Crustal accretion under northern Iceland

Abstract

Successful models of oceanic crustal accretion should be consistent with both geochemical and geophysical observations from active mid-ocean ridges as well as those from ophiolite sections. The major element concentrations of a set of basalt and picrite samples from the Krafla and Theistareykir volcanic systems of the Northern Volcanic Zone of Iceland show two distinct trends. The compositional variation in samples with MgO>9.5 wt% can be explained by addition/removal of a wehrlitic cumulate, while the major element variability in samples with 5–9.5 wt% MgO is dominated by gabbro removal. The results of thermobarometry based on the composition of the samples and the crystals found within them show that crystallisation took place at a range of temperatures (1160–1350°C) and pressures (<0.3–0.9 GPa) in the crust and uppermost mantle under Krafla and Theistareykir. The geochemical results are consistent with crustal accretion models where crystallisation takes place over a range of depths in the crust and uppermost mantle (<10–30 km). The geochemical observations allow estimates of the composition, mineralogy, pressure and temperature of material in the crust and shallow mantle under northern Iceland to be made and these estimates can be used to predict the seismic velocity of the material at the ridge axis. These P-wave velocity estimates are in agreement with the results of a seismic survey of the ridge axis at Krafla. The presence of temperatures of over 1000°C and magma chambers at depths greater than 10 km in the Icelandic crust cannot be ruled out using the available geophysical data from the Icelandic rift zones. Therefore both the geochemical and geophysical observations are consistent with models where crustal accretion takes place at a range of depths under northern Iceland.