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- Foulger, Gillian R., et al.
(author)
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The Iceland Microcontinent and a continental Greenland-Iceland-Faroe Ridge
- 2020
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In: Earth-Science Reviews. - : Elsevier BV. - 0012-8252 .- 1872-6828. ; 206
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The breakup of Laurasia to form the Northeast Atlantic Realm disintegrated an inhomogeneous collage of cratons sutured by cross-cutting orogens. Volcanic rifted margins formed that are underlain by magma-inflated, extended continental crust. North of the Greenland-Iceland-Faroe Ridge a new rift–the Aegir Ridge–propagated south along the Caledonian suture. South of the Greenland-Iceland-Faroe Ridge the proto-Reykjanes Ridge propagated north through the North Atlantic Craton along an axis displaced ~150 km to the west of the rift to the north. Both propagators stalled where the confluence of the Nagssugtoqidian and Caledonian orogens formed an ~300-km-wide transverse barrier. Thereafter, the ~150 × 300-km block of continental crust between the rift tips–the Iceland Microcontinent–extended in a distributed, unstable manner along multiple axes of extension. These axes repeatedly migrated or jumped laterally with shearing occurring between them in diffuse transfer zones. This style of deformation continues to the present day in Iceland. It is the surface expression of underlying magma-assisted stretching of ductile continental crust that has flowed from the Iceland Microplate and flanking continental areas to form the lower crust of the Greenland-Iceland-Faroe Ridge. Icelandic-type crust which underlies the Greenland-Iceland-Faroe Ridge is thus not anomalously thick oceanic crust as is often assumed. Upper Icelandic-type crust comprises magma flows and dykes. Lower Icelandic-type crust comprises magma-inflated continental mid- and lower crust. Contemporary magma production in Iceland, equivalent to oceanic layers 2–3, corresponds to Icelandic-type upper crust plus intrusions in the lower crust, and has a total thickness of only 10–15 km. This is much less than the total maximum thickness of 42 km for Icelandic-type crust measured seismically in Iceland. The feasibility of the structure we propose is confirmed by numerical modeling that shows extension of the continental crust can continue for many tens of millions of years by lower-crustal ductile flow. A composition of Icelandic-type lower crust that is largely continental can account for multiple seismic observations along with gravity, bathymetric, topographic, petrological and geochemical data that are inconsistent with a gabbroic composition for Icelandic-type lower crust. It also offers a solution to difficulties in numerical models for melt-production by downward-revising the amount of melt needed. Unstable tectonics on the Greenland-Iceland-Faroe Ridge can account for long-term tectonic disequilibrium on the adjacent rifted margins, the southerly migrating rift propagators that build diachronous chevron ridges of thick crust about the Reykjanes Ridge, and the tectonic decoupling of the oceans to the north and south. A model of complex, discontinuous continental breakup influenced by crustal inhomogeneity that distributes continental material in growing oceans fits other regions including the Davis Strait, the South Atlantic and the West Indian Ocean.
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- Schiffer, Christian, et al.
(author)
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Structural inheritance in the North Atlantic
- 2020
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In: Earth-Science Reviews. - : Elsevier BV. - 0012-8252 .- 1872-6828. ; 206
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Research review (peer-reviewed)abstract
- The North Atlantic, extending from the Charlie Gibbs Fracture Zone to the north Norway-Greenland-Svalbard margins, is regarded as both a classic case of structural inheritance and an exemplar for the Wilson-cycle concept. This paper examines different aspects of structural inheritance in the Circum-North Atlantic region: 1) as a function of rejuvenation from lithospheric to crustal scales, and 2) in terms of sequential rifting and opening of the ocean and its margins, including a series of failed rift systems. We summarise and evaluate the role of fundamental lithospheric structures such as mantle fabric and composition, lower crustal inhomogeneities, orogenic belts, and major strike-slip faults during breakup. We relate these to the development and shaping of the NE Atlantic rifted margins, localisation of magmatism, and microcontinent release. We show that, although inheritance is common on multiple scales, the Wilson Cycle is at best an imperfect model for the Circum-North Atlantic region. Observations from the NE Atlantic suggest depth dependency in inheritance (surface, crust, mantle) with selective rejuvenation depending on time-scales, stress field orientations and thermal regime. Specifically, post-Caledonian reactivation to form the North Atlantic rift systems essentially followed pre-existing orogenic crustal structures, while eventual breakup reflected a change in stress field and exploitation of a deeper-seated, lithospheric-scale shear fabrics. We infer that, although collapse of an orogenic belt and eventual transition to a new ocean does occur, it is by no means inevitable.
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