Analysis of surface and borehole samples from the West Greenland Basin

Abstract

During the summer of 1971 a programme of shallow core-drilling was undertaken on the Nûgssuaq peninsula using a Craelius Prosper 25 core drill belonging to the Danish Atomic Energy Commission, Risø. This drill provides cores with a diameter of 16 mm. The object of the programme was to obtain fresh samples of the Cretaceous-Tertiary shales in this part of the West Greenland Basin for stratigraphic and source rock analysis. Source rock analysis of surface samples collected during 1968 (see Stevens in Henderson, 1969) had indicated the desirability of obtaining fresher material than can be collected in the active zone or at the immediate top of the permafrost zone. For various reasons the coring programme did not provide the amount of cores hoped for. The core samples sent for analysis were therefore supplemented by surface samples (mainly from Nugssuaq). This report gives a brief account of the results of the analysis of 21 surface and borehole samples. The sample localities are shown in fig. 10.