Code
NUBG
Status
Formal (Cameron et al. 1984; Laban et al. 1984). Seismostratigraphically defined.
Lithological description
Green-grey, very fine to fine grained sand (63-210 µm) and grey to grey-brown clay, shelly, slightly (at the top) to moderately (base) glauconitic. Locally, (thick) shell beds occur (crags). The unit becomes finer-grained towards the northwest.
Characterized on seismic profiles by large-scale, west-to-northwest dipping clinoforms. Regionally located on the Late Miocene Unconformity (LMU).
Depositional setting
Deltaic (prodelta) and shallow marine.
Definition of lower boundary
Gradual to sharp transition to shallow-marine, highly glauconitic sand and clay (Breda Subgroup), erosive and often sharp contact with silty marine clay (Rupel Formation), coastal-zone clay and shallow-marine sand (Tongeren Formation) or marine clay (Dongen Formation).
Definition of upper boundary
Erosive contact with prodelta and delta-top sand and silty clay (Westkapelle Ground and IJmuiden Ground formations).
Thickness indication
Up to approximately 180 m, thinning towards the south and west.
Geographical distribution
Widespread below the base of the Quaternary in the North Sea, absent in the west and south.
Regional correlation
Netherlands (onshore): landward transition into shallow-marine and coastal deposits of the Oosterhout Formation (Munsterman et al. 2025); UK: Walton Member of the Red Crag Formation (Mathers & Zalasiewicz 1988; Funnell 1996; Gibbard et al. 1998); GER: Nütterden and Weeze Schichten; BEL: Lillo, Poederlee, Kattendijke, and Kasterlee formations (Vernes et al. 2018).
Age
Pliocene.
Type section
Well:
Not yet determined.
Depth (thickness) AH:
Not yet determined.
Origin of name
Named after the Brielle Grounds, a fishing area off the coast of South Holland.
Previous name(s)
None.
Reviewed by (date)
Geert-Jan Vis (2019), Sytze van Heteren (2021), Marcel Bakker (2025).
References
Balson, P.S., Laban, C., Schüttenhelm, R.T.E., Paepe, R., Baeteman C. 1991. Ostend: sheet 51°N/02°E. Seabed sediments and Holocene Geology, 1 : 250 000 series British Geological Survey, Geological Survey of the Netherlands & Belgian Geological Survey.
Cameron, T.D.J., Laban C., Schüttenhelm, R.T.E. 1984. Flemish Bight: sheet 52°N/02°E. Quaternary Geology, 1 : 250 000 series British Geological Survey and Geological Survey of the Netherlands.
Cameron, T.D.J., Laban, C., Mesdag, C.M., Schüttenhelm, R.T.E. 1986. Indefatigable: sheet 53°N-02°E. Quaternary Geology, 1:250 000 series. British Geological Survey and Geological Survey of the Netherlands.
Funnell, B.M. 1996. Plio-Pleistocene palaeogeography of the southern North Sea basin (3.75-0.60 Ma). Quaternary Science Reviews, 15, 391-405. https://doi.org/10.1016/0277-3791(96)00022-4
Gibbard, P.L., Zalasiewicz, J.A., Mathers, S.J. 1998. Stratigraphy of the marine Plio-Pleistocene crag deposits of East Anglia. Mededelingen Nederlands Instituut voor Toegepaste Geowetenschappen TNO, 60, 239-262.
Laban C., Cameron, T.D.J., Schüttenhelm, R.T.E. 1984. Geologie van het Kwartair in de Zuidelijke Bocht van de Noordzee. Mededelingen Werkgroep van Tertiaire en Kwartaire Geologie, 21, 139-154.
Mathers, S.J., Zalasiewicz, J.A. 1988. The Red Crag and Norwich Crag formations of southern East Anglia. Proceedings of the Geologists' Association, 99, 261-278. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0016-7878(88)80053-1
Munsterman, D.K., Donders, T.H., Houben, A.J.P., Ten Veen, J.H., Wesselingh, F.P. 2025. Paleogene-Neogene. In: Ten Veen, J.H., Vis, G.-J., De Jager, J., Wong, Th.E. (eds): Geology of the Netherlands, second edition. Amsterdam University Press (Amsterdam): 293-331. https://www.jstor.org/stable/jj.27435714.13
Pegler, E.A. 1994. Architecture and stratigraphy of Neogene and Quaternary sediments off the island of Terschelling, the Netherlands. Proefschrift, University of Edinburgh, 336 p.
Vernes, R.W., Deckers, J., Bakker, M.A.J., Bogemans, F., De Ceukelaire, M., Doornenbal, J.C., Den Dulk, M., Dusar, M., Van Haren, T.F.M., Heyvaert, V.M.A., Kiden, P., Kruisselbrink, A.F., Lanckacker, T., Menkovic, A., Meyvis, B., Munsterman, D.K., Reindersma, R., Ten Veen, J.H., Van de Ven, T.J.M., Walstra, J., Witmans, N. 2018. Geologisch en hydrogeologisch 3D model van het Cenozoïcum van de Belgisch-Nederlandse grensstreek van Midden-Brabant / De Kempen (H3O – De Kempen). Studie uitgevoerd door VITO, TNO-Geologische Dienst Nederland en de Belgische Geologische Dienst in opdracht van Vlaams Planbureau voor Omgeving, Vlaamse Milieumaatschappij, TNO, Geologische Dienst Nederland, Nederlandse Provincie Noord-Brabant, Brabant Water, Programmabureau KRW/DHZ Maasregio. https://www.dinoloket.nl/sites/default/files/2018-07/R11261_H3O_De_Kempen_Final_sec.pdf
Cite as
TNO-GDN ([YEAR]). Brielle Ground Formation. In: Stratigraphic Nomenclature of the Netherlands, TNO – Geological Survey of the Netherlands. Accessed on [DATE] from http://www.dinoloket.nl/en/stratigraphic-nomenclature/brielle-ground-formation.