Contrasts in composition and evolution of Tertiary CFBs between West and East Greenland and their relations to the establishment of the Icelandic mantle plume

Paul Martin Holm, Niels Hald and Troels F. D. Nielsen
Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 68, 349-362, 1 January 1992, https://doi.org/10.1144/GSL.SP.1992.068.01.22

Abstract

In the West Greenland CFB Province, the early lava compositions were dominated by tholeiitic picrites more depleted in terms of isotopic and trace element characteristics than CFBs from any other province, and comparable to those of present-day Icelandic lavas. Later basalts have similar isotopic and incompatible element ratios. Generally, the West Greenland CFBs show no significant interaction with the lithosphere. In East Greenland, the early picrites and basalts from the Kangerlussuaq area have a very wide range of compositions, which strongly indicate lithospheric interaction. The Scoresby Sund basalts, as well as later basalts in the Kangerlussuaq area, have much less variable compositions, and are similar to the most enriched modern Icelandic picrites. The difference between the early West and East Greenland volcanic rocks is probably related to differences in tectonic setting. In West Greenland continental rifting started before volcanism on the continental margin. The arrival of the proto-Icelandic plume material made primitive picritic magma rise quickly through the already rifted lithosphere. In East Greenland no rifting took place until c. 4 Ma after the arrival of plume material under West Greenland. This allowed small amounts of plume-derived melts to enter and react with the lithosphere and subsequently be incorporated into the CFB magmas at the rifting stage. No thermal doming took place in East Greenland before or during continental break-up, and the East Greenland rifting is considered to have been passive. Very high temperatures and high degrees of melting during picrite generation in East Greenland is a strong indication that the plume was centred under Kangerlugssuaq at the time of rifting. The vigorous interaction between early magmas and lithosphere makes it likely that the plume was centred here also for the 4 Ma prior to rifting.

References

    1. Bott M. H. P.
    (1988) in Early Tertiary Volcanism and the Opening of the NE Atlantic, A new look at the causes and consequences of the Icelandic hot-spot, Geological Society of London, Special Publication, eds Morton A. C., Parson L. M. 39, pp 15–23.
    OpenUrl
    1. Bott M. H. P.,
    2. Gunnarsson K.
    (1980) Crustal structure of the Iceland-Faroe Ridge. Journal of Geophysics 47:221–227.
    OpenUrl
    1. Brooks C. K.
    (1973) Tertiary of Greenland—a volcanic and plutonic record of continental break-up. Memoir of the American Association of Petroleum Geologists 19:150–160.
    OpenUrl
    1. Brooks C. K.
    (1979) Geomorphological observations at Kangerdlussuaq, East Greenland, Meddelses. Grønland, Geoscience, 1.
    1. Brooks C. K.,
    2. Nielsen T. F. D.
    (1982) The Phanerozoic development of the Kangerlussuaq area, East Greenland, Meddelelses Grønland, Geoscience, 9.
    1. Brooks C. K.,
    2. Fawcett J. J.,
    3. Gittins J.,
    4. Rucklidge J. C.
    (1981) The Batbjerg complex, east Greenland: a unique ultrapotassic Caledonian intrusion. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 18:274–285.
    OpenUrlAbstract
    1. Brooks C. K.,
    2. Nielsen T. F. D.,
    3. Petersen T. S.
    (1976) The Blosseville Coast basalts of East Greenland: Composition and temporal variation. Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology 5:279–292.
    OpenUrl
    1. Campbell I. H.,
    2. Griffiths R. W.
    (1990) Implications of mantle plume structure for the evolution of flood basalts. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 99:79–93.
    OpenUrlCrossRefWeb of Science
    1. Chalmers J. A.
    (1991) New evidence on the structure of the Labrador Sea/Greenland continental margin. Journal of the Geological Society, London 148:899–908.
    OpenUrlAbstract/FREE Full Text
    1. Chalmers J. A.,
    2. Laursen K. H.
    (1991) Geological Society of London, meeting: Magmatism and the causes of continental break-up (Abstract volume) The eastern margin of the Labrador Sea, p 8.
    1. Clarke D. B.
    (1970) The Tertiary basalts of Baffin Bay: possibly primary magma from the mantle. Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology 25:203–224.
    OpenUrlCrossRef
    1. Clarke D. B.,
    2. Pedersen A. K.
    (1976) in Geology of Greenland, Tertiary volcanic province of West Greenland, Geological Survey of Greenland, Copenhagen, eds Escher A., Watt W. S. pp 364–385.
    1. Clarke D. B.,
    2. Upton B. G.
    (1971) Tertiary basalts of Baffin Island: field relations and tectonic setting. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 8:248–258.
    OpenUrlAbstract
    1. Condomines M.,
    2. Grönvold K.,
    3. Hooker P. J.,
    4. Muehlenbachs K.,
    5. O’Nions R. K.,
    6. Oskarsson N.,
    7. Oxburgh E. R.
    (1983) Helium, oxygen, strontium and neodymium isotopic relationships in Icelandic volcanics. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 66:125–136.
    OpenUrlCrossRefWeb of Science
    1. Courtillot V.,
    2. Besse J.,
    3. Vandamme D.,
    4. Montigny R.,
    5. Jaeger J.-J.,
    6. Capetta H.
    (1986) Deccan flood basalts at the Cretaceous/Tertiary boundary. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 80:361–374.
    OpenUrlCrossRefWeb of Science
    1. Elliott T. R.,
    2. Hawksworth C. J.,
    3. Grönvold K.
    (1991) Dynamic melting of the Iceland plume. Nature 321:201–206.
    OpenUrl
    1. Falloon T. J.,
    2. Green D. H.
    (1988) Anhydrous partial melting of peridotite from 8 to 35 kb and the petrogenesis of MORB. Journal of Petrology special lithosphere vol. 379–414.
    1. Gill R. C. O.,
    2. Nielsen T. F. D.,
    3. Brooks C. K.,
    4. Ingram G. A.
    (1988) in Early Tertiary Volcanism and the Opening of the NE Atlantic, Tertiary volcanism in the Kangerlussuaq region, East Greenland: trace-elements geochemistry of the Lower Basalts and tholeiitic dyke swarms, Geological Society, London, Special Publication, eds Morton A. C., Parson L. M. 39, pp 161–179.
    OpenUrl
    1. Gill R. C. O.,
    2. Pedersen A. K.,
    3. Larsen J. G.
    (1992) Tertiary picrites in West Greenland: melting at the periphery of a plume? This volume.
    1. Gleadow A. J. W.,
    2. Brooks C. K.
    (1979) Fission track dating thermal histories and tectonics of igneous intrusions in East Greenland. Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology 71:45–60.
    OpenUrlCrossRefWeb of Science
    1. Griffiths R. W.,
    2. Campbell I. H.
    (1989) Stirring and structure in mantle plumes. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 99:66–78.
    OpenUrlCrossRefWeb of Science
    1. Hald N.
    (1976) Early Tertiary flood basalts from Hareøen and western Nûgssuaq, West Greènland, Bulletin Grønlands Geologiske Undersgelse, 120.
    1. Hald N.,
    2. Pedersen A. K.
    (1975) Lithosstratigraphy of the Early Tertiary volcanic rocks of central West Greenland. Rapport, Grønlands Geologiske Undersogelse 69:17–24.
    OpenUrl
    1. Hemond C.,
    2. Condomines M.,
    3. Fourcade D.,
    4. Allegre C. J.,
    5. Oskarsson N.,
    6. Javoy M.
    (1988) Thorium, strontium and oxygen isotopic geochemistry in recent tholeiites from Iceland: crustal influence on mantle-derived magmas. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 87:273–285.
    OpenUrlCrossRefWeb of Science
    1. Hill R. I.
    (1991) Starting plumes and continental break-up. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 104:398–416.
    OpenUrlCrossRefWeb of Science
    1. Holm P. M.
    (1988) in Early Tertiary Volcanism and the Opening of the NE Atlantic, Nd, Sr and Pb isotope geochemistry of the Lower Lavas, E Greenland Tertiary Igneous Province, Geological Society, London, Special Publication, eds Morton A. C., Parson L. M. 39, pp 181–195.
    OpenUrl
    1. Holm P. M.,
    2. Gill R. C. O.,
    3. Pedersen A. K.,
    4. Larsen J. G.,
    5. Hald N.,
    6. Nielsen T. F. D.,
    7. Thirlwall M. F.
    (1988) Tertiary picrites of West Greenland: petrogenetic implications of trace elements & Sr-Nd isotope geochemistry. Chemical Geology 70:49.
    OpenUrl
    1. Holm P. M.,
    2. Gill R. C. O.,
    3. Pedersen A. K.,
    4. Larsen J. G.,
    5. Hald N.,
    6. Nielsen T. F. D.,
    7. Thirlwall M. F.
    The Tertiary picrites of West Greenland: contributions from ‘Icelandic’ and other sources. Earth and Planetory Science Letters, In press.
    1. Joy A. M.,
    2. Cartwright J.
    (1991) Geological Society, London meeting: Magmatism and the causes of continental break-up The pattern of heat loss during continental break-up: evidence from sedimentary basins adjacent to the Norwegian-Greenland Sea, p 15, Abstract volume.
    1. Larsen H. C.
    (1980) Geological perspective of the East Greenland continental margin. Bulletin of the Geological Society of Denmark 29:77–101.
    OpenUrl
    1. Larsen H. C.
    (1990) in The geology of North America Vol. L. The Arctic Ocean Region, The East Greenland Shelf, Geological Society of America, eds Grantz A., Johnson A., Sweeney J. F. pp 185–210.
    1. Larsen H. C.
    (1988) in Early Tertiary Volcanism and Opening of the NE Atlantic, A multiple and propagating rift model for the NE Atlantic, Geological Society, London, Special Publication, eds Morton A. C., Parson L. M. 39, pp 157–158.
    OpenUrl
    1. Larsen H. C.,
    2. Marcussen C.
    (1992) Sill-intrusion, flood basalt emplacement and deep crustal structure of the Jameson Land basin, East Greenland. This volume.
    1. Larsen J. G.
    (1977) Transition from potassium olive tholeiites to alkali basalts on Ubekendt Ejland, the Tertiary volcanic province of West Greenland, Meddelelser om Grønland, 200.
    1. Larsen L. M.,
    2. Watt W. S.
    (1985) Episodic volcanism during break-up of the North Atlantic: evidence from the east Greenland plateau basalts. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 73:105–116.
    OpenUrlCrossRefWeb of Science
    1. Larsen L. M.,
    2. Pedersen A. K.,
    3. Pedersen G. K.,
    4. Piasecki S.
    (1992) Timing and duration of the volcanism during break-up of the North Atlantic in the Tertiary: New evidence from West Greenland. This volume.
    1. Larsen L. M.,
    2. Watt W. S.,
    3. Watt M.
    (1989) Geology and petrology of the Lower Tertiary plateau basalts of the Scoresby Sund region, East Greenland, Bulletin Grønlands Geologiske Undersogelse, 157.
    1. Leeman W. P.,
    2. Dasch E. J.
    (1976) 207Pb/206Pb whole rock age of gneisses from the Kangerlussuaq area, eastern Greenland. Nature 263:469–471.
    OpenUrlCrossRef
    1. Leeman W. P.,
    2. Hawkesworth C. J.
    (1986) Open magma systems: trace element and isotopic constraints. Journal of Geophysical Research 91:5901–5912.
    OpenUrl
    1. Leroex A. P.
    (1987) in Mantle Metasomatism, Source regions of mid-ocean ridge basalts: evidence for enrichment processes, eds Menzies M. A., Hawkesworth C. J. (Academic Press, London), pp 389–422.
    1. Louden K.,
    2. Levesque S.,
    3. Osoler J.,
    4. Chian D.,
    5. Srivastava S.
    (1991) Geological Society London meeting: Magmatism and the causes of continental break-up Hot spot activity and the formation of the Labrador Sea, p 18, abstracts volume.
    1. Morgan W. J.
    (1971) Convection plumes in the lower mantle. Nature 230:42–43.
    OpenUrlCrossRefWeb of Science
    1. Menzies M. A.,
    2. Baker J. E.
    (1992) The timing of magmatism, uplift and crustal extension: preliminary observations from Yemen. This volume. 9 OTHERS.
    1. Nielsen T. F. D.
    (1987) in Alkaline Igneous Rocks, Tertiary alkaline magmatism in E. Greenland: a review, Geological Society London, Special Publication, eds Fitton J. G., Upton B. G. J. 30, pp 489–515.
    OpenUrl
    1. Nielsen T. F. D.,
    2. Soper N. J.,
    3. Brooks C. K.,
    4. Faller A. M.,
    5. Higgins A. C.,
    6. Matthews D. W.
    (1981) The pre-basaltic sediments and the Lower Basalts at Kangerlussuaq, East Greenland, their stratigraphy, lithology, palaeomagnetism and petrology, Meddelelser om Grønland Geosciences, 6. 25.
    1. Oskarsson N.,
    2. Steinthorsson S.,
    3. Sigvaldason G. E.
    (1985) Iceland geochemical anomaly: origin, volcanotectonics, chemical fractionation and isotope evolution of the crust. Journal of Geophysical Research 90(B12):10011–10025.
    OpenUrlCrossRef
    1. Pedersen A. K.
    (1985) Reaction between picrite magma and continental crust: Early Tertiary silicic basalts and magnesian andesites from Disko, West Greenland, Bulletin Grønlands Geologiske Undersogelse, 152.
    1. Richads M. A.,
    2. Duncan R. A.,
    3. Courtillot V. E.
    (1989) Flood basalts and hot-spot tracks: plume heads and tails. American Association for the Advancement of Science 246:103–107.
    OpenUrl
    1. Roest W. R.,
    2. Srivastava S. P.
    (1989) Sea-floor spreading in the Labrador Sea: A new reconstruction. Geology 17:1000–1003.
    OpenUrlAbstract/FREE Full Text
    1. Saunders A. D.,
    2. Norry M. J.,
    3. Tarney J.
    (1988) Journal of Petrology, Origin of MORB and Chemically-Depleted Mantle Resevoirs: Trace Element Constraints, Special Lithosphere Issue, pp 415–445.
    1. Srivastava S. P.,
    2. Tapscott C. R.
    (1989) in The Geology of North America, Vol. M, the Western North Atlantic Region, Plate kinematics of the North Atlantic, Geological Society of America, eds Vogt P. R., Tucholke B. E. pp 379–404.
    1. Soper N. J.,
    2. Downie C.,
    3. Higgins A. C.,
    4. Costa L. I.
    (1976) Biostratigraphic ages of Tertiary basalts on the East Greenland continental margin and their relationship to plate separation in the Northeast Atlantic. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 32:149–157.
    OpenUrlCrossRefWeb of Science
    1. Upton B. G. J.,
    2. Emeleus C. H.,
    3. Beckinsale R. D.
    (1984) Petrology of the northern East Greenland Tertiary flood basalts: evidence from Hold with Hope and Wollaston Forland. Journal of Petrology 25:151–184.
    OpenUrlCrossRefWeb of Science
    1. Vink G. E.
    (1984) A hotsport model for Iceland and the Vøring Plateau. Journal of Geophysical Research 89:9949–9959.
    OpenUrl
    1. White R. S.
    (1988) in Early Tertiary volcanism and the opening of the NE Atlantic, A hot-spot model for early tertiary volcanism in the NE Atlantic, Geological Society, London, Special Publication, eds Morton A. C., Parson L. M. 39, pp 3–14.
    OpenUrlCrossRef
    1. White R. S.,
    2. McKenzie D.
    (1989) Magmatism at rift zones: the generation of volcanic continental margins and flood basalts. Journal of Geophysical Research 94(B6):7685–7729.
    OpenUrlCrossRefWeb of Science
    1. Wilson M.
    (1988) Igneous Petrogenesis—a global tectonic approach (Unwin Hymann, London).
Back to top
Alerts
Citation tools
Permissions
View PDF
Email to

Related Articles

Similar Articles

Cited By...