Skip to main content

The North Atlantic Tertiary Province

  • Chapter
Continental Flood Basalts

Part of the book series: Petrology and Structural Geology ((PESG,volume 3))

Abstract

The North Atlantic Tertiary flood basalt Province (NATP) is also commonly referred to as the Brito-Arctic or Thulean Province. I shall use these terms interchangeably to refer to ensialic lavas and associated central intrusive complexes, largely erupted or emplaced in the Paleocene and Eocene, and associated with the process of rifting which led to the opening of the North Atlantic Ocean.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 129.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • Anderson, F.W. and K.C. Dunham (1966). The geology of northern Skye. Mem. Geol. Surv. G.B.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bailey, E.B., C.T. Clough, W.B. Wright, J.E. Richey and G.V. Wilson (1924). Tertiary and post-Tertiary geology of Mull, Loch Aline and Oban. Mem. Geol. Surv. G.B.

    Google Scholar 

  • Beckinsale, R.D., C.K. Brooks and D.C. Rex (1970). K-Ar ages for the Tertiary of East Greenland. Dansk. Geol. Foren. Medd. 20, 27–37.

    Google Scholar 

  • Beckinsale, R.D., R.J. Pankhurst, R.R. Skellhorn and J.N. Walsh (1978). Geochemistry and petrogenesis of the Early Tertiary lava pile of Mull, Scotland. Contrib. Mineral. Petrol. 66, 415 427.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bott, M.H.P., J. Sunderland, P.J. Smith, U. Casten and S. Savox (1974). Evidence for continental crust beneath the Faeroe Islands. Nature 248, 202–204.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bott, M.H.P. and A.B. Watts (1971). Deep structure of the continental margin adjacent to the British Isles. Rep. No. 70/14, Inst. Geol. Sci.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brooks, C.K. and A.J.W. Gleadow (1977). A fission-track age for the Skaergaard intrusion and the age of the East Greenland basalts. Geology 5, 539–540.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brooks, C.K. and T.F.D. Nielsen (1978). Early stages in the differentiation of the Skaergaard magma as revealed by a closely correlated suite of dyke rocks. Lithos 11, 1–14.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brooks, C.K. and T.F.D Nielsen (1982). The E. Greenland continental margin: a transition between oceanic and continental magmatism. J. Geol. Soc. London 139, 265–275.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brooks, C.K., T.F.D. Nielsen and R.S. Petersen (1976). The Blosseville Coast basalts of East Greenland: their occurrence, composition and temporal variations. Contrib. Mineral. Petrol. 54, 279–292.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carter, S.R., N.M. Evensen, P.J. Hamilton and R.K. O’Nions (1978). Nd- and Sr-isotopic evidence for crustal contamination of continental volcanics. Science 202, 743–747.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Carter, S.R., N.M. Evensen, P.J. Hamilton and R.K. O’Nions (1979). Basalt magma sources during the opening of the North Atlantic. Nature 281, 2830.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clarke, D.B. (1970). Tertiary basalts of Baffin Bay: possible primary magma from the mantle. Contrib. Mineral. Petrol. 25, 203–224.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • De Paolo, D.J. (1981). Trace element and isotopic effects of combined wall-rock assimilation and fractional crystallization. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 53, 189–202.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dickin, A.P. (1981). Isotope geochemistry of Tertiary igneous rocks from the Isle of Skye, N.W. Scotland. J. Petrol. 22, 155–189.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dickin, A.P., J.L. Brown, R.N. Thompson, A.N. Halliday and M.A. Morrison (1984). Crustal contamination and the granite problem in the British Tertiary Volcanic Province. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. A310, 755–780.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dickin, A.P. and N.W. Jones (1983). Isotopic evidence for the age and origin of pitchstones and felsites, Isle of Eigg, NW Scotland. J. Geol. Soc. Lond. 140, 691–700.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dickin, A.P., S. Moorbath and H. Welke (1981). Isotope, trace element and major element geochemistry of Tertiary igneous rocks, Isle of Arran, Scotland. Trans. R. Soc. Edin.: Earth Sci., 72, 159–170.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dickin, A.P., N.W. Jones, M.F. Thirlwall and R.N. Thompson (1987). A Ce/Nd isotope study of crustal contamination processes affecting Palaeocene magmas in Skye, NW Scotland. Contrib. Mineral. Petrol. (in press).

    Google Scholar 

  • Eldholm, O. and J. Thiede (Co-Chief Scientists) et al. (1986). Dipping reflectors in the Norwegian Sea-ODP Leg 104 drilling results. J. Geol. Soc. London 143,911–912.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Evans, A.L., F.J. Fitch and J.A. Miller (1973). K-Ar determinations on some British Tertiary rocks. J. Geol. Soc. London 129, 419–443.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fitch, F.J., P.H. Hooker, J.A. Miller and N.R. Brereon (1978). Glauconite dating of Palaeocene-Eocene rocks from East Kent and the time-scale of Palaeocene volcanism in the North Atlantic region. J. Geol. Soc. London 135, 499–512.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gariepy, C., J. Ludden and C. Brooks (1983). Isotopic and trace element constraints on the genesis of the Faeroe lava pile. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 63, 257–272.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gass, I.G. et al. (1972). Historical geology. A second level course: Geology. The Open University.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gamble, J.A. (1979). The geochemistry and petrogenesis of dolerites and gabbros from the Tertiary central volcanic complex of Slieve Gullion, north east Ireland. Contrib. Mineral. Petrol. 69, 5–19.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Geikie, A. (1871). On the Tertiary volcanic rocks of the British Isles. Q. J. Geol. Soc. London 135, 499–512.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hampton, C.M. and P.N. Taylor (1983). The age and nature of the basement of Southern Britain: evidence from Sr and Pb isotopes in some English granites. J. Geol. Soc. London 140, 499–509.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harker, A. (1912). Pres. Add. Sect. C, Rep. Brit. Ass. for 1911.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harland, W.B., A.V. Cox, P.G. Llewellyn, C.A.G. Picton, A.G. Smith and R. Walters (1982). A geologic time scale. Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Henderson, G. (1972). The geological setting of the West Greenland basin in the Baffin Bay region. Geol. Surv. Canada paper 71–23.

    Google Scholar 

  • Higgins, M.D. (1984). A test of two alteration indices as predictors of argon loss in basic rocks. Isotope Geoscience 2, 175–180.

    Google Scholar 

  • Holmes, A. (1918). The basaltic rocks of the Arctic region. Mineral. Mag. 18, 180–225.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jones, EJ.W., J.G. Mitchell, F. Shido and J.D. Phillips (1972). Igneous rocks dredged from the Rockall Plateau. Nature Phys. Sci. 237, 118–120.

    Google Scholar 

  • Judd, J.W. (1889). The Tertiary volcanoes of the Western Isles of Scotland. Q. J. G. S. 45, 187–219.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Keen, M.J. and D.B. Clarke (1974). Tertiary basalts of Baffin Bay: geochemical evidence for a fossil hot-spot. In Geodynamics of Iceland and the North Atlantic area (ed. Kristjansson), 127–137. Reidel, Dordrecht, Holland.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Kennedy, W.Q. (1933). Trends of differentiation in basaltic magmas. Amer. J. Sci. 225, 239–256.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kharin, G.N. (1976). The petrology of magmatic rocks, DSDP Leg 38. Init. Rep. DSDP 38, 685–715.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kharin, G.N., G.B. Udintsev, O.A. Bogatikov, J.I. Dmitriev, H. Raschka, H. Kreuzer, M. Mohr, W. Harre and F.J. Eckhardt (1976). K/Ar ages of the basalts of the Norwegian-Greenland Sea DSDP Leg 38. Init. Rep. DSDP 38, 755–759.

    Google Scholar 

  • King, B.C. (1955). The Ard Bheinn area of the central igneous complex of Arran. Q. J. Geol. Soc. London 110, 323–355.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Larsen, L.M. and W.S. Watt (1985). Episodic volcanism during break-up of the North Atlantic: evidence from the East Greenland plateau basalts. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 73, 105–116.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lowrie, W. and W. Alvarez (1981). One hundred million years of geomagnetic polarity history. Geology 9, 392–397.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lyle, P. (1980). A petrological and geochemical study of the Tertiary basaltic rocks of Northeast Ireland. J. Earth Sci. R. Dubl. Soc. 2, 137–152.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lyle, P. and S.J. Thompson (1983). The classification and chemistry of the Tertiary intermediate lavas of Northeast Ireland. Scott. J. Geol. 19,17–27.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Macintyre, R.M. and P.J. Hamilton (1984). Isotopic geochemistry of lavas from sites 553 and 555. Init. Rep. DSDP 81, 775–781.

    Google Scholar 

  • Macintyre, R.M., T. McMenamin and J. Preston (1975). K-Ar results from Western Ireland and their bearing on the timing and siting of Thulean magmatism. Scott. J. Geol. 11, 227–249.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meighan, I., R. Hutchinson, I. Williamson and R.M. Macintyre (1982). Geological evidence for the different relative ages of the Rhum and Skye Tertiary central complexes. J. Geol. Soc. London 139, 659.

    Google Scholar 

  • Morrison, M.A. (1983). Reconstruction of the Mull hydrothermal system. Mineral. Soc. Bull. 58,4.

    Google Scholar 

  • Morrison, M.A., R.N. Thompson, I.L. Gibson and G.F. Marriner (1980). Lateral chemical heterogeneity in the Palaeocene upper mantle beneath the Scottish Hebrides. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. A297, 229–244.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moorbath, S. and J.D. Bell (1965). Strontium isotope abundance studies and rubidium-strontium age determinations on Tertiary igneous rocks from the Isle of Skye, north-west Scotland. J. Petrol. 6, 37–66.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moorbath, S. and R.N. Thompson (1980). Strontium isotope geochemistry and petrogenesis of the Early Tertiary lava pile of the Isle of Skye, Scotland, and other basic rocks of the British Tertiary Province: an example of magma-crust interaction. J. Petrol. 21, 295–321.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moorbath, S. and H. Welke (1969). Isotopic evidence for the continental affinity of the Rockall Bank, North Atlantic. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 5, 211–216.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moorbath, S. and H. Welke (1969). Lead isotope studies on igneous rocks from the Isle of Skye, northwest Scotland. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 5, 217–230.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Musset, A.E. (1984). Time and duration of Tertiary igneous activity of Rhum and adjacent areas. Scott. J. Geol. 20, 273–279.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Musset, A.E. (1986). 40Ar-39Ar step-heating ages of the Tertiary igneous rocks of Mull, Scotland. J. Geol. Soc. London 143, 887–896.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mutter, J.C., M. Talwani and P.L. Stoffa (1982). Origin of seaward-dipping reflectors in oceanic crust off the Norwegian Margin by “sub-aerial seafloor spreading”. Geology 10, 353–357.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ness, G., S. Levi and R. Couch (1980). Marine magnetic anomaly timescales for the Cenozoic and Late Cretaceous: a precis, critique, and synthesis. Rev. Geophys. and Space Phys. 18, 753–770.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nielsen, T.F.D. (1975). Possible mechanism of continental breakup in the North Atlantic. Nature 253,182–184.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nielsen, T.F.D. (1978). The Tertiary dyke swarms of the Kangerdlugssuaq area, East Greenland. Contrib. Mineral. Petrol. 67, 63–78.

    Google Scholar 

  • Noe-Nygaard, A. (1942). On the geology and petrography of the West Greenland basalt province. Part III, The plateau basalts of the Svartenhuk peninsula. Medd. om Gronland 137, 78 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Noe-Nygaard, A. (1974). Cenozoic to Recent volcanism in and around the North Atlantic Basin. In The ocean basins and margins 2, (ed. A.E.M. Nairn and F.D. Stehli), 391–443, Plenum, New York.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Noe-Nygaard, A. and R.K. Pedersen (1974). Progressive chemical variation in a tholeiitic lava sequence at Kap Stosch, northern east Greenland. Bull. Geol. Soc. Denmark 23, 175–190.

    Google Scholar 

  • Noe-Nygaard and J. Rasmussen (1968). Petrology of a 3000 metre sequence of basaltic lavas in the Faeroe Islands. Lithos 1, 286–304.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Obradovich, J. (1985). Appendix 1. Age of Kap Brewster basalt flow. p. 187. In: Berggren, W.A., D.V. Kent and J.J. Flynn. Jurassic to Palaeogene: Part 2. Paleogene geochronology and chronostratigraphy. 141–195. In: The chronology of the geological record (Ed. Snelling, N.J.). Memoir 10, Geol. Soc., Blackwell, Oxford.

    Google Scholar 

  • O’Nions, R.K. and D.B. Clarke (1972). Comparative trace element geochemistry of Tertiary basalts from Baffin Bay. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 15, 436–446.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Palacz, Z.A. (1985). Sr-Nd-Pb isotopic evidence for crustal contamination in the Rhum intrusion. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 74, 35–44.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Park, I., D.B. Clarke, J. Johnson and M.J. Keen (1971). Seaward extension of the West Greenland Tertiary Volcanic Province. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 10, 235–238.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Parrot, R.J.E. and P.H. Reynolds (1975). Argon-40/Argon-39 geochronology; age determinations of basalts from the Labrador sea area. Geol. Soc. Amer. Abstr. Prog. 7, 835.

    Google Scholar 

  • Patchett, P.J. (1980). Thermal effects of basalt on continental crust and crustal contamination of magmas. Nature 283, 559–561.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Preston, J. (1982). Eruptive volcanism. In Igneous rocks of the British Isles (ed. D.S. Sutherland), 351–368. Wiley, Chichester.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ridley, W.I. (1973). The petrology of volcanic rocks from the Small Isles of Inverness-shire. Rep. Inst. Geol. Sci. 73/10.

    Google Scholar 

  • Roberts, D.G. and A. Ginzburg (1984). Deep crustal structure of south-west Rockall Plateau. Nature 308, 435–439.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schilling, J.G. (1976). Rare-earth, Sc, Cr, Fe, Co and Na abundances in DSDP Leg 38 basement basalts: some additional evidence on the evolution of the Thulean volcanic province. Init. Rep. D.S.D.P. 38, 741 753.

    Google Scholar 

  • Schilling, J.G. and A. Noe-Nygaard (1974). Faeroe-Iceland plume: rare-earth evidence. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 24, 1–14.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Skelhorn, R.R. (1969). The Tertiary igneous geology of the Isle of Mull. Geol. Assoc. Guide 20., 35 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Soper, NJ., A.C. Higgins, C. Downie, D.W. Mathews and P.E. Brown (1976). Late-Cretaceous-early Tertiary stratigraphy of the Kangerdlugssuaq area, east Greenland, and the age of opening of the north-east Atlantic. J. Geol. Soc. London 132,85–104.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Talwani, M. and O. Eldholm (1972). Continental margin off Norway: a geophysical survey. Geol. Soc. Amer. Bull. 83, 3575–3606.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Talwani, M., J. Mutter and O. Eldholm (1981). The initiation of opening of the Norwegian Sea. Oceanol. Acta 4, suppl. Geology of continental margins, 23–30.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tarling, D.H. and N.H. Gale (1968). Isotopic dating and palaeomagnetic polarity in the Faeroe Islands. Nature 218, 1043–1044.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tarling, D.H. and H.I. Otulana (1972). The palaeomagnetism of some Tertiary igneous rocks from Ubekendt Ejland, West Greenland. Bull. Geol. Soc. Denmark 21, 395–400.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thirlwall, M.F. and N.W. Jones (1983). Isotope geochemistry and contamination mechanisms of Tertiary lavas from Skye, northwest Scotland. In Continental basalts and mantle xenoliths (ed. C.J. Hawkesworth and M.J. Norry), pp. 186–208. Shiva.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thompson, R.N. (1974). Primary basalts and magma genesis. I. Skye, North-West Scotland. Contrib. Mineral. Petrol. 45, 317–341.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thompson, R.N. (1982a). Geochemistry and magma genesis. In: Igneous rocks of the British Isles (ed. D.S. Sutherland), 461–477, Wiley, Chichester.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thompson, R.N. (1982b). Magmatism of the British Tertiary Volcanic Province. Scott. J. Geol. 18, 49–107.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thompson, R.N., A.P. Dickin, I.L. Gibson and M.A. Morrison (1982). Elemental fingerprints of isotopic contamination of Hebridean Palaeocene mantle-derived magmas by Archaean sial. Contrib. Mineral. Petrol. 79, 159–168.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thompson, R.N., J. Esson and A.C. Dunham (1972). Major element chemical variation in the Eocene lavas of the Isle of Skye, Scotland. J. Petrol. 13, 219–253.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thompson, R.N., I.L. Gibson, G.F. Marriner, D.P. Mattey and M.A. Morrison (1980). Trace-element evidence of multistage mantle fusion and polybaric fractional crystallisation in the Palaeocene lavas of Skye, NW Scotland. J. Petrol. 21, 265–293.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thompson, R.N. and M.A. Morrison (1986). The Permo-Carboniferous pre-history of the Scottish Tertiary magmatism. Mineral. Soc. Bull. 69, 7.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thompson, R.N., M.A. Morrison, A.P. Dickin and G.L. Hendry (1983). Continental flood basalts...Arachnids Rule OK? In Continental basalts and mantle xenoliths (ed. C.J. Hawkesworth and M.J. Norry) pp. 158–185. Shiva.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tilley, C.E. (1950). Some aspects of magmatic evolution. Q. J. Geol. Soc. Lond. 106, 37–61.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tilley, C.E. and I.D. Muir (1962). The Hebridean Plateau Magma Type. Trans. Edinb. Geol. Soc. 19, 208–215.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tomkieff, S.I. (1964). Petrochemistry and petrogenesis of the British Tertiary igneous province. In Advancing frontiers in geology and geophysics. Hyderabad.

    Google Scholar 

  • Upton, B.G.J., C.H. Emeleus and R.D. Beckinsale (1984). Petrology of the Northern East Greenland Tertiary flood basalts: evidence from Hold with Hope and Wollaston Foreland. J. Petrol. 25, 151–184.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Upton, B.G.J., C.H. Emeleus and N. Hald (1980). Tertiary volcanism in northern E. Greenland: Gauss Halvo and Hold with Hope. J. Geol. Soc. London 137, 491–508.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vann, I.R. (1978). The siting of Tertiary volcanicity. Geol. J. Spec. Issue 10, 393–414.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vogt, P.R. (1972). Comments on “Geophysical study of opening of the Labrador Sea”. X. Le Pichon, R.D. Hyndman and G. Pautot. J. Geophys. Res. 77, 5054–5057.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Waagstein, R., N. Hald, O. Jorgensen, P.H. Nielsen, A. Noe-Nygaard, J. Rasmussen and G. Schonharting (1984). Deep drilling in the Faeroe Islands. Bull. Geol. Soc. Denmark 32, 133–138.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wager, L.R. (1947). Geological investigations in East Greenland. Part IV, The stratigraphy and tectonics of Knud Rasmussens Land and the Kangerdlugssuaq region. Medd. om Gronland 143, 64 pp.

    Google Scholar 

  • Walker, G.P.L. (1970). The amygdale minerals in Mull and Morven (western Scotland). Studies in earth sciences (West Commem. Vol.), (eds. T.V.V.G.R.K. Murty and S.S. Rao), Univ. Saugar.

    Google Scholar 

  • Walker, G.P.L. (1979). The environment of Tertiary volcanism in Britain. Bull. Geol. Surv. G.B. 70, 5–6.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilson, R.L. (1970). Palaeomagnetic stratigraphy of Tertiary lavas from Northern Ireland. Geophys. J.R. Astron. Soc. 20, 1–9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wood, D.A. (1979). Dynamic partial melting: its application to the petrogenesis of basalts erupted in Iceland, the Faeroes, the Isle of Skye (Scotland) and the Troodos Massif (Cyprus). Geochim. Cosmochim. Acta 43, 1031–1046.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yoder, H.S. and C.E. Tilley (1962). Origin of basalt magmas: an experimental study of natural and synthetic rock systems. J. Petrol. 3, 342–532.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 1988 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Dickin, A.P. (1988). The North Atlantic Tertiary Province. In: Macdougall, J.D. (eds) Continental Flood Basalts. Petrology and Structural Geology, vol 3. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-7805-9_4

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-015-7805-9_4

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht

  • Print ISBN: 978-90-481-8458-3

  • Online ISBN: 978-94-015-7805-9

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

Publish with us

Policies and ethics