Abstract
This paper focuses on the lava pile in the westernmost part of the south coast of the Ísafjarðardjúp fjord in the Northwest peninsula of Iceland, between Skálavík and Álftafjörður. New laboratory measurements on the paleomagnetism of over 60 lava flows in four profiles are utilized in the completion of a tentative polarity column for a composite section of 3.4 km thickness along Ísafjarðardjúp. The magnetic results which among other things document the occurrence of several excursions of the geomagnetic field, are consistent with other available data from the area. They also strengthen correlations with a composite section running south from Skálavík to Breiðafjörður. Some relevant previous studies on the Northwest peninsula are reviewed, with emphasis on the question whether the presence of the oldest lignite-containing sediments there is related to major volcano-tectonic events. Judging from the thickness of polarity zones, the rate of buildup of lavas below these sediments seems to have been of similar order of magnitude as elsewhere in Iceland.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1-14 |
| Number of pages | 14 |
| Journal | Jokull |
| Volume | 2014 |
| Issue number | 64 |
| Publication status | Published - 2014 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:Ágúst Guðmundsson supplied copies of his geological reports to the Public Roads Administration. Sig-urlaug M. Hreinsdóttir and Hrafnhildur Héðinsdóttir assisted in some of the field work, which was supported by a grant from the University of Iceland’s Research Fund in 2011. Morten S. Riishuus provided a description of the petrography of four thin sections. Rósa Ólafsdóttir drafted the illustrations. The author is grateful for comprehensive reviews of his original manuscript by Jeff Karson and an anonymous reviewer.
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