Grain size distribution in surface sediments samples of the continental shelf and slope of southeast Greenland

During "Meteor" Cruise 6/1966 in the northwest Atlantic a systematic survey of the bottom topography of the southeast Greenland continental margin was undertaken. Eighty-seven profiles transverse to the shelf edge at distances of 3-4 nautical miles and two longitudinal profiles parallel to the coast were carried out with the ELAC Narrow Beam Echo-Sounder giving a reliable record of even steep slopes. On the basis of the echo soundings the topography and morphology of the continental shelf and slope are evaluated. A detailed bathymetric chart and a serial profile chart were designed as working material for the morphological research. These maps along with the original echograms are morphometrically evaluated. The analysis of the sea bottom features is the basis of a subsequent morphogenetical interpretation, verified and extended by means of interpretation of magnetic data and sediment analysis (grain size, roundness, lithology). The results of the research are expressed in a geomorphological map. The primary findings can be summarized as follows: 1) The southeast Greenland shelf by its bottom topography can be clearly designated as a glacially formed area. The glacial features of the shelf can be classified into two zones nearly parallel to the coast: glacial erosion forms on the inner shelf and glacial accumulation forms on the outer shelf. The inner shelf is characterized by the rugged and hummocky topography of ice scoured plains with clear west/east slope asymmetry. On the outer shelf three types of glacial accumulation forms can be recognized: ice margin deposits with clearly expressed terminal moraines, glacial till plains and glaciomarine outwash fans. Both zones of the shelf can be subdivided into two levels of relief. The ice scoured plains, with average depths of 240 meters (m), are dissected to a maximum depth of 1060 m (Gyldenloves Trough) by trough valleys, which are the prolongations of the Greenland fjords. The banks of the outer shelf, with an average depth of 180 m, surround glacial basins with a maximum depth of 670 meters. 2) The sediments of the continental shelf can be classified as glacial due to their grain size distribution and the degree of roundness of the gravel particles. The ice margin deposits on the outer shelf can be recognized by their high percentage of gravels. On the inner shelf a rock surface is suggested, intermittently covered by glacial deposits. In the shelf troughs fine-grained sediments occur mixed with gravels. 3) Topography and sediments show that the southeast Greenland shelf was covered by an ice sheet resting on the sea floor during the Pleistocene ice-age. The large end moraines along the shelf edge probably indicate the maximum extent of the Wurm shelf ice resting on the sea floor. The breakthroughs of the end moraines in front of the glacial basins suggest that the shelf ice has floated further seaward over the increasing depths. 4) Petrographically the shelf sediments consist of gneisses, granites and basalts. While gneisses and granites occire on the nearby coast, basalt is not known to exist here. Either this material has been drifted by icebergs from the basalt province to the north or exists on the southeast Greenland shelf itself. The last interpretation is supported bythe high portion of basalt contained in the sediment samples taken and the strong magnetic anomalies probably caused by basaltic intrusions. 5) A magnetic profile allows the recognition of two magnetically differing areas which approximately coincide with the glacial erosion and accumulation zones. The inner shelf shows a strong and variable magnetic field because the glacially eroded basement forms the sea floor. The outer shelf is characterized by a weak and homogenous magnetic field, as the magnetized basement lies at greater depthy, buried by a thick cover of glacial sediments. The strong magnetic anomalies of the inner shelf are probably caused by dike swarms, similar to those observed further to the north in the Kangerdlugssuaq Fjord region. This interpretation is supported by the high basalt content of the sediment samples and the rough topography of the ice scoured plains which correlates in general with the magnetic fluctuations. The dike structures of the basement have been differentially eroded by the shelf ice. 6) The continental slope, extending from the shelf break at 313 m to a depth of 1270 m with an average slope of 11°, is characterized by delta-shaped projections in front of the shelf basins, by marginal plateaus, ridges and hills, by canyons and slumping features. The projections could be identified as glaciomarine sediment fans. This conclusion is supported by the strong decrease of magnetic field intensity. The deep sea hills and ridges with their greater magnetic intensities have to be regarded as basement outcrops projecting through the glaciomarine sediment cover. The upper continental rise, sloping seaward at about 2°, is composed of wide sediment fans and slump material. A marginal depression on the continental rise running parallel to the shelf edge has been identified. In this depression bottom currents capable of erosion have been recorded. South of Cape Farvel the depression extends to the accumulation zone of the "Eirik" sedimentary ridge. 7) By means of a study of the recent marine processes, postglacial modification of the ice-formed relief can be postulated. The retention effect of the fjord troughs and the high velocity of the East Greenland stream prevents the glacial features from being buried by sediments. Bottom currents capable of active erosion have only been found in the marginal depression on the continental rise. In addition, at the time of the lowest glacio-eustatic sea level, the shelf bottom was not situated in the zone of wave erosion. Only on the continental slope and rise bottom currents, sediment slumps and turbidity currents have led to significant recent modifications. Considering these results, the geomorphological development of the southeast Greenland continental terrace can be suggested as follows: 1. initial formation of a "peneplain", 2. fluvial incision, 3. submergence, and finally 4. glacial modification.

Geochemistry, isotopic ratios and mineral composition of samples from ODP Leg 163 sites

Thirty-five samples from the drill core of the three Leg 163 sites (Sites 988, 989, and 990) off the southeast coast of Greenland were analyzed for 27 major, minor, and trace elements by X-ray fluorescence (XRF) and for 25 trace elements, including 14 rare-earth elements (REEs), by an inductively coupled plasma source mass spectrometer (ICP/MS). Sr- and Nd-isotope data are reported for seven samples and oxygen-isotope data are reported for 19 plagioclase separates. In addition, a reconnaissance survey of the composition of the main mineral phases, plagioclase, pyroxene, and oxides was determined on an electron microprobe to provide the basic information required for petrogenetic modeling. Olivine pseudomorphs are present in many of the samples, but in no case was an olivine grain found that was fresh enough to give a reliable analysis. The chemical and isotopic data recorded here were determined to provide a comparison with the larger data sets acquired by the Edinburgh, Copenhagen, and Leicester laboratories from both Legs 152 and 163 drill cores. This will permit a detailed comparison of the North Atlantic flood basalt province as a whole with the better known Columbia River, Deccan, and Karoo continental flood basalt provinces, for which substantial chemical data sets are already available at Washington State University.

Geochemistry of oceanic flood basalts from the Caribbean plate

The thick oceanic crust of the Caribbean plate appears to be the tectonized remnant of an eastern Pacific oceanic plateau that has been inserted between North and South America. The emplacement of the plateau into its present position has resulted in the obduction and exposure of its margins, providing an opportunity to study the age relations, internal structure and compositional features of the plateau. We present the results of 40Ar-39Ar radiometric dating, major-, trace-element, and isotopic compositions of basalts from some of the exposed sections as well as drill core basalt samples from Leg 15 of the Deep Sea Drilling Project. Five widely spaced, margin sections yielded ages ranging from 91 to 88 Ma. Less well-constrained radiometric ages from the drill cores, combined with the biostratigraphic age of surrounding sediments indicate a minimum crystallization age of ~90 Ma in the Venezuelan Basin. The synchroneity of ages across the region is consistent with a flood basalt origin for the bulk of the Caribbean plateau i.e., large volume, rapidly erupted, regionally extensive volcanism.. The ages and compositions are also consistent with plate reconstructions that place the Caribbean plateau in the vicinity of the Galápagos hotspot at its inception. The trace-element and isotopic compositions of the ~90 Ma rocks indicate a depleted mantle and an enriched, plume-like mantle were involved in melting to varying degrees across the plateau. Within the same region, a volumetrically secondary, but widespread magmatic event occurred at 76 Ma, as is evident in Curacao, western Colombia, Haiti, and at DSDP Site 152/ODP Site 1001 near the Hess Escarpment. Limited trace-element data indicate that this phase of magmatism was generally more depleted than the first. We speculate that magmatism may have resulted from upwelling of mantle, still hot from the 90 Ma event, during lithospheric extension attending gravitational collapse of the plateau, andror tectonic emplacement of the plateau between North and South America. Still younger volcanics are found in the Dominican Republic (69 Ma) and the Quepos Peninsula of Costa Rica (63 Ma). The latter occurrence conceivably formed over the Galápagos hotspot and subsequently accreted to the western edge of the plateau during subduction of the Farallon plate.

Geochemistry of basalts at DSDP Site 89-462

At Site 462 in the Nauru Basin, western Pacific Ocean, 56 lithologic units have been recovered from an extensive flood basalt province. Fossil evidence suggests that the lavas were emplaced during the interval 100-115 Ma, some 30 m.y. after formation of the underlying Jurassic ocean crust. The lithologic units can be broadly divided into three chemical units, the lowermost two of which are chemically monotonous, suggesting rapid eruption of basalt from a compositionally homogeneous magma chamber. All the basalts are hypersthene- (hy-) rich tholeiites, with approximately chondritic La/Sm, La/Yb, Zr/Nb, La/Ta, and Th/Hf ratios. Chemically they resemble, in part, "transitional" mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORB) from areas such as the Reykjanes Ridge, although Rb, Ba, and K contents are very low and similar to those of "normal" MORB. Their 87Sr/86Sr ratios are higher than in N-type MORB (Fujii et al., 1981). The chemistry of the Nauru basalts differs from that of continental flood basalts, which tend to be strongly enriched in large-ion lithophile (LIL) elements, although the extent to which the differences result from sialic contamination or source variability is not clear.

Bulk geochemistry, mass change and alteration intensity of basalts from ODP Leg 187 sites and survey dredges

Shipboard studies during Ocean Drilling Program Leg 187 (Australian Antarctic Discordance, AAD) suggested that there was no discernible coincidence between the interpreted age of rocks recovered and the intensity of alteration observed. Samples from the oldest sites occupied appeared to exhibit the least overall effects of alteration, and the intensity of alteration varied from site to site. Previous investigations of low-temperature alteration in oceanic basement samples have been restricted by the myopic perspective provided by single drill holes or dredge collections. Combining core samples from Leg 187 and dredge samples from the AAD collection at Oregon State University (USA) offers the unique opportunity to investigate mineral and bulk chemical changes attending alteration of basalt over a range of ages from 0 to 28 Ma. Results of this research indicate that there is a general increase in the intensity of alteration as the basalts age and mosve off axis, but that this relationship is somewhat veiled by the dominating control on alteration intensity dictated by variations in permeability.

(Table 1) 40Ar-39Ar incremental heating ages for ODP Hole 163-988A basalt and plagioclase

Results of 40Ar-39Ar Ar dating constrain the age of the submerged volcanic succession, part of the seaward-dipping reflector sequence of the Southeast Greenland volcanic rifted margin, recovered during Leg 163. At the 63ºN drilling transect, the fully normally magnetized volcanic units at Holes 989B (Unit 1) and 990A (Units 1 and 2) are dated at 57.1 ± 1.3 Ma and 55.6 ± 0.6 Ma, respectively. This correlates with a common magnetochron, C25n. The underlying, reversely magnetized lavas at Hole 990A (Units 3-13) yield an average age of 55.8 ± 0.7 Ma and may correlate with C25r. The argon data, however, are also consistent with eruption of the lavas at Site 990 during the very earliest portion of C24. If so, the normally polarized units have to be correlated to a cryptochron (e.g., C24r-11 at ~55.57 Ma). The lavas at Holes 989B and 990A have typical oceanic compositions, implying that final plate separation between Greenland and northwest Europe took place at ~56 Ma. The age for Hole 989B lava is younger than expected from the seismic interpretations, posing questions about the structural evolution of the margin. An age of 49.6 ± 0.2 Ma for the basaltic lava at Site 988 (~66ºN) points to the importance of postbreakup tholeiitic magmatism at the rifted margin. Together with results from Leg 152, a virtually complete time frame for ~12 m.y. of pre-, syn-, and postbreakup volcanism during rifted margin evolution in Southeast Greenland can now be assembled. This time frame includes continental type volcanism at ~61-60 Ma, synbreakup volcanism beginning at ~57 Ma, and postbreakup volcanism at ~49.6 Ma. These discrete time windows coincide with distinct periods of tholeiitic magmatism from the onshore East Greenland Tertiary Igneous Province and is consistent with discrete mantle-melting events triggered by plume arrival (~61-60 Ma) under central Greenland, continental breakup (~57-54 Ma), and passage of the plume axis beneath the East Greenland rifted margin after breakup (~50-49 Ma), respectively.

Geochemistry of North Atlantic Igneous Province basalts

New Sr-Nd-Pb-Hf data require the existence of at least four mantle components in the genesis of basalts from the the North Atlantic Igneous Province (NAIP): (1) one (or more likely a small range of) enriched component(s) within the Iceland plume, (2) a depleted component within the Iceland plume (distinct from the shallow N-MORB source), (3) a depleted sheath surrounding the plume and (4) shallow N-MORB source mantle. These components have been available since the major phase of igneous activity associated with plume head impact during Paleogene times. In Hf-Nd isotope space, samples from Iceland, DSDP Leg 49 (Sites 407, 408 and 409), ODP Legs 152 and 163 (southeast Greenland margin), the Reykjanes Ridge, Kolbeinsey Ridge and DSDP Leg 38 (Site 348) define fields that are oblique to the main ocean island basalt array and extend toward a component with higher 176Hf/177Hf than the N-MORB source available prior to arrival of the plume, as indicated by the compositions of Cretaceous basalts from Goban Spur (~95 Ma). Aside from Goban Spur, only basalts from Hatton Bank on the oceanward side of the Rockall Plateau (DSDP Leg 81) lie consistently within the field of N-MORB, which indicates that the compositional influence of the plume did not reach this far south and east ~55 Ma ago. Thus, Hf-Nd isotope systematics are consistent with previous studies which indicate that shallow MORB-source mantle does not represent the depleted component within the Iceland plume (Thirlwall, J. Geol. Soc. London 152 (1995) 991-996; Hards et al., J. Geol. Soc. London 152 (1995) 1003-1009; Fitton et al., 1997 doi:10.1016/S0012-821X(97)00170-2). They also indicate that the depleted component is a long-lived and intrinsic feature of the Iceland plume, generated during an ancient melting event in which a mineral (such as garnet) with a high Lu/Hf was a residual phase. Collectively, these data suggest a model for the Iceland plume in which a heterogeneous core, derived from the lower mantle, consists of 'enriched' streaks or blobs dispersed in a more depleted matrix. A distinguishing feature of both the enriched and depleted components is high Nb/Y for a given Zr/Y (i.e. positive DeltaNb), but the enriched component has higher Sr and Pb isotope ratios, combined with lower epsilon-Nd and epsilon-Hf. This heterogeneous core is surrounded by a sheath of depleted material, similar to the depleted component of the Iceland plume in its epsilon-Nd and epsilon-Hf, but with lower 87Sr/86Sr, 208Pb/204Pb and negative DeltaNb; this material was probably entrained from near the 670 km discontinuity when the plume stalled at the boundary between the upper and lower mantle. The plume sheath displaced more normal MORB asthenosphere (distinguished by its lower epsilon-Hf for a given epsilon-Nd or Zr/Nb ratio), which existed in the North Atlantic prior to plume impact. Preliminary data on MORBs from near the Azores plume suggest that much of the North Atlantic may be 'polluted' not only by enriched plume material but also by depleted material similar to the Iceland plume sheath. If this hypothesis is correct, it may provide a general explanation for some of the compositional diversity and variations in inferred depth of melting (Klein and Langmuir, 1987 doi:10.1029/JB092iB08p08089) along the MAR in the North Atlantic.

Dinoflagellates and pollen of the Brito-Arctic Igneous Province flora, ODP Hole 104-642E

Palynological studies of the intrabasaltic sediment layers in the lower volcanic series from ODP Leg 104 outer Voring Plateau Hole 642E Cores 102 through 109 indicated abundant pollen and rarer dinoflagellate cysts. The dinoflagellates belong to the Apectodinium hyperacanthum Zone and indicate an age equivalent to nannoplankton Zones NP9-lower NP10 around the Paleocene/Eocene boundary. The pollen and spore assemblage found here in 12 of the samples from the lower volcanic series is of well- preserved and distinctive specimens and contains unusual forms of pollen from the Taxodiaceae and the Hamamelidae. It has not been transported far from vegetation that was dominated by conifer forest with some ferns and deciduous arborescent angiosperms. Nearly identical assemblages are found elsewhere in the Brito-Arctic Igneous Province, in intrabasaltic sediments from eastern Greenland, the Faeroe Islands, the Isle of Mull, and Antrim (Northern Ireland), and above basalt at the Rockall Plateau. The assemblage is also present in sediments around the Paleocene/Eocene boundary in Spitsbergen. This pollen and spore flora is also associated with dinoflagellate cysts of the Apectodinium hyperacanthum Zone in the deposits from eastern Greenland, the Rockall Plateau, and Spitsbergen, suggesting that these are correlative. Assemblages of the same age from the North Sea, Denmark, and the London and Paris Basins are different. Paleobotanical evidence suggests a short survival of the intrabasaltic flora, and that all the deposits considered here are of about the same age. We propose that at around the Paleocene/Eocene boundary a distinct flora, named here as the Brito-Arctic Igneous Province (BIP) flora, occurred on the line of volcanicity stretching from Rockall to the Greenland Sea, and even to Spitsbergen. Geophysical evidence supports our view that the Rockall to East Greenland intrabasaltics are more or less contemporaneous, at about the Paleocene/Eocene boundary. However, the comparable pollen and spore assemblage in the Hebridean province, at Mull and Antrim, is from pyroclastics that may be a little older.

Deep-sea sediment core PS2644 record from the southern Greenland Sea

The PS2644 deep-sea core sequence, retrieved from the northwestern margin of Iceland and covering the last 86 ka, exhibits high sedimentation rates during the last glacial cycle that allow the clear distinction of Greenland stadial (GS)/ interstadial (GI) cycles in the various proxy records. Abundance records of rhyolitic, basaltic and tachylytic tephra grains reveal several maxima. Tephra grains of all types were geochemically analyzed in 44 levels. A total of 92 tephras with a distinctive character have been defined within the glacial sequence of gravity core PS2644-5, whereas the Holocene record is dominated by reworked Vedde Ash grains and not suitable for tephra stratigraphic work. Of the 92 tephras only 19 geochemical populations have been linked with confidence to previously defined tephras such as from the Vedde Ash, Faeroe Marine Ash Zones (FMAZ) II and III and North Atlantic Ash Zone (NAAZ) II. For the glacial period informal names were given to 78 new tephras, most of which are basaltic tephras. Several of these layers have a unique geochemical character and might become new chronostratigraphic markers in the North Atlantic region. Linking the tephra populations to the volcanic system producing them, respectively, revealed that Icelandic eruptions dominate with 83 tephra geochemical populations and Jan Mayen with 9. Around 48% of the informal tephra layers linked to the Icelandic volcanic province are produced from either the Grimsvötn or the Veidivötn-Bardarbunga volcanic systems. The intervals spanning from Greenland Stadial (GS) 3 to Greenland Interstadial (GI) 4 (24.5-29 ka BP), from GI 8 to GS 10 (36.9-40.5 ka BP) and from GI 14 to GI 15.2 (50-56 ka BP) are the periods with the highest number of eruptions, all of which are associated with known tephra zones.

Major and trace element analyses of ODP Leg 120 volcanic rocks (Table 1)

Widespread Lower Cretaceous magmatism occurred along the Indian-Australian/Antarctic margins, and in the juvenile Indian Ocean, during the rifting of eastern Gondwana. The formation of this magmatic province probably began around 120-130 Ma with the eruption of basalts on the Naturaliste Plateau and at Bunbury, western Australia. On the northeast margin of India, activity began around 117 Ma with the Rajmahal continental basalts and associated lamprophyre intrusions. The formation of the Kerguelen Plateau in the Indian Ocean began no later than 114 Ma. Ultramafic lamprophyres (alnoites) were emplaced in the Prince Charles Mountains near the Antarctic continental margin at ~ 110 Ma. These events are considered to be related to a major mantle plume, the remnant of which is situated beneath the region of Kerguelen and Heard islands at the present day. Geochemical data are presented for each of these volcanic suites and are indicative of complex interactions between asthenosphere-derived magmas and the continental lithosphere. Kerguelen Plateau basalts have Sr and Nd isotopic compositions lying outside the field for Indian Ocean mid-ocean ridge basalts (MORB) but, with the exception of Site 738 at the southern end of the plateau, within the range of more recent hotspot basalts from Kerguelen and Heard Islands. However, a number of the plateau tholeiites are characterized by lower 206Pb/204Pb ratios than are basalts from Kerguelen Island, and many also have anomalously high La/Nb ratios. These features suggest that the source of the Kerguelen Plateau basalts suffered contamination by components derived from the Gondwana continental lithosphere. An extreme expression of this lithospheric signature is shown by a tholeiite from Site 738, suggesting that the southernmost part of the Kerguelen Plateau may be underlain by continental crust. The Rajmahal tholeiites mostly fall into two distinct geochemical groups. Some Group I tholeiites have Sr and Nd isotopic compositions and incompatible element abundances, similar to Kerguelen Plateau tholeiites from Sites 749 and 750, indicating that the Kerguelen-Heard mantle plume may have directly furnished Rajmahal volcanism. However, their elevated 207Pb/204Pb ratios indicate that these magmas did not totally escape contamination by continental lithosphere. In contrast to the Group I tholeiites, significant contamination is suggested for Group II Rajmahal tholeiites, on the basis of incompatible element abundances and isotopic compositions. The Naturaliste Plateau and the Bunbury Basalt samples show varying degrees of enrichment in incompatible elements over normal MORB. The Naturaliste Plateau samples (and Bunbury Basalt) have high La/Nb ratios, a feature not inconsistent with the notion that the plateau may consist of stretched continental lithosphere, near the ocean-continent divide.

Geochemistry of the oldest Atlantic oceanic crust

Controversy has surrounded the issue of whether mantle plume activity was responsible for Pangaean continental rifting and massive flood volcanism (resulting in the Central Atlantic Magmatic Province or CAMP, emplaced around 200 Ma) preceding the opening of the central Atlantic Ocean in the Early Mesozoic. Our new Sr-Nd-Pb isotopic and trace element data for the oldest basalts sampled from central Atlantic oceanic crust by deep-sea drilling show that oceanic crust generated from about 160 to 120 Ma displays clear isotopic and chemical signals of plume contamination (e.g., 87Sr/86Sr(i) = 0.7032-0.7036, epsilonNd(t) =+6.2 to +8.2, incompatible element patterns with positive Nb anomalies), but these signals are muted or absent in crust generated between 120 and 80 Ma, which resembles young Atlantic normal mid-ocean ridge basalt. The plume-affected pre-120 Ma Atlantic crustal basalts are isotopically similar to lavas from the Ontong Java Plateau, and may represent one isotopic end-member for CAMP basalts. The strongest plume signature is displayed near the center of CAMP magmatism but the hotspots presently located nearest this location in the mantle reference frame do not appear to be older than latest Cretaceous and are isotopically distinct from the oldest Atlantic crust. The evidence for widespread plume contamination of the nascent Atlantic upper mantle, combined with a lack of evidence for a long-lived volcanic chain associated with this plume, leads us to propose that the enriched signature of early Atlantic crust and possibly the eruption of the CAMP were caused by a relatively short-lived, but large volume plume feature that was not rooted at a mantle boundary layer. Such a phenomenon has been predicted by recent numerical models of mantle circulation.