Palynological dating of the Oligocene - Miocene successions in the Lille Bælt area, Denmark

A new geological model for the succession outcropping in the Lille Bælt area, Denmark, is proposed. The model is based on dinoflagellate cyst stratigraphy on the three sections at Hindsgavl, Hagenør and Rønshoved combined with earlier biostratigraphic studies and sequence stratigraphic correlation of outcrops and borings. Our results indicate that there have been two periods with lagoonal and nearshore marine deposition in the Lille Bælt area separated by a hiatus of at least 3.5 million years. The first period occurred in Late Oligocene or earliest Early Miocene (early Aquitanian) time and is represented by the deposits at Hindsgavl. The second period occurred in Early Miocene (early to mid-Burdigalian) time and is represented by the deposits at Hagenør and Rønshoved. The deposits at Hindsgavl are time equivalent with the lagoonal upper part of the Vejle Fjord Formation and the overlying nearshore marine sand at Hvidbjerg. The deposits at Hagenør and Rønshoved correlate with the lower part of the offshore marine Arnum Formation and thus represent part of the coastline during the early to mid-Burdigalian.