Lithostratigraphy of the Cretaceous (Barremian – Santonian) Hold with Hope Group, North East Greenland

The finest exposures of Barremian to Santonian sedimentary rocks in the northern North Atlantic region are exposed in Hold with Hope, NE Greenland. These rocks comprise the Hold with Hope Group which, together with its constituent formations and members are defined here as new lithostratigraphic units. The strata are dated as Cretaceous by use of molluscan macrofaunas and dinoflagellate cysts. The marine mudstone-dominated Hold with Hope Group is over 1300 m thick and is divided into the Steensby Bjerg and Home Forland formations. The sandstone-dominated Steensby Bjerg Formation (Barremian–Albian) is 300 m thick. It rests with angular unconformity on sandstones attributed to the Vardekløft Formation (Middle Jurassic) and is subdivided into the Diener Bjerg, Gulelv, Stribedal, Blåelv, Stensiö Plateau and Rødelv members. The mudstone-dominated Home Forland Formation (Albian–Santonian) is over 1000 m thick. It rests unconformably on the Steensby Bjerg, Vardekløft and Wordie Creek (Triassic) formations. It is subdivided into the Fosdalen, Nanok, Østersletten, and Knudshoved members. The Hold with Hope Group is overlain unconformably by Tertiary basalts and sedimentary rocks. The original proximity of Hold with Hope to the Vøring Basin is significant for possible Cretaceous hydrocarbon plays on the formerly adjacent NW European margin.