Geochemical discriminators and the palaeotectonic environment of the North Mountain basalts, Nova Scotia

1980 ◽  
Vol 17 (12) ◽  
pp. 1740-1745 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. M. Wark ◽  
D. B. Clarke
Keyword(s):  
Nova Scotia ◽  
Continental Crust ◽  
Early Jurassic ◽  
Late Triassic ◽  
Chemical Characteristics ◽  
Sea Floor ◽  
The North ◽  
Sea Floor Spreading

The late Triassic – early Jurassic North Mountain basalts of Nova Scotia have been analyzed for various elements believed to be useful in determining the palaeotectonic environment of eruption. The discriminant diagrams show these basalts to have within-plate affinities, with a possible indication of oceanic chemical characteristics. An oceanic environment, however, is at variance with the field relations, which show the within-plate environment to be continental; thus the oceanic chemical characteristics may suggest eruption through a continental crust that was thinning prior to the onset of active sea-floor spreading later in the Jurassic.

Icelandia

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gillian Foulger ◽  
Laurent Gernigon ◽  
Laurent Geoffroy
Keyword(s):  
Continental Crust ◽  
Structural Complexity ◽  
Ne Atlantic ◽  
Sea Floor ◽  
Passive Margins ◽  
The North ◽  
The Pacific ◽  
Ne Atlantic Ocean ◽  
Sea Floor Spreading ◽  
North And South

<p>The NE Atlantic formed by complex, piecemeal breakup of Pangea in an environment of structural complexity. North of the present-day latitude of Iceland the ocean opened by southward propagation of the Aegir ridge. South of the present-day latitude of Iceland breakup occurred along the proto-Reykjanes ridge which formed laterally offset by ~ 100 km from the Aegir ridge to the north. Neither of these new breakup axes were able to propagate across the east-westerly striking Caledonian frontal thrust region which formed a strong barrier ~ 400 km wide. As a result, while sea-floor spreading widened the NE Atlantic, the Caledonian front region could only keep pace by diffuse stretching of the continental crust, which formed the aseismic Greenland-Iceland-Faroe ridge. The magmatic rate there was similar to that of the ridges to the north and south and so the stretched continental crust is now blanketed by thick mafic flows and intrusions. The NE Atlantic also contains a magma-inflated microcontinent – the Jan Mayen Microplate Complex, and an unknown but probably large amount of stretched continental crust blanketed by seaward-dipping reflectors in the passive margins of Norway and Greenland. The NE Atlantic thus contains voluminous continental crust in diverse forms and settings. If even a small portion of the sunken continental material contiguous with the Greenland-Iceland-Faroe ridge is included the area exceeds a million square kilometers, an arbitrary threshold suggested to designate a sunken continent. We have called this region Icelandia. The conditions and processes that funneled large quantities of continental crust into the NE Atlantic ocean are common elsewhere. This includes much of the North and South Atlantic oceans including both the seaboards and the deep oceans. Nor are such processes and outcomes confined to oceans bordered by passive margins. They are also found around the Pacific rims where subduction is in progress. Indeed, these conditions and processes likely are generic to essentially all the world's oceans and are potentially also informed by observations from intracontinental extensional regions and land-locked seas.</p>

K–Ar isochron age and paleomagnetism of diabase along the trans-Avalon aeromagnetic lineament—evidence of Late Triassic rifting in Newfoundland

1980 ◽  
Vol 17 (4) ◽  
pp. 491-499 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. P. Hodych ◽  
A. Hayatsu
Keyword(s):  
Nova Scotia ◽  
Early Jurassic ◽  
Late Triassic ◽  
The North ◽  
Two Samples ◽  
Avalon Peninsula

A prominent aeromagnetic lineament crosses the Avalon Peninsula of Newfoundland from 46°50.4′N, 53°45.9′W to 47°22.1′N, 52°30.0′W. It is shown to be at least partly caused by diabase dikes of Late Triassic and possibly Early Jurassic age which are probably related to the Shelburne diabase dike and the North Mountain basalt, both of Nova Scotia. All are thought to have resulted from rifting which preceded opening of the Atlantic.Unmetamorphosed diabase was found at three sites along the trans-Avalon aeromagnetic lineament: as narrow sills at site 1 (46°58.0′N, 53°25.4′W), as a narrow dike at site 2 (47°4.7′N, 53°7.6′W), and as large angular boulders at site 3 (47°11.0′N, 52°52.2′W).For sites 1 and 2, analyses of seven diabase samples fall on a single K–Ar isochron whose intercept on the 40Ar/36Ar axis is at 215 ± 45 and whose slope gives a Late Triassic age of 201.1 ± 2.6 Ma. Analyses of two diabase samples from the Shelburne dike fall close to this isochron suggesting a similar age. Paleomagnetism adds support; the virtual paleopole measured for sites 1 and 2, using 12 oriented diabase samples demagnetized in 300 Oe (23 880 A/m) alternating field (AF), falls at 87.8°E, 72.9°N (dp = 3.0°, dm = 4.3°), close to the virtual paleopole reported for the Shelburne dike.For site 3, analyses of two samples fall on the K–Ar isochron reported for the North Mountain basalt, tentatively suggesting that the intrusion at site 3 occurred about 10 Ma later than at sites 1and 2.

Episodes of sea-floor spreading recorded by the North Atlantic basement

1971 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 211-234 ◽  
Author(s):  
P.R. Vogt ◽  
G.L. Johnson ◽  
T.L. Holcombe ◽  
J.G. Gilg ◽  
O.E. Avery
Keyword(s):  
North Atlantic ◽  
Sea Floor ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Atlantic ◽  
Sea Floor Spreading

scholarly journals New insights on the early Mesozoic evolution of multiple tectonic regimes in the northeastern North China Craton from the detrital zircon provenance of sedimentary strata

Solid Earth ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 1375-1397 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yi Ni Wang ◽  
Wen Liang Xu ◽  
Feng Wang ◽  
Xiao Bo Li
Keyword(s):  
North China Craton ◽  
North China ◽  
Early Jurassic ◽  
Orogenic Belt ◽  
Detrital Zircons ◽  
Late Triassic ◽  
Early Triassic ◽  
The South ◽  
The North ◽  
Early Mesozoic

Abstract. To investigate the timing of deposition and provenance of early Mesozoic strata in the northeastern North China Craton (NCC) and to understand the early Mesozoic paleotectonic evolution of the region, we combine stratigraphy, U–Pb zircon geochronology, and Hf isotopic analyses. Early Mesozoic strata include the Early Triassic Heisonggou, Late Triassic Changbai and Xiaoyingzi, and Early Jurassic Yihe formations. Detrital zircons in the Heisonggou Formation yield  ∼ 58 % Neoarchean to Paleoproterozoic ages and  ∼ 42 % Phanerozoic ages and were sourced from areas to the south and north of the basins within the NCC, respectively. This indicates that Early Triassic deposition was controlled primarily by the southward subduction of the Paleo-Asian oceanic plate beneath the NCC and collision between the NCC and the Yangtze Craton (YC). Approximately 88 % of the sediments within the Late Triassic Xiaoyingzi Formation were sourced from the NCC to the south, with the remaining  ∼ 12 % from the Xing'an–Mongolia Orogenic Belt (XMOB) to the north. This implies that Late Triassic deposition was related to the final closure of the Paleo-Asian Ocean during the Middle Triassic and the rapid exhumation of the Su–Lu Orogenic Belt between the NCC and YC. In contrast,  ∼ 88 % of sediments within the Early Jurassic Yihe Formation were sourced from the XMOB to the north, with the remaining  ∼ 12 % from the NCC to the south. We therefore infer that rapid uplift of the XMOB and the onset of the subduction of the Paleo-Pacific Plate beneath Eurasia occurred in the Early Jurassic.

scholarly journals Exhumation of ultrahigh-pressure continental crust in east central China: Late Triassic-Early Jurassic tectonic unroofing

2000 ◽  
Vol 105 (B6) ◽  
pp. 13339-13364 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bradley R. Hacker ◽  
Lothar Ratschbacher ◽  
Laura Webb ◽  
Michael O. McWilliams ◽  
Trevor Ireland ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Continental Crust ◽  
Early Jurassic ◽  
Central China ◽  
Ultrahigh Pressure ◽  
Late Triassic ◽  
East Central

Comoros – New Evidence and Arguments for Continental Crust

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Milsom ◽  
Phil Roach ◽  
Chris Toland ◽  
Don Riaroh ◽  
Chris Budden ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Continental Crust ◽  
Fracture Zone ◽  
Seismic Data ◽  
Gravity Anomalies ◽  
Magnetic Anomalies ◽  
Magnetic Data ◽  
The West ◽  
Sea Floor ◽  
Inappropriate Use ◽  
Sea Floor Spreading

ABSTRACT As part of an ongoing exploration effort, approximately 4000 line-km of seismic data have recently been acquired and interpreted within the Comoros Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). Magnetic and gravity values were recorded along the seismic lines and have been integrated with pre-existing regional data. The combined data sets provide new constraints on the nature of the crust beneath the West Somali Basin (WSB), which was created when Africa broke away from Gondwanaland and began to move north. Despite the absence of clear sea-floor spreading magnetic anomalies or gravity anomalies defining a fracture zone pattern, the crust beneath the WSB has been generally assumed to be oceanic, based largely on regional reconstructions. However, inappropriate use of regional magnetic data has led to conclusions being drawn that are not supported by evidence. The identification of the exact location of the continent-ocean boundary (COB) is less simple than would at first sight appear and, in particular, recent studies have cast doubt on a direct correlation between the COB and the Davie Fracture Zone (DFZ). The new high-quality reflection seismic data have imaged fault patterns east of the DFZ more consistent with extended continental crust, and the accompanying gravity and magnetic surveys have shown that the crust in this area is considerably thicker than normal oceanic and that linear magnetic anomalies typical of sea-floor spreading are absent. Rifting in the basin was probably initiated in Karoo times but the generation of new oceanic crust may have been delayed until about 154 Ma, when there was a switch in extension direction from NW-SE to N-S. From then until about 120 Ma relative movement between Africa and Madagascar was accommodated by extension in the West Somali and Mozambique basins and transform motion along the DFZ that linked them. A new understanding of the WSB can be achieved by taking note of newly-emerging concepts and new data from adjacent areas. The better-studied Mozambique Basin, where comprehensive recent surveys have revealed an unexpectedly complex spreading history, may provide important analogues for some stages in WSB evolution. At the same time the importance of wide continent-ocean transition zones marked by the presence of hyper-extended continental crust has become widely recognised. We make use of these new insights in explaining the anomalous results from the southern WSB and in assessing the prospectivity of the Comoros EEZ.

Mesozoic sequence of Fuerteventura (Canary Islands): Witness of Early Jurassic sea-floor spreading in the central Atlantic

1998 ◽  
Vol 110 (10) ◽  
pp. 1304-1317 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Steiner ◽  
Alice Hobson ◽  
Philippe Favre ◽  
Gérard M. Stampfli ◽  
Jean Hernandez
Keyword(s):  
Canary Islands ◽  
Early Jurassic ◽  
Sea Floor ◽  
Sea Floor Spreading ◽  
Central Atlantic

scholarly journals Lamprophyric dykes in Revdal, Scoresby Land, East Greenland: conflicting field observations and K-Ar age determinations

1990 ◽  
Vol 38 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Poul-Henrik Larsen ◽  
Lars Stemmerik ◽  
Troels F.D. Nielsen ◽  
David C. Rex
Keyword(s):  
North Atlantic ◽  
Upper Permian ◽  
Alkaline Magmatism ◽  
Field Observations ◽  
Late Permian ◽  
Sea Floor ◽  
The North ◽  
Basin Formation ◽  
Sea Floor Spreading ◽  
Age Determinations

Field observations on Iamprophyric dykes in Revdal, Scoresby Land, suggest a Late Permian age and the dykes would thus represent magmatism related to Permian rifting and basin formation, whereas K-Ar age determinations and chemistry suggest a Tertiary age. It is concluded that the dykes probably are Tertiary and never penetrated Upper Permian sediments due to chilling and fracturing at the base of Upper Permian water rich sediments. The dykes most likely belong to a period of alkaline magmatism that followed the onset of sea floor spreading in this part of the North Atlantic around 55 Ma ago.

Pre-basaltic sediments (Aptian–Paleocene) of the Kangerlussuaq Basin, southern East Greenland

2001 ◽  
pp. 99-106 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Larsen ◽  
Morten Bjerager ◽  
Tor Nedkvitne ◽  
Snorre Olaussen ◽  
Thomas Preuss
Keyword(s):  
North Atlantic ◽  
Deep Water ◽  
Sediment Supply ◽  
Basin Evolution ◽  
East Greenland ◽  
Sea Floor ◽  
North West ◽  
The North ◽  
The North Atlantic ◽  
Sea Floor Spreading

NOTE: This article was published in a former series of GEUS Bulletin. Please use the original series name when citing this article, for example: Larsen, M., Bjerager, M., Nedkvitne, T., Olaussen, S., & Preuss, T. (2001). Pre-basaltic sediments (Aptian–Paleocene) of the Kangerlussuaq Basin, southern East Greenland. Geology of Greenland Survey Bulletin, 189, 99-106. https://doi.org/10.34194/ggub.v189.5163 _______________ The recent licensing round in the deep-water areas south-east of the Faeroe Islands has emphasised the continued interest of the oil industry in the frontier areas of the North Atlantic volcanic margins. The search for hydrocarbons is at present focused on the Cretaceous– Paleocene succession with the Paleocene deepwater play as the most promising (Lamers & Carmichael 1999). The exploration and evaluation of possible plays are almost solely based on seismic interpretation and limited log and core data from wells in the area west of the Shetlands. The Kangerlussuaq Basin in southern East Greenland (Fig. 1) provides, however, important information on basin evolution prior to and during continental break-up that finally led to active sea-floor spreading in the northern North Atlantic. In addition, palaeogeographic reconstructions locate the southern East Greenland margin only 50–100 km north-west of the present-day Faeroe Islands (Skogseid et al. 2000), suggesting the possibility of sediment supply to the offshore basins before the onset of rifting and sea-floor spreading. In this region the Lower Cretaceous – Palaeogene sedimentary succession reaches almost 1 km in thickness and comprises sediments of the Kangerdlugssuaq Group and the siliciclastic lower part of the otherwise basaltic Blosseville Group (Fig. 2). Note that the Kangerdlugssuaq Group was defined when the fjord Kangerlussuaq was known as ‘Kangerdlugssuaq’. Based on field work by the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS) during summer 1995 (Larsen et al. 1996), the sedimentology, sequence stratigraphy and basin evolution of the Kangerlussuaq Basin were interpreted and compared with the deep-water offshore areas of the North Atlantic (Larsen et al. 1999a, b).

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