An extensive multi-channel seismic dataset acquired between 1970 and 1990 by Oljeprospektering AB (OPAB) has recently been made available by the Geological Survey of Sweden (SGU). This thesis summarizes four papers, which utilize this largely unpublished dataset to improve our understanding of the geology and CO2 storage capacity of the Baltic and Hanö Bay basins in southern Sweden. A range of new processing workflows were developed, which typically provide an improvement in the final stacked seismic image, when compared to the result obtained with the original processing. A method was developed to convert scanned images of seismic sections into SEGY files, which allows large amounts of the OPAB dataset to be imported and interpreted using modern software. A new method for joint imaging of multiples and primaries was developed, which is shown to provide an improvement in signal to noise for some of the seismic lines within the OPAB dataset. For the first time, five interpreted regional seismic profiles detailing the entire sedimentary sequence within these basins, are presented. Depth structure maps detailing the Outer Hanö Bay area and the deeper parts of the Baltic Basin were also generated. Although the overall structure and stratigraphy of the basins inferred from the reprocessed OPAB dataset are consistent with previous studies, some new observations have been made, which improve the understanding of the tectonic history of these basins and provide insight into how the depositional environments have changed throughout time. The effective CO2 storage potential within structural and stratigraphic traps is assessed for the Cambrian Viklau, När and Faludden sandstone reservoirs. A probabilistic methodology is utilized, which allows a robust assessment of the storage capacity as well as the associated uncertainty. The most favourable storage option in the Swedish sector of the Baltic Basin is assessed to be the Faludden stratigraphic trap, which is estimated to have a mid case (P50) storage capacity of 3390 Mt in the deeper part of the basin, where CO2 can be stored in a supercritical phase.

During the Silurian, the Swedish island Gotland was positioned close to the equator and covered by a shallow sea called the Baltic Basin. The sedimentary rocks (predominantly carbonates) comprising most of the island today were initially formed in this warm sea, and the relatively complete succession of rocks often contains fossil fragments and scales from early vertebrates, including heterostracans, anaspids, thelodonts, osteostracans, acanthodians, and a stem-osteichthyan. Fossils of early vertebrates become increasingly more common in younger Silurian rocks, but are mostly represented by fragmentary remains and rarer occurrences of articulated jawless vertebrates (agnathans). However, the record of articulated specimens and jawed vertebrates (gnathostomes) are more numerous in rocks of the following Devonian Period. Isolated peaks of agnathan diversity during the Silurian and disarticulated remains of gnathostomes from this period hint at a cryptic evolutionary history. A micropaleontological approach with broader sampling may provide a better understanding of early vertebrate distribution patterns and hopefully give some insights into this history. The objective of this study was to build upon previous sampling on Gotland and to use established frameworks for disarticulated remains with the aim of making comparisons with similar studies performed in the East Baltic. However, difficulties locating the collections from these previous works necessitated a different focus. Undescribed museum collections and newly sampled material enabled some taxonomical revisions and greatly improved the understanding of vertebrate distribution in the youngest part of the Gotland sequence. It also indicated that this interval may represent the early stages of the diversification of gnathostomes that become increasingly dominant toward the end of the Silurian. Furthermore, the description of samples from partly coeval sections in Poland enabled some preliminary comparisons outside of Gotland, and presented a striking example of restricted environmental occurrences for a thelodont taxon. This is encouraging for future sampling and investigations on Gotland. Together with the establishment of a facies-framework comparable to that developed in the East Baltic and correlations to other areas, this may prove fruitful for an increased understanding of early vertebrate distribution and evolution during the Silurian.