La sédimentation argileuse depuis l'Eocène sur le plateau Vøring et à son voisinage, d'après le Leg 38 DSDP (Mer de Norvège) |
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| Authors: | CLAUDE FROGET |
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| Institution: | Laboratoire de Géologie marine et Sédimentologie appliquée, Centre Universitaire de Marseille—Luminy, 13288 Marseille Cedex 2, France |
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| Abstract: | The study of clays from sites 338 to 343 enables the main lines of the palaeogeographical evolution of the Vøring plateau, off Norway, to be determined. The following stages are proposed: (1) In early Eocene sediments, clays provide evidence of erosion of the Scandinavian shield; detrital primary minerals (illite, chlorite) derived from crystalline rocks are dominant. This erosion results from tectonic movements coeval with the opening of the Norwegian basin. The rejuvenation of marginal relief hinders pedogenesis, which is only indicated by the presence of minerals coming from the few soils which are developed. (2) From the Middle Eocene, primary minerals decrease while smectite becomes dominant. This trend increases through the late Eocene and at the beginning of the Middle Oligocene, where only smectite is present. During this period the basin margins are stabilized after the initial movements. In essentially pelagic marine sediments, the smectite seems to be derived from volcanic rocks. (3) During the Middle Oligocene and early to Middle Miocene, smectite is always dominant, but primary minerals reappear, with mixed-layers indicating a moderate continental alteration. This composition suggests a modification of the climate, mainly marked by an increase in humidity. (4) In Pliocene and Plio-Pleistocene sediments, primary minerals are dominant, while smectite decreases. The glacial climate is responsible for this mineralogy. Detrital minerals would come from the erosion of Scandinavian moraines and from rafting by icebergs. |
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