North Atlantic ocean crust and Iceland

Abstract

This chapter summarizes geological, geophysical and geochemical observations from the North Atlantic basin, particularly 23°N (MARK area), 37°N (FAMOUS area), 40°N (the Azores), 45°N, 57-63°N (the Reykjanes Ridge), all relative to Iceland. Emphasis will be placed on the geochemistry of basalts from these areas, especially the nature of the source region from which the basalts originated and, to a lesser extent, what they can tell us about dynamic processes in the crust and mantle involved in their genesis. The geochemical data will also be considered in the light of other lines of evidence concerning the nature of the mantle under this ocean basin. Coverage of the South Atlantic Ocean is not within the scope of this chapter, but details can be found in Schilling et al. (1984), Le Roex et al. (1985a, b), Chaffey et al. (1989), Sun and McDonough (1989), ODP Leg 108 and references cited therein.