Sandstone composition and provenance of the Rotliegend of the NE German Basin

The NE German Basin contains an approximately 2.5 km thick Rotliegend sedimentary section, subdivided into 4 formations. These were deposited following the cessation of the Late Carboniferous/Early Permian volcanic episode and a ca. 20 Ma period of erosion and non-deposition. Initial deposition was confined to two areas, but with increasing thermal subsidence the basin extended to the south. Petrographic (190 sandstones) and geochemical (48 sandstones and mudstones) analyses suggested that the sands are quartz-rich and are derived largely from cratonic or recycled sources. Volcanic and sedimentary rock fragments form most of the labile grains. The succession was deposited in a relatively stable tectonic environment with sediment input derived largely from the lower and upper Palaeozoic strata of the Variscan hinterland and the Upper Carboniferous and Lower Permian volcanics. Volcanic input increases with younger stratigraphic units. This is interpreted as resulting from the unroofing of a more basic source. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.