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The ], also synonymous with the ] and the Thulean Province, was a vast basaltic lava plain that possibly extended over 1,800,000&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup> (700,000 sq mi), which was broken up during the formation of the Atlantic Ocean, leaving remnants existing in the BTVP of ], northwestern ] and scattered bits in England and ], and outside the BTVP in the ], bits of northwestern ], eastern ] and western ]. The ], also synonymous with the ] and the Thulean Province, was a vast basaltic lava plain that possibly extended over 1,800,000&nbsp;km<sup>2</sup> (700,000 sq mi), which was broken up during the formation of the Atlantic Ocean, leaving remnants existing in the BTVP of ], northwestern ] and scattered bits in England and ], and outside the BTVP in the ], bits of northwestern ], eastern ] and western ].


Extensive outpourings of lava occurred, particularly in East Greenland,<ref>{{cite journal|last=Riisager|first=Janna|coauthors=Riisager, Peter; Pedersen, Asger Ken|title=Paleomagnetism of large igneous provinces: case-study from West Greenland, North Atlantic igneous province|journal=Earth and Planetary Science Letters|date=September 2003|volume=214|issue=3–4|pages=409–425|doi=10.1016/S0012-821X(03)00367-4}}</ref> which during the Paleogene was then adjacent to Britain. Little is known of the ] of the opening of the North Atlantic between Greenland and Europe,<ref>{{cite journal|last=Geoffroy|first=Laurent|coauthors=Bergerat, Francoise; Angelier, Jacques|title=Brittle tectonism in relation to the Palaeogene evolution of the Thulean/NE Atlantic domain: a study in Ulster|journal=Geological Journal|date=September 1996|volume=31|issue=3|pages=259–269|doi=10.1002/(SICI)1099-1034(199609)31:3<259::AID-GJ711>3.0.CO;2–8}}</ref> but studies have suggested and are hotly debated, that the modern day ] corresponds to the earlier 'North Atlantic mantle plume' that would have created the Thulean plateau.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Lundin|first=Erik R.|author2=Anthony G. Doré|title=Fixity of the Iceland "hotspot" on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge: Observational evidence, mechanisms, and implications for Atlantic volcanic margins|journal=Geological Society of America Special Papers|year=2005|volume=388|pages=627–651|doi=10.1130/0-8137-2388-4.627}}</ref> The BTVP, particularly West Scotland, provides relatively easy access, compared to the largely inaccessible basalt fields of West Greenland, to deeply eroded relics of the central volcanic complexes. So the BTVP is a window into understanding igneous ], evolution of magma, controls of episodic volcanic activity, mechanism and driving force behind ocean opening, hotspot relations to ocean formation.<ref name="emeleus1992" /> Extensive outpourings of lava occurred, particularly in East Greenland,<ref>{{cite journal|last=Riisager|first=Janna|coauthors=Riisager, Peter; Pedersen, Asger Ken|title=Paleomagnetism of large igneous provinces: case-study from West Greenland, North Atlantic igneous province|journal=Earth and Planetary Science Letters|date=September 2003|volume=214|issue=3–4|pages=409–425|doi=10.1016/S0012-821X(03)00367-4}}</ref> which during the Paleogene was then adjacent to Britain. Little is known of the ] of the opening of the North Atlantic between Greenland and Europe,<ref>{{cite journal|last=Geoffroy|first=Laurent|coauthors=Bergerat, Francoise; Angelier, Jacques|title=Brittle tectonism in relation to the Palaeogene evolution of the Thulean/NE Atlantic domain: a study in Ulster|journal=Geological Journal|date=September 1996|volume=31|issue=3|pages=259–269|doi=10.1002/(SICI)1099-1034(199609)31:3<259::AID-GJ711>3.0.CO;2-8}}</ref> but studies have suggested and are hotly debated, that the modern day ] corresponds to the earlier 'North Atlantic mantle plume' that would have created the Thulean plateau.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Lundin|first=Erik R.|author2=Anthony G. Doré|title=Fixity of the Iceland "hotspot" on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge: Observational evidence, mechanisms, and implications for Atlantic volcanic margins|journal=Geological Society of America Special Papers|year=2005|volume=388|pages=627–651|doi=10.1130/0-8137-2388-4.627}}</ref> The BTVP, particularly West Scotland, provides relatively easy access, compared to the largely inaccessible basalt fields of West Greenland, to deeply eroded relics of the central volcanic complexes. So the BTVP is a window into understanding igneous ], evolution of magma, controls of episodic volcanic activity, mechanism and driving force behind ocean opening, hotspot relations to ocean formation.<ref name="emeleus1992" />


==Volcanic and igneous landforms and their extent within the BTVP== ==Volcanic and igneous landforms and their extent within the BTVP==

Revision as of 17:28, 12 April 2014

It has been suggested that this article be merged into North Atlantic Igneous Province. (Discuss) Proposed since December 2013.
The British Tertiary Volcanic Province (based on Emeleus & Gyopari 1992 and Mussett et al. 1988) with UK map shown in context of the world map.

The British Tertiary Volcanic Province (BTVP), synonymous with the term British Tertiary Igneous Province (BTIP), is a large igneous province formed during a time of intense volcanic activity 52–63 million years ago in Britain in the Paleocene and early Eocene epochs of the Paleogene period. During the break up of the supercontinent Pangea, as the North American Plate and Eurasian Plate rifted apart to form the North Atlantic Ocean, Britain sat above a mantle plume (hotspot). As the earth's crust was stretched above the mantle hotspot under stress from plate rifting, fissures opened up along a line from Ireland to the Hebrides and plutonic complexes were formed. Hot magma over 1000 °C surfaced as multiple, successive and extensive lava flows covered over the original landscape, burning forests, filling river valleys, burying hills, to eventually form a lava plateau named the Thulean Plateau, which contains various volcanic landforms such as lava fields and volcanoes. There was more than one period of volcanic activity during the BTVP, in between which sea levels rose and fell and erosion took place.

The BTVP within the Thulean Plateau

The Thulean Plateau, also synonymous with the North Atlantic Igneous Province and the Thulean Province, was a vast basaltic lava plain that possibly extended over 1,800,000 km (700,000 sq mi), which was broken up during the formation of the Atlantic Ocean, leaving remnants existing in the BTVP of Northern Ireland, northwestern Scotland and scattered bits in England and Wales, and outside the BTVP in the Faroe Islands, bits of northwestern Iceland, eastern Greenland and western Norway.

Extensive outpourings of lava occurred, particularly in East Greenland, which during the Paleogene was then adjacent to Britain. Little is known of the geodynamics of the opening of the North Atlantic between Greenland and Europe, but studies have suggested and are hotly debated, that the modern day Iceland hotspot corresponds to the earlier 'North Atlantic mantle plume' that would have created the Thulean plateau. The BTVP, particularly West Scotland, provides relatively easy access, compared to the largely inaccessible basalt fields of West Greenland, to deeply eroded relics of the central volcanic complexes. So the BTVP is a window into understanding igneous intrusion, evolution of magma, controls of episodic volcanic activity, mechanism and driving force behind ocean opening, hotspot relations to ocean formation.

Volcanic and igneous landforms and their extent within the BTVP

Satellite photo of Ardnamurchan – with clearly visible circular shape, which is the 'plumbings of an ancient volcano'
An Sgurr, Eigg -largest exposed piece of pitchstone in the UK
Basalt columns inside Fingal's Cave
Giant's Causeway – polygonal basalt pavement

Volcanic activity would have started with volcaniclastic accumulations, like volcanic ash, quickly followed by vast outpourings of highly fluid basaltic lava during successive eruptions through multiple volcanic vents or in linear fissures. As mafic low viscosity lava reached the surface it rapidly cooled and solidified, successive flows built up layer upon layer, each time filling and covering existing landscapes. Hyaloclastites and pillow lavas were formed when the lava flowed into lakes, rivers and seas. Magma that did not make it to the surface as flows froze in conduits as dikes and volcanic plugs and large amounts spread laterally to form sills. Dike swarms extended across the British Isles throughout the Cenozoic. Individual central complexes developed with arcuate intrusions (cone sheets, ring dikes and stocks), the intrusions of one centre cut through earlier centres recording magmatic activity with time. During intermittent periods of erosion and change in sea levels, heated waters circulated through the flows altering the basalts and deposited distinctive suites of zeolite minerals.

Distribution

Locations of major intrusion complexes within the BTVP:

Locations of submarine central complexes within the BTVP:

Other notable locations with spectacular igneous landforms within the BTVP:

History of geological studies

The intensity of scientific investigation within the BTVP has made it one of the most historically important and deeply studied igneous provinces in the world. Basalt petrology was born in the Scottish Hebrides in 1903 lead by the eminent British Geologist Sir Archibald Geikie. From the outset Geikie studied the geology of Skye and other Western Isles taking a keen interest in volcanic geology and in 1871 he presented the Geological Society of London with an outline of the 'Tertiary Volcanic History of Britain'. Following Geikie many have tried, and continue to study and understand, the BTVP, and in doing so have advanced knowledge in geology, mineralogy and in more recent decades geochemistry and geophysics.

Synonymous or related names

  • British Tertiary Igneous Province (BTIP)
  • British Paleogene Igneous Province (BPIP)
  • Thulean Plateau
  • Brito-Arctic province (BAP)
  • North Atlantic Igneous Province (NAIP)
  • North Atlantic Tertiary Province (NATP)
  • North Atlantic Volcanic Province (NAVP)
  • North Atlantic Basalt Province (NABP)
  • North Atlantic Tertiary Volcanic Province (NATVP)

References

  1. This designation has as a part of it a term, 'Tertiary', that is now discouraged as a formal geochronological unit by the International Commission on Stratigraphy.
  1. ^ Emeleus, C.H.; Gyopari, M.C. (1992). British Tertiary Volcanic Province. Geological Conservation Review. London: Chapman & Hall on behalf of Joint Nature Conservation Committee.
  2. ^ Mussett, A. E. (1 January 1988). "Time and duration of activity in the British Tertiary Igneous Province". Geological Society, London, Special Publications. 39 (1): 337–348. doi:10.1144/GSL.SP.1988.039.01.29. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  3. Ogg, James G.; Gradstein, F. M; Gradstein, Felix M. (2004). A geologic time scale 2004. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-78142-6.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. Nance, R. Damian (January 2014). "The supercontinent cycle: A retrospective essay". Gondwana Research. 25 (1): 4–29. doi:10.1016/j.gr.2012.12.026. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  5. Thompson, R. N. (1 February 1982). "Magmatism of the British Tertiary Volcanic Province". Scottish Journal of Geology. 18 (1): 49–107. doi:10.1144/sjg18010049.
  6. Thompson, R. N.; Gibson, S. A. (1 December 1991). "Subcontinental mantle plumes, hotspots and pre-existing thinspots". Journal of the Geological Society. 148 (6): 973–977. doi:10.1144/gsjgs.148.6.0973.
  7. ^ Hitchen, K.; Ritchie, J. D. (1 May 1993). "New K–Ar ages, and a provisional chronology, for the offshore part of the British Tertiary Igneous Province". Scottish Journal of Geology. 29 (1): 73–85. doi:10.1144/sjg29010073.
  8. Williamson, I. T.; Bell, B. R. (3 November 2011). "The Palaeocene lava field of west-central Skye, Scotland: Stratigraphy, palaeogeography and structure". Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh: Earth Sciences. 85 (01): 39–75. doi:10.1017/S0263593300006301.
  9. Riisager, Janna (September 2003). "Paleomagnetism of large igneous provinces: case-study from West Greenland, North Atlantic igneous province". Earth and Planetary Science Letters. 214 (3–4): 409–425. doi:10.1016/S0012-821X(03)00367-4. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  10. Geoffroy, Laurent (September 1996). "Brittle tectonism in relation to the Palaeogene evolution of the Thulean/NE Atlantic domain: a study in Ulster". Geological Journal. 31 (3): 259–269. doi:10.1002/(SICI)1099-1034(199609)31:3<259::AID-GJ711>3.0.CO;2-8. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  11. Lundin, Erik R.; Anthony G. Doré (2005). "Fixity of the Iceland "hotspot" on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge: Observational evidence, mechanisms, and implications for Atlantic volcanic margins". Geological Society of America Special Papers. 388: 627–651. doi:10.1130/0-8137-2388-4.627.
  12. Smith, Sandy; Clive Roberts (1997). "The Geology of Lundy". In Irving, RA, Schofield, AJ and Webster, CJ (ed.). Island Studies (PDF). Bideford: Lundy Field Society. Retrieved 7 November 2013.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: editors list (link)
  13. Thorpe, R. S. (1 December 1990). "The Petrology and Origin of the Tertiary Lundy Granite (Bristol Channel, UK)". Journal of Petrology. 31 (6): 1379–1406. doi:10.1093/petrology/31.6.1379. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
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  16. Devlin, Pat. "Mourne Mountains". The Devlin Family On-Line. Retrieved 7 November 2013.
  17. Hood, D (1981). "The Tertiary Granites of the Eastern And Western Mourne Centers, Northern-Ireland". Journal of the Geological Society. 138. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  18. Porter, E M (3 May 2003). "Slieve Gullion Ring – Overview". Geological Sites in Northern Ireland – Earth Science Conservation Review. National Museums Northern Ireland. Retrieved 7 November 2013.
  19. Gamble, J. A. (1 February 1992). "The petrogenesis of Tertiary microgranites and granophyres from the Slieve Gullion Central Complex, NE Ireland". Journal of the Geological Society. 149 (1): 93–106. doi:10.1144/gsjgs.149.1.0093. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  20. "Geology Section". Isle of Arran Heritage Museum. Retrieved 7 November 2013.
  21. Meade, F. C. (22 December 2009). "Magma Ascent along a Major Terrane Boundary: Crustal Contamination and Magma Mixing at the Drumadoon Intrusive Complex, Isle of Arran, Scotland". Journal of Petrology. 50 (12): 2345–2374. doi:10.1093/petrology/egp081. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  22. Jones, Rosalind. "The Geology of Mull". Mull and Iona Chamber of Commerce – Holiday information site. Mull and Iona Chamber of Commerce. Retrieved 19 December 2013.
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  24. "Tertiary Volcanic Complex – Shepherd's Hut, Kilchoan, Ardnamurchan". The Lochan Shepherd's Hut. Retrieved 7 November 2013.
  25. Geldmacher, Jörg (27 April 1998). "The petrogenesis of Tertiary cone-sheets in Ardnamurchan, NW Scotland: petrological and geochemical constraints on crustal contamination and partial melting". Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology. 131 (2–3): 196–209. doi:10.1007/s004100050388. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  26. Holness, M.B.; Isherwood, C.E. (1 January 2003). "The aureole of the Rum Tertiary Igneous Complex, Scotland". Journal of the Geological Society. 160 (1): 15–27. doi:10.1144/0016-764901-098.
  27. Dagley, P.; Mussett, A. E. (April 1986). "Palaeomagnetism and radiometric dating of the British Tertiary Igneous Province: Muck and Eigg". Geophysical Journal International. 85 (1): 221–242. doi:10.1111/j.1365-246X.1986.tb05180.x.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: unflagged free DOI (link)
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  37. Geikie, Archibald (1897). The ancient volcanoes of Great Britain. London: Macmillan.

56°26′N 6°20′W / 56.433°N 6.333°W / 56.433; -6.333

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