prosser 1993). To overcome these pitfalls we integrate
the interpretation of the seismic data with stratigraphic infor-
mation from wells. We have selected seismic lines orthogonal
to the strike of faults from optimal areas within the three rift
arms in order to make a qualitative assessment of the timing of
fault block rotation.
N–S/NNE–SSW faults
The Viking Graben is dominated by faults that have a N–S and
NNE–SSW orientation (Fig. 1). In the central sector of the rift
arm, in the Bruce–Beryl embayment, a series of broadly N–S
and NNE–SSW striking faults bound the Beryl and South
Nevis hydrocarbon accumulations. The South Nevis Field
occurs in a N–S orientated fault block (Fig. 6) that has a
Jurassic extensional history. Crestal wells have proven a rela-
tively complete Jurassic succession in the footwall. The intra-
Aalenian unconformity (the result of the older Middle Jurassic
thermal doming) is mapped across the fault block. In cross-
sectional and plan view the main bounding fault has a geometry
that is consistent with dip-slip fault movement and shows no
convincing evidence for oblique-slip or strike-slip motion. Two
footwall unconformities of Callovian and Oxfordian ages are
mapped at the crest of the fault and correspond down-dip to
slightly younger, thickened hanging wall wedges adjacent to the
Shetland Platform. We interpret both to be the result of
extensional movement on the fault itself and associated foot-
wall uplift. The evidence for two, thickened, hanging wall
 Jurassic rifting of the North Sea
wedges of Bathonian and Callovian/Oxfordian age suggests
that these were times of fault block rotation of the South Nevis
Field fault block.
Some 120 km to the south of the Bruce–Beryl embayment,
within the South Viking Graben, the Fladen Ground Spur
forms another N–S striking high that separates the Moray Firth
and Viking Graben rift arms (Fig. 1). A series of linked N–S
striking faults form the eastern boundary of the high and this
fault linkage has resulted in the formation of a single 40–50 km
long fault strand that has a significant throw (c. 3 km). Similarly
orientated extensional faults to the east of what is effectively the
Fig. 8. (a) Seismic line over NE–SW striking faults from (b) the
Ettrick Field, within the Outer Moray Firth. Note that the Oxfordian
section is divergent into the planar normal fault in the centre of the
line (marked X). Kimmeridgian and Volgian sections drape the fault
blocks. Poor reflector continuity possibly associated with lateral
facies changes adjacent to the fault in the SE make the mapping of
some of the reflectors difficult.
377
Fig. 7. Geoseismic section across the
western part of the South Viking
Graben (after Cockings et al. 1992). A
large offset planar normal fault shows
that fault rotation initiated during the
Bathonian (Bathonian interval shows
some truncation) in the footwall. There
is clear thickening of the Callovian and
possibly Lower and Middle Oxfordian
into the basin-bounding fault.
Truncation of the Callovian to the east
indicates that there was movement on
both bounding faults and intra-basinal
faults. These data would indicate that
the Early Callovian and Middle
Callovian were times of active fault
block rotation, which probably
continued into the Early, Middle and
Late Oxfordian.
Fig. 9. (a) Seismic line from a 3D dataset shot over the Elgin and
Shearwater Fields. (b) Faults have an overall NW–SE strike, but are
commonly also arcuate in planform. Fault block rotation occurred
during the Kimmeridgian and Volgian (marked X). Some thicken-
ing of the Bathonian section, into the footwall is also apparent
(marked Y).
378 R. J. Davies et al.
graben-bounding fault have smaller throws and a Jurassic
section is preserved on the footwalls of these faults. In this
published example the Upper Oxfordian to Lower Ryazanian
drapes the extensional fault and the older Middle Oxfordian to
Lower Callovian is characterized by a divergent hanging wall
wedge (Fig. 7; Cockings et al. 1992). This and the Nevis South
Field fault, are both examples of N–S striking faults that occur
along the western margin of the Viking Graben. They both
show a consistent timing of fault activity: with initiation during
the Bathonian, probably on a series of unlinked faults, and
continued movement during the Callovian and probably into
the Late Oxfordian.
NE–SW faults
In contrast to the South Viking Graben, the Inner Moray Firth
and much of the Outer Moray Firth are dominated by faults
that strike NE–SW. Where the Jurassic succession is particu-
larly thick, for instance within the central part of the rift arm,
the Jurassic interval can be subdivided and the Jurassic exten-
sional histories of the faults can be assessed. The Ettrick Field
in Blocks 20/2 and 20/3 is located to the east of the Inner
Moray Firth basin in the South Halibut Trough (Fig. 1). Here,
no Callovian or older Jurassic rocks are known to be preserved
(Andrews et al. 1990) and the Jurassic section is dissected by a
series of NE–SW intra-rift tilted fault blocks that dominate the
structural architecture of this part of the rift. In the Outer
Moray Firth, in contrast to the examples of N–S striking faults
from the Viking Graben (Figs 6 and 7), it is the Oxfordian and
Lower Kimmeridgian section that thins onto the footwall
and thickens onto the hanging wall of NE–SW striking faults
(Fig. 8). In this case the Volgian succession drapes the footwall
of the extensional fault, which appears to tip out within
Kimmeridgian-aged sediments. This indicates that, at least on
this fault, but most probably within this part of the rift zone,
Oxfordian and Kimmeridgian were times of active fault block
rotation and footwall uplift (Davies 1995). Our example
from the Inner Moray Firth (Fig. 5) also shows NE–SW
orientated faults that were active during the Late Oxfordian,
Kimmeridgian and Early Volgian.
NW–SE faults
In the Central Graben, despite the structural complexity due to
the presence of the Permian salt, discrete and coherent fault
blocks have been imaged on 2D and 3D seismic data (Figs 3, 4
and 9; see also Jeremiah & Nicholson 1999, fig. 10). One such
rotational fault block now defines the Shearwater Field in Block
22/30b, which is bounded to the north and northeast by a fault
that has an arcuate planform geometry at near base Cretaceous
level. On the southwestern flank of the structure, Volgian and
Kimmeridgian sediments thicken into the hanging wall of the
adjacent extensional fault, which is the northeastern boundary
of the Elgin Field. In this example, little or no thickening is
seen within the pre-Kimmeridgian section, although the Middle
Jurassic may thicken slightly towards the footwall, possibly
indicating that subsidence then may have been controlled by
other faults or more likely by an earlier phase of post-rift,
thermally driven subsidence. The timing of active extension can
be constrained on the basis of divergent seismic reflector
relationships as occurring during the Kimmeridgian and
Volgian.
The examples from the Moray Firth, Viking Graben and
Central Graben show different timings of the initiation of active
extension. The N–S striking faults on the western margin of the
Viking Graben were active first, during the Bathonian and
Callovian, with activity potentially continuing through to the
Late Oxfordian. The NE–SW striking fault block from
the Ettrick Field in the Moray Firth was active during the
Oxfordian and Kimmeridgian and the NW–SE striking
fault bounding the Shearwater Field shows only minor
pre-Kimmeridgian activity and appears to have been active
mainly during the Kimmeridgian and Volgian. These obser-
vations on fault timing are consistent with the changes in the
style of sedimentation that took place during the Late Jurassic
that we discuss later.
Cross-cutting fault relationships
In some parts of the triple junction only one fault population
can be mapped, for example NE–SW striking faults predomi-
nate within the Inner Moray Firth (Fig. 1). In other areas two or
even three fault populations occur together, for example in the
North Viking Graben and the Witch Ground Graben. In such
areas, seismic data quality permitting, the relative timing of fault
activity can be determined by identifying cross-cutting relation-
ships. For example the Viking Graben is characterized by
N–S/NNE–SSW and NE–SW striking faults (Faerseth et al.
1997; Fig. 1). In the North Viking Graben it has been
established that N–S/NNE–SSW faults are cross-cut by
NE–SW orientated faults, indicating that N–S/NNE–SSW
faults pre-date NE–SW faults (Faerseth et al. 1997). In their
interpretation some of the N–S faults were interpreted to be the
result of the Permo-Triassic phase of extension and the
NE–SW faults are considered to be the result of a Jurassic
extension. In the Witch Ground Graben (Fig. 1), WSW–ENE
striking faults (for example the Theta Graben) intersect
NW–SE striking faults. Although we have found no definitive
examples of cross-cutting relationships on seismic data, Boldy
& Brealey (1990) used the thickness variations of Middle and
Upper Jurassic strata to show that WSW–ENE faults pre-date
NW–SE faults. These observations may be further evidence
that faulting did not occur on all faults at the same time, with
the actual timing of movement being different and related to
the fault orientation.
STRATIGRAPHIC ANALYSIS OF WELLS LOCATED
IN FAULT HANGING WALLS
Seismic data provide a qualitative ‘first-order’ approximation
for the timing of faulting. Information on the sedimentary
response to extension is preserved in the stratigraphic record,
however, and can provide more detail of the timing of active
extension than the seismic data alone. This can be done by
examining the sedimentary successions in the hanging walls
adjacent to extensional faults and looking for systematic
changes in, for instance, the thickness of the syn-extensional
fill. Extension could occur with concomitant changes in water
depth but with little syn-extensional sedimentary infill and so
water depth estimations have been made to account for this.
Our stratigraphic analysis is based upon well penetrations and
these have been used in subsidence analysis and for the
construction of isopach maps of individual stratigraphic units.
Other supportive data can be gleaned from documented
constraints that have now been placed upon the timing of the
development of rift-flank unconformities (Davies et al. 1999).
Stratigraphic database
High-resolution subsidence analysis was undertaken for 98
wells in the South Viking Graben, the triple junction and the
Moray Firth. These wells were selected on the basis that (a) they
 Jurassic rifting of the North Sea
penetrated a Jurassic section, (b) they were not drilled as
deviated wells and did not encounter any seismically imaged
faults and so that measured stratigraphic thicknesses are real
and (c) biostratigraphic resolution was deemed to be good.
These data have allowed a quantitative, statistical analysis of the
subsidence patterns in the hanging wall wells. In addition
non-decompacted isopach maps are based upon between 182
and 392 well penetrations (depending on which stratigraphic
unit was being considered). These were constructed in order to
understand regional changes in the geometry of stratigraphic
units that make up the Middle and Upper Jurassic fill of the
triple junction area. For both the subsidence analysis and for
the construction of regional isopach maps, each well was
divided into datable units. Biostratigraphic data from individual
wells, allied to newly established sequence stratigraphic corre-
lations (Stephen et al. 1993; Davies et al. 1996; Stephen &
Davies 1998; Davies et al. 1999), were used to subdivide the
Jurassic–earliest Cretaceous succession in each well. This pro-
vides a more detailed, consistent and accurate stratigraphic
subdivision than would be possible if one was to rely upon the
uncorroborated chronostratigraphic subdivisions posted on
composite logs of variable vintage.
Subsidence analysis and its application
Subsidence histories were calculated using standard back-
stripping (subsidence analysis) methods (after Steckler & Watts
1978). The same stratigraphic criteria were used to subdivide all
wells, so that the subsidence results from different wells and
areas can be directly compared and any spatial or temporal
variations in subsidence could be identified. Stratigraphic ages
were converted to numerical ages using the geological time-
scale of Harland et al. (1990). Present-day sediment thicknesses
were decompacted using the exponential porosity–depth deter-
minations of Sclater & Christie (1980) for each of the main
lithologies identified.
Corrections were also made, where appropriate, for the
effects on calculated Jurassic subsidence of the compaction of
deeper unpenetrated strata and of Cenozoic denudation. Part of
379
Fig. 10. Middle Jurassic to earliest
Cretaceous subsidence history – Well
12/21-3 (see Fig. 1 for location). Total
(sediment loaded) subsidence is plotted
without a water depth correction
(dashed line) and with a minimum and
maximum water depth correction
(shaded area between circles). Open
circles are total subsidence with a
minimum water depth correction and
solid circles have a maximum water
depth correction applied. The further
these circles plot from the dashed line,
the deeper the water depth. Subsidence
is plotted as depth (in metres) to
compaction basement (in this case
taken as base Permian) against time (in
millions of years). Sedimentation rates
are plotted as a histogram along the
base of the plot (measured in metres
per million years). Vertical lines split
the plot up into the Middle Jurassic,
Late Jurassic and earliest Cretaceous.
Changes in subsidence and
sedimentation rates reflect the timing of
active extension and faulting (see main
text for details).
the accommodation space available for sediment accumulation
during the Jurassic would have been the result of the compac-
tion of underlying, older successions. A failure to correct for
the effects of this compaction would lead to overestimates of
the amount of Jurassic subsidence. All wells were therefore
decompacted to the base of the Permian to remove most of
the effects of any unpenetrated sediment and to provide a
common starting point for the subsidence history calculations.
Unpenetrated Mid–Lower Jurassic, Triassic and Permian sedi-
ment thicknesses were obtained from seismic data, by corre-
lation from nearby wells and from published work (e.g.
Andrews et al. 1990; Frostick et al. 1992). The effects of
Cenozoic erosion in the Inner Moray Firth mean that Jurassic
sediments are over-compacted at the present day compared to
what would be predicted using standard porosity–depth func-
tions. A failure to correct for this would lead to an underesti-
mate of Jurassic subsidence rates. The Cenozoic denudation
estimates of Hillis et al. (1994), were used to correct for these
effects. Further details of the subsidence analysis methodology
we use are given by Turner (1997).
Changes in background subsidence rates driven by tectonic
processes, such as active extension, are reflected in the sedi-
mentary record in two ways: by variations in the thickness of
sediment that accumulated and by changes in depositional
environments. During periods of accelerated subsidence rates,
as expected for hanging wall sites during periods of active
extension, there may be an increase in sediment accumulation
rates, a deepening of water depths or both (Fig. 10). The
balance between these effects will depend upon the rate of
sediment supply. If sediment supply rates do not keep pace
with background subsidence rates then water depths will
increase. Conversely, if sediment supply rates exceed subsid-
ence rates, water depths will decrease. It is therefore important
to look at variations in both sediment accumulation rates and
water depth.
Errors associated with subsidence analysis
The single largest potential error in most subsidence studies
comes from uncertainties in estimating the water depths of
380 R. J. Davies et al.

deposition and variations in water depth through time. For the

areas studied here, the limited seismic resolution due in part to
structural complexity, precludes the determination of water
depth through the identification of clinoform geometries.
Therefore we use fossils, especially benthic microfossils, fossil
assemblages, sedimentary facies, sedimentary structures, dis-
tinctive organic and inorganic geochemical signatures, rock
colours and mineral assemblages as environmental indicators.
A comparison with modern environments helps to quantify
possible water depth ranges but it is not possible to make
precise water depth determinations. Whilst likely water depth
ranges are fairly narrow and reliable for shallow water depths,
uncertainties of several hundred metres or more are introduced
for open marine, slope settings. In this study we have concen-
trated on identifying the timing of initiation of active extension,
which is recorded as an increase in subsidence rates and is
reflected in both sediment thickness and water depth changes.
As water depths increase it becomes progressively harder to
discriminate between changes in basement subsidence and
changes in sediment supply. Two key changes in water depth
are used in this study to identify increases in subsidence rates,
and hence the initiation of active faulting: the transition from
non-marine or marginal marine conditions to shallow marine
environments and the change from stable, shallow marine shelf
environments to deep, open marine conditions. Both can be
identified with confidence in all wells where the relevant
sections are preserved.

Subsidence analysis: qualitative observations

The analysis of Middle–Late Jurassic subsidence from represen-
tative wells in different parts of the study area records similar
overall patterns of subsidence (Fig. 11). The differences in their
detailed subsidence histories, however, can only be explained by
variations in the timing of extension and normal faulting. All
wells analysed record a period of non-deposition or erosion
during the early part of the Middle Jurassic (the Mid-Cimmerian
unconformity). Non-marine to marginal marine Middle Jurassic
sediments overlie the Mid-Cimmerian unconformity in most
wells. All sites throughout the study area also record a steady
deepening of water depths, from non-marine conditions during
the Bathonian (161 Ma) to slope conditions in all hanging wall
locations by Kimmeridgian times (153 Ma). This increase in
water depth was accompanied by very high sedimentation rates
in most wells. In Well 12/21-3 from the Inner Moray Firth, for
example, the change from shelf to slope conditions during the
early part of the Late Jurassic was accompanied by sedimenta-
tion rates of 150–400 m Ma
1 (Fig. 10). This combination of
deepening water depths and high sedimentation rates is evi-
dence for a period of rapid basement subsidence, consistent
with the effects of extension.
The Late Oxfordian to Early Volgian (155.9–150.1 Ma) was a
period of rapid basement subsidence in all wells, although there
were major variations in the timing of initiation of the rapid
subsidence. In some wells (e.g. 12/21-3 and 15/23-9 – Fig. 11)
a period of slow to moderate subsidence preceded the main
phase of rapid basement subsidence. The timing of this shift
from moderate to rapid subsidence varied. Towards the end of
the Volgian and during the Ryazanian, deep marine conditions
existed throughout the study area (and persisted during the
Cretaceous and into the Cenozoic in most wells). Uncertainties
in constraining the precise water depths mean that it is
impossible to decide whether subsidence rates began to slow at
the same time in all wells.
Superimposed on this overall pattern of Middle–Late Jurassic
subsidence and sedimentation are other significant variations in
Fig. 11. Subsidence curves Middle Jurassic to earliest Cretaceous
subsidence histories for a selection of hanging wall wells (see Fig. 1)
for this period includes the main Middle–Late Jurassic syn-rift stage.
All wells preserve a record of Middle Jurassic uplift, erosion and
doming (the Mid Cimmerian Unconformity, Underhill & Partington,
1993, 1994). The time at which subsidence resumed at each site
varies, partly controlled by their distance from the centre of the
dome and partly by the timing of initiation of active extension in
each location. The transition from moderate rift initiation subsidence
to rapid peak rifting subsidence also occurred at different times in
different locations controlled by the orientation of nearby normal
faults. See main text for further discussion.
the timing of changes in subsidence. There are differences in
the age of sediments overlying the Mid-Cimmerian (intra-
Aalenian) unconformity. Bajocian to Bathonian sediments are
present above the unconformity along most of the length of the
Viking Graben (e.g. in Wells 9/13-34 and 16/17-6) and in the
west of the Moray Firth (in Well 12/21-3). The time gap at
the unconformity is much longer in the east of the Moray Firth
closer to the triple junction: Early–Middle Oxfordian and Late
Oxfordian sediments lie above the unconformity in Wells
20/2-4 and 15/23-9, respectively. There were also major
differences in the initiation of rapid basement subsidence. Rapid
subsidence began first, during Bathonian times, in the Viking
Graben (Wells 9/13-34 and 16/17-6). This contrasts with the
Moray Firth (Wells 12/21-3, 20/2-4), where the Bathonian to
Callovian were periods of moderate basement subsidence
before a major acceleration in subsidence during the Oxfordian.
Lastly, rapid subsidence did not begin until the later part of the
Kimmeridgian and Early Volgian in the Witch Ground Graben
and the centre of the triple junction (Wells 15/23-9 and
22/2-2). Overall this represents a difference in the timing of the
 Jurassic rifting of the North Sea 381

(a)

(b)
Fig. 12. (a) Quantative analysis of Middle–Late Jurassic syn-rift subsidence – cumulative frequency plots. Changes in the relative timing of peak
fault activity for faults of different orientations can be quantified by looking at variations in the timing of the most rapid syn-rift subsidence in
hanging wall wells. The main syn-rift interval (Middle–Late Jurassic, Callovian–Early Volgian) was subdivided into five time periods (Callovian,
Early/Middle Oxfordian, Late Oxfordian, Kimmeridgian and Early Volgian) for 66 wells drilled in hanging walls within (b) the study area –
including the South Viking Graben, triple junction, Outer and Inner Moray Firth. The further to the right that a time period plots the greater
its relative importance (see the discussion in the main text).The Late Oxfordian time period plots to the right of the other time periods in the
top plots of (a) indicating that, for N–S and NNE–SSW orientated faults, a greater proportion of syn-rift subsidence took place during the Late
Oxfordian than during the other time periods. This picture changes for the other fault sets. Whilst the Late Oxfordian is still dominant for
NE–SW faults, the Late Oxfordian and Early Volgian are equally important for E–W faults, with the Early Volgian dominant for NW–SE faults.
By comparing the relative position of the different time periods in these plots it is apparent that the age of peak syn-rift subsidence youngs in
the following order: N–S/NNE–SSW to NE–SW to E–W to NW–SE. This corresponds to the results obtained from other datasets in this
paper, suggesting that the different fault sets had different movement histories, with fault initiation and peak displacement rates taking place at
different times for each fault set. These results are consistent with a clockwise rotation in far-field stresses during the syn-rift.

initiation of rapid subsidence of at least 10 million years, from
the Bathonian in the South Viking Graben to the Early Volgian
in the Witch Ground Graben and triple junction. These
observations, made from what we consider to be representative
wells, are similar to those made using seismic data alone. We
propose that these overall similarities and local variations in
the timing of Middle–Late Jurassic subsidence reflect the
interaction between the collapse and gradual subsidence of
the North Sea dome (Underhill & Partington 1993, 1994) and
the initiation of extension and large scale normal faulting.
382 R. J. Davies et al.
The age of the strata sub-cropping the Mid Cimmerian
Unconformity, and hence the time gap that it represents,
increases towards the centre of the North Sea dome and this
pattern is, to a large extent, mirrored by the age of marine
sediments onlapping the unconformity (Underhill & Partington
1993, 1994). Each of the Jurassic rift arms preserves a record of
gradual Middle to Late Jurassic marine onlap towards the triple
junction, reflecting the overall, regional subsidence of the
dome.
The flooding of the dome did not, however, take place at the
same rate down each of the rift arms. Instead the Viking
Graben flooded much more quickly than the Moray Firth.
Deep marine conditions were well established down most of
the length of the South Viking Graben, to within less than
50 km of what we propose was the dome centre, by Callovian
times (e.g. Well 16/17-6 in Fig. 11). In contrast, marine
conditions in the Moray Firth during the Callovian were
restricted to the western part (Well 12/21-3 in Fig. 11), 200 km
away from the dome centre. The area of marine conditions
expanded gradually from west to east along the remainder of
the Moray Firth rift arm during the Oxfordian and Early
Kimmeridgian (Underhill & Partington 1993, 1994 – Fig. 11).
This observation, and the record of rapid Bathonian subsidence
in the Viking Graben (Fig. 11), suggests that Bathonian
subsidence in the South Viking Graben was controlled by
extension and normal faulting as well as regional dome subsid-
ence. Fault-controlled Bathonian–Callovian sedimentation is
clearly apparent on seismic data from the South Viking Graben
(Fig. 7, Cockings et al. 1992). In contrast, Bathonian–Callovian
subsidence in the Inner Moray Firth shows no evidence for
faulting and the moderate subsidence recorded is consistent
with the gradual decay of the North Sea dome. High quality
seismic data available from the Inner Moray Firth (Fig. 5)
also clearly show that the Bathonian–Callovian sequence was
unaffected by syn-sedimentary faulting.
These observations raise the question – why should
extension have begun earlier in the South Viking Graben than
the Moray Firth? The most obvious difference between the two
areas is the orientation of the main bounding faults, mostly
N–S in the Viking Graben and NE–SW in the Inner Moray
Firth. The possible link between fault orientation and the
timing of rapid subsidence, using seismic data (Figs 6, 7, 8, and
9), was further tested through a quantitative analysis of our
subsidence results.
Quantitative analysis of subsidence
Quantitative analysis of Middle–Late Jurassic subsidence
patterns was performed using 66 hanging wall wells from the
Moray Firth, South Viking Graben and triple junction areas
(Fig. 12). The main Middle–Late Jurassic syn-rift interval was
subdivided into five time periods for this analysis (Callovian,
Early–Middle Oxfordian, Late Oxfordian, Kimmeridgian, Early
Volgian). The percentage of the total syn-rift subsidence that
took place during each period was calculated for each well.
These results are presented as cumulative frequency plots
for each of the main fault trends identified regionally (N–S/
NNE–SSW, NE–SW, E–W and NW–SE), based on the
orientation of nearby major faults. Some wells are close to
faults with different orientations and so are included in more
than one plot. For each time period the cumulative frequency
plot displays the percentage of wells recording different
proportions of the total syn-rift subsidence. The further to the
right a time period plots the greater its relative importance. For
example, for wells adjacent to N–S/NNE–SSW faults the Late
Oxfordian accounts for c10% or less of syn-rift subsidence in
c33% of wells, c20% in 43% of wells, c30% or less in 52%
of wells and c40% in 70% of wells. This is a higher overall
proportion of syn-rift subsidence than that recorded for the
other four time, periods indicating the relative importance of
Late Oxfordian subsidence.
What emerges are clear and systematic variations in the
relative importance of different time intervals for the different
fault orientations. Whilst for both N–S/NNE–SSW and
NE–SW faults the Late Oxfordian was the period of most rapid
subsidence, the Early Volgian was the main period of rapid
subsidence for NW–SE faults. There is a gradual decrease in
the relative importance of the earlier parts of the rift phase
(Callovian and Oxfordian) and increase in the importance of
the later periods (Kimmeridgian and Early Volgian) moving
from N–S/NNE–SSW to NE–SW to E–W and finally NW–SE
faults. This suggests a systematic variation in the movement
history of these different fault sets.
The subsidence results used in this analysis have not been
corrected for the effects of variations in palaeo-water depths.
Such corrections would require a range of possible water
depths to be assigned, rather than a single value. Given the
uncertainty in determining precise water depths within this
range we elected to analyse the tightly constrained record of
subsidence preserved by sedimentary thickness variations alone.
Basin-wide patterns of water depth variations reinforce the
evidence presented here for variations in the timing of rapid
subsidence and, hence, fault movement, depending on fault
orientations.
Isopach maps
Isopach maps of (a) Bajocian to Early Callovian, (b) Early
Callovian to Middle Oxfordian, (c) Middle Oxfordian to Late
Oxfordian and (d) Kimmeridgian to Early Volgian strata were
used to try to assess whether the systematic changes in the
orientation of the active fault sets are manifested regionally by
variations in the thickness of the stratigraphic units. The close
similarity between these units and those used in the statistical
analysis (Fig. 13) allows for direct comparison.
During the Middle Jurassic a N–S orientated depocentre
developed in the South Viking and Central grabens (Erratt
et al. 1999; Fig. 13a). The Central Graben was probably the
southernmost extension of a major N–S orientated depocentre
which extended from the Viking Graben into the Central North
Sea with, to the east and west of this central axis, Middle
Jurassic sediments probably only being preserved locally within
hanging wall depocentres. During the Oxfordian a NE–SW
orientated depocentre/rift zone developed in the Moray Firth,
extending from the South Halibut Trough into the Witch
Ground Graben and Fisher Bank Basin and as far south as the
Gannet/Guillemot embayment of the Central Graben – in the
region of Block 21/25 (Fig. 13b, c). Some of the isopach
patterns may be the result of post-depositional uplift and
erosion. Thus, we interpret the NW–SE orientated depositional
thick in the Central Graben to reflect the effect of truncation
during periodic rift flank uplift in areas such as the Forties
Montrose High. During the Kimmeridgian and Early Volgian, a
third depocentre of NW–SE orientation appears to overprint
the first two basin geometries (Fig. 13d). This basin was broadly
equivalent to the present-day Central Graben. The northern
end of the Central Graben stretched as far north as Quadrant
15 during the Kimmeridgian and Volgian. Some of these
changes in isopach geometry are subtle, because depocentres
generated, for example during the Oxfordian, may have been in
existence during the Kimmeridgian, when the third series of
NW–SE orientated topographic lows also developed.
 Jurassic rifting of the North Sea
Infill of the basins was interrupted by the development of
regional unconformities that have been interpreted to have
been the result of footwall and rift flank uplift during extension
(Davies et al. 1999). When looked at in more detail two regional
unconformities are identified within the syn-rift succession.
These are intra-Callovian and intra-Middle Oxfordian in age
(Davies et al. 1999). The occurrence of at least two Middle to
Late Jurassic syn-rift unconformities suggests that multiphase
extension did occur (Davies et al. 1999).
INTEGRATION OF SEISMIC AND
STRATIGRAPHIC OBSERVATIONS
Beryl Embayment and South Viking Graben
In both of these areas the Bathonian and Callovian were times
of rapid sedimentation and deepening water depths, indicative
of a major acceleration in basement subsidence rates consistent
with the effects of active faulting. This agrees with the seismic
data (Figs 6 and 7) showing that faulting probably started
during the Bathonian (Cockings et al. 1992; Wood et al. 1999).
Subsidence rates in the Viking Graben continued to increase
during Callovian times (Fig. 11) as water depths and sedimen-
tation rates increased as a result of larger-scale fault movement;
Callovian strata in the South Viking Graben can clearly be seen
to thicken into N–S trending faults (Figs 6 and 7). The
Callovian was also marked by the development of complex
depositional environments that reflected the local topography
generated in the South Viking Graben by active faulting,
including non-marine sediments (Sleipner Formation), shallow
marine sands and open marine shales (Hugin and Heather
formations) and deep marine turbidites (Ling Member;
Cockings et al. 1992). The isopach of the Bathonian and Lower
Callovian (Fig. 13a) shows that the preserved section is pre-
dominantly restricted to a N–S axis within the South Viking
Graben and the Central Graben. Bathonian to Callovian
subsidence patterns elsewhere in the study area (e.g. Inner
Moray Firth) show no evidence for either rapid differential
subsidence or syn-sedimentary faulting (Figs 5 and 11).
Moray Firth
In the Inner Moray Firth, after moderate subsidence rates
and a gradual increase of water depths during Bathonian to
Callovian times, there was a dramatic increase in subsidence
rates during the Oxfordian. Sedimentation rates increased by an
order of magnitude relative to the Callovian (Fig. 11) and water
depths increased, with open marine shales of the Heather
Formation deposited across the whole of the Inner Moray Firth
during Late Oxfordian times. On seismic data from the Inner
Moray Firth there is evidence of Middle to Late Oxfordian and
younger Late Jurassic sediments thickening into the hanging
walls of the NE–SW orientated faults that dominate this area
(e.g. Fig. 5 and Underhill 1991a). Similarly, in the western Outer
Moray Firth (Ettrick area), water depths, sedimentation and
subsidence rates all increased during the Oxfordian consistent
with the effects of active faulting (Fig. 8). The Western Outer
Moray Firth is dominated by NE–SW and ENE–WSW to E–W
orientated faults, with thickening of the Oxfordian succession
visible on seismic data (Fig. 8). A NE–SW orientated thick of
early Callovian to Early Kimmeridgian age is preserved in the
Outer Moray Firth and the Fisher Bank Basin (X on Fig. 13b).
Whilst water depths increased from non-marine to shallow
marine conditions during the Oxfordian in the Witch Ground
Graben and triple junction there is no sign of the major
acceleration in subsidence rates recognized elsewhere during
383
Bathonian–Callovian and Oxfordian times. This is especially
noticeable for wells drilled in the hanging walls to NW–SE
orientated faults (e.g. 15/23-9 in the Witch Ground Graben
and 22/2-2 in the triple junction, Fig. 11). In these areas the
main acceleration in subsidence rates linked to the onset of
major faulting took place during the Early Volgian. In the
Witch Ground Graben the Early Volgian was also marked by
increased water depths, with the flooding of Piper Formation
shallow marine shelf sands by open marine Kimmeridgian Clay
Formation shales and turbidites of the Galley, Ettrick and
Claymore members. A NW–SE orientated thick overprints the
NE–SW trend (Fig. 13d, marked X).
TECTONO-STRATIGRAPHIC EVOLUTION OF
THE NORTH SEA RIFT
Sequential intra-rift dip-slip faulting
The Inner Moray Firth and the Central Graben have been key
areas for the development of complex kinematic models for
rifting that involved essentially contemporaneous fault move-
ment on the main fault sets and oblique-slip and strike-slip
faulting (Bartholomew et al. 1993; Sears et al. 1993; Eggink et al.
1996). Our examination of some of the key data suggests that
there is little or no convincing evidence for the classic features
of exposed and analogue modelled strike-slip and oblique-slip
fault systems. We suggest that the evidence is at least ambigu-
ous or capable of an alternative interpretation, this being that
on a local and regional scale sequential dip-slip faulting took
place. The most direct evidence for this comes from seismic
data over the fault blocks themselves. The most significant
reasons for the lack of consensus on fault and rift kinematics
are first, the lack of seismic resolution in the Central Graben
and the complexities of salt tectonics and, second, a misinter-
pretation of the timing of movement on the Great Glen Fault.
The statistical analysis of subsidence within the hanging walls
of the four fault populations within the triple junction area is,
however, perhaps the most compelling evidence for sequential
faulting. On the basis of the statistical analysis of subsidence
and isopach patterns it seems to be reasonable that the initial
interpretation of sequential faulting, made on the basis of the
seismic data alone, can be applied throughout the triple
junction region. Although uncertainty remains with regard to
the timing of the cessation of fault activity in some cases, we
speculate that the switching of activity from one fault set to
another was progressive and gradual, with for example, move-
ment on N–S faults decreasing as movement started to occur
on NE–SW faults.
There are several models for the kinematic evolution of the
North Sea that either require a single extension direction or
have a changing extension direction during the Jurassic.
Given that there remains a lack of evidence for strike-slip
and oblique-slip movement (Underhill 1991a; Thomson &
Underhill 1993; Erratt et al. 1999), our model, in common with
Roberts et al. (1990) and Erratt et al. (1999), considers most of
the faults to be normal, dip-slip faults which accommodated
extension orthogonally to their strike. Thus, sequential faulting
was superimposed upon the trilete junction with intra-rift faults
responding to the prevailing far-field stresses. We propose
that the Bathonian to Callovian was dominated by an overall
E–W extension direction, during the Oxfordian to Early
Kimmeridgian the prevailing extension direction was NW–SE
and lastly during the Late Kimmeridgian to Volgian the
extension direction had a NE–SW orientation. This is equiva-
lent to a rotation of extension direction of approximately 135
in 10 Ma.
384 R. J. Davies et al.

Fig. 13. (a) Map showing the distribution of the Bathonian to lower Callovian; (b–d) isopach maps based on thicknesses penetrated by wells
of (b) the lower Callovian to Middle Oxfordian, (c) the Middle Oxfordian to lower Kimmeridgian and (d) lower Kimmeridgian to lower Volgian.
The stratigraphic intervals are very similar to those used in the quantitative analysis we present (Fig. 12). The maps demonstrate that
sedimentation accumulation during the Middle and Late Jurassic underwent systematic changes. A N–S orientated depocentre formed during the
Bathonian and Early Callovian within the Viking and Central grabens. During the Oxfordian a NE–SW orientated depocentre developed within
the Moray Firth extending into the Fisher Bank Basin (marked X). During the Kimmeridgian and the Volgian a NW–SE orientated rift zone
developed within the Central Graben (marked Y). The complexities of salt-induced variations in accommodation space are only mapped in
Quadrant 21 in (d), however, the development of salt withdrawal basins probably took place throughout the Jurassic. This suggests that the
observations made on selected seismic lines and from subsidence recorded within particular wells can be extrapolated over the triple junction
as a whole.

Changes in the extension direction did not lead to the were orthogonal to the new extension direction (Fig. 14). This
development of a series of oblique-slip faults but instead led to has resulted in a characteristic rhombohedral fault pattern in
the development of a new population of dip-slip faults that plan view within the North Viking Graben (Faerseth et al. 1997)
 Jurassic rifting of the North Sea
Fig. 14. Intra-rift faults superimposed upon a simple trilete junction
developed during three progressive stages during (a) the late
Bathonian to Early Callovian, (b) the Oxfordian and lastly (c) during
the Kimmeridgian and Volgian respectively. In each case faults are
considered to be dominantly dip-slip in origin, with an extension
direction that was orthogonal to their strike.
and in parts of the Central Graben (Bartholomew et al.
1993).
There is little certainty regarding the possible causes of the
rotational stress field. In the Afro-Arabian rift system there has
been a rotation in the extension direction from NE–SW during
the Miocene (25–16.5 Ma) to ENE–WSW (16.5–10 Ma) and
then E–W (5 Ma) (Fig. 15). This rotation of extension direction
385
Fig. 15. Comparison of published rotation of extension direction
in the Afro-Arabian rift system and the North Sea triple junction:
(a) this study; (b) from various studies (Lyberis 1988; Ring 1994;
Bosworth & Taviani 1996; Bonini et al. 1997). In both rifts there is
a systematic rotation in the extension direction and stress field.
is c. 105 and takes place over c. 25 Ma. Bosworth et al. (1992)
identify a 45 rotation in the extension direction within the
Kenyan rift, which took place over 600 ka. This gives a rate of
rotation of 75 Ma
1. This is thought to be the result of
far-field changes in plate boundary constellation (Streckler et al.
1990). The evidence from the Afro-Arabian rift is consistent
with our findings in the North Sea, with far-field stresses being
the most likely causal mechanism. Thomas & Coward (1995)
have proposed that a complex interaction between extension
386 R. J. Davies et al.

Fig. 16. Cartoon illustrating the lithospheric and asthenospheric changes that generated a thermal dome in the North Sea region during the
Middle Jurassic. We speculate that doming led to the development of three zones of lithospheric weakness that took on a trilete geometry.

Fig. 17. Cartoon showing that after Middle Jurassic doming the three resultant rift zones were exploited as zones of weakness during subsequent
Middle–Late Jurassic rifting. Active faulting during this rift phase varied through time in both orientation and location depending upon the
prevailing far-field least principal stress direction.

directions of the Arctic and Atlantic oceans, with possibly an
influence from rift zones emanating from the Neo-Tethyan
system in Central and Eastern Europe may have caused stress
field rotation. The exact mechanism for generating a rotation in
the stress field remains speculative.
Impact of thermal doming
The North Sea rift shows a clear trilete configuration but the
movement history and distribution of Middle and Late Jurassic
intra-rift faults made little contribution to its development, in
many cases developing obliquely to the rift arms themselves.
Instead the triple junction is an older feature that immediately
pre-dates the Middle and Late Jurassic faulting.
The likelihood that the triple junction formed central to a
Middle Jurassic thermal dome (Underhill & Partington 1993,
1994) suggests that initial development of the triple junction
may have been as a result of the dome rise and decay. We
suggest that the trilete system originally developed in response
to the thermal doming and deflation of the Central North Sea
resulting from the development and evolution of a warm,
diffuse and transient plume dome (Underhill & Partington
1993, 1994). The dome rise and decay would have provided a
zone of weakened lithosphere that, during later rifting, recorded
the rotation of the ambient stress field (Figs 16 & 17).
The development of the three rift arms is consistent with the
formation of three equidistant (i.e. 120 spaced) fractures
needing the least energy to form in homogeneous materials. As
such, it is analogous to the formation of triple junctions in
young oceanic crust (McKenzie & Morgan 1969; Patriat &
Courtillot 1984). Unlike their oceanic counterparts which con-
tinue to develop an individual identity in response to any
variability in geometry and stability of their respective, com-
ponent arms (e.g. McKenzie & Morgan 1969), the individual
rift arms of the North Sea are likely to have experienced less
direct effect of the doming as the feature declined during
deflation. Although the initial formation of a simple trilete
junction may have been the result of doming, subsequent
extension during the Middle and Late Jurassic led to the
development of a series of intra-rift fault sets that did not
develop synchronously but during a 10 Ma rift phase.
CONCLUSIONS
+ It has proved popular to try and place Middle and Late
Jurassic deformation within one simple overall stress regime.
In doing so, several workers have had to invoke consider-
able amounts of strike- or oblique-slip deformation on faults
within the rift arm that are not ideally orientated for dip-slip
motion.
+ In this study we provide evidence that supports an interpret-
ation of predominantly dip-slip faulting during rifting. The
faulting was sequential, with each fault set having a different
movement history. This negates the need for a complex
 Jurassic rifting of the North Sea
interaction between oblique-slip, strike-slip and dip-slip
faults controlled by a single stress regime.
+ Our results suggest that there was a shift in the extension
direction from E–W during the Bathonian and Callovian
through to NW–SE during the Oxfordian and early
Kimmeridgian to NE–SW in the late Kimmeridgian and
Volgian. This apparent rotation in the extension direction of
135  in 10 Ma is similar in magnitude to changes in
extension direction identified within other, younger basins.
+ We speculate that the rise and fall of a thermal dome during
the Middle Jurassic was the fundamental precursor to rifting
as it provided the zones of lithospheric weakness within
which sequential faulting and rifting could occur, responding
to changes in the Middle and Late Jurassic intra-plate stress
regime.
RJD would like to thank ExxonMobil International Ltd for giving
permission to publish this paper. John Gibson and James Maynard
are thanked for help with some of the seismic interpretation. RJD is
grateful to Ian Cloke for his encouragement. The Nevis Field
partners (Amerada Hess Ltd, Enterprise Oil Ltd, British Gas North
Sea Holdings and OMV UK Ltd and the Shearwater and Puffin Field
partners (Superior Oil, Esso, Shell and Arco) are thanked for giving
permission to use 3D seismic data. Peter Broad of Geoteam is
thanked for permission to use Fig. 5 in this publication. Nopec
International are thanked for giving permission to use 2D seismic
data across the Ettrick Field (Fig. 8). JRU and JDT acknowledge
Schlumberger Geoquest for their permission to use their Geoframe
and IESX seismic interpretation software. We are grateful to Simon
Stewart for discussion. Scot Fraser, Alain Mascle and Rodmar
Ravnas all provided constructive reviews and Tony Spencer provided
very helpful editorial guidance.
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