2017/11/01 by Martyn S. Stoker, Simon Holford, Richard R. Hillis · 47 citations
Earth and Planetary Sciences · Engineering · Environmental Science · #Geological and Geophysical Studies #Hydrocarbon exploration and reservoir analysis #Methane Hydrates and Related Phenomena #Geology #Rift #Shetland #Margin (machine learning) #Structural basin #Paleontology #Rift zone #Oceanography #Seismology #Geomorphology
paper · doi:10.1144/jgs2017-076
published in Journal of the Geological Society 175(2), 263-274 (Geological Society of London)
openalex publication_date 2017/11/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/11
The Upper Paleocene–Eocene rock record in the Faroe–Shetland Basin is punctuated by a series of unconformities that reflect a persistent tectonic instability throughout the syn- to early post-breakup period, a duration of about 20 myr. A particular focus is on a Late Paleocene subaerial unconformity, herein termed the Flett unconformity, which has been argued to have formed in response to a transient pulse of mantle convective uplift associated with a proto-Iceland plume. However, ambiguity over its presumed correlation with the Faroe Islands Basalt Group combined with stratigraphic and palaeogeographical analysis of the Upper Paleocene–Eocene succession indicates that it is just one of a series of subaerial unconformities that are spatially linked to the same part of the Faroe–Shetland Basin. Most of these Late Paleocene–Eocene unconformities post-date volcanism, and their formation coincides with vertical motions associated with phases of uplift, inversion and compressional deformation linked to the growth of structures, such as the Wyville Thomson and Munkagrunnur ridges, and the Judd Anticline. These deformation phases are broadly coeval with intraplate and plate-boundary events in the wider NE Atlantic region. The possibility that the Flett unconformity had a similar tectonic origin should not be discounted.