Abstract
Magmatic underplating associated with mantle plume activity is an important mechanism for driving regional surface uplift and denudation of large portions of the continents1,2. Such uplift occurs rapidly because substantial volumes of basaltic melt are added to the crust over geologically short periods of time (1–10 Myr)2, and can lead to large amounts of clastic sediment being shed into surrounding basins3. An intensively studied example of this process occurred in the North Sea basin during the Palaeogene period, where discrete pulses of deposition were triggered when sands were remobilized downslope from the shelf by turbidity currents and debris flows as a result of episodic changes of relative sea level3. Here we correlate the timing of these sediment pulses with the timing of surface uplift inferred to have been caused by episodic magmatic underplating on the continental shelf of northwestern Europe. This magmatism was related to activity of the Iceland plume, suggesting that individual pulses of sedimentation provide a potentially sensitive measure of plume activity, and so may be used to resolve time-dependent fluctuations in mantle plume activity predicted by theoretical studies of mantle convection.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Cox, K. G. Continental magmatic underplating. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. A 342, 155–166 (1993).
White, R. S. & McKenzie, D. Magmatism at rift zones: The generation of volcanic continental margins and flood basalts. J. Geophys. Res. 94, 7685–7729 (1989).
Parker, J. (ed.) Petroleum Geology of Northwest Europe (Geol. Soc., London, (1993)).
Brodie, J. A. Early Tertiary magmatism in the North Atlantic.Thesis, Univ. Cambridge(1995).
Mussett, A. E., Dagley, P. & Skelhorn, R. R. Time and Duration of Activity in the British Tertiary Igneous Province 337–348 (Spec. Publ. 39, Geol. Soc., London, (1988)).
Mussett, A. E. & McCormack, A. G. Magnetic Polarity Timescales: a New Test 27–37 (Spec. Publ. 70, Geol. Soc., London, (1992)).
Pearson, D. G., Emeleus, C. H. & Kelly, S. P. Precise 40Ar/39Ar age for the initiation of Palaeogene volcanism in the Inner Hebrides and its regional significance. J. Geol. Soc. Lond. 153, 815–818 ((1996)).
Knox, R. W. O'B., Corfield, R. M. & Dunay, R. E. Correlation of the Early Paleogene in Northwest Europe (Spec. Publ. 101, Geol. Soc., London, (1996)).
Milton, N. J., Bertram, G. T. & Vann, I. R. Early Palaeogene Tectonics and Sedimentation in the Central North Sea 339–351 (Spec. Publ. 55, Geol. Soc., London, (1990)).
Shannon, P. M. Early Tertiary Submarine Fan Deposits in the Porcupine Basin, Offshore Ireland 351–373 (Spec. Publ. 62, Geol. Soc., London, (1992)).
Knox, R. W. O'B. Tectonic Controls on Sequence Development in the Palaeocene and Earliest Eocene of Southeast England: Implications for North Sea Stratigraphy 209–230 (Spec. Publ. 103, Geol. Soc., London, (1996)).
Stewart, I. J. in Petroleum Geology of North West Europe (eds Brookes, J. & Glennie, K.) (Graham & Trotman, London, (1987)).
Neal, J. E. in Correlation of the Early Paleogene in Northwest Europe (eds Knox, R. W. O.'B., Corfield, R. M. & Dunay, R. E.) 15–42 (Spec. Publ. 101, Geol. Soc., London, (1996)).
Mitchell, S. M. et al. in Petroleum Geology of Northwest Europe: Proc. 4th Conf. (ed. Parker, J. R.) 1025–1034 (Geol. Soc., London, (1993)).
Brodie, J. & White, N. Sedimentary basin inversion caused by igneous underplating: Northwest European continental shelf. Geology 22, 147–150 (1994).
Scarrow, J. H. & Cox, K. G. Basalts generated by decompressive adiabatic melting of a mantle plume: a case study from the Isle of Skye, NW Scotland. J. Petrol. 366, 3–22 (1995).
Nadin, P. A., Kusznir, N. J. & Toth, J. Transient regional uplift in the early Tertiary of the northern North Sea and the development of the Iceland Plume. J. Geol. Soc. Lond. 152, 953–958 (1995).
Green, P. F., Duddy, I. R., Bray, R. J. & Lewis, C. L. E. in Petroleum Geology of Northwest Europe: Proc. 4th Conf. (ed. Parker, J. R.) 1067–1074 (Geol. Soc., London, (1993)).
Barton, P. J. LISPB revisited: a new look under the Caledonides of northern Britain. Geophys. J. Int. 110, 371–391 (1992).
Berggren, W. A., Kent, D. V., Aubry, M.-P. & Hardenbol, J. Geochronology, Time Scales and Stratigraphic Correlation: Framework for an Historical Geology. (Spec. Publ. 54, Soc. Econ. Geol. Palaeontol., Tulsa, (1995)).
Summerfield, M. A. & Hulton, N. J. Natural controls of fluvial denudation rates in major world drainage basins. J. Geophys. Res. 99, 13871–13883 (1994).
Vogt, P. R. Asthenosphere motion recorded by the ocean floor south of Iceland. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 13, 153–160 (1971).
Vogt, P. R. in Structure and Development of the Geeenland-Scotland Ridge (eds Bott, M. H. P., Saxov, S., Talwani, M. & Thiede, J.) 191–213 (Plenum, (1983)).
White, R. S., Bown, J. W. & Smallwood, J. R. The temperature of the Iceland plume and origin of outward-propagating V-shaped ridges. J. Geol. Soc. Lond. 152, 1039–1045 (1995).
Ito, G., Lin, J. & Gable, C. W. Dynamics of mantle flow and melting at a ridge-centred hotspot: Iceland and the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Earth Planet. Sci. Lett. 144, 53–74 (1996).
Morton, A. C., Hallsworth, C. R. & Wilkinson, G. C. in Petroleum Geology of Northwest Europe: Proc. 4th Conf. (ed. Parker, J. R.) 73–84 (Geol. Soc., London, (1993)).
Reynolds, T. Quantitative analysis of submarine fans in the Tertiary of the North Sea Basin. Mar. Petrol. Geol. 11, 202–207 (1994).
Sandwell, D. T. & Smith, W. H. F. Global marine gravity from ERS-1, Geosat and Seasat reveals new tectonic fabric. Eos 73, 133 (1992).
Müller, R. D., Roest, W. R., Royer, J.-Y., Gahagan, L. M. & Sclater, J. G. ADigital Age Map of the Ocean Floor. (Ref. Ser. 93–30, Scripps Inst. Oceanogr., La Jolla, (1993)).
Doré, A. G. & Lundin, E. R. Cenozoic compressional structures on the NE Atlantic margin: nature, origin and potential significance for hydrocarbon exploration. Petrol. Geosci. 2, 299–311 (1996).
Wright, J. D. & Miller, K. G. Control of North Atlantic Deep Water circulation by the Greenland-Scotland ridge. Paleoceanography 11, 157–170 (1996).
Acknowledgements
We thank D. Aslanian, S. Bergman, J. Brodie, R. England, R. Knox, D. Lyness, S.Lewis, D. McKenzie, F. Nimmo, R. Rickaby and former colleagues of B.L. in BP Exploration, for their help. We also thank K. Cox and K. Gallagher for reviews. Figures were made using Generic Mapping Tools of P. Wessel and W. Smith. This work forms part of the PULSE (Paleogene Uplift Linked to Sediment Efflux) project funded by The British Petroleum Company plc and the Natural Environment Research Council.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
White, N., Lovell, B. Measuring the pulse of a plume with the sedimentary record. Nature 387, 888–891 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1038/43151
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/43151
This article is cited by
-
Constraining the tectonic evolution of rifted continental margins by U–Pb calcite dating
Scientific Reports (2023)
-
The Alboran volcanic-arc modulated the Messinian faunal exchange and salinity crisis
Scientific Reports (2018)
-
LIP formation and protracted lower mantle upwelling induced by rifting and delamination
Scientific Reports (2018)
-
Long-distance impact of Iceland plume on Norway’s rifted margin
Scientific Reports (2017)
-
Volcanic passive margins: another way to break up continents
Scientific Reports (2015)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.