Abstract
The Iceland-Faeroe Ridge is underlain by exceptionally thick oceanic crust, which otherwise resembles the crust beneath Iceland. The laterally varying upper crust consists of basaltic rocks including lavas, volcanogenic sediments, minor intrusions and the cores of ancient volcanoes. The upper crust is underlain at 3 to 8 km depth by a 6.7 km/s refractor and the Moho occurs at 30–35 km depth at the south-eastern end, shallowing slightly towards Iceland. The Ridge probably formed above sea level between about 55 and 35 My ago as a result of the early activity of the Icelandic hot spot, with the age of the crust younging towards Iceland. The Ridge has subsequently subsided as the underlying lithosphere has cooled. An anomalous passive margin is interpreted as separating the Ridge from the continental Faeroe Block.
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Bott, M.H.P. (1983). The Crust Beneath the Iceland-Faeroe Ridge. In: Bott, M.H.P., Saxov, S., Talwani, M., Thiede, J. (eds) Structure and Development of the Greenland-Scotland Ridge. Nato Conference Series, vol 8. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-3485-9_4
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4613-3485-9_4
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