Evolution of oceanic crust on the Kolbeinsey Ridge, north of Iceland, over the past 22 Myr

Abstract

The evolution of oceanic crust on the Kolbeinsey Ridge, north of Iceland, is discussed on the basis of a crustal transect obtained by seismic experiment from the Kolbeinsey Ridge to the Jan Mayen Basin. The crustal model indicates a relatively uniform structure; no significant lateral velocity variations are observed, especially in the lower crust. The uniform velocity structure suggests that the postulated extinct axis does not exist over the oceanic crust formed at the Kolbeinsey Ridge, but supports a model of continuous spreading along the ridge after oceanic spreading started west of the Jan Mayen Basin. The oceanic crust formed at Kolbeinsey Ridge is 1–2.5 km thicker than normal oceanic crust due to hotter‐than‐normal mantle from the Iceland Mantle Plume. The observed generally uniform thickness throughout the transect might also indicate that the temperatures of the astheno‐spheric mantle ascending along the Kolbeinsey Ridge have not changed significantly since the age of magnetic anomaly 6B.