The Jan Mayen microcontinent and Iceland Plateau: Tectono-magmatic evolution and rift propagation

• Main Author: Blischke, Anett
• Other Authors: Bryndís Brandsdóttir, Jarðvísindadeild (HÍ), Faculty of Earth Sciences (UI), Verkfræði- og náttúruvísindasvið (HÍ), School of Engineering and Natural Sciences (UI), Háskóli Íslands, University of Iceland
• Format: Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: University of Iceland, School of Engineering and Natural Sciences, Faculty of Earth Sciences 2020
• Subjects: Dual-breakup igneous complex; Kinematic model; Iceland plateau rift; Jan Mayen microcontinent; SDRs; Volcanic seismic-stratigraphy; Jarðskorpuhreyfingar; Landrek; Jarðlög; Jarðeðlisfræði; Doktorsritgerðir; Iceland Plateau; Jan Mayen; Iceland; Northeast Atlantic
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11815/1826

Understanding the geological evolution of an area of interest is the basis for any exploration assessment and decision making for the Icelandic government tied to their offshore licensing activity. The Jan Mayen microcontinent study was initially focused on the tectonic and volcanic development of the central part of the microcontinent – the Lyngvi ridge and the Jan Mayen southern ridge complex areas. To properly understand their formation, a comprehensive study of the Jan Mayen microcontinent and the Iceland Plateau rift region became necessary, in order to place the local region within the complex setting of the Northeast Atlantic. Consequently, a research project was proposed, which formed the basis for this doctoral work. The resulting project presents an in depth understanding of the microcontinent´s structural and magmatic foundation, and the establishment of a tectono- and volcano-stratigraphic framework that enables a clear link to the area´s complex geodynamic development. These objectives were achieved through detailed geological and geophysical mapping of the Jan Mayen microcontinent and the Iceland Plateau rift regions, including seismic-stratigraphic analysis of the sedimentary and igneous succession and their correlation to the study area´s conjugate margins. Kinematic modelling of the northeast Atlantic region has enabled the Cenozoic evolution of the Jan Mayen microcontinent and the Iceland Plateau rift region to be reconstructed and placed within the context of continental breakup, subsequent plate reorganization, and interlinkage of the Northeast Atlantic rift system to the Iceland mantle anomaly. This research project was established and its dissertation was written in collaboration between the Institute of Earth Sciences (IES) of the University of Iceland, the Iceland GeoSurvey (ÍSOR), the Centre for Earth Evolution and Dynamics (CEED) at the University of Oslo, the British Geological Survey (BGS) and successively the University of Adelaide. The start of the project ran concurrent with the ...