Inherited basement canyons: Impact on sediment distribution in the North Atlantic

Studies of basement-bounded canyons in West Greenland show that these were long-lasting features that extended inland for several hundreds of kilometres, acting as prominent sediment conduits sourcing the Albian–Palaeocene Nuussuaq Basin during several phases of basin evolution. The Ilulissat Icefjord canyon was the major conduit for sediment into the basin and provenance data indicate that it had a huge catchment area that extended to East Greenland. The Uparuaqqusuitsut canyon was also an important conduit for sediment in the northern part of the basin. It is suggested that the initial canyon formation occurred during uplift events in the Late Triassic and Late Jurassic when the deeply weathered basement surface formed during Early–Middle Triassic time was eroded. The recognition of these canyons as long-lasting sediment conduits have huge implications for understanding the sediment distribution, source-to-sink studies and the palaeogeography of the North Atlantic basins.