Integrated palynological, geophysical, petrophysical and sedimentological study of the Upper Jurassic section of the Josephine Ridge area of the Central Graben, UK Continental Shelf, which investigated palaeoecologies of the Jade and Judy horsts, the tops of which are not preserved.

Samples from mudstones adjacent to the Jade Horst are rich in dinoflagellate cysts; samples adjacent to the Judy Horst show a rich assemblage of terrestrial miospores, which decline in abundance moving away from the high.

Ecological investigations reveal the Judy Horst was subaerially exposed during the Late Jurassic, forming a low lying footwall island.

This provides a new methodology for investigating tectonically induced topography, where palaeo-highs are not preserved.

Implications for sediment source and distribution in syn-rift basins are presented.