Abstract
AbstractThis paper presents a summary of the stratigraphy and structure of the Faroese region. As the Faroese area is mostly covered by volcanic material, the nature of the pre-volcanic geology remains largely unproven. Seismic refraction data provide some indications of the distribution of crystalline basement, which probably comprises Archaean rocks, with the overlying cover composed predominantly of Upper Mesozoic (Cretaceous?) and Cenozoic strata. The Cenozoic succession is dominated by the syn-break-up Faroe Islands Basalt Group, which crops out on the Faroe Islands (where it is up to 6.6 km thick) and shelf areas; post-break-up sediments are preserved in the adjacent deep-water basins, including the Faroe–Shetland Basin. Seismic interpretation of the post-volcanic strata shows that almost every sub-basin in the Faroe–Shetland Basin has been affected by structural inversion, particularly during the Miocene. These effects are also observed on the Faroe Platform, the Munkagrunnur Ridge and the Fugloy Ridge, where interpretation of low-gravity anomalies suggests a large-scale fold pattern. The structure of the Iceland–Faroe Ridge, which borders the NW part of the Faroe area, remains ambiguous. The generally thick crust, together with the absence of well-defined seawards-dipping reflectors, may indicate that much of it is underlain by continental material.
Highlights
The Faroese continental margin is located in the North Atlantic Ocean on the outer part of the NW European continental margin situated approximately in the central part of the North Atlantic Igneous Province (NAIP) (Fig. 1)
Onshore the Faroe Islands, the oldest drilled volcanic material has an age of approximately 62 Ma (Storey et al 2007), but the volcanic sequence has not been fully penetrated by a well
The geological structure of the Faroese margin is a legacy of a prolonged history of extension and rifting that is related to the fragmentation of Pangaea, which led to continental break-up to the north and west of the Faroe Islands in the earliest Eocene (Doreet al. 1999; Roberts et al 1999; Passey & Hitchen 2011; Ritchie et al 2011; Olavsdottir et al 2013; Stoker et al, this volume, in press)
Summary
The Faroese continental margin is located in the North Atlantic Ocean on the outer part of the NW European continental margin situated approximately in the central part of the North Atlantic Igneous Province (NAIP) (Fig. 1). The situation is further complicated by the fact that the upper part of the NAIP is related to the SW –NE seafloor-spreading trend (Saunders et al 1997), while the lower part of the NAIP is related to a NW –SE ridge-trend volcanism The latter, in particular, complicates our understanding of the opening of the North Atlantic Ocean because the magnetic chrons are not visible across the Greenland –Iceland –Faroe Ridge (GIFR) (Gernigon et al 2012). A thick succession of Paleocene –Eocene preand syn-break-up volcanic rocks – the Faroe Islands Basalt Group (FIBG) (Fig. 3) that is part of the NAIP – covers almost the entire Faroese region: extending eastwards from the continental –ocean transition (COT) into the Faroe –Shetland Basin (Passey & Jolley 2009; Passey & Hitchen 2011) (Figs 1b & 4). The structure and fill of the adjacent basins, including the Munkur, Faroe Bank Channel and north Rockall basins, remains unclear (Keser Neish & Ziska 2005; Stoker et al, this volume, in press)
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