Early Tertiary Volcanism And The Opening Of The Ne Atlantic

A review of the extensive advances made in the understanding the petroleum geology of the Atlantic margin of northwest Europe, of the North Sea and of adjacent areas since the;ast conference in 1992. In particular, the volume focuses on: the development of and application of 3D seismic, time-lapse ('4D') and other innovative seismic tools; the ongoing refinement of sequence and other stratigraphic approaches, including the integration of detailed biostratigraphic data; the development of modelling at both the reservoir and basin scale which can respond to new data acquisition and be used to assess uncertainties at the reservoir scale and scenarios at the basin scale.

The NAG-TEC project was a collaborative effort by the British Geological Survey, the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland, the Geological Survey of Ireland, the Geological Survey of the Netherlands, the Geological Survey of Northern Ireland, the Geological Survey of Norway, Iceland GeoSurvey and the Faroese Geological Survey (Jarðfeingi), along with a number of academic partners and significant support from industry. The main focus was to investigate the tectonic evolution of the region with a particular emphasis on basin evolution along conjugate margins. A key outcome was the development of a new tectonostratigraphic atlas and database that includes comprehensive geological and geophysical information relevant for understanding the Devonian to present evolution of the NE Atlantic margins. These provide the foundation upon which ongoing research and exploration of the area can build. This Special Publication provides some of the first scientific results and analysis based on the project, including regional stratigraphic analysis and correlations, crustal structure and interpretation of geophysical data sets, plate kinematics and the evolution of igneous provinces.

Published by the American Geophysical Union as part of the Geophysical Monograph Series, Volume 100. Continental flood basalts, volcanic passive margins, and oceanic plateaus represent the largest known volcanic episodes on our planet, yet they are not easily explained by plate tectonics. Indeed, some are likely to record periods when the outward transfer of material and energy from the Earth's interior operated in a significantly different mode than at present. In recent years, interest in large-scale mafic magmatism has surged as high-precision geochronological, detailed geochemical, and increasingly sophisticated geophysical data have become available for many provinces. However, the sheer amount of recent material, often in the form of detailed collaborative research projects, can overwhelm newcomers to the field and experts alike as the literature continues to grow dramatically. The need for an up-to-date review volume on a sizable subset of the major continental and oceanic flood basalt provinces, termed large igneous provinces, was recognized by the Commission on Large-Volume Basaltic Provinces (International Association of Volcanology and Chemistry of the Earth's Interior), and the co-editors were charged with organizing and implementing such a volume. We hope that this volume will be valuable to researchers and graduate students worldwide, particularly to petrologists, geochemists, geochronologists, geodynamicists, and plate-tectonics specialists; it may also interest planetologists, oceanographers, and atmospheric scientists.

Recently, recognition of the potential role of large igneous provinces in affecting ocean and atmosphere systems and biotic evolutionary pathways has lead to increased interest in this province. This has been further stimulated by the expansion in the search for oil and gas in Mesozoic and Tertiary sediments along the NE Atlantic Margin. An improved understanding of the interaction between igneous and sedimentary processes is vital for the identification of potential hydrocarbon resources.

Vol. 174AX bound with Proceedings of the Ocean Drilling Program. Scientific results Vol. 174A.