SOME ASPECTS OF THE LATE AND POST-VARISCAN DEVELOPMENT OF THE NORTHWESTERN GERMAN BASIN

The crust of northern Germany can be subdivided into three provinces that are evident by differences in crustal density, seismic velocity, reflectivity, magnetic characteristics, thermal history and electric conductivity. These provinces are limited by the Elbe River and the northern foothills of the Mittelgebirge. During the pre- and post-Variscan evolution, the tectonic setting of northern Germany has changed repeatedly. Each of the three recognized basement provinces differs in the timing of basement consolidation (Caledonian, Variscan), the sequence of basin development during Permian, Mesozoic and Cenozoic times and the timing and intensity of magmatic activity (Permian, Cretaceous, Cenozoic).