We seek to redress some poorly understood components of the geology of Belgium

concerning the Cenozoic sandstone, through means of holistic sediment analyses of three such

sandstones: quartzarenite (Upper Thanetian), glauconite-bearing sandstone (lower-middle

Eocene) and ferruginous sandstone (upper Miocene).

We will try to resolve a number of fundamental unanswered questions about these rocks:

What was the environment in which they were deposited? How did they turn from loose

sediment to rock? Where did the different cements that bind these sandstones originate? What

is the relationship between their sedimentary structures and its lithification? What role did the

sediment source and the mineralogical composition of the sediments play in the diagenetic

process?

We will determine the environment of deposition and evolution of these rocks through field

observations made at the existing outcrops of the strata. Microscopic investigations, especially

mineralogy and geochemistry of the cement bounding the grains, will be used for

reconstructing the diagenetic/epigenetic processes and their environments. Also the effects of

later weathering and landscape evolution on these sandstones will be addressed. Analysis of

organic-walled palynomorphs extracted from the sandstones will provide crucial information

on paleo-environmental parameters and results in a refinement of the stratigraphic framework.

This holistic study has the potential to open a window onto past environments and climatic

settings, and promises to provide new perspectives to improve our understanding not only of

regional geology, but of Cenozoic sedimentary environments in a global sense.