Lower Tertiary laterite on the Iceland-Faeroe Ridge and the Thulean land bridge

Nature
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Abstract

CORES of a lower Tertiary lateritic palaeosol resting on basalt were recovered1 from Deep Sea Drilling Project Site 336 (Leg 38) on the north-east flank of the Iceland-Faeroe Ridge (Fig. 1), a major aseismic oceanic ridge that, together with Iceland, forms the Icelandic transverse ridge 2. The transverse ridge extends from the West European continental margin to the East Greenland continental margin, forming the geographic boundary and a partial barrier to flow of water between the Norwegian-Greenland Sea to the north and the northern North Atlantic Ocean to the south. The palaeosol indicates that at least part of the Iceland-Faeroe Ridge was above sea level during early Tertiary time3. Palaeogeographic and palaeooceanographic reconstructions suggest that it formed the main part of the Thulean land bridge that connected South-east Greenland and the Faeroe islands during the early Tertiary4. This report summarises the subsidence history of the Iceland-Faeroe Ridge relative to early Tertiary seafloor spreading, basaltic volcanism, and the development of the proposed Thulean land bridge. ?? 1978 Nature Publishing Group.
Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title Lower Tertiary laterite on the Iceland-Faeroe Ridge and the Thulean land bridge
Series title Nature
DOI 10.1038/274786a0
Volume 274
Issue 5673
Year Published 1978
Language English
Larger Work Type Article
Larger Work Subtype Journal Article
Larger Work Title Nature
First page 786
Last page 788
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