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Updated: Apr 15, 2026
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Data Processing Methods for 3D Seismic Imaging of Subsurface Volcanoes: Applications to the Tarim Flood Basalt
Published on: August 7, 2017
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Continental crust beneath southeast Iceland
Trond H Torsvik1, Hans E F Amundsen2, Reidar G Trønnes3
1Centre for Earth Evolution and Dynamics, University of Oslo, N-0315 Oslo, Norway; Geological Survey of Norway, Geodynamics, N-7491 Trondheim, Norway; School of Geosciences, University of Witwatersrand, Wits 2050, South Africa; t.h.torsvik@geo.uio.no.
Summary
Iceland
Area of Science:
- Geochemistry
- Geophysics
- Plate Tectonics
Background:
- Iceland's magmatic activity is linked to a deep mantle plume active for 62 million years.
- Icelandic and Atlantic basalts show two enriched components: recycled oceanic crust and subcontinental lithospheric mantle.
- Öræfajökull volcano in SE Iceland has a unique enriched-mantle component (EM2-like) with high Sr and Pb isotopes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To model the origin of the unique enriched-mantle component in SE Iceland.
- To investigate the role of assimilated continental crust in Öræfajökull's magmas.
- To determine the geological origin and tectonic history of continental crust beneath SE Iceland.
Main Methods:
- Modeling of strontium (Sr), neodymium (Nd), and lead (Pb) isotope abundances and ratios.
- Inversion of gravity anomaly data to determine crustal thickness.
- Analysis of regional magnetic data and plate reconstructions.
Main Results:
- Primitive Öræfajökull melts assimilated 2-6% of underlying continental crust.
- Continental crust beneath SE Iceland is an extension of the Jan Mayen Microcontinent (JMM).
- The extended JMM detached from East Greenland in the Early Eocene and became part of the Eurasian plate by the Oligocene.
Conclusions:
- The EM2-like signature in SE Iceland is attributed to assimilation of continental crust from the extended Jan Mayen Microcontinent.
- The detachment and tectonic history of the JMM explain the presence of continental crust beneath Iceland.
- This study refines our understanding of Iceland's petrogenesis and the complex tectonic evolution of the North Atlantic.
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