Widespread Palaeocene volcanism around the northern North Atlantic and Labrador Sea: evidence for a large, hot, early plume head

J.A. Chalmers, L.M. Larsen, A.K. Pedersen

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    49 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    Voluminous volcanism took place west of Greenland and northwest of the British Isles in the Palaeocene, 6-7 Ma before the start of sea-floor spreading in the northern North Atlantic. Very hot (picritic) magmas were produced simultaneously in such widely separated areas that they could not all have been above the central stem of the same mantle plume. A single, large plume head with temperatures of c.1500°C over a diameter of c.2000 km can explain the observations if surface volcanic activity took place only where the lithosphere was thin. The presence of picrites does not indicate proximity to the plume stem. -Authors

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)965-969
    Number of pages5
    JournalJournal of the Geological Society
    Volume152
    Issue number6
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Nov 1995

    Programme Area

    • Programme Area 4: Mineral Resources

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