The analysis of Devonian cephalopod limestones in the eastern Anti-Atlas of Morocco (Tafilalt) reveals the formation of a contourite terrace on the uppermost slope of northern Gondwana. The inner terrace was bounded by a contourite channel and an associated mounded drift. The Eifelian–Frasnian record includes pelagites and bioclastic contourites with coquinas of planktonic and nektonic fauna, forming integral parts of bi-gradational sequences. Frequent hiatuses at sequence midpoints are marked by lag -deposits of intraclasts, ferromanganese nodules, and conodonts draping erosional surfaces. Deposition was primarily driven by oxic, clear-water bottom currents.

Of particular palaeoceanographic interest are widespread erosional hiatuses and associated organic-rich calcarenitic contourites (black styliolinid coquinas), many formed penecontemporaneously with Devonian evolutionary events. These deposits record intensified bottom currents coinciding with the expansion of a dysoxic–anoxic water mass. Facies- and drift-scale features indicate northwest-directed along-slope circulation. We attribute these palaeocirculation events to repeated overflows of anoxic water from the North African Epicontinental Sea via the Ougarta Trough, likely driven by dense (saline) shelf water formed on the northern Gondwana margin. These overflows cascaded downslope until reaching a density equilibrium, probably forming an intermediate water mass.

This evidence for dense shelf-water cascading supports the photic-zone eutrophication (top-down) model proposed for the Kellwasser Crisis and related Devonian anoxic events. We therefore propose a direct link between these anoxic overflows and Devonian evolutionary events.

The Upper Rhine Graben (URG) is the central part of the European Cenozoic Rift System, and has repeatedly been subsiding since ca. 50 ka. Consequently, it has been filled by a kilometre-thick sediment sequence including several hundred metres of Quarternary strata. Fed by the Rhine and its tributaries, the URG collects deposits derived from the Alps as well as from the graben shoulders and their hinterlands – deposits that have built up a significant stratigraphic archive that links the Alpine realm with the Central European lowlands.

The work summarised here is based mainly on drill cores that recovered diverse successions and illustrate the Quaternary infill of the URG along a transect from south to north. It begins with (glacio-)fluvial gravels and sands as a distal signal of the Pleistocene glaciations of the Alps. Towards the north, these interfinger, among others, with palustrine and lacustrine deposits that contain abundant biological remains that are indicative of climatic conditions and the general environmental setting. The architecture of the deposits is determined by patterns of differential subsidence that is still ongoing, as indicated by neotectonic dislocations. Even in the Heidelberg area, the depocentre affected by highest subsidence and deposition rates, unconformities can be observed.

Overall, the URG is one of Europe's longest-reaching, best-resolved and thus most significant Quaternary archives. Although its infill allows inferences on a variety of processes acting on and below surface, such as sediment dynamics, development of palaeoenvironments, and neotectonic activity, it is still largely untapped and further investigation is warranted.

Dynamic tectonic processes and significant fluctuations in sea levels affected the North German Basin during the Eocene epoch, which affected the deposition and the structure of the basin. This study integrates literature, seismic data, mud logs, and well data from about 700 wells in northwestern Germany to clarify the stratigraphic framework and thickness distribution of the Middle Eocene strata. The focus is on the interaction between tectonic events, especially the regional uplift and salt domes and the regional subsidence that followed the onset of North Atlantic seafloor spreading and the resulting marine sandstone deposits, including the Brussels Sand or Glinde Formation. Preliminary results indicate that local thickness variation in the Middle Eocene strata is associated with the margins of salt domes and Tertiary faults, suggesting Syn-sedimentary tectonic influences. Furthermore, well and mud logs reveal frequent shifts in Eocene lithology, which indicate cycles of sea level fluctuations. The sediment supply must be considered to comprehend the evolutionary history of the basin comprehensively. Reconstructing Eocene depositional environments and clarifying the causes of the thickness variability provide a strong basis for resource assessment, particularly for geothermal exploration in the North German Basin.