Early Neoproterozoic events in East Greenland

East Greenland forms one of the least understood of the orogenic belts formed during the amalgamation of Rodinia during late Mesoproterozoic times. Recent U–Pb zircon SHRIMP dating on the widespread Krummedal supracrustal succession and associated granites from central East Greenland has shown that metamorphism and intrusion affected the region at around 0.95–0.92 Ga, approximately 150 m.y. later than the main phase of Grenvillian orogenesis (s.s.). These early Neoproterozoic ages may indicate a link with metamorphism and igneous activity in the Sveconorwegian Belt of Scandinavia rather than true ‘Grenvillian’ events on the eastern margin of Laurentia. Previous plate tectonic reconstructions which link Laurentia and Baltica by a collisional margin extending through central East Greenland at 1.1 Ga were based on early conventional U–Pb zircon dating in central East Greenland, and can no longer be considered viable. Instead, new detrital zircon SHRIMP U–Pb dating studies show that the Krummedal supracrustal succession was deposited between ca. 1.0 Ga and no later than 0.95 Ga, during a time of major sediment deposition widely preserved elsewhere in the North Atlantic region. Erosion associated with post-1.1 Ga collapse of the Grenville–Sunsas orogeny is the most likely source for the majority of the detritus, since the corresponding Baltic margin was dominated by A-type magmatism for much of the period 1.4–1.1 Ga material, which is the age of the bulk of detrital zircons in the Krummedal supracrustal succession. We suggest that the Krummedal supracrustal succession was deposited east or south-east of its present location, and was thrust onto Archaean–Palaeoproterozoic orthogneisses, which in turn were displaced across the parautochthonous foreland during the Caledonian orogeny. The early Neoproterozoic orogenic events recorded in central East Greenland therefore involved the metamorphism of a metasedimentary package of Laurentian–Amazonian affinity during the Sveconorwegian orogeny in the final stages of the collision of Baltica and Laurentia.     

Aspects of the Weichselian chronology in central East Greenland

From central East Greenland, C₁₄ ages between 19,500 > 40,000 years B.P. have been obtained for six samples of marine bivalve shells. The ages seem to be consistent with geological observations and form the basis for a tentative chronology for the Weichselian ice age in the region. It appears that the maximum glaciation during Weichselian times was attained more than 40,000 years ago, and that since then ice-free areas have existed. This assumption agrees with evidence of botanical refugia in the region, and the restricted glacier activity especially during the Upper Pleniglacial (ca. 30,000–15,000 years B.P.) is explained by a reduced supply of moisture. A comparison with evidence from other parts of Greenland indicates that different glacial histories can be expected for different sectors of the Greenland Inland Ice.     

The new geological map of East Greenland

NE Greenland has seen epic polar exploration, bitter territorial disputes, scientific skulduggery but contains some of the world's most striking scenery and geology. It is now documented with a new geological map from 70°N to 82°N, which documents the architecture of the Caledonian mountain range over 1300km.     

Fractionation and assimilation in the Borgtinderne syenite,East Greenland

The Borgtinderne nepheline-sodalite syenite is one of the major intrusions in the Tertiary igneous province of East Greenland. The syenite magma, which was evolving towards an undersaturated peralkaline residuum, underwent extensive modification by incorporation of country rock basalt, resulting in the production of a variety of hybrid syenites. Major element variation in the hybrids is essentially linear. Break-up and mechanical incorporation of the basic material was aided by amphibolitisation and metasomatism of the basalt xenoliths.     

Sedimentological responses to basin initiation in the Devonian of East Greenland

The Devonian of East Greenland comprises a thick sequence of continental clastic sediments infilling an extensional basin. West of the main basin bounding fault (Western Fault Zone) are scattered outliers of Devonian conglomerate which accumulated in small basins such as found on the island, Ella Ø. The Ella Ø Basin formed by extensional movement along the Narhval Sund Fault accompanied by the formation of a prominent bedding parallel detachment surface which was subsequently modified by sub-aerial exposure to become the unconformity surface. Mapping of this unconformity surface shows major vertical relief. A thick sequence of conglomerate occurs on Ella Ø, which, close to its exposed basal unconformity, has three lacustrine beds intercalated within it. Detailed analysis of one lake unit shows it to have significant lateral variation. At proximal localities it largely comprises lacustrine turbidites, whereas more distal locations were within a stratified lake. The interpreted sequence of events on Ella Ø is an interval of fluvial sedimentation followed by rapid drowning of the topography with lacustrine sediments onlapping onto basement. After an interval of deeper lacustrine sedimentation including laminites, the lake shallowed, the lithology changed to limestone and the lake dried out. Conglomerate deposition then recommenced. Maximum lake water depth of 100 m is estimated following correction (7°) for post-Devonian rotation, both determined using the distribution of lacustrine sediments on the unconformity surface. The preferred mechanism for flooding of the Ella Ø Basin is episodic flooding of the entire basin system. Lacustrine sediment preservation results purely from its deposition amongst topography at the edge of the active fluvial system. In such fluvial systems lacustrine sediments may be part of the normal sedimentary cycle but were almost always removed by reworking.     

A glacial chronology for northern East Greenland

In East Greenland between 75 and 76N three different glacial episodes can be identified: (1) An early period with more or less total ice cover and in which the ice reached out onto the continental shelf - the Kap Mackenzie stadial; (2) a period with glaciation of intermediate extent, when nunataks and a few ice-free lowland areas existed - the Muschelbjerg stadial; and (3) a final period with glacial advance, when the glaciers were mainly restricted to fjords and larger valleys - the Nanok stadial. Each of these stadials was followed by a period with general deglaciation, from which marine shell-bearing sediments have been found; the Hochstetter Forland interstadial, the Peters Bugt interstadial and the Flandrian interglacial, respectively. The marine limit sank with each of these ice-free periods; probably an isostatic effect of the decreasing amplitude of the glacial advances. The deglaciation after the Nanok stadial began about 9500 B.P. It is not known for certain when this glacial advance started, but 13,000 B.P. or earlier is suggested. According to ¹⁴C datings the Peters Bugt interstadial dates from at least 45,000 B.P. and the Hochstetter Forland interstadial from at least 49,000 B.P. However, amino acid analyses indicate a distinct age difference between these two interstadial, and Th/U datings give age estimates of 70,000–115,000 B.P. for the Hochstetter Forland interstadial, which therefore seems to be of Early Weichselian age although a pre-Weichselian age cannot be excluded. The same applies to the preceding Kap Mackenzie stadial. The correspondence between the present glacial chronology and similar tripartite ones on Bafffin Island, Ellesmere Island and Svalbard seems reasonably good     

The Zoned Plagioclase of the Skaergaard Intrusion, East Greenland

The variation in zoning and An-content of plagioclases in theSkaergaard intrusion was investigated using microprobe analysisand optical methods on material from the surface of the intrusionas well as from a drill core from the hidden zone of the layeredseries. The plagioclases display cryptic variation and prominentvariations in type of zoning with structural height: oscillatoryzoned and resorbed plagioclase cores are predominant in thehidden zone, unzoned cores are typical of the lower zone, andplagioclases of the upper zone display skeletal zoning. Thereverse, oscillatory and skeletal zoning of plagioclase coresis ascribed to supercooled crystallization, and not to convectionor other petrogenetic factors. The variations in type of zoningand An-content of plagioclases from the hidden zone suggestonset of convection at the same time in the cooling historyof the intrusion as is indicated by the transition between thetranquil division and the banded division of the marginal bordergroup. A crystallization model is suggested, which accountsfor the observed variations. The variation in An-content ofplagioclases from the hidden zone suggests a limited extensionof some hundred metres of the intrusion at depth.     

Selectively contaminated magmas of the Tertiary East Greenland macrodike complex

Chemical interaction between tholeiitic magmas of the East Greenland Tertiary macrodike complex and anatectic melts of the Precambrian basement produced a wide range of hybrid magmas. Field evidence indicates that, although coexisting magmas were stirred, mechanical mixing only occurred to a limited extent before segregation of magmas into a stratified system. The initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr and ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd isotope ratios for hybrid compositions fall between those of the mafic and felsic end-members. However, the covariation of these isotope ratios differs from that expected of bulk mixing. Major- and trace-element distributions in hybrid magmas are also inconsistent with simple mixing, as well as with fractional crystallization coupled with bulk assimilation (AFC) involving reasonable end-members of the macrodike-crust system. Rather, the chemical and isotopic modification of mafic and felsic magmas of the macrodike complex appears to have been controlled fundamentally by interdiffusion of silicate liquid species during mingling and buoyant roofward segregation of crust-derived granophyres. The relationships among juxtaposed hybrid magmas of the Miki Fjord macrodike are shown to be consistent with expectations of selective diffusional exchange based on available experimental interdiffusion data for silicate liquids. Comparison between these hybrid compositions and rocks from the felsic series of the Vandfaldsdalen macrodike suggest that the latter compositions were affected by a similar opensystem process operating presumably during the transient development of the felsic cap. Once hybrid magmas ponded at the roof of the intrusion they effectively were isolated from further exchange.     

The Mesozoic of Western Scandinavia and East Greenland

Thick Mesozoic sediments are found offshore Norway and Denmark, and Mesozoic rocks are present and well exposed in Denmark, along the coast of East Greenland and on the arctic islands of Svalbard.
During the Mesozoic, Scandinavia and Greenland were subject to major extension in the Late Permian-Early Triassic and Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous, prior to Cenozoic opening of the North Atlantic. Deep basins developed along the rift zones of the North Sea and between East Greenland and Norwa）; and were .filled with sediments derived from mainland Scandinavia and Greenland. The marginal areas bordering the rift zones suffered less subsidence, as did the epicontinental Barents Sea.     

Early Proterozoic isotopic ages in the East Greenland Caledonian fold belt

Rb-Sr whole rock isochron ages of 1950 m.y. and 1725 m.y. obtained on rock units of the Hagar migmatite sheet indicate that it is an early Proterozoic gneiss complex and not part of a mobile Caledonian infrastructure. New isotopic ages and recent fieldwork give no support to the concept of mobile Caledonian migmatitic masses rising into the suprastructure as envisaged in the classic stockwerke model for the East Greenland Caledonian fold belt. However, K-Ar mineral ages ranging from 415–462 m.y. indicate a significant Caledonian thermal event. Relationships between the Hagar sheet and bordering metasediments are discussed, including evidence for a middle Proterozoic group of sediments metamorphosed before deposition of the late Precambrian Petermann Series and Eleonore Bay Group.     

Fractionation,hybridisation and magma-mixing in the Kialineq centre East Greenland

The igneous rocks of the Kialineq centre on the coast of East Greenland at 67°N include a number of quartz syenite and granite plutons intruded 35my BP. These are subvolcanic bodies emplaced by cauldron subsidence and with ring-dike and bell-jar form. Associated with the major intrusions is an extensive acid-basic mixed magma complex. Two-liquid structures, chilling of basic against acid magma, pillows of basic in acid, and net-veining of basic by acid magma, are superbly displayed. The basic magma was of a transitional or alkaline type and underwent varying degrees of fractionation in a regime of repeated intrusions and diverse chambers. Heterogeneous hybrid rocks intermediate between basalt and quartz syenite are strongly developed and were formed by repeated mechanical mixing of contrasting magmas. The energy for this mixing probably came in the main from cauldron-block subsidence. The quartz syenite magma, which itself fractionated towards granite, has initial ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios the same as the basic magma and is itself believed to be a fractionation product of alkali basalt magma.     

Recent sedimentary processes in Scoresby Sund, East Greenland

The fjord system of Scoresby Sund on the east coast of Greenland has been the subject of two research cruises by RV Polarstern in 1988 and 1990. Most of the year, the fjord is covered by sea-ice. Sediment input takes place mostly via drifting icebergs during the short summer period. Depending on the distance to glaciers, surface sediments carry varying proportions of coarse ice-rafted debris (IRD). The degree of sediment reworking by scouring icebergs is controlled by the depth of the fjord, with the most intense reworking in areas shallower than about 450 m depth. Both IRD contribution and intensity of sediment scouring clearly control the distribution pattern of benthic organisms.     

The Isotopic Composition of Strontium in the Skaergaard Intrusion, East Greenland

The isotopic composition of strontium in the different partsof the differentiated Skaergaard intrusion has been determined.The average Sr⁸⁷/Sr⁸⁶ ratio for the basic rocks was found tobe 0?7065?0?002. Higher values, between 0?7101 and 0?7303, wererestricted to the late-stage acid granophyres. The Sr⁸⁷/Sr⁸⁶ratios for the basic Skaergaard rocks are similar to those foundby previous workers. The enrichment in Sr⁸⁷ expressed in theSr⁸⁷/Sr⁸⁶ ratio is taken to indicate contamination of the acidgranophyres by a source enriched in Sr⁸⁷. From considerationsbased upon circumstantial evidence the average country rock,composed of old Precambrian acid to intermediate gneiss, isnot sufficiently enriched in.Sr⁸⁷ to account for the Sr⁸⁷ enrichmentobserved in the acid granophyres by a simple assimilation process.At the present stage of the investigation the enrichment ofthe acid granophyres in Sr⁸⁷ is unexplained.     

Upper Devonian tetrapod palaeoecology in the light of new discoveries in East Greenland

For the first time, new material of one of the world's oldest known tetrapods, Acanthostega, has been studied in its sedimentological context. The reported evidence suggests that Acanthostega was primarily aquatic and inhabited active fluvial channels in fluvial-dominated environments.     

First indication of Storegga tsunami deposits from East Greenland

A 2.73 m long sediment sequence from Loon Lake, located at 18 m a.s.l. on outer Geographical Society Ø, East Greenland, was investigated for its chronology and changes in physical and biogeochemical properties, macrofossils, and grain‐size distribution. The predominance of marine fossils throughout the sequence, dated by ¹⁴C AMS to between 8630 and 7535 cal. yr BP, shows that the Loon Lake at that time was a marine basin, which according to existing sea‐level curves was about 15–35 m deep. The sequence mainly consists of fine grained homogeneous sediments, which are interrupted by a 0.72 m thick sandy horizon with erosive basis and distinct fluctuations in the grain‐size distribution and in the physical and biogeochemical properties. According to the radiocarbon dates, this sandy horizon was deposited after 8500–8300 cal. yr BP and is interpreted as originating from the Storegga tsunami. The record from Loon Lake provides the first indication of Storegga tsunami deposits from East Greenland. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Glacial history of interior Jameson Land, East Greenland

The plateaus between 400 and 800 m a.s.l. around the water-divides on central and eastern Janieson Land are covered by the 'Jameson Land Drift' up to 50 m thick glacial. placiotluvial and glaciolacustrine deposits. A high content of far-travelled wcsterii rocks indicates the overriding by extensive glaciers channelled from the west through the Scoresby Sund basin. The Jameson Land Drift deposits have bccn lithostratigraphically divided into two groups. each representing the sedimentary successions from one glaciation in the wider sense of the word. sediments from the lower Lollandselv glaciation are upwards delimited by a distinct periglacial surface. TL-dates suggest a prc-Saalian (approximately isotope stages 11–9) age. The following Scoreshby Sund glaciation . when most of the studied Jameson Land Drift sediments were laid down. is of Saalian age (e. isotope stages 8 6). The deposits from the Scoresby Sund glaciation are interpreted as representing a complete glaciation deglaciation succession, including proglacial sandur and glaciolacustrine sediments. followed by till deposition, with an overlying succession of glaciolacustrinc and glaciofluvial sediments. From 200–250 m to c . 400 m a.s.l. there is a driftless area, exposing Jurassic sandstones, probably a result of intensive and long-lasting periglacial erosion. Extensive occurrences of tors and of glaciofluvially (subglacially as well as subaerially) eroded canyons and channels characterize the landscape. A similar. although less well defined. upper driftless zone is found above c 500 m a.s.l. on northern Jameson Land, north of the drift-covered plateaus. During the Wcichsclian (isotope stages 5d 2). thick glacial. fluvial and marine deposits were laid down in a coastal zone below c . 200 m a.s.l., and only cold-based local ice caps seem to have existed on the interior plateaus of Jameson Land. The now driftless areas were characterized by periglacial erosion during this period.     

Petrology of the Vandfaldsdalen Macrodike, Skaergaard Region, East Greenland

The Vandfaldsdalen macrodike is a layered and differentiatedgabbroic dike approximately 3?5 km long and from 200 to 500m wide. It appears to cut the eastern margin of the Skaergaardintrusion and may have served as a feeder for the Basistoppensill. The macrodike can be divided into three series of rocks:a marginal series of differentiated gabbros adjacent to thewalls of the dike; a central series of differentiated and subhorizontallylayered gabbros and ferrodiorites in the interior of the dike;and an upper felsic series of granophyric rocks with abundantquartzo-feldspathic xenoliths. The mineral and bulk-rock compositionsthrough both the marginal series and central series show progressiveiron enrichment. The most Ca-rich plagioclase (An₆₉) and mostmagnesian pyroxene (Wo₄₂ En₄₆ Fs₁₂) occur in olivine-bearingrocks of the marginal series about 5 m from the contact withwall rocks. The most Na-rich plagioclase (An₃₉) and Fe-richpyroxene (Wo₃₈ En₂₄ Fs₃₈) are in olivine-free ferrodiorite ofthe central series, about 20 m below the contact with the felsicseries. Evidence from field observations, bulk-rock chemical compositions,and Sr and Nd isotopic data indicate the felsic series formedas a mixture of the initial macrodike magma and granitic countryrock. ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios of specimens from the felsic series rangebetween 0?7129 and 0?7294. ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd ratios vary between 0?51208and 0?51118. Both ratios vary serially with the SiO₂ contentsof the specimens. We suggest that the felsic series evolvedas a separate body of low density liquid which floated on thedenser gabbroic magma of the central series. Heat from crystallizationof the gabbroic magma must have diffused into the felsic layer,enabling extensive assimilation of the granitic xenoliths, butour data indicate there was very little exchange of chemicalcomponents between the two liquids.     

Glaciation in northern East Greenland during the Late Weichselian and Early Flandrian

The frontal positions of glaciers in fiords, sounds and larger valleys during the glaciation maximum around 10,000 B.P. and the extent of ice-free areas at that time are shown, together with an isobase map of the altitude of the contemporaneous (or younger) marine limit. A number of ¹⁴C and some Amino Acid datings related to the glacial advance, culmination and retreat are presented. Some time after a Middle Weichselian period with restricted glaciation the glaciers advanced and stood at their maximum positions at about 10,300 B.P., in some areas remaining there until about 9500 B.P., at which time sizeable lowland areas outside the ice-fronts were unglaciated and a large number of nunataks of various types occurred. The retreat of the glaciers started about 10,300 B.P. in the south, but seems to have been delayed towards the north. However, by 9000 B.P. all outer parts of the fiords were deglaciated and their central parts by 8500 B.P. The marine limit synchronous with this glaciation maximum and the deglaciation sinks from a southern maximum value of about 110 m to about 55 m in the north, reflecting a decreasing amplitude of the glacial advance.     

Luminescence dating of Late Quaternary sediments from East Greenland

Luminescence dating based on K-feldspars and using both TL and OSL methods have been performed on 94 sediment samples from East Greenland. The ages go back more than 380 ka, but are mainly from the last interglaciation and the subsequent period and include both shallow-marine/coastal-fluvial and ice proximal meltwater sediments. Independent age control indicates that the dates in the first group generally fall within ± 15% of the expected age, although a few samples show larger deviations. The ice proximal sediments, on the other hand, show a much larger spread and exaggerated ages, probably owing to incomplete bleaching. OSL may give better results than TL in these sediments.