North Atlantic Opening Research Articles

New advances in the stratigraphy of Aptian oceanic anoxic events (Castro Urdiales, Basque-Cantabrian Basin, Spain)

The Aptian sedimentary deposits of the Castro Urdiales area in north Spain record an episode of disoxia/anoxia which postdates Oceanic Anoxic Event 1a (OAE 1a). Carbonate platform and overlying facies are analysed for stratigraphy, sedimentology, total organic carbon and carbon isotopes. Lower Aptian shallow-water limestones are covered by deeper-water marlstones and organic-carbon-rich black lutites of lower to upper Aptian, ranging from Dufrenoyia furcata Zone to Cheloniceras (Epicheloniceras) martinioides Zone. Biostratigraphy and chemostratigraphic calibration are based on ammonites, carbon isotopes and total organic carbon analyses, revealing consistency with the global Aptian reference framework. The Castro Urdiales black-shale levels of the lower to upper Aptian transition together with their encasing series are correlated with other Aptian sections of the Basque-Cantabrian Basin (northern Spain) and southeastern France. The Castro Urdiales black shales are correlated with the Aparein Level of the eastern Basque-Cantabrian Basin. Prior to this oxygen deficient episode, glauconite-and-ostreid facies were also deposited under oxic conditions during the Gutiolo volcanic event of the Basque-Cantabrian Basin. This volcanism correlates in part with the Cretaceous superplume eruptions of Ontong Java, Manihiki Plateaus and the North Atlantic opening as a result of increasing seafloor spreading rates.

Rapid and sustained environmental responses to global warming: the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum in the eastern North Sea

Abstract. The Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM; ∼ 55.9 Ma) was a period of rapid and sustained global warming associated with significant carbon emissions. It coincided with the North Atlantic opening and emplacement of the North Atlantic Igneous Province (NAIP), suggesting a possible causal relationship. Only a very limited number of PETM studies exist from the North Sea, despite its ideal position for tracking the impact of both changing climate and NAIP activity. Here we present sedimentological, mineralogical, and geochemical proxy data from Denmark in the eastern North Sea, exploring the environmental response to the PETM. An increase in the chemical index of alteration and a kaolinite content up to 50 % of the clay fraction indicate an influx of terrestrial input shortly after the PETM onset and during the recovery, likely due to an intensified hydrological cycle. The volcanically derived zeolite and smectite minerals comprise up to 36 % and 90 % of the bulk and clay mineralogy respectively, highlighting the NAIP's importance as a sediment source for the North Sea and in increasing the rate of silicate weathering during the PETM. X-Ray fluorescence element core scans also reveal possible hitherto unknown NAIP ash deposition both prior to and during the PETM. Geochemical proxies show that an anoxic to sulfidic environment persisted during the PETM, particularly in the upper half of the PETM body with high concentrations of molybdenum (MoEF > 30), uranium (UEF up to 5), sulfur (∼ 4 wt %), and pyrite (∼ 7 % of bulk). At the same time, export productivity and organic-matter burial reached its maximum intensity. These new records reveal that negative feedback mechanisms including silicate weathering and organic carbon sequestration rapidly began to counteract the carbon cycle perturbations and temperature increase and remained active throughout the PETM. This study highlights the importance of shelf sections in tracking the environmental response to the PETM climatic changes and as carbon sinks driving the PETM recovery.

Triassic stretching directions in Iberia and North Africa inferred from magnetic fabrics

AbstractDuring the Triassic, Iberia and western North Africa displayed a unique situation in relation with the Central and North Atlantic opening and westward expansion of the Tethys. Unravelling the stretching direction in Triassic deposits of the studied area can help in our understanding of this scenario. The tectonic setting is characterized by localized basins with strong thickness variations greatly influenced by previous post‐Variscan mechanical discontinuities. In this work, we revise and compile magnetic fabric data from eight Triassic depocentres in terms of defining the stretching direction (i.e. magnetic lineation), resulting from extensional deformation of this period. Data show the importance of the opening of the Atlantic rift as the leading process during the Triassic. Dextral transtension can explain the deflection of the extensional direction observed in most studied depocentres that is caused by the activity of previous major oblique faults.

Rift-related magmatism on magma-poor margins: Structural and potential-field analyses of the Mesozoic Notre Dame Bay intrusions, Newfoundland, Canada and their link to North Atlantic Opening

The magma-poor Newfoundland margin formed following lithospheric stretching, rifting and breakup resulting in the separation of the Grand Banks from Iberia, and northern Newfoundland from Ireland. Mesozoic igneous rocks contemporaneous with rifting have been documented on- and offshore Newfoundland, with later offshore magmatism occurring post-breakup. The Notre Dame Bay Magmatic Province (NDBMP) is a Jurassic-Cretaceous, potentially rift-related occurrence of igneous rocks onshore Newfoundland that includes the gabbroic Budgell Harbour Stock (BHS) and marginal lamprophyre dykes, in addition to the nearby, potentially related, Dildo Pond Intrusion (DPI) and Leading Tickles Stock (LTS). Although the BHS is penetrated by wells, it is poorly exposed at surface, and the deeper structure remained unknown. Here, results of field-based mapping combined with inversion of Full Tensor Gradiometry (FTG) and aeromagnetic data covering the BHS are presented. Although the FTG data are of a higher resolution than the magnetic data, comparable results were obtained from these independent datasets. We found that the dykes form clusters at the ends of density and susceptibility anomalies, interpreted to be lobe-like magmatic conduits. Furthermore, potential-field analysis has revealed the irregular geometry and southward-dipping nature of the BHS, in addition to the presence of multiple, near surface anomalies that may correspond to dyke clusters or other igneous bodies. Structural analysis indicates that emplacement of the dykes was controlled by pre-existing geological structures and that they have probably been deformed post-intrusion, potentially via the reactivation of pre-rift faults. The potential-field investigations and observations of dyke margin lineations from field-based structural analysis indicate that multiple dyke sources and bodies similar to the BHS may also exist. Finally, this study demonstrates that magma-poor margins, such as the Newfoundland margin, may host significant volumes of extension-related magmatic rocks, challenging the concept of a distinction between magma-rich and magma-poor rifting.

From orogenic collapse to rifting: A case study of the northern Porcupine Basin, offshore Ireland

Offshore Ireland, the North Atlantic opening is generally interpreted as successive, 10-to-15-Myr-long, rifting events during the Mesozoic. However, their interaction is poorly documented in terms of structural inheritance and fault reactivation. From extensive seismic and well data in the northern Porcupine Basin, we show that extension actually evolved over an abnormal period of ca. 220 Myrs with overlapping tectonic stages that, all together, reflect the Irish Atlantic Margin construction from the Palaeozoic.During the Carboniferous, extension initiated throughout the Variscan and Caledonian thickened crusts and controlled the deposition of generally slightly-tilted, continental clastics. Two subsequent rifting events, during the Triassic-Lower Jurassic and Upper-Jurassic-Lower Cretaceous, controlled shallow-to-deep marine sedimentation in separated sub-basins that progressively widen and connect once extension localised along bounding faults.We propose that extensional tectonics, first controlled by a general orogenic collapse reflecting an early stage of stretching, is then followed by several rifting periods that ultimately evolved toward the hyper-thinning of the margin and shaped an aborted rift propagator. This evolution is due to pre-existing orogenic-related structures and boundary conditions variations. Such a continuum of deformation, although pulsed, implies varying structural interactions of crustal scale that are often recorded in syn-tectonic sediments.

Jurassic extension and Cenozoic inversion tectonics in the Asturian Basin, NW Iberian Peninsula: 3D structural model and kinematic evolution

We constructed a geological map, a 3D model and cross-sections, carried out a structural analysis, determined the stress fields and tectonic transport vectors, restored a cross section and performed a subsidence analysis to unravel the kinematic evolution of the NE emerged portion of the Asturian Basin (NW Iberian Peninsula), where Jurassic rocks crop out. The major folds run NW-SE, normal faults exhibit three dominant orientations: NW-SE, NE-SW and E-W, and thrusts display E-W strikes. After Upper Triassic-Lower Jurassic thermal subsidence, Middle Jurassic doming occurred, accompanied by normal faulting, high heat flow and basin uplift, followed by Upper Jurassic high-rate basin subsidence. Another extensional event, possibly during Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous, caused an increment in the normal faults displacement. A contractional event, probably of Cenozoic age, led to selective and irregularly distributed buttressing and fault reactivation as reverse or strike-slip faults, and folding and/or offset of some previous faults by new generation folds and thrusts. The Middle Jurassic event could be a precursor of the Bay of Biscay and North Atlantic opening that occurred from Late Jurassic to Early Cretaceous, whereas the Cenozoic event would be responsible for the Pyrenean and Cantabrian ranges and the partial closure of the Bay of Biscay.

Response of a low-subsiding intracratonic basin to long wavelength deformations: the Palaeocene–early Eocene period in the Paris Basin

Abstract. The uppermost Cretaceous to early Palaeogene is a period of major deformations of the western part of the Eurasian plate with prominent basin inversions starting from the Coniacian onwards. These deformations occur in a complex geodynamic setting within both the context of the Africa–Eurasia convergence and the North Atlantic opening. While Mesozoic graben inversions have been extensively studied, particularly in Eastern Europe and the North Sea, more gentle deformations that affect thicker crust areas (intracratonic basins and emerged lands) are not as well documented. The objective of this study is to constrain the exact timing, type, and magnitude of the early Palaeogene deformations affecting the intracratonic Paris Basin and to integrate them at the western European scale. Low-amplitude deformations are attempted through a high-resolution reconstitution of its stratigraphic record based on well-dated outcrops and well-dated wells, and a high number of well-logs that are correlated using the “stacking pattern” sequence stratigraphic technique. Two orders of sequences are identified (third and fourth order) and correlated throughout the basin. Basin geometric and palaeogeographic reconstitutions are based on sediment thickness and facies analysis. Two-dimensional accommodation space measurements were taken in order to quantify the magnitude of the deformations. Three phases of deformation were recognized. 1. An intra-Maastrichtian–pre-Thanetian (59 Ma) deformation, with major uplift and erosion of the Cretaceous strata with two sub-periods of deformation: Maastrichtian–pre-middle-Danian and Upper Danian–pre-Thanetian long-wavelength deformations. This period of major deformation is coeval with Upper Cretaceous/pre-Danian compressive deformations linked to the Africa–Eurasia convergence in southern France and with volcanic activity from the North Atlantic to Massif Central and the Rhenish Shield during the Palaeocene. 2. An early Ypresian (55.1–54.3 Ma) medium-wavelength deformation ( × 10 km), here reported to be a stress rearrangement related to the onset of the North Atlantic opening. 3. An uppermost Ypresian (49.8 Ma) long-wavelength deformation ( × 100 km), contemporaneous with flexural compressive deformations in the Aquitaine Basin (Pyrenean deformation), and related to the Iberia–Eurasia convergence.

Seismic and gravity constraints on the nature of the basement in the Africa‐Eurasia plate boundary: New insights for the geodynamic evolution of the SW Iberian margin

AbstractWe present a new classification of geological domains at the Africa‐Eurasia plate boundary off SW Iberia, together with a regional geodynamic reconstruction spanning from the Mesozoic extension to the Neogene‐to‐present‐day convergence. It is based on seismic velocity and density models along a new transect running from the Horseshoe to the Seine abyssal plains, which is combined with previously available geophysical models from the region. The basement velocity structure at the Seine Abyssal Plain indicates the presence of a highly heterogeneous, thin oceanic crust with local high‐velocity anomalies possibly representing zones related to the presence of ultramafic rocks. The integration of this model with previous ones reveals the presence of three oceanic domains offshore SW Iberia: (1) the Seine Abyssal Plain domain, generated during the first stages of slow seafloor spreading in the NE Central Atlantic (Early Jurassic); (2) the Gulf of Cadiz domain, made of oceanic crust generated in the Alpine‐Tethys spreading system between Iberia and Africa, which was coeval with the formation of the Seine Abyssal Plain domain and lasted up to the North Atlantic continental breakup (Late Jurassic); and (3) the Gorringe Bank domain, made of exhumed mantle rocks, which formed during the first stages of North Atlantic opening. Our models suggest that the Seine Abyssal Plain and Gulf of Cadiz domains are separated by the Lineament South strike‐slip fault, whereas the Gulf of Cadiz and Gorringe Bank domains appear to be limited by a deep thrust fault located at the center of the Horseshoe Abyssal Plain.

Seismic evidence of exhumed mantle rock basement at the Gorringe Bank and the adjacent Horseshoe and Tagus abyssal plains (SW Iberia)

The Gorringe Bank is a gigantic seamount that separates the Horseshoe and Tagus abyssal plains offshore SW Iberia, in a zone that hosts the convergent boundary between the Africa and Eurasia plates. Although the region has been the focus of numerous investigations since the early 1970s, the lack of appropriate geophysical data makes the nature of the basement, and thus the origin of the structures, still debated. In this work, we present combined P-wave seismic velocity and gravity models along a transect that crosses the Gorringe Bank from the Tagus to the Horseshoe abyssal plains. The P-wave velocity structure of the basement is similar in the Tagus and Horseshoe plains. It shows a 2.5–3.0km-thick top layer with a velocity gradient twice stronger than oceanic Layer 2 and an abrupt change to an underlying layer with a five-fold weaker gradient. Velocity and density is lower beneath the Gorringe Bank probably due to enhanced fracturing, that have led to rock disaggregation in the sediment-starved northern flank. In contrast to previous velocity models of this region, there is no evidence of a sharp crust–mantle boundary in any of the record sections. The modelling results indicate that the sediment overlays directly serpentinite rock, exhumed from the mantle with a degree of serpentinization decreasing from a maximum of 70–80% under the top of Gorringe Bank to less than 5% at a depth of ∼20km. We propose that the three domains were originally part of a single serpentine rock band, of nature and possibly origin similar to the Iberia Abyssal Plain ocean–continent transition, which was probably generated during the earliest phase of the North Atlantic opening that followed continental crust breakup (Early Cretaceous). During the Miocene, the NW–SE trending Eurasia–Africa convergence resulted in thrusting of the southeastern segment of the exhumed serpentinite band over the northwestern one, forming the Gorringe Bank. The local deformation associated to plate convergence and uplift could have promoted pervasive rock fracturing of the overriding plate, leading eventually to rock disaggregation in the northern flank of the GB, which could be now a potential source of rock avalanches and tsunamis.

Tectono-sedimentary model for the evolution of the Silves Group (Triassic, Lusitanian basin, Portugal)

AbstractAt the beginning of the Alpine cycle, the breakup of Pangea lead to the early stages of the North Atlantic opening. In the western Iberian sector of the European margin, the Lusitanian basin starts to evolve bordered eastwards by inherited reliefs from the late episodes of the Variscan orogeny. The base unit, the Silves Group, considered not earlier than the Carnian, is mainly siliciclastic and predominantly formed by arcosarenites to feldspar litarenites, coarse to very coarse-grained (wackes) and pebbly, where the sediment architecture denotes organizations in continental (Conraria, Penela and Castelo Viegas Formations) environments. A first marine episode (Isocyprina Beds of Pereiros Fm.) marks a significant change within the sedimentary record; the uppermost part corresponds to intertidal transitional environments (sabkha). New and detailed field work of sedimentological and structural nature that has been carried out in recent exposures from the type-region of Coimbra-Penela enabled us to make significant observations and to improve data collection. This allowed a full reinterpretation of the paleotectonic and paleogeographical conditions under which the Silves Group and, consequently, the eastern border of the Lusitanian basin, evolved. This study carried out in the type-region also allowed a better understanding of its sequential organization. All units are unconformity bounded by strong influxes of coarse siliciclastics from the Iberian meseta. One of those unconformities (D2b) is an angular unconformity with cartographic expression. Tectonic reconstructions were possible to make after a detailed structural analysis of normal synsedimentary faults. Regional comparisons with Eastern Iberian basins that evolved since Permian times are also discussed. We conclude that the lower red siliciclastic units are older than has been considered until now. Those units were formed in a previous tensional stress pattern of tardi-Variscan affinities, related to megashear dextral kinematics of Permian-Triassic age. We propose that units below D2b unconformity can record a Proto-Lusitanian basin; the Lusitanian basin is younger and evolved mainly after the Triassic-Jurassic limit (Castelo Viegas Fm.) within an E-W extensional context related to Atlantic type basins.

Palaeogene Alpine tectonics and Icelandic plume-related magmatism and deformation in Northern Ireland

The Cenozoic tectonic history of NW Europe is generally attributed to some combination of three principal controlling factors: North Atlantic opening, Alpine collision and formation of the Icelandic mantle plume. Using constraints from the high-resolution Tellus aeromagnetic survey of Northern Ireland, we show that Palaeogene tectonics can be attributed to approximately north–south Alpine-related compression, forming NNW–SSE-trending dextral and ENE–WSW-trending sinistral conjugate strike-slip faults, with the latter defined by kilometre-scale displacements along reactivated Caledonian or Carboniferous faults. This tectonism was, however, punctuated by pulsed magmatic intrusive and extrusive events, including four distinct dyke swarms that are attributed to NE–SW- to east–west-directed plume-related extension. Although this evidence shows, for the first time, that north–south Alpine compression was periodically overwhelmed by the dynamic stresses and uplift associated with pulsed mantle plume-related deformation, associated strike-slip faulting may have controlled the locus of volcanic activity and central igneous complexes, and the location of sedimentary depocentres.

Molecular systematics and time-scale for the evolution of Timarcha, a leaf-beetle genus with a disjunct Holarctic distribution

In recent years we have investigated the evolution of the Holarctic leaf-beetle genus Timarcha using molecular approaches, but to date several important questions remained unanswered, including its systematic arrangement in a temporal context, or the phylogenetic placement of the Nearctic taxa. Here I present a reanalysis of available genetic data together with newly generated data for key taxa (markers 16S rDNA, CO2, ITS-2, and 18S rDNA), including the Nearctic species (subgenus Americanotimarcha), using direct optimization-based phylogenetic reconstructions. Lineage ages are estimated using maximum likelihood branch-length estimates and the molecular clock calibration derived from several presumed vicariance events in the Mediterranean. Phylogenetic analyses and 18S rDNA divergences suggest the ancient divergence of the Nearctic and Palaearctic lineages, related to the North Atlantic opening in the middle Eocene. The diversification of the Palaearctic Timarcha seems closely related to the geological evolution of the Mediterranean area during the Tertiary, with Pleistocenic climate changes affecting species ranges and lineage extinction, but not resulting in extensive speciation.

Structure of the SE Greenland margin from seismic reflection and refraction data: Implications for nascent spreading center subsidence and asymmetric crustal accretion during North Atlantic opening

Seismic reflection and refraction data from the SE Greenland margin provide a detailed view of a volcanic rifted margin from Archean continental crust to near‐to‐average oceanic crust over a spatial scale of 400 km. The SIGMA III transect, located ∼600 km south of the Greenland‐Iceland Ridge and the presumed track of the Iceland hot spot, shows that the continent‐ocean transition is abrupt and only a small amount of crustal thinning occurred prior to final breakup. Initially, 18.3 km thick crust accreted to the margin and the productivity decreased through time until a steady state ridge system was established that produced 8–10 km thick crust. Changes in the morphology of the basaltic extrusives provide evidence for vertical motions of the ridge system, which was close to sea level for at least 1 m.y. of subaerial spreading despite a reduction in productivity from 17 to 13.5 km thick crust over this time interval. This could be explained if a small component of active upwelling associated with thermal buoyancy from a modest thermal anomaly provided dynamic support to the rift system. The thermal anomaly must be exhaustible, consistent with recent suggestions that plume material was emplaced into a preexisting lithospheric thin spot as a thin sheet. Exhaustion of the thin sheet led to rapid subsidence of the spreading system and a change from subaerial, to shallow marine, and finally to deep marine extrusion in ∼2 m.y. is shown by the morphological changes. In addition, comparison to the conjugate Hatton Bank shows a clear asymmetry in the early accretion history of North Atlantic oceanic crust. Nearly double the volume of material was emplaced on the Greenland margin compared to Hatton Bank and may indicate east directed ridge migration during initial opening.

Trace metal signatures of Jurassic/Cretaceous black shales from the Norwegian Shelf and the Barents Sea

Black shale samples of Jurassic to Cretaceous age recovered during the ‘Norwegian Shelf Drilling Program’ between 1987 and 1991 from Sites 7430/10-U-01 (Barents Sea), 6814/04-U-02 (Norwegian Shelf near the Lofoten) and 6307/07-U-02 (Norwegian Shelf near Trondheim) were analyzed for major and trace elements. These laminated black shales are characterized by high total organic carbon (TOC) and total sulfur (TS) contents as well as by significant enrichments in several redox-sensitive and/or sulfide-forming trace metals (Ag, Bi, Cd, Co, Cr, Cu, Mo, Ni, Re, Sb, Tl, U, V, and Zn). Enrichment factors relative to ‘average shale’ are comparable to those found in Cenomanian–Turonian boundary event (CTBE) black shales and Mediterranean sapropels. The Re content is high in the studied black shales, with maximum values up to 1221 ng/g. Re/Mo ratios averaging 2.3×10 −3 are close to the seawater value. High trace metal enrichments and Re/Mo ratios close to the seawater value point to a dominantly anoxic and sulfidic water column during black shale formation. Interbeds with higher Re/Mo ratios, especially in high-resolution sampled core sections, point to brief periods of suboxic conditions. Additionally, enhanced Zn concentrations in the black shales from the Barents Sea support the assumption that hydrothermal activity was also high during black shale deposition. Trace metal signatures of black shales at different drill sites on a transect along the Norwegian Shelf are not only influenced by water depth but also by their location in the boreal realm. Metal enrichments are higher in the northern compared to the southern sites. Volgian (=Tithonian 151–144 Ma BP) black shales exhibit elevated trace metal contents in comparison to their Berriasian (144–137 Ma BP) counterparts. This probably reflects a change in the circulation pattern during periods of black shale formation. Therefore different paleoceanographic conditions, probably controlled by climatic change linked to the transgression of the paleo-sealevel and the North Atlantic opening, may have developed from the Volgian to the Berriasian.

Controls on the genesis and prospectivity of Paleogene palaeogeomorphic traps, East Shetland Platform, UK North Sea

A seismic stratigraphic interpretation of the Bressay area of the East Shetland Platform demonstrates the key role that fluctuations in relative sea-level had in the development and evolution of Paleogene deposition in proximal parts of the Viking Graben. Relative sea-level fall, probably driven by events associated with the early development and evolution of the Iceland plume, enabled a Late Palaeocene–Early Eocene coarsening-up deltaic system to initially prograde and offlap as part of a forced regressive wedge. Coeval and subsequent erosion led to deep (>250 m) incision of the delta and formation of a significant drainage system consisting initially of a dendritic incised valley network and a major, deep, low sinuosity channel, all of which fed sediment into distal parts of the basin. The highly localised nature of major incision, the area's situation above the known occurrence of a buried Late Caledonian granitic intrusion (the Bressay Granite) and coincident fault reactivation combine to suggest that the regional transient plume-related uplift was locally enhanced by Late Palaeocene–Early Eocene tectonic uplift of a previously suppressed crustal root. Subsequent Early–Mid Eocene sea-level rise, coeval with North Atlantic opening, caused transgressive backfill of the erosional (palaeogeomorphic) relief and drape of the clastic wedge by tuffaceous marine mudstones of the Balder Formation. Two, distinctive and mutually exclusive palaeogeomorphic play types have resulted. Structural relief on the delta top incision surface combines with either the onlapping, fine-grained tuffaceous valley fill or compactional drape above the coarse axial fill of the main low-sinuosity channel system to form good reservoir-seal pairs. A third closure exists in association with activity on a prominent reverse fault that also appears to have initiated in response to the rejuvenation of the Bressay Granite. Present-day hydrocarbon charge from the basin and the occurrence of heavy oil and gas in both of the subtle stratigraphic trap types and the independent structural closure, may encourage further exploration for similar features on the East Shetland Platform. Comparison with neighbouring areas suggests that similar palaeogeomorphic play types might be expected to occur in other Early Cenozoic basin margin locations in the North Sea and the West Shetlands, albeit on a smaller scale than the locally enhanced, tectonically driven incision seen in the Bressay area.

THE MANTLE RIDGE OF THE GALICIA PASSIVE MARGIN: GEOCHEMICAL EVIDENCES FOR THE DENUDATION OF A PIECE OF THE LITHOSPHERIC MANTLE DURING OCEANISATION

The northern part of the Iberian continental passive margin is characterised by the presence of a ridge made of mantellic and magmatic rocks. This ridge, roughly parallel to the margin and continuous over several hundred kilometres, was emplaced at the end of the major rifting event that preceded North-Atlantic ocean opening. Petrological and geochemical studies on mantle rocks, whose results are presented here, are essential to characterise mantle affinity and processes that have affected this part of the mantle during or before continental break-up. In this work we would like to answer some questions like: Does this mantle correspond to the upwelling of the upper asthenospheric mantle at the end of the rifting event or rather correspond to the denudation of lithospheric mantle that was beneath the American-Iberian continent before oceanisation? Does the mantellic and magmatic ridge represent the first North-Atlantic oceanic lithosphere? The studied peridotites were sampled by submersible on the northwest part of the Galicia bank during the Galinaute II campaign (Boillot et al., 1995). As all samples are weathered, we have only performed analyses on fresh minerals. All peridotites have common mantle assemblage (Ol+Opx+Cpx+spinel) but according to microscopic observations and geochemical results we have defined three different types of peridotites. The first type is characterised by aluminous spinel (Cr* 0.2) and rare Cpx which is poorer in Na and Ti, richer in Cr, and have rather flat REE patterns, but, strikingly, lower middle and heavy REE contents compared to type 1 Cpx. Type 2 Cpx has also the lowest observed eNd values (-2.9 and +4.4. The third type of peridotite is rather different: it is characterised by a strong high-temperature strain, by the occurrence of scattered pargasitic amphiboles and dioritic dykelets made of pargasite and plagioclase, and by the presence of plagioclase rim around spinel. Dioritic dykelets are contemporaneous with the rifting high-temperature strain of the host mantle (Feraud et al., 1988). Amphibole in these dykelets shows rather homogeneous geochemical features: +5.6 and +5.8 eNd values and REE contents about one hundred times chondrite, with middle REE maxima and LaN/SmN ratios < 1. Scattered amphibole in peridotites shows the same kind of REE patterns but variable REE contents ranging from 5 to 80 the chondrite composition. From all these results, the first point to note is that the Galicia mantle ridge has been locally influenced by fluid circulation (type 3 peridotites), which was channelled inside active simple shear zones during rifting; moreover, the fluid associated with strain have probably favoured partial recrystallisation of the mantle from spinel to plagioclase facies. Type 1 and 2 peridotites probably give us more information on mantle affinity before oceanic opening, the most important fact being their contrasted eNd values. In this geodynamical context of passive rifting we can’t explain the lowest eNd values by metasomatism of the asthenospheric mantle reservoir by enriched fluids during the rifting or oceanisation. Moreover, the eNd values calculated at rifting time are always so different that we can’t explain the present isotopic values by different degrees of partial melting and so, different Sm/Nd time integrated evolution of an initially homogeneous asthenospheric mantle. Therefore, geochemical features of the Galicia ridge samples indicate that the mantle was already heterogeneous before rifting and probably represents a part of a sub-continental lithospheric mantle. To conclude, we can say that the Galicia mantle ridge is neither an asthenospheric diapir mantle emplaced during the rifting event, nor the mantellic part of the first North-Atlantic oceanic lithosphere, but likely is a piece of the lithospheric mantle that was beneath the American-Iberian continent before North-Atlantic opening. The Galicia mantle shows geochemical heterogeneities similar to what is known in many orogenic lherzolite massifs (Beni-Bousera, Ronda, Pyrenees, etc.) but these heterogeneities have probably been amplified during the rifting processes.

Ocean-continent boundary in the Iberia Abyssal Plain from multichannel seismic data

The Ocean-Continent Boundary of the West Iberia margin is marked by a basement ridge trending N-S. Four segments of this ridge are recognized, each of them being progressively offset westward from 40°N to 43°N. Because the setting and seismic character of the ridge in the Iberia Abyssal Plain are similar to those of the Galicia margin ridge, which is made of serpentinized peridotite, we think that the southern segments of the ridge are also made of the same mantle material. The segmentation of the ridge suggests that the northward propagation of the continental break-up during the North Atlantic opening in Early Cretaceous times was discontinuous, each segment possibly corresponding to a propagation step. East of the ridge, the basement of the whole Iberia Abyssal Plain consists of highly thinned continental crust locally resting on a seismic reflector that resembles the S reflector previously recognized off Galicia. By analogy with the Galicia margin, we propose that the tilted crustal blocks lay on serpentinized peridotite derived from the upper mantle, the S reflector corresponding to the contact between crustal rocks and serpentinite.

Basement tectonics and their relationship to Mesozoic megasequences in the Celtic Seas and Bristol Channel area

Abstract A synthesis of new and pre-existing data on the deep geological structure of the Celtic Sea and Bristol Channel basins shows similarities to published models of deep structure from the onshore Wessex Basin to the east. A series of Variscan thrust planes, reactivated in the Mesozoic as normal faults, underlie the study area. Beneath the Bristol Channel, one such southward-dipping thrust may be equated with the ‘Variscan Front’. This structure is offset by NW-SE orientated transcurrent faults, structures thought to be active from the late Palaeozoic to the present-day. Mesozoic stratigraphic successions from the North Celtic Sea Basin and South Celtic Sea; Bristol Channel, and northern Wessex Basins suggest uplift and erosion of the latter areas in the late Jurassic. This is contrasted with increased subsidence at the same time in the North Celtic Sea. This uplift may have been facilitated by reactivation of the ‘Variscan Front’ thrust as a thrust in the east of the area, and by similar thrusts beneath the Pembrokeshire Ridge to the west. This reactivation and uplift during North Atlantic opening is suggested to have controlled the preservation of Upper Jurassic-Lower Cretaceous sedimentary megasequences.