Rift magmatism on the Eurasia basin margin: U-Pb baddeleyite ages of alkaline dyke swarms in North Greenland

• Published in: Journal of the Geological Society
• Main Authors: Thorarinsson, Sigurjon B., Söderlund, Ulf, Dossing, Arne, Holm, Paul M., Ernst, Richard E., Tegner, Christian
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Geological Society of London 2015
• Subjects: Geology; Arctic; Arctic Ocean; Eurasia Basin; Gakkel Ridge; Greenland; North Greenland
• Online Access: https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/8389411; https://doi.org/10.1144/jgs2015-049

The opening of the Arctic Ocean involved multiple stages of continental rifting and intrusion of extensive dyke swarms. To trace tectonomagmatic processes of the High Arctic, we present the first U-Pb ages for alkaline dyke swarms of North Greenland. Concordia ages of 80.8 +/- 0.6 and 82.1 +/- 1.5 Ma indicate that north-south and east-west dykes are coeval. The north-south dykes reflect initial east-west rifting that led to break-up along the Gakkel Ridge and formation of the Eurasia Basin. The east-west dykes reflect local variations in the stress field associated with reactivated Palaeozoic faults.