Unexpected Geological Flip Discovered Beneath North Sea
LONDON – Scientists have uncovered evidence of a previously unknown geological process occurring on a vast scale beneath the North sea, revealing enormous structures formed by a reversal of sediment layers. The finding, published in Communications Earth and Environment, details “sinkites”-sand bodies that sank as slurries while overlying ooze rose as rigid rafts-challenging conventional understanding of how sediment moves within the EarthS crust.
Researchers mapping buried landscapes identified these structures, characterized by serrated edges where sand fills polygonal fractures, adding a new category to geological classifications. The findings suggest a dynamic interplay of fluids and sediments, reshaping the subsurface over millions of years.
“This discovery reveals a geological process we haven’t seen before on this scale,” said Mads Huuse, a geophysicist at the University of Manchester who led the study. “This research shows how fluids and sediments can move around in Earth’s crust in unexpected ways.”
Evidence indicates the activity was concentrated during the late Miocene and Pliocene epochs, though the timing of specific events varied across the North Sea basin.
The research has implications for both fundamental geological understanding and practical applications,including identifying potential zones for subsurface storage projects and cautioning against assumptions about the original depositional location of thick sand formations.Scientists now aim to determine how frequently these “flips” occur, the maximum size these structures can attain, and the level of seismic activity required to initiate movement.
Future surveys will target other continental margins where light biogenic mud underlies younger sand deposits to determine if this process is unique to the North Sea or part of a broader geological pattern.Further laboratory tests and computer modeling will focus on how liquefied sand moves through fractured layers, refining predictive models for similar subsurface inversions.
