Dynamic support by the Icelandic plume and vertical tectonics of the northeast Atlantic continental margins
Late Paleocene-early Eocene continental rifting in the northeast Atlantic differs significantly from earlier episodes of margin formation in the Central Atlantic. At a nonvolcanic margin, rifting occurs over a wide area, with little associated magmatism. Postrift subsidence decreases in a predictabl...
| Published in: | Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth |
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| Main Authors: | , |
| Format: | Text |
| Language: | unknown |
| Published: |
LSU Digital Commons
1995
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://digitalcommons.lsu.edu/geo_pubs/552 https://doi.org/10.1029/95jb02511 |
| Summary: | Late Paleocene-early Eocene continental rifting in the northeast Atlantic differs significantly from earlier episodes of margin formation in the Central Atlantic. At a nonvolcanic margin, rifting occurs over a wide area, with little associated magmatism. Postrift subsidence decreases in a predictable, exponential pattern with time. In contrast, subsidence analysis of the Voring Plateau, Hatton Bank, and East Greenland Margin show that in these areas the continent-ocean transition (COT) is very sharp. Anomalous slow subsidence in the early postrift period at 63°N offshore East Greenalnd is attributed to support by the Icelandic plume. Dynamic support is weaker on the Hatton Bank and on the Voring Plateau. Variations in the strength and duration of the support suggest that the plume was a large, 1000-km-radius structure that lay under the Greenland craton at the time of breakup. -from Authors |
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