In this study, seismic stratigraphic criteria have been used to characterise the evolution of the Southern North Sea (SNS) shelf-delta system that progressively filled the Southern North Sea basin during Plio-Pleistocene times. Based on the prograding and down-stepping architecture of the shelf-delta sequence it is inferred that deposition occurred during a time of high sediment supply and overall sea-level lowering. During this time the delta slopes failed several times, creating at least 30 internally coherent Mass Transport Deposits (MTDs) mainly grouped in common areas, affecting the same clinoform set and partially sharing the basal shear surface (groups of MTDs). The most important features of the studied MTDs are 1) the dominance of brittle deformation; 2) the small amount of material removal from the headwall domain (lack of completely depleted areas above the basal shear surface); and 3) the lack of an emergent toe domain above the un-failed sediment located basinward, although proper confining geometries for the MTD are not detected. Therefore, the studied MTDs can neither be classified as frontally confined nor as frontally emergent but they are a new intermediate type of submarine landslides which has not been described before. These characteristics suggest that the mass movement ceased relatively soon after initiation of failure. Incisions on top of the MTDs suggest the presence of erosive flows. These flows were probably generated due to a concentration of the drainage in the negative morphology the failure event left behind in the upper sector of the slope. The stronger progradational character of the reflections on top of MTDs confirms a concentration of drainage after the erosional phase too.

The interplay between high sediment supply and constant or even decreasing accommodation space (caused by constant or decreasing sea-level) is supposed to be the main precondition for slope instability for most of the MTDs in this study area. Slope failures themselves can also be considered a preconditioning factor by the creation of local very high sedimentation rates (see groups of MTDs). Salt-induced seismicity and storm waves' effect superimposed on high frequency sea level fall are considered the most important triggering factors.

There is increasing interest in the exploitation of the deep subsurface of the Netherlands for purposes other than conventional oil and gas production, such as geothermal energy, shale gas exploitation and the disposal of radioactive waste, so for technical and environmental reasons it is important to understand the composition of the deep groundwater. A synthesis has been made of almost 200 existing groundwater analyses for the Oligocene and older formations in the Netherlands. Three groundwater categories are considered: (1) deep oil and gas reservoirs, (2) deep, buried and confined aquifers and (3) shallower, semi-confined aquifers with or without outcrop areas nearby. No distinct water types are found but a continuous series, with Cl ranging from around 10,000 to 200,000 mg l−1: the highest concentrations are found in the reservoirs and the lowest in the semi-confined aquifers. The most saline brines are found in the northern onshore area and adjacent offshore area, where Permian and Triassic rock salt also occurs regionally in the subsurface. The groundwater is usually pH-neutral, saturated in carbonates and anaerobic. Anhydrite saturation occurs when the Cl concentration exceeds 100,000 mg l−1, and halite saturation occurs at Cl concentrations close to 200,000 mg l−1. Few tracer analyses have been done for δ2H–H2O, δ18O–H2O, δ37Cl, Br, Li and B, which makes a rigorous palaeohydrological interpretation impossible. Lithium and B may be controlled by water–rock interaction which makes them less suitable as tracers. Some of the analyses suggest that dissolution of rock salt plays a role in determining the salinity of groundwater for some deep wells in the southern part of the Netherlands, whereas other analyses suggest that evaporated seawater influences the salinity in the associated wells. Cation-exchange patterns and alkalinity to Ca ratios indicate that groundwater in the deep, buried and shallow, semi-confined aquifers is usually freshening. Six 14C analyses of samples from the buried aquifers indicate an apparent age of at least 20,000 years. Six δ37Cl analyses of formation waters from reservoirs in South-Holland suggest diffusion of Cl from a brine towards fresher water, and the associated K and also Li concentrations further suggest that these brines are related to rock salt dissolution and are not the residue of evaporated seawater. The high Ca concentrations are enigmatic for the hypersaline formation waters in the reservoirs. A limited series of samples had been analysed for various trace elements. The median concentrations are similar to the seawater and Dutch background concentration limits for shallow groundwater, but maximum concentrations can be up to three orders of magnitude higher. In conclusion, the data synthesis shows that the composition of groundwater in reservoirs and aquifers of Palaeogene and older age varies strongly in salinity at the national scale. Presence of evaporite deposits and diffusive transport seem to play important roles in controlling the salinity. Many existing analyses have no or only a few tracer analyses, that even vary among the samples. A complete suite of analyses is needed to elucidate the hydrogeological and geochemical processes that control the groundwater composition.

Botanical microfossils, macroremains and oribatid mites of a Weichselian interstadial deposit in the central Netherlands point to a temporary, sub-arctic wetland in a treeless landscape. Radiocarbon dates and OSL dates show an age between ca. 54.6 and 46.6 ka cal BP. The vegetation succession, starting as a peat-forming wetland that developed into a lake, might well be linked with a Dansgaard-Oeschger climatic cycle. We suggest that during the rapid warming at the start of a D-O cycle, relatively low areas in the landscape became wetlands where peat was formed. During the more gradual temperature decline that followed, evaporation diminished; the wetlands became inundated and lake sediments were formed. During subsequent sub-arctic conditions the interstadial deposits were covered with wind-blown sand. Apart from changes in effective precipitation also the climate-related presence and absence of permafrost conditions may have played a role in the formation of the observed sedimentological sequence from sand to peat, through lacustrine sediment, with coversand on top. The Wageningen sequence may correspond with D-O event 12, 13 or 14. Some hitherto not recorded microfossils were described and illustrated.

Management of the Dutch embanked floodplains is of crucial interest in the light of a likely increase of extreme floods. One of the issues is a gradual decrease of floodwater accommodation space as a result of overbank deposition of mud and sand during floods. To address this issue, sediment deposits of an undisturbed embanked floodplain near Winssen along the river Waal were studied using ground-penetrating radar (GPR). A number of radar facies units were recognized. Boreholes were used to relate radar facies units to sedimentary facies and to determine radar velocity. The GPR groundwave is affected by differences in moisture and texture of the top layer and probably interferes with the first subsurface reflector. The architectural elements recognized in the GPR transects confirm earlier reported insights on human-influenced river behaviour. This is testified in the development of sand bars during flood regimes that are probably more widespread than previously established.

In the extended type area of the Maastrichtian Stage (southern Limburg, the Netherlands; provinces of Limburg and Liège, Belgium; Aachen area, Germany), the pachydiscid Pachydiscus (P.) neubergicus (von Hauer, 1858) ranks amongst the rarer species of Campanian-Maastrichtian ammonites. To date, just four specimens are known, which show P. (P.) neubergicus in this area to have been confined to the Vijlen Member (Intervals 0–6, Gulpen Formation). This would correspond to the basal sumensis Zone to the lower cimbrica Zone, or tegulatus/junior Zone, depending on placement of the Lower/Upper Maastrichtian boundary. Material available has been collected in recent years at the CBR-Lixhe (Liège, Belgium) and ENCI-Maastricht bv (Maastricht) quarries as well as from outcrop 62D-26 at Vijlenerbosch (Vijlen, the Netherlands). Records of P. (P.) neubergicus, the proposed index for the base of the Maastrichtian Stage, from elsewhere in Europe (northern Spain, SW France, Austria, Denmark, Bulgaria), suggest it to have been fairly long-ranging and show local first occurrences to have been diachronous.

Using marine planation surfaces, fluvial terraces and a digital terrain model, the amount of eroded rock volume versus time for the Meuse catchment has been computed. A comparison of the amount of eroded volume with the volume of sediment preserved in the Roer Valley Rift System shows that 12% of the eroded volume is trapped in this rift. The neotectonic uplift evolution of the Ardennes is inferred from the incision history of the Meuse River system and compared to the subsidence characteristics of the Roer Valley Rift System. Both areas are characterized by an early Middle Pleistocene uplift event.

Unshaped basalt blocks from archaeological sites along the border of the Roman Empire (limes) in the lower Rhine area near Vleuten-De Meern (Utrecht) have been studied petrographically, analysed by XRF for major and trace elements, and dated by the 40Ar/39Ar method. The blocks are from a revetment in the bank of a fossil branch of the Rhine and a contiguous ship De Meern 4, both built around 100 AD. All nineteen blocks are alkali olivine basalt (AOB) with xenoliths of peridotite derived from the upper mantle and quartz xenocrysts from the continental crust; eighteen blocks contain resorbed plagioclase xenocrysts as well. Abundances of major and trace elements show that those eighteen samples form a chemically coherent group. The outlier, different in chemistry and without plagioclase xenocrysts, is from the ship. A basalt block from ship De Meern 1 (148 AD) conforms compositionally to the defined group. AOB lumps from a limes watchtower (2nd-3rd century) form a chemically distinct group.

Low SiO2 contents (<46 wt.%) and high abundances of Mg, Ti, Ni, and Sr indicate a within-plate origin, directly from primitive melts; proportions of selected trace elements point at a continental rift setting. In the archaeological context, the most likely source region for the blocks is the Cenozoic European Volcanic Province, upstream along the Rhine and its tributaries.

The petrographic and analytical data of the blocks have been compared with 432 published analyses of German AOB. On petrographic grounds, the Eifel can be ruled out as a source area since typical Eifel basalt minerals, amphibole, biotite, K-feldspar and feldspatoids, are absent in the blocks. Applying seven geochemical criteria, based on abundances of major elements in the Roman blocks, twelve sites with matching AOB were found in the Siebengebirge, seven in the Vogelsberg, and one in the Westerwald.

The ages of the blocks (26.3 - 28.5 Ma) are compatible with ages determined for AOB from the Siebengebirge (27.4 - 29.9 Ma), and preclude their provenance from the Vogelsberg (< 18 Ma). The matching Westerwald sample is from 60 km beyond the limes, a prohibitive distance from the perspective of Roman logistics.

AOB quarries of optimal logistic position are located adjacent to the Rhine, between Bonn and Remagen, a zone with significant Roman settlements from the first century AD. Geochemical correlation indicates AOB bodies at Rolandsbogen and Godesburg (S of Bonn) as potential sources of the blocks from the 100 AD revetment and ships. Similarly, the Erpeler Ley (E of Remagen) is indicated as the likely source for the blocks from a 2nd-3rd century AD watchtower.

As the Godesburg basalt is at 1.6 km from the Rhine today, it is not obvious how the blocks were transported from there. However, it may be that the adjacent, now sanded, branch of the old Rhine river system, was navigable for flat-bottomed vessels in Roman times.

Our study demonstrates that substantial detailed information regarding ancient mining and trading activities can be retrieved from seemingly indistinctive basalt blocks.

Given that earthquakes do not occur only along high slip-rate faults, slow moving seismogenic faults should be characterized in order to minimize seismic hazard uncertainties. Although no historical earthquakes related to the El Camp fault have been documented, earlier regional geological analysis and the presence of a fault scarp provide evidence of its activity. A paleoseismological study on the southern part of the fault was performed in accordance with the following steps: 1) geological and géomorphologie analysis focussing on the detection of evidence for the seismogenic behavior of the fault, 2) near fault analysis to select the best trenching sites, and 3) trenching to establish and characterize the paleoseismic events. Different dating procedures were used in regional and trenching analyses (Thermoluminiscence, U/Th, Radiocarbon, Pollen analysis). The seismogenic nature of the fault was established by the presence of liquefaction features related to the fault, and by the presence of colluvial wedges composed of large angular blocks. We identified a segment boundary to the north of the Porquerola creek and we focussed our attention on the southern segment, which was active after 125000 yr. The slip rate in this southern segment is 0.02 mm/yr. A minimum of three seismic events were detected, from young to old: the last event Z took place some time prior to 1195 yr AD, the penultimate event Y between event X and the Holocene, and, finally, event X occurred after 125000 yr and prior to 60000 yr. The recurrence period is between 25000 and 35000 yr, the elapsed time is estimated to be no longer than 3000 yr; and the maximum estimated earthquake considering both the onshore and the offshore part of the fault is Mw 6.7 +/-0,5.

This paper integrates the sequence stratigraphic and tectonic data related to the Neogene geodynamic and palaeogeographic development of the African-Iberian plate boundary zone between Spain and Morocco. Though the dating of individual tectonostratigraphic sequences and their delimiting sequence boundaries varies in accuracy and precision, their apparent correlation strongly suggests contemporaneous development of the Betic and Rif basins. This may likely be attributed to regional changes of the overall compressional intra-plate stress field. This, in turn, was governed by coeval plate-kinematic changes related to the ongoing collisional convergence of Africa and Iberia. The Neogene succession is characterised by brief tectonic pulses that governed the sequence stratigraphic development of the Betic-Rif basins (NBR phases). It broadly correlates with the coeval sequences in the compressional foreland basins and extensional rift basins in front of the collisional Alpine and Pyrenean orogens (CRF phases). These regionally correlatable basinal deformation events indicate that stress-related episodic changes at the African-Iberian plate-boundary zone resulted in an essentially direct cause-and-effect relationship between the tectonostratigraphic evolution of Neogene basins in northern African (Morocco), southern Europe (Spain) and western Europe (France, Switzerland, Germany).

Despite increasing research into changes in the discharge of the River Meuse, estimates of the river’s sediment yield are less forthcoming. Three published studies (in 1883, 1982, and 1987) have estimated suspended sediment yield at the Belgian-Dutch border; the latter two studies surmise that this increased substantially between the late 19th and 20th Centuries. In this paper a more recent and longer time-series of observed discharge and suspended sediment data (1995 – 2005) is used to estimate mean annual suspended sediment yield (ca. 386,000 Mg.a−1), and the results of the previous studies are revisited. New insights suggest that those studies do not in themselves provide evidence of increased sediment yield: the higher estimates in the late 20th Century could equally be due to interannual variability or methodological differences. Furthermore, there has been no significant increase in rainfall erosivity between the late 19th and 20th Centuries, and the effect of land use change over that time would have been to cause a decrease in suspended sediment yield, rather than an increase.

The provenance of coarse-grained ice-rafted detritus has been studied, based on material collected from the SE Greenland margin. The sediment was sampled by a 1.5 m3 video-grab from 1256 m water depth. The fraction > 1cm was macroscopically investigated and a thin-section analysis was made. The results clearly show that East Greenland north of the Denmark Strait is the source region of the material sampled. The main provenance is from areas adjoining Kangerdlugssuaq Fjord, Blosseville Kyst, Scoresby Sund, Kong Oskar Fjord, and Kejser Franz Joseph Fjord. It can thus be demonstrated that significant ice-stream activity and iceberg calving occurred there. Present-day iceberg production is mainly concentrated to the Scoresby Sund, but the other areas apparently represent locations of larger ice-stream activity during periods prior to the Holocene.

More generally, it can be concluded that southerly surface-water flow similar to the present East Greenland Current must also have occurred prior to the Holocene. Although either North America (Canada) or Scandinavia - or both - are generally referred to as important regions for the provenance of ice-rafted detritus, we conclude that (East) Greenland may have been an important source for (late) glacial North Atlantic ice-rafted detritus production as well.

This paper presents the results of a detailed rock magnetic and magnetostratigraphic study of the Lower Oligocene Rupelian unit-stratotype. Notwithstanding the relatively low intensity of the natural remanent magnetisation and the diverse and often unstable behaviour during demagnetisation, close-spaced sampling and accurate polarity determinations allowed us to determine the magnetic polarity zonation. The recognition of the characteristic magnetic polarity and the correlation with the standard magnetobiochronologic time scale yields an accurate chronostratigraphic dating of the Boom Clay Formation. The boundary between the geomagnetic chrons C12n and C12r nearly coincides with the lithostratigraphic boundary between theTerhagen and Putte Members. Rock magnetic techniques point to magnetite and probably also iron sulphides as the main magnetic remanence carriers. These magnetic minerals could, however, not be identified with classical mineralogical techniques performed on magnetic extractions. The failure to detect them may be due to the low concentration of these minerals, the small grain size, and the close physical relation with pyrite.

Geological structures and Late Quaternary stratigraphy of the shallow subsurface along the southernmost Danish North Sea coast have been investigated using seismic data and shallow boreholes. A large-scale glaciotectonic thrust complex has been mapped in an area of 15 km by 40 km in the Fanø Bugt area. The affected succession consists of Neogene and Quaternary sediments deformed down to a depth of 200 – 360 m. A kineto-stratigraphic correlation to onshore glaciotectonic deformation suggests that the deformation took place during a westward advance stage of the Late Saalian (Warthe) glaciation. The western limit of the glaciotectonic structures constitutes an N-S striking deformation front situated 35 km off the west coast. Based on the glacial stratigraphy outside the deformation front, it is suggested that the same ice advance that caused the glaciotectonic deformation, eroded the top of the thrust sheets, and subsequently deposited a lower unit of meltwater sediments and an upper heterogenous glacigenic unit. The upper glacigenic unit forms a bank about 30 km offshore. Between the bank and the shore, the surface of the Saalian glacial landscape forms a wide depression ca. 50 m below sea level. This basin has controlled deposition in the area since the late Saalian and is filled with sediments of late Saalian, Eemian, Weichselian and Holocene age. The base of the Holocene marine deposits is thus a flat erosional surface extending eastward several kilometres below the onshore coastal areas and the northern Wadden Sea. This surface was transgressed 8800 years ago. An inverted, in plan view T-shaped, Holocene sand accumulation approximately 25 km long, 30 km wide and 15 – 25 m thick is situated on top of this surface at Blåvands Huk. According to recent estimates by the Danish Coastal Protection Board some 2.5 million m3 sediments are supplied annually to the system from the north. In the last 3000 years, 25 km of the west coast and the associated shoreface slope have prograded ca. 3 km towards the west forming a barrier spit complex. Large aeolian dunes and cover sands now conceal the spit complex. Extending twenty km west of Blåvands Huk is a highly dynamic bank, the Inner Horns Rev, with active sand-accumulation on the slopes. The Inner Horns Rev bank has grown ca. 3.5 km westward during the last 800 years. The deposits seem to be sourced by the coastal longshore sand transport from the north. The Outer Horns Rev was previously assumed to be a Saalian terminal moraine. However, this investigation reveals that it is also mainly a Holocene marine accumulation landform, but sourced from the west. Other sand accumulations, which are situated 20 – 30 km west of the coast, are probably sourced from both the south and the west.

Humankind has been interested in space throughout the ages and studies of the universe and our own solar system have been ongoing since the first observations of celestial bodies. In the current era space exploration has provided in situ data for the different bodies in our solar system. To fully comprehend the underlying processes occurring in these bodies, missions and telescope observations are, however, not sufficient and additional modelling studies, both numerical and analogue, are necessary. In this paper we present a new facility specifically designed to experimentally study organic compounds under simulated planetary (sub)surface conditions on rocky bodies in our solar system: PALLAS, the Planetary Analogues Laboratory for Light, Atmosphere, and Surface Simulations. We give an overview of planetary conditions that can be simulated in this facility and that are known to affect organic compounds: radiation, atmospheric composition, temperature and surface composition.

Paleoseismological techniques have been used to investigate gravitational deformations at the Mortirolo Pass (Valtellina region, central Alps), in order to improve the knowledge on the activation mechanisms and the evolution of deep-seated gravitational slope movements. The deformation has been responsible for mass sliding towards the Valtellina depression through the activation of several-hundred-metre-long shear planes. Minor shear planes dipping towards the mountain played the role of antithetic structures. Four trenches were excavated across scarps representing the surficial expression of shear planes affecting the bedrock and Late Pleistocene-Holocene deposits. The excavations enabled to investigate the stratigraphy of Quaternary deposits and the geometry and kinematics of the shear planes affecting them. Radiocarbon analyses on organic material contained in sediments and paleosols enabled to define a succession of displacement events which occurred during the Late Pleistocene-Holocene. Collected data indicate the persistence of the activity until recent times (last movement related to 1810-1540 cal. BP). A sudden movement has been detected along one of the main shear surfaces (dipping towards the valley) with a vertical displacement of several metres. In contrast, numerous displacements (with lower vertical offset) have been detected along the antithetic shear planes. Different hypotheses have been proposed in the past to define the origin of huge gravitational movements (glacial retreat, uplift of the Alpine chain, fault activity). However, the Late Pleistocene cycles of glacial loading and unloading on the mountain slopes seem to be the most probable factors causing deep-seated gravitational movements in the investigated region. A recent dramatic landslide in an area adjacent to the investigated one (Mt. Zandila-Valpola) testifies to the paroxistic evolution of the large scale gravitational deformations. The densely inhabited Valtellina region is affected by a large number of gravitational structures similar to those of the Mortirolo area. In consideration of the possible effects of the paroxistic activation of these structures, detailed studies on the chronology and kinematics of the deformations through the application of paleoseismological techniques should therefore be encouraged.

This paper describes the landscape evolution of the Waasland Scheldt polders in the north of Belgium from the Late Glacial – early Holocene to the present time, and the effects of this changing landscape on the human settlement. The regional landscape evolution has been visualised in a series of palaeogeographical maps for successive time frames. Two different map series were produced: a series of Holocene palaeogeographical reconstructions (11,000–950 cal BP) based on geotechnical, geological and archaeological data, and a series of post-Medieval landscape reconstructions (16th- to 19th-century) based on historical maps, land registers and soil data. Additional palaeoenvironmental information from fossil pollen and plant remains allowed reconstruction of the vegetation and wetland changes, particularly for the middle to late Holocene. Peat growth was the main key to understanding the landscape evolution of the Waasland Scheldt polders. Whereas the landscape evolution during the Holocene was mainly sea-level driven, the transformation of the landscape during the last millennium was largely due to human interventions.

Previous locations of earthquakes induced by depletion of the Groningen gas field were not accurate enough to infer which faults in the reservoir are reactivated. A multiplet analysis is performed to identify clusters of earthquakes that have similar waveforms, representing repeating rupture on the same or nearby faults. The multiplet analysis is based on the cross-correlation of seismograms to assess the degree of similarity. Using data of a single station, six earthquake clusters within the limits of the Groningen field were identified for the period 2010 to mid-2014. Four of these clusters were suitable for a relocation method that is based on the difference in travel time between the P- and the S-wave. Events within a cluster can be relocated relative to a master event with improved accuracy by cross-correlating first arrivals. By choosing master events located with a new dense seismic network, the relocated events likely not only have better relative, but also improved absolute locations. For a few clusters with sufficient signal-to-noise detections, we show that the relocation method is successful in assigning clusters to specific faults at the reservoir level. Overall, about 90% of the events did not show clustering, despite choosing low correlation thresholds of 0.5 and 0.6. This suggests that different faults and/or fault segments with likely varying source mechanisms are active in reservoir sub-regions of a few square kilometres.

Tidal inlets and the associated ebb-tidal deltas can significantly impact the coastal sediment budget due to their ability to store or release large quantities of sand. Nearly 300 million m3 (mcm) of sediments were eroded from Texel Inlet's ebb-tidal delta and the adjacent coasts following the closure of the Zuiderzee in 1932. This erosion continues even today as a net loss of 77 mcm was observed between 1986 and 2015. To compensate, over 30 mcm of sand has been placed on the adjacent coastlines since 1990, making maintenance of these beaches the most intensive of the entire Dutch coastal system.

Highly frequent and detailed observations of both the hydrodynamics and morphodynamics of Texel Inlet have resulted in a unique dataset of this largest inlet of the Wadden Sea, providing an opportunity to investigate inlet sediment dynamics under the influence of anthropogenic pressure. By linking detailed measurements of bathymetric change to direct observations of processes we were able to unravel the various components that have contributed to the supply of sediment to the basin, and develop a four-stage conceptual model describing the multi-decadal adaptation of the ebb-tidal delta.

Prior to closure of the Zuiderzee a dynamic equilibrium state (stage 1) existed with a stable ebb-tidal delta. The largest morphological changes occurred in roughly the first 40 years since the closure, and were dominated by the rotation and scouring of large tidal channels and landward retreat of the Noorderhaaks ebb shoal (stage 2; adaptation). Between 1975 and 2001 the general layout of main channels and shoals was stable, but large sediment losses continued to occur (stage 3; equilibrium erosional state). Since 2001, the erosion rates have significantly reduced to 2 mcm a−1 (stage 4; stabilisation).

Twenty-five years of data on ‘Dynamic Preservation’ prove that sand nourishments are well capable of keeping the coastlines adjacent to the Texel Inlet in place. Moreover, the abundant supply of sediment may also have compensated for the sediment losses on the larger scale of the southern part of the ebb-tidal delta, resulting in a recent stabilisation of its volume. This response illustrates the potential benefits of Dynamic Preservation not only for coastline resilience but also on the larger scale of the inlet system. Such knowledge is essential for future preservation, management and maintenance of inlet systems in the scope of climate change and accelerated sea-level rise.

Since so little is still known of the marine prehistoric environment, present management actions tend to be guided by the gathering of disparate sets of data obtained as part of regulatory practice and/or from opportunistic finds that are not necessarily specifically targeted towards archaeology. Our view is that we need to develop a clearly defined set of questions about the marine prehistoric cultural resource to enable the design of targeted scientific research, as part of both the regulatory process and marine management generally. In this paper we argue that it is crucial to understand both natural and anthropogenic context, and this necessarily includes work on the Quaternary geology. Furthermore, we argue for a greater regulatory emphasis on identifying and initiating what we should do (for the long term) rather than what we can and are doing (for the short term) to identify the best means to manage the prehistoric marine environment.

Fossil remains of fishes found in Rhaetian (Late Triassic, c.208.5–201.3 Ma) sediments collected from a subrosion pipe in the Winterswijk quarry are described. The fauna shows great similarity to material known from the British Triassic of the Penarth Group and from other localities in Northwestern Europe. Both chondrichthyan and osteichthyan teeth and scales are present. Most abundant are the sharks Lissodus minimus and Rhomphaiodon minor and the actinopterygians Gyrolepis albertii, Saurichthys longidens and Birgeria acuminata. Isolated teeth of the latter two taxa were known under the name Severnichthys acuminatus, but the genus Severnichthys is here considered a nomen dubium; it should be suppressed in order to make the taxonomy less complicated.