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The Faeroe-Shetland Margin

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European Margin Sediment Dynamics

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Abstract

The present day general bathymetry of this part of the NE Atlantic margin was largely shaped following basin formation related to rifting associated with the onset of opening of the northeast Atlantic Ocean (Talwani and Eldholm 1972; Doré et al. 1999). Presumably subaerially extruded basalts of late Paleocene or early Eoeene age (Waagstein and Clausen 1995) extend over the entire Faeroe-Rock-all Plateau (Boldreel and Andersen 1995), associated with the formation of the Greenland-Iceland-Faeroe-Seotland Ridge. This ridge has formed a major barrier for deep water circulation since the late Oligocene/early Miocene, causing local erosion and formation of unconformities. The basalts form the seabed over extensive areas of the Faeroe shelf, the ENE-extending Fugloy Ridge, and the Munkagrunnur Ridge. Basalts also form aseries of banks to the SW of the Fareoe Shetland Channel, including the Wyville Thomsen Ridge which separates the Faeroe Shetland Channel from the Rockall Trough (Fig. 1).

Generalised bathymetry of the Faeroe Shetland shelf and margin (Gebco 1998). FBC Faeroe bank Channel, WTR Wyville Thomsen Ridge, RT Rockall Trough, FSC Faeroe Shetland Channel. Insets Areas covered by contributions of Kenyon et al. (A); Holmes et al. (B); Stoker et al. (C); Taylor et al. (D, E). Location of seismic profile shown in Fig. 3 indicated by line

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Netherlands Institute for Sea Research (NIOZ), P.O. Box 1790, AB Den Burg, Texel, The Netherlands

    T. C. E. Van Weering

  2. Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS), Thoravej 8, Copenhagen, Denmark

    A. Kuijpers

  3. British Geological Survey, Murchison House, West Mains Road, Edinburgh, EH9 3LA, UK

    M. S. Stoker

Authors
  1. T. C. E. Van Weering
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  2. A. Kuijpers
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  3. M. S. Stoker
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Geology, University of Tromsø, Dramsveien 201, 9037, Tromsø, Norway

    Jürgen Mienert

  2. Southampton Oceanography Centre European Way, Empress Dock, University of Southampton, SO14 3ZH, Southampton, Great Britain

    Philip Weaver

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© 2003 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Van Weering, T.C.E., Kuijpers, A., Stoker, M.S. (2003). The Faeroe-Shetland Margin. In: Mienert, J., Weaver, P. (eds) European Margin Sediment Dynamics. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-55846-7_20

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-55846-7_20

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-62689-0

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