Preface: The Heidelberg Basin Drilling Project

Abstract. Since Late Pliocene / Early Pleistocene, the River Rhine, as one of the largest European rivers, has acted as the only drainage system that connected the Alps with Northern Europe, especially the North Sea. Along its course from the Alps to the English Channel the river passes several geomorphological and geological units, of which the Upper Rhine Graben acts as the major sediment trap. Whereas the potential of sediment preservation of the alpine foreland basins is low due to the high dynamics of the system, and the area of deposition close to the North Sea was significantly affected several times by Pleistocene sea level changes, the ongoing subsidence of the Upper Rhine Graben offers a unique potential for a continuous sediment accumulation and preservation.