Abstract Neogene deposits discussed in the six papers submitted for this volume are situated in the North Sea basin, Pannonian Basin, Piedmont Basin and the Central Mediterranean Basin (Sicily). Contributions for the North Sea Basin discuss the Paleogene and Neogene deposits of the eastern subsurface offshore Denmark and its southern rim in Belgium. Studies of the Pannonian Basin (Hungary) and Piedmont Basin (Italy) address Oligocene through middle Miocene deposits. Two papers on the Central Mediterranean Basin in Sicily describe the Plio-Pleistocene record. Neogene Alpine compressive tectonics led to a general uplift of Europe except for the present offshore North Sea basin. Neogene deposits in northwestern Europe are generally thin, stratigraphically incomplete and often marginal to non-marine. In the Alpine/Carpathian realm, localized tectonic events formed isolated basins such as the Piedmont and Pannonian Basins. The Mediterranean area was undergoing major tectonic rearrangements in the Neogene. Stratigraphic calibration of proposed sequence records to the integrated Berggren et al. (1995) time scale could only be achieved with confidence for lower to middle Miocene and Plio-Pleistocene deposits laid down under open-marine conditions in mid latitude settings in the Pannonian, Piedmont and Mediterranean Basins. The incomplete record for the upper Miocene could not be reliably calibrated to the Berggren et al. (1995) time scale and the Haq et al. (1987) record for the upper Miocene is retained on the Cenozoic chronostratigraphic chart.

Abstract The Tertiary deposits in Belgium are marine shelf to coastal deposits formed in the southern part of the North Sea Basin. Lithologically they vary from calcareous deposits at the beginning of the Paleogene, almost indistinguishable from the underlying Maastrichtian chalks, to marls, clays and sands towards the top. In northern Belgium, these deposits reach thicknesses of several hundreds of meters. Stratigraphically they cover almost the whole Tertiary, albeit with many important hiatal intervals. The stratigraphy in the region was established quite firmly from outcrops, already in the former century. International stage names such as Ypresian and Rupelian are derived from well studied outcrop areas in this region, and several more regionally used stage names were defined in Belgium such as Montian, Landenian, Bruxellian, Ledian, Wemmelian and Tongrian. As these chronostratigraphic names have become obsolete, the names of their type localities are now reserved for lithostratigraphic units: groups, formations and members (Maréchal, 1991). In fact this is even more appropriate as these stratigraphic units were originally individualized on the basis of lithological characteristics and much less on grounds of stratigraphically significant fossils.