This thesis is the result of a multidisciplinary study on the prograding marine Neogene sedimentary succession of the southern North Sea Basin. To date, sediment material available from the Neogene North Sea is very scarce. Its location between 400 and 1500 m below the seabed in the depocentre of the basin is usually to deep for conventional scientific drilling campaigns. These sediments, on the other hand, are situated far above economically interesting hydrocarbon occurrences and are thus not of primary interest for oil companies that usually focus on deeper targets. Recent shallow gas findings in the Netherlands offshore sector, however, spurred exploration activity by Wintershall Noordzee B.V. and the Nederlandse Aardolie Maatschappij (NAM) within Neogene sediments. The generated high quality exploration data enabled the detailed analysis of the marine sediments above the Middle Miocene unconformity (MMU) in the northern Dutch offshore sector presented in this thesis. The extensive data compilation and comprehensive interpretation contribute to a better understanding of the paleoenvironmental history of the Late Neogene North Sea in relation to climate change. Because of the importance of adequate time control, the first aim of this thesis is to find appropriate dating methods and to establish a chronology for the marine sediments above the Middle Miocene unconformity in the northern Dutch offshore sector. Based on a firm chronology, this thesis further aims to contribute to a better understanding of the paleoenvironmental development of the Late Neogene North Sea in relation to climate changes. Information about the marine sediments from the Neogene North Sea Basin is mostly based on indirect, geophysical methods including well-log analyses and seismic interpretation of conventional 2D seismic data. Specific sedimentological investigations of the sediments are scarce and if available, only from locations at more coastal or onshore parts of the basin. Furthermore, it is difficult to tie these ...