Lateral variations in tectono-magmatic style along the Lofoten–Vesterålen volcanic margin off Norway

Abstract

The ∼400km-long passive continental margin west of the Lofoten–Vesterålen archipelago, off northern Norway, links the volcanic rifted Vøring margin and the sheared W Barents Sea margin. Multi-channel seismic reflection profiles, supplemented with crustal velocity, gravity and magnetic anomaly data are used to outline the regional setting and main tectono-magmatic features. A well-defined along-strike margin segmentation comprising three segments characterized by distinct crustal properties, structural and magmatic styles, sediment thickness, and post-opening history of vertical motion is revealed. The margin segments are governed by changes in fault polarity on Late Jurassic–Early Cretaceous border faults and are separated by coeval cross-margin transfer zones which acted as persistent barriers to rupture propagation and reflect the trend and character of older structural heterogeneities. The transfer zones spatially correlate to small-offset, early opening oceanic fracture zones, implying a structural inheritance from one rift episode to another culminating with lithospheric breakup at the Paleocene–Eocene transition. The pre-seafloor spreading margin structural evolution is governed by the older, predominantly Late Jurassic–Early Cretaceous structural framework. However, the margin also provides evidence for mid- and Late Cretaceous extension events that are poorly understood elsewhere off Norway. Furthermore, the Lofoten–Vesterålen post-breakup subsidence history contrasts with the adjacent margins reflecting breakup in thicker crust and a diminishing volume of high-velocity lower crust emplaced during breakup.