Mesozoic and Cainozoic opening of the Labrador Sea, the North Atlantic and the Bay of Biscay

Abstract

A reinterpretation of magnetic anomaly and basement trends suggests that the Labrador Sea opened in two stages. During a first phase, most likely in the late Jurassic–early Cretaceous, the opening was coupled, by way of a triple junction off Spain, to spreading in the central Atlantic and Bay of Biscay. A second phase of seafloor spreading in the Labrador Sea occurred between 60 and 47 Myr ago and was connected through a triple junction south of Greenland to spreading in the northern and central Atlantic.