Mechanical compaction of deeply buried sandstones of the North Sea

Sandstones experience mechanical compaction when the overburden load exceeds the compressive strength. Petrographic evidence is rarely sufficient to determine the timing of mechanical compaction. It is often assumed from indirect evidence, such as regional porosity-depth trends, that mechanical compaction is a process that occurs exclusively during shallow or intermediate burial (4.5 km offer a good example where the suppression of chemical compaction, due to the presence of grain-coating clays, resulted in pervasive grain fracturing. Mineral veins are frequently associated with sandstones that have experienced pervasive mechanical compaction during deep burial. These may reflect the sudden development of overpressure resulting from the transfer of load to the fluid during collapse of the sandstone framework.