Stratigraphy of the Bouldnor Formation (Solent Group, Eocene–Oligocene) of the Isle of Wight, UK

The lithological succession of the Bouldnor Formation of the Isle of Wight is described in detail for the first time, and correlations are made between successions on the northwest of the island (Bouldnor, Thorness, Gurnard) that in the southeast (Whitecliff–Howgate). The succession comprises rhythmically bedded clays and silts, containing numerous palaeosols and detailed correlation is enabled by a series of lithological and faunal marker beds. Many of these represent brief, but very widespread, brackish transgressions on a muddy coastal plain. The succession in the south-east of the island is markedly coarser, containing numerous silt beds. There is evidence of structural control by contemporaneous movements on the Bouldnor Syncline and Porchfield Anticline.