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Basalt sills of the U reflector, Newfoundland Basin: a serendiptious dating technique

Basalt sills of the U reflector, Newfoundland Basin: a serendiptious dating technique
Basalt sills of the U reflector, Newfoundland Basin: a serendiptious dating technique
High core recovery at Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Leg 210, Site 1276, provided a high-resolution porosity-depth relationship and an equally impressive age-depth model based on first and last occurrences of microfossils. Site 1276 was drilled over transitional crust in the Newfoundland nonvolcanic margin, offshore Canada, between known continental crust on the west and apparent oceanic crust on the east as identified by seafloor-spreading magnetic anomalies M3 to M0 (Barremian–Aptian, 129.8–124.8 Ma). At Site 1276, two diabase sills were drilled at depths equivalent to the U reflection, a bright reflection that overlies transitional crust interpreted from seismic reflection profiles throughout the Newfoundland Basin. The sills were emplaced within uppermost Aptian fine- to coarse-grained sediments, 100–200 m above basement as estimated from seismic reflection data. Magma emplacement occurred at shallow levels within the sediment column, as evidenced by: (1) the occurrence of vesicles in the sill, and (2) compaction-induced folding of calcite veins that were emplaced near vertically in the sediments and are assumed to be coeval with the intrusion. By calculating the degree of shortening of the calcite veins and determining the reconstructed porosity of the sediments during vein emplacement, the age of magma emplacement can be deduced. From the porosity-age curve, the age of sill emplacement is estimated to be 82.5–109.1 Ma, consistent with recent 40Ar/39Ar radiometric dating of the upper sill that gave ages of 105.95 ± 1.78 Ma and 104.7 ± 1.7 Ma. The source of magmatism responsible for the diabase sills is necessarily postrift, and the sills are temporally equivalent to alkali basalts dredged from the Newfoundland Seamounts. The simplest explanation for the Site 1276 diabases and the widespread distribution of the U reflection relates to the migration of the Azores, Madeira, and Canary plumes across the Newfoundland Basin between 80 and 120 Ma.
newfoundland basin extension, early postrift magmatism, ocean drilling program, compaction
0091-7613
985-988
Karner, G.D.
a40b7b85-2e9d-4ab5-a08a-411f76f9da7b
Shillington, D.J.
26369a97-61ca-4ab9-be81-7f817aa87c68
Karner, G.D.
a40b7b85-2e9d-4ab5-a08a-411f76f9da7b
Shillington, D.J.
26369a97-61ca-4ab9-be81-7f817aa87c68

Karner, G.D. and Shillington, D.J. (2005) Basalt sills of the U reflector, Newfoundland Basin: a serendiptious dating technique. Geology, 33 (12), 985-988. (doi:10.1130/G21971.1).

Record type: Article

Abstract

High core recovery at Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Leg 210, Site 1276, provided a high-resolution porosity-depth relationship and an equally impressive age-depth model based on first and last occurrences of microfossils. Site 1276 was drilled over transitional crust in the Newfoundland nonvolcanic margin, offshore Canada, between known continental crust on the west and apparent oceanic crust on the east as identified by seafloor-spreading magnetic anomalies M3 to M0 (Barremian–Aptian, 129.8–124.8 Ma). At Site 1276, two diabase sills were drilled at depths equivalent to the U reflection, a bright reflection that overlies transitional crust interpreted from seismic reflection profiles throughout the Newfoundland Basin. The sills were emplaced within uppermost Aptian fine- to coarse-grained sediments, 100–200 m above basement as estimated from seismic reflection data. Magma emplacement occurred at shallow levels within the sediment column, as evidenced by: (1) the occurrence of vesicles in the sill, and (2) compaction-induced folding of calcite veins that were emplaced near vertically in the sediments and are assumed to be coeval with the intrusion. By calculating the degree of shortening of the calcite veins and determining the reconstructed porosity of the sediments during vein emplacement, the age of magma emplacement can be deduced. From the porosity-age curve, the age of sill emplacement is estimated to be 82.5–109.1 Ma, consistent with recent 40Ar/39Ar radiometric dating of the upper sill that gave ages of 105.95 ± 1.78 Ma and 104.7 ± 1.7 Ma. The source of magmatism responsible for the diabase sills is necessarily postrift, and the sills are temporally equivalent to alkali basalts dredged from the Newfoundland Seamounts. The simplest explanation for the Site 1276 diabases and the widespread distribution of the U reflection relates to the migration of the Azores, Madeira, and Canary plumes across the Newfoundland Basin between 80 and 120 Ma.

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More information

Published date: December 2005
Keywords: newfoundland basin extension, early postrift magmatism, ocean drilling program, compaction

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 24153
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/24153
ISSN: 0091-7613
PURE UUID: 957927f8-d097-4a2c-8593-31698087c35a

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Date deposited: 23 Mar 2006
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 06:53

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Author: G.D. Karner
Author: D.J. Shillington

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