Volcanic history of the Lower Tertiary plateau basalts in the Scoresby Sund region, East Greenland

Abstract

The extensive plateau basalt lava pile in the Scoresby Sund region has a stratigraphic thickness of 3200 m and an overall average thickness of 1500 m. The pile thins inland from the Atlantic coast and laps onto basement gneisses and Jurassic sediments in the inner fjord region. The lavas are divisible into five formations which form two separate lava sequences. The lower sequence is best developed in the inner fjord region, while the upper sequence dominates the regions near the Atlantic coast. The sequences are interpreted as produced in two vo\canic episodes in connection with failed rifting episodes during the opening of the North Atlantic Ocean. At the Atlantic coast remains of a third separate lava sequence apparently forrned during active spreading.