Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland Bulletin 18, 2009, pp. 126 + map (not online) GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF DENMARK AND GREENLAND BULLETIN 18 � 2009 Greenland from Archaean to Quaternary Descriptive text to the 1995 Geological map of Greenland, 1:2 500 000. 2nd edition Niels Henriksen, A.K. Higgins, Feiko Kalsbeek and T. Christopher R. Pulvertaft GEOLOGICAL SURVEY OF DENMARK AND GREENLAND MINISTRY OF CLIMATE AND ENERGY Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland Bulletin 18 Keywords Archaean, Caledonides, Cenozoic, economic geology, geological map, Greenland, ice sheet, Mesozoic, offshore, orogenic belts, Palaeozoic, petroleum, Phanerozoic, Proterozoic, sedimentary basins. Cover illustration The cover design depicts mountains of the East Greenland Caledonian fold belt. The view, west of Mestersvig (located on map, page 4), is north over Bersærkerbræ and the northern part of the Stauning Alper to Kong Oscar Fjord with Traill Ø in the right backgro- und. The mountains up to 1800 m high are of the Neoproterozoic Eleonore Bay Supergroup. To the right: first author Niels Henriksen, for many years head of geological mapping at GGU/GEUS, and participant in field work in Greenland for more than 45 years. Frontispiece: facing page Major Caledonian syncline involving reactivated Archaean basement gneisses containing amphibolite bands. Overlying rusty coloured Mesoproterozoic metasediments (Krummedal supracrustal sequence) just visible in tight core of the fold. The intensity of deformation in the syncline clearly increases towards the core, where the basement gneisses become more strongly foliated. Some of the amphibolite bands were derived from cross-cutting basic intrusions, which are still discernable in the less severely deformed parts of the Archaean basement (Fig. 17, p. 31). The height of the section is c. 2000 m. South-west of innermost Nordvestfjord / Kangersik Kiatteq (c. 71°30´N), Scoresby Sund region, central East Greenland. Chief editor of this series: Adam A. Garde Editorial board of this series: John A. Korstgård, Geological Institute, University of Aarhus; Minik Rosing, Geological Museum, University of Copenhagen; Finn Surlyk, Department of Geography and Geology, University of Copenhagen Scientific editor: Adam A. Garde Editorial secretaries: Jane Holst and Esben W. Glendal Referees: C.R.L. Friend (UK), Gordon N. Oakey (Canada) and Henrik Stendal (Greenland) Illustrations: Eva Melskens, Helle Zetterwall, Lis Duegaard and Jette Halskov Digital photographic work: Benny M. Schark Graphic production: Annabeth Andersen Printers: Rosendahls - Schultz Grafisk, Albertslund, Denmark Manuscript submitted: 29 May, 2009 Final version approved: 8 October 2009 Printed: 27 November 2009 ISBN 987-87-7871-258-5 ISSN 1604-8156 Citation of the name of this series It is recommended that the name of this series is cited in full, viz. Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland Bulletin. If abbreviation of this volume is necessary, the following form is suggested: Geol. Surv. Den. Green. Bull. 18, 126 pp. Available from Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS) Øster Voldgade 10, DK-1350 Copenhagen K, Denmark Phone: +45 38 14 20 00, fax: +45 38 14 20 50, e-mail: geus@geus.dk or at www.geus.dk/publications/bull © De Nationale Geologiske Undersøgelser for Danmark og Grønland (GEUS), 2009 For the full text of the GEUS copyright clause, please refer to www.geus.dk/publications/bull Canada Station Nord Ellesmere Island Peary Land western eastern central Daneborg Mestersvig Pituffik / Thule Air Base Melville Bugt Svartenhuk Halvø Disko Disko Bugt Upernavik Nuuk Aasiaat KangerlussuaqSisimiut Tasiilaq / Ammassalik Scoresby Sund Blossevil le K ys t Ivittuut Qaqortoq Kap Farvel Nare s S trai t central East southern East North - East Iceland North - West North cent ral West southern West South - East South - West South Arctic Ocean North Atlantic Ocean Inland Ice 400 km 72° 76° 80° 28°36°44°52° 68° 64° 60° Geographical subdivisions of Greenland used by the Survey Map showing the Survey’s geographical subdivisions of Greenland, both onshore and offshore, used in this bulletin. Thus Nares Strait, the seaway separating Greenland from Ellesmere Island, Canada, borders North-West Greenland and western North Greenland. However, application of these subdivisions has not been rigorously applied in all parts of the text in order to avoid unwieldy phrases. It should also be noted that ‘West Greenland’ and ‘East Greenland’ are used both as shown on the map (each with two subdivisions, viz. central and southern) and for the entire western and eastern sides of Greenland. In this broader sense, West Greenland covers the four west- ern subdivisions, viz. North-West, central West, southern West and South-West Greenland whereas East Greenland covers the four east- ern subdivisions, viz. North-East, central East, southern East and South-East Greenland. The subdivisions are used throughout the text and also in the Legend explanation (pp. 110–112) and Index (pp. 117 –126). 4 Editorial note This bulletin is a revised 2nd edition of the descriptive text to the Geological map of Greenland 1:2 500 000. The description was first published in 2000 as Geology of Greenland Survey Bulletin 185 by Henriksen et al. 2000. The map, compiled by Escher & Pulvertaft in 1995 and printed the same year, accompanies the present description. Since the first edition of this work was published, large amounts of new data have been acquired, especially in the offshore regions, in relation to mineral prospecting and in connection with general geo- logical research mainly in West Greenland. The present description aims at providing an up dated overview of the geology of Greenland with reference to the enclosed geolo gical map from 1995 that in gen- eral terms is still valid. The first edition included an extensive refer- ence list designed as a key to the most relevant sources for the explanation of the Geological map of Greenland 1:2 500 000. In this second edition the reference list has been expanded with more than 200 new references to cited papers, to give the reader a possibility to follow up on new data and details in agreement with modern inter- pretations. The 1:2 500 000 map presents a general overview of Green land ge - ology, but as a basis for this overview there also exists a wealth of more detailed published maps. A set of 14 geological maps at scale 1:500 000 covers the onshore areas of the entire country and a special map at scale 1:1 000 000 covers onshore areas in North-East Greenland. In addition to these maps more than 60 geological maps at 1:100 000 have been pub- lished, covering mainly areas in central and southern West Greenland. A wide range of special geological and geophysical maps has also been published covering both onshore and offshore areas. Details of all these publications can be obtained from the Survey’s website. For a catalogue of Greenland publications and data see: www.geus.dk/publications/publ-uk.htm. This list will be updated at intervals, when relevant new data become available. 5 Abstract . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Concept of the geological legend . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Topographic base . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Crystalline rocks older than 1600 Ma: the Greenland Precambrian shield . . . . . . . . . . Archaean craton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Eoarchaean supracrustal rocks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Eoarchaean (‘Amîtsoq’) gneisses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Meso- and Neoarchaean supracrustal rocks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Anorthositic rocks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Meso- and Neoarchaean gneisses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Intrusive rocks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Palaeoproterozoic orogenic terrains . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nagssugtoqidian orogen, West Greenland. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Supracrustal rocks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Felsic and intermediate intrusions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nagssugtoqidian orogen in South-East Greenland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Palaeoproterozoic plutonic rocks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Rinkian fold belt. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Archaean and Palaeoproterozoic supracrustal rocks: Disko Bugt and Nuussuaq . Gneisses and intrusions: Disko Bugt and Nuussuaq . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Palaeoproterozoic supracrustal rocks north of Nuussuaq: the Karrat Group . . . . Gneisses and intrusive rocks north of Nuussuaq . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . North-West Greenland and the Inglefield orogenic belt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ketilidian orogen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Palaeoproterozoic supracrustal rocks in the northern border zone . . . . . . . . . . . . Palaeoproterozoic granitoids and basic–intermediate intrusions, the Julianehåb batholith . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Metasedimentary rocks in the south-eastern part of the Ketilidian orogen . . . . . The Ketilidian rapakivi suite. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Archaean–Palaeoproterozoic basement in the East Greenland Caledonian orogen. . Archaean–Palaeoproterozoic basement beneath the Inland Ice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Proterozoic to Phanerozoic geological development after formation of the Precambrian shield Palaeo- to Mesoproterozoic unfolded units . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Independence Fjord Group, North Greenland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Zig-Zag Dal Basalt Formation, North Greenland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Correlation with similar rocks in the northernmost part of the East Greenland Caledonides . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Gardar Province, South Greenland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Early Neoproterozoic orogenic units reworked in the East Greenland Caledonian fold belt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Supracrustal rocks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Migmatites and granites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mesoproterozoic – early Neoproterozoic sedimentary basin in North-West Greenland and Ellesmere Island . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 11 12 12 13 14 15 17 18 19 19 19 20 21 22 23 24 24 24 25 26 26 26 27 27 28 28 29 30 30 31 32 33 33 33 33 35 35 38 38 39 39 Contents 6 Thule Supergroup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Neoproterozoic sedimentary basins in North, North-East and East Greenland . . . . . Hagen Fjord Group, North Greenland. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Eleonore Bay Supergroup, East and North-East Greenland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tillite Group, East Greenland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Sedimentary rocks of unknown age in the East Greenland Caledonides . . . . . . . . . . Carbonatites, kimberlites and associated rocks, West Greenland. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Palaeozoic Franklinian Basin of North Greenland and Ellesmere Island . . . . . . Uppermost Neoproterozoic – Silurian in North Greenland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Proterozoic–Silurian exotic terrane of Ellesmere Island (Pearya) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ellesmerian orogeny in North Greenland and Ellesmere Island . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Lower Palaeozoic of East Greenland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cambrian–Ordovician sediments in the Caledonian fold belt . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Caledonian orogeny in East and North-East Greenland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Caledonian intrusions and plutonic rocks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Devonian continental sediments in East Greenland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Carboniferous–Tertiary deposits of the Wandel Sea Basin, central and eastern North Greenland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Late Palaeozoic and Mesozoic rift basins in East Greenland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Late Permian – Early Cretaceous deposits of the Jameson Land Basin (70–72°N) Late Permian – Cretaceous deposits in North-East Greenland (72–76°N) . . . . . . Cretaceous–Palaeogene deposits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Central West Greenland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Southern East Greenland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tertiary volcanics, intrusions and post-basaltic sedimentary rocks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Palaeogene basalts, central West Greenland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Palaeogene basalts, East Greenland. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Blosseville Kyst region (68–70°N) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Hold with Hope to Shannon region (73–75°N). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Palaeogene intrusions, East Greenland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Post-basaltic Palaeogene sedimentary rocks, East Greenland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pliocene–Pleistocene sediments, central North Greenland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Quaternary glacial sediments and glaciation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Glaciology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mass balance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Past climate and environment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Offshore geology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The continental margin off East and North Greenland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . East Greenland south of 77°N . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . North-East Greenland (77–83°N) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Morris Jesup Rise and the Yermak Plateau . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The continental margin off West Greenland. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Southern West Greenland (58–64°N) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Davis Stræde (c. 64–69°N). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Baffin Bugt (69–77°N) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Nares Stræde (77–82°N) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The continental margin off North Greenland, west of the Morris Jesup Rise . . . . . . Offshore sedimentary basins. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . North-East Greenland shelf (72–80°N) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Liverpool Land Basin, central East Greenland (69°30´–72°N) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 40 40 41 42 43 44 45 45 48 49 50 50 50 51 52 54 55 55 57 57 57 60 60 60 61 61 61 62 62 62 63 64 64 65 66 66 66 69 70 70 70 71 72 72 73 73 73 75 Blosseville Kyst Basin, East Greenland (67–69°30´N). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Southern West Greenland (60–68°N). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Central West Greenland (68–73°N) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . North-West Greenland (73–77°N) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Offshore North Greenland; the Lincoln Sea Basin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mineral deposits. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mineral occurrences in specific geological settings. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Archaean–Palaeoproterozoic high-grade regions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Mesoproterozoic intracratonic intrusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Palaeozoic orogenic belts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Upper Palaeozoic – Mesozoic basins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Late Phanerozoic intrusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Petroleum potential of Greenland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Onshore basins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Franklinian Basin, North Greenland (80–83°N). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Late Palaeozoic – Mesozoic basins, eastern North Greenland (80–83°N) . . . . . . . . Late Palaeozoic – Mesozoic rift basins, North-East Greenland (72–76°N) . . . . . . . Jameson Land Basin, central East Greenland (70°30´–72°N) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Cretaceous–Palaeogene basin, central West Greenland (69–72°N) . . . . . . . . . . . . . Offshore basins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . North-East Greenland shelf (75–80°N) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Liverpool Land Basin, central East Greenland (69°30´–72°N) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Blosseville Kyst Basin, East Greenland (67–69°30´N). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . West Greenland . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . South and South-West Greenland (c. 57–62°N) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Southern West Greenland (c. 62–68°N) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Central West Greenland (c. 68–73°N) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . North-West Greenland (73–77°N) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Western North Greenland (north of 80°N). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Acknowledgements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Legend explanation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Place names register . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Enclosure: Geological map of Greenland, 1:2 500 000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 75 75 76 76 77 78 80 80 82 82 83 83 84 84 84 84 86 86 86 87 87 87 88 88 88 88 89 90 90 91 92 110 113 117 in pocket 8 9 Henriksen, N., Higgins, A.K., Kalsbeek, F. & Pulvertaft, T.C.R. 2009: Greenland from Archaean to Quaternary. Descriptive text to the 1995 Geological map of Greenland, 1:2 500 000. 2nd edition. Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland Bulletin 18, 126 pp. + map. The geological development of Greenland spans a period of nearly 4 Ga, from Eoarchaean to the Quaternary. Greenland is the largest island on Earth with a total area of 2 166 000 km2, but only c. 410 000 km2 are exposed bedrock, the remaining part being covered by a major ice sheet (the Inland Ice) reaching over 3 km in thickness. The adjacent offshore areas underlain by continen- tal crust have an area of c. 825 000 km2. Greenland is dominated by crystalline rocks of the Precambrian shield, which formed during a succession of Archaean and Palaeoproterozoic orogenic events and stabilised as a part of the Laurentian shield about 1600 Ma ago. The shield area can be divided into three distinct types of basement provinces: (1) Archaean rocks (3200–2600 Ma old, with local older units up to >3800 Ma) that were almost unaffected by Proterozoic or later orogenic activity; (2) Archaean terrains reworked during the Palaeoproterozoic around 1900–1750 Ma ago; and (3) terrains mainly com- posed of juvenile Palaeoproterozoic rocks (2000–1750 Ma in age). Subsequent geological developments mainly took place along the margins of the shield. During the Proterozoic and throughout the Phanerozoic major sedimentary basins formed, notably in North and North-East Greenland, in which sedimentary successions locally reaching 18 km in thickness were deposited. Palaeozoic orogenic activity affected parts of these successions in the Ellesmerian fold belt of North Greenland and the East Greenland Caledonides; the latter also incorporates reworked Precambrian crystalline basement complexes. Late Palaeozoic and Mesozoic sedimentary basins developed along the continent–ocean mar- gins in North, East and West Greenland and are now preserved both onshore and offshore. Their development was closely related to continental break-up with formation of rift basins. Initial rif- ting in East Greenland in latest Devonian to earliest Carboniferous time and succeeding phases culminated with the opening of the North Atlantic Ocean in the late Paleocene. Sea-floor sprea- ding was accompanied by extrusion of Palaeogene (early Tertiary) plateau basalts in both central West and central–southern East Greenland. During the Quaternary Greenland was almost completely covered by ice, and the present day Inland Ice is a relic from the Pleistocene ice ages. Vast amounts of glacially eroded detritus were deposited on the continental shelves around Greenland. Mineral exploitation in Greenland has so far encompassed cryolite, lead-zinc, gold, olivine and coal. Current prospecting activities in Greenland are concentrated on gold, base metals, platinum- group elements, molybdenum, iron ore, diamonds and lead-zinc. Hydrocarbon potential is con- fined to the major Phanerozoic sedimentary basins, notably the large basins offshore North-East and West Greenland. While reserves of oil or gas have yet to be found, geophysical data com bined with discoveries of oil seeps onshore have revealed a considerable potential for offshore oil and gas. Abstract Authors’ address Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland, Øster Voldgade 10, DK 1350 Copenhagen K, Denmark. E-mail: nielshen@mail.dk 10 6 9 3 85 211 6 9 3 10 47 47 10 1313 1212 85 211 Fig. 1. Index map of the Geological map of Greenland, 1:2 500 000, showing segments 2–13, so numbered in the atlas version of the map (for atlas format, see p. 11). Segment 1 – the title page of the atlas – is not shown. 11 Greenland is the largest island on Earth with a surface area of more than two million square kilometres. It is up to 1250 km from east to west and 2675 km from north to south, extending over almost 24 degrees of latitude; the northern extremity is the northernmost land area in the world. The Inland Ice, the large central ice sheet which covers about 1 756 000 km2 (c. 81%) of Greenland, has a maximum thickness of c. 3.4 km. The ice-free strip of land surrounding the Inland Ice, in places up to 300 km wide, has an area of c. 410 000 km2; this is approximately 30% more than that of the British Isles. This ice-free zone is generally very well exposed and yields a wealth of geolog- ical information, notably in fjord walls and in mountain- ous areas; even lowland areas only have a limited vegetation cover due to the arctic setting. The area of Greenland’s continental shelf that is underlain by continental crust is estimated to be approximately 825 000 km2. Geological observations in Greenland began with the first scientific expeditions; these reached West and East Green - land in the early 1800s and North Greenland in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Systematic geological mapping commenced in East Greenland with Lauge Koch’s ‘Danish Expeditions to East Greenland’, which lasted from 1926 until 1958 and were mainly concentrated in the region 72–76°N. In West Greenland systematic geological inves- tigations began in 1946 with the foundation of Grønlands Geologiske Undersøgelse (GGU – the Geological Survey of Greenland); work was initially concentrated in West Greenland but was subsequently extended to all parts of Greenland. Comprehensive investigations by GGU expanded to include not only geological mapping, but a wide range of geochemical, geophysical and glaciological studies both onshore and offshore. In 1995 GGU was merged with Danmarks Geologiske Undersøgelse (DGU – the Geological Survey of Denmark) to form the present Survey, De Nationale Geologiske Undersøgelser for Danmark og Grønland (GEUS – the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland). The broad range of geolog- ical activities in Greenland previously undertaken by GGU continues to be carried out by GEUS. When GGU published the first general geological map of all of Greenland at scale 1:2 500 000 in 1970, repre- sentation of the geology was restricted to onshore areas; rel- atively little was then known of the offshore geology. During the past almost 40 years the offshore areas surrounding Greenland have been investigated by airborne and ship borne geophysical surveys operated by the Survey, by other scientific institutions and by commercial companies. When the new edition of the geological map was printed in 1995 enough was known to enable an interpretation of the off- shore geology to be presented on the map, although it was emphasised that for some of the remote areas offshore North Greenland knowledge was very limited. Since 1995 a considerable amount of new information has been col- lected from the offshore areas. The new knowledge is reported in the chapter on offshore geology in the present description. There is a high petroleum exploration inter- est in many of the offshore sedimentary basins, and geo- logical knowledge of the offshore areas has been consid er - ably augmented as a result of commercial exploration. The Geological map of Greenland, 1:2 500 000, printed in 1995, is available in three formats: 1. A wall map (sheet size 96 × 120 cm). 2. A folded map sheet (24 × 20 cm, as in the pocket of this bulletin). 3. An atlas of numbered segments (24 × 20 cm when closed. An index to the 12 numbered segments of the map is shown as figure 1. The description of the map has been prepared with the needs of the professional geologist in mind; it requires knowledge of geological principles but not previous knowl- edge of Greenland geology. Throughout the text, reference is made to the key numbers in the map legend represent- ing geological units and indicated in square brackets [ ] (see legend explanation, p. 110), while a place names regis- ter (p. 113) and an index (p. 117) include place names, geo- logical topics, stratigraphic terms and units found in the legend. The extensive reference list is intended as a key to the most relevant information sources. The text has been compiled by N. Henriksen. Principal contributors include: N. Henriksen (several sections and illustrations); A.K. Higgins (Neoproterozoic – Lower Palaeozoic in North Greenland and Palaeozoic fold belts in North and North-East Green land); F. Kalsbeek (Precambrian shield and Palaeo– Mesoproterozoic deposits in North Greenland); T.C.R. Pulvertaft (offshore geology). Chapters which have been much revised have been externally reviewed (Precambrian shield by C.R.L. Friend; offshore geology by G.N. Oakey and mineral deposits and petro- leum potential by H. Stendal). Preface 12 A general overview of the geology of the whole of Greenland in the form of a coloured map sheet, the tec- tonic/geological map of Greenland, was published by the Geological Survey of Greenland (GGU) in 1970 at a scale of 1:2 500 000. Subsequently, much new infor- mation became available as a result of new systematic geol - ogical mapping in the ice-free land areas, notably in North, North-East and South-East Greenland, while off- shore areas were investigated by a series of seismic, gravi- metric and aeromagnetic surveys. The Inland Ice was also further investigated in the period 1970–1995 by regional satellite and airborne radar surveys as well as by ground studies and deep drilling through the more than 3000 m thick central part of the ice sheet. At the time of compilation in 1995 the map therefore included much new information from the ice-free land areas, and the off- shore regions were represented for the first time on a map at this scale. For the Inland Ice new representations of the upper and lower surface of the ice sheet were shown by contours, together with its calculated thick- ness. However, between 1995 and 2009 much additional information has been collected especially from the off- shore regions, and as a consequence the enclosed geological map of Greenland, 1:2 500 000 does not represent a fully up-to-date expression of the present knowledge on the geology. The 1995-depiction of the ice-free land areas is in general terms still satisfactory, as well as the repre- sentation of the Inland Ice. It is mainly in the offshore regions that new information has been added since 1995, and these developments are described in the chapters on offshore geology and petroleum potential of Greenland. Another field with new developments is that of mineral occurrences, which are addressed in the chapter on min- eral deposits. In order to relate the geology of Greenland to neigh- bouring countries within the borders of the map sheet, the geology of the adjacent areas of Canada and Iceland has been included, based on published maps (see map legend). The geology of the ice-free land areas on the 1:2 500 000 scale map has been compiled as a conventional bedrock geological map, together with representations of the major tectonic features in the orogenic belts. The pre- sentation of the geology of offshore areas follows a dif- ferent concept, as interpretations are based on geophysical information. Onshore superficial deposits of Quaternary age have been shown only where extensive areas of bedrock are covered. In many regions dykes are a prominent ele- ment of the geology, but as they only form a minor pro- portion of the exposures they cannot generally be represented at the scale of the map. A compilation of dykes of different ages is shown in this volume as Fig. 20 (p. 37). The Inland Ice and the many local ice caps and glac- iers are shown as one unit. The sea ice, which covers sub- stantial parts of the oceans bordering North and East Greenland for much of the year, is not depicted on the map. The term ‘Tertiary’ and division of the Proterozoic into early, middle and late, was used in the legend on the printed map in accordance with the standards of the early 1990s. In the present revised edition of the map descrip- tion the current conventions of Palaeogene/Neogene and Palaeo-, Meso- and Neoproterozoic are introduced. In the Precambrian descriptions the prefixes ‘early’, ‘middle’ and ‘late’ have been modernised to the subdivisions Eo, Palaeo, Meso and Neo for both Archaean and Proterozoic time and rock units. Concept of the geological legend Two different legend concepts have been used – one for the onshore ice-free areas and one for the offshore regions. In the legend for the ice-free land areas a distinction has been made between rocks older and younger than 1600 Ma. In the older group, which mainly comprises crystalline rocks of the stable Precambrian Greenland shield, the rock units are distinguished according to their lithology and age; the extent of regional tectono-meta- morphic provinces is also depicted. Rocks younger than 1600 Ma are shown in relation to the formation of sed- imentary basins and orogenic belts along the margins of the stable shield. The principal subdivisions depicted on the map illustrate the general depositional environment, age and extent of the main sedimentary and volcanic basins and, in the Franklinian Basin in North Greenland, the overall depositional setting. Younger crystalline gneis - ses and plutonic rocks are distinguished by lithology and age of orogenic formation and emplacement. A schematic chronological representation of the geological units shown on the map forms the basic division of the map legend. Introduction The structures and the ages of deformation in the var- ious orogenic belts are shown by structural trend lines and major tectonic features by appropriate symbols. Most orogenic belts are of composite origin and may incorporate older crystalline rocks and structures. It is often difficult or impossible to distinguish between the older and younger structural elements, and therefore only the signature for the youngest orogenic event has been used within a spe- cific fold belt. Post-orogenic undeformed rocks can be recognised by the absence of overprints of structural sym- bols. A cartoon of the crustal evolution of Greenland is shown above the legend. Six stages of evolution are shown from the Eoarchaean to the Cenozoic. These show the distribution in time and space of the orogenic belts and the stepwise growth of the stable crust. The post-orogenic development of sedimentary basins and volcanic provinces is also shown, together with the approximate extent of continental crust around Greenland. The legend concept for the offshore areas was based on geological interpretation of the available geophysical data. Distinction is made between areas underlain by continental and oceanic crust, respectively; a transition zone is also recognised. Areas with oceanic crust are fur- ther subdivided into time slices of 15 Ma based on mag- netic anomaly patterns. Magnetic anomaly lines with chron numbers are shown, together with spreading axes and transform faults. Major sedimentary basins are indi- cated by isopachs showing the sediment thickness super- imposed on a representation of crustal type. Volcanic rocks exposed on the seabed (mostly Palaeogene in age) are also shown. An updated overview map of the off- shore regions is shown on pp. 68 and 85. Topographic base The topographic base for the 1:2 500 000 geological map has been drawn on the basis of fixed points estab- lished throughout Greenland by Kort & Matrikelstyrelsen, Denmark (KMS – the National Survey and Cadastre, which incorporates the former Geodetic Institute). The map is constructed as a UTM projection in zone 24 with WGS 84 datum; the central meridian is 39°W. Photo - grammetric constructions by KMS and GGU have been combined and co-ordinated to produce the first geo- metrically correct topographic representation of all of Greenland. All previous maps have suffered to varying degrees from insufficient ground control, especially in North Greenland where errors in the location of topo- graphic features of up to 25 km occur on older maps. Height contours have been omitted on the ice-free land areas to avoid obscuring the geological detail, but they are shown on the Inland Ice. Place names are indicated in both their Greenlandic and Danish forms, the Greenlandic names with the new orthography as approved by the Greenland Place Names Authority. A register of place names used on the map is given on p. 113. The bathymetry of the offshore areas has been com- piled from various sources. The available material is very heterogeneous, ranging from very detailed navigation maps by the Royal Danish Hydrographic Office (now part of KMS) to generalised small-scale international oceanographic maps. Information from the ice-covered regions off North and East Greenland is limited; hydro- graphic representations from these areas should therefore be viewed with reservation. A topographic map of Greenland at a scale of 1:2 500 000 was published by KMS in 1994 (KMS 1994). The enclosed Geological map of Greenland at the same scale uses an identical topographic base map with the same projection; the only significant topographical difference is the omis- sion of contour lines on the land areas. Based on the dig- ital data for the topographic map, the size of Greenland and its ice cover has been computed by Weng (1995). The area figures are: Ice-free land area 410 449 km2 Ice-covered area 1 755 637 km2 Total area 2 166 086 km2 13 14 About half of the ice-free area of Greenland consists of Archaean and Palaeoproterozoic crystalline basement rocks, mainly orthogneisses with enclaves of supracrustal rocks. They belong to three distinct kinds of basement provinces (Fig. 2): (1) Archaean rocks (3200–2600 Ma with local older units, up to >3800 Ma in the Godt - håbsfjord region), strongly deformed during the Archaean but almost unaffected by Proterozoic or later orogenic activity; (2) Archaean terrains reworked during the Palaeo - proterozoic around 1900–1800 Ma ago; (3) terrains mainly composed of juvenile Palaeoproterozoic rocks (2000–1750 Ma). Terrains of categories (2) and (3) often contain high-grade Palaeoproterozoic metasedimentary successions. Nearly all unreworked Archaean gneisses occur within the Archaean craton of southern Greenland (Fig. 2). They are cut by swarms of mafic dykes (see Fig. 20), most of which were emplaced between 2200 and 2000 Ma ago; these dykes are generally undeformed and unmetamorphosed, demonstrating that the surround- ing gneisses cannot have been significantly affected by Palaeoproterozoic orogenic activity 1900–1800 Ma ago. Reworked Archaean orthogneisses are prominent in the Nagssugtoqidian orogen and the Rinkian fold belt north of the Archaean craton in West Greenland, and in the Ammassalik region in South-East Greenland (Fig. 2). Reworked Archaean gneisses are also exposed in a small area at Victoria Fjord in northernmost Greenland (c. 3400 Ma, Nutman et al. 2008a) and similar rocks have been found at a locality beneath the Inland Ice by drilling (Weis et al. 1997). Juvenile Palaeoproterozoic gneisses and granitoid rocks (2000–1750 Ma) make up most of the Ketilidian oro- gen of South Greenland and parts of the Inglefield oro- genic belt in North-West Greenland. They also form a large proportion of the crystalline basement within the Caledonian orogen of North-East Greenland. Before the opening of the Labrador Sea and Baffin Bugt the Precambrian basement of Greenland formed an inte- gral part of the Laurentian shield. A recent interpreta- tion of the relationships between geological provinces in eastern Canada and Greenland (St-Onge et al. 2009) is shown in Fig. 3. Crystalline rocks older than 1600 Ma: the Greenland Precambrian shield Upernavik Inglefield orogenic belt Victoria Fjord Uummannaq Disko Bugt Nuuk / Godthåb Isukasia Ketilidian orogen Archaean craton Rinkian fold belt Nagssugtoqidian orogen C aledonian fold belt Inland Ice Tasiilaq / Ammassalik GISP 2 400 km Preserved Archaean rocks Reworked Archaean rocks Juvenile Palaeoprote- rozoic rocks ++ Fig. 2. Simplified map showing the distribution of Archaean and Palaeoproterozoic basement provinces in Greenland. Large areas within the Rinkian fold belt are dominated by metasedimentary rocks ( : Karrat Group) and granites (+: Prøven igneous complex). Black dots and open circles indicate localities where the presence of, respectively, Archaean and Palaeoproterozoic rocks have been documented in poorly known areas, as well as in cases where these ages are in contrast to the age of the surrounding rocks. Slightly modified from Kalsbeek (1994). 15 Archaean craton Together with smaller areas along the coast of Labrador and in north-western Scotland, the Archaean rocks of southern Greenland (Figs 2, 3) form the North Atlantic craton. The Greenland Archaean is largely made up of tonalitic to granodioritic orthogneisses [72, 73], amphi- bolites [68] and anorthositic rocks [85]. Most of these rocks are of Meso- to Neoarchaean age, 3200–2600 Ma, but Eoarchaean ortho gneisses [76] and supracrusal rocks [69] (3850–3600 Ma) are widely exposed in the Godt - håbsfjord region. Before geochronological data became more widely available, the whole of the Greenland Archaean craton was envisaged to represent a more or less homogeneous geological entity. Detailed field investigations combined with U-Pb zircon age determinations, however, have ? Franklinian basin Karrat Group AasiaatAasiaat domaindomain RaeRae cratoncraton BaS 1.88–1.865 Ga SRS c. 1.845 Ga BeS 1.82–1.795 Ga TgS 1.87–1.85 Ga NIS 1.86–1.84 Ga DBS c. 1.88 Ga Superior craton Narsajuaq arc Makkovik- Ketilidian orogen c. 1.96–1.91 Ga c. 1.89–1.80 Ga North Atlantic craton Aasiaat domain Franklinian basin Rae craton Karrat Group E ast G reenland C aledonides Gl._Fig. - Nyt_Fig.03 Bulletin 185_2 26-08-09/2 Meta IncognitaMeta Incognita microcontinentmicrocontinent Meta Incognita microcontinent 250 km Archaean Palaeoproterozoic Julianehåb batholith Ketilidian–Makkovik orogen Prøven igneous complex, Cumberland batholith, Lac Lomier complex De Pas batholith and Narsajuaq arc Burwell arc Piling, Hoare Bay and Karrat groups Lake Harbour Group Ramah and Mugford groups Cape Smith – New Quebec orogen Inglefield orogenic belt and Ellesmere- Devon terrane Proterozoic basement in East Greenland Mary River Group Archaean microcontinental fragments Rae craton North Atlantic craton Superior craton Palaeogene magmatic province Phanerozoic orogens and basins Neoproterozoic–Palaeozoic basins Grenville orogen Gardar igneous province and Seal Lake Group Mesoproterozoic plutonic suites Palaeo- to Neoproterozoic basins Mesoproterozoic–Phanerozoic Ice Fig. 3. Map showing the presently preferred correlation of principal geological units of eastern Canada and Greenland, shown with Greenland in its pre-drift (pre-late Cretaceous) position relative to eastern Canada, simplified after St-Onge et al. (2009). BaS: Baffin suture; BeS: Bergeron suture; DBS: Disko Bugt suture; NIS: Nordre Isortoq steep belt; SRS: Soper River suture; TgS: Tasiuyak gneiss suture. The approximate ages of the different sutures illustrate the progressive accretion of crustal blocks from north to south in Greenland during the Palaeoproterozoic. For details see St-Onge et al. (2009) and papers referred to therein. 16 Block boundary Transition between lower and upper crustal zones Mainly upper crustal zone Lower crustal zone Retrograde amphibolite facies Granulite facies Ketilidian orogen Proterozoic Archaean Late-tectonic TTG plutons and granitic rocks Orthogneiss Metavolcanic belt Eoarchaean gneiss Post-kinematic norites Anorthosite complex Prograde amphibolite facies 64° 62° 52° Q Q Ta Nagssugtoqidian front Ta Ta T Ketilidian front ? ? ? Nuuk Kangerlussuaq 64° 51° 50 km Julianehåb batholith Supracrustal rocks Reworked Archaean rocks Granitic rocks Orthogneiss Granulite facies Anorthosite complex Supracrustal rocks Eoarchaean gneisses Palaeoproterozoic Mesoproterozoic Gardar igneous province Archaean Q Q D A V I S S T R A I T Aasivik ISUKASIA AKIA FÆRINGEHAVN TASIUSARSSUAQ TRE BRØDRE SIORAQ PAAMIUT NERIA SERMILIGAARSUK KAPISILIK Qarliit Taserssuat assemblage Q Ta TUNO I N L A N D I C E A B M A N IIT S O Q F IS K E - F JO R D G O D T H Å B S F JO R D - A M E R A LIK B E LT S E R M ILIK B JØ R N E S U N D K V A N E F JO R D IV IT T U U T I A B I North Atlantic craton Fig. 4. Maps of the Archaean craton, southern West Greenland. A: The subdivision in terranes/blocks with distinct geological histories (see text) after Friend & Nutman (2001). T, Târtoq Group; I, Ilivertalik augen granite; Q, Qôrqut granite complex; Ta, Taserssuaq tonalite. B: The subdivision in tilted blocks, each of which has granulite facies rocks in its northern parts and rocks at amphibolite facies in the south after Windley & Garde (2009). shown that areas with contrasting tectonometamorphic histories (‘terranes’) occur side by side, separated by folded mylonite zones (Friend et al. 1987, 1988). In the Godt - håbsfjord region Friend et al. (1987) recognised three such terranes, the Færingehavn, Tre Brødre, and Tasiu - sarssuaq terranes, each with its characteristic rock asso- ciation and metamorphic history. The subdivision of the Godthåbsfjord region into terranes has since been repeat- edly revised and refined as more geochronologic infor- mation became available (e.g. Friend & Nutman 2005; Nutman & Friend 2007). The validity of the terrane model has locally been verified (Crowley 2002) but else- where questioned (Hanmer et al. 2002). After its intro- duction in the Godthåbsfjord region the terrane model has also been applied to other parts of the Archaean cra- ton (Friend & Nutman 2001), see Fig. 4A. Because of the large areal extent of the Archaean rocks many details of the subdivision of the craton into terranes are still to be clarified. The different terranes are envisaged once to have formed independent crustal blocks (perhaps frag- ments of an earlier Archaean continent) that were amal- gamated during the Neoarchaean. Recently, Windley & Garde (2009) have subdivided the Archaean craton of western Greenland into six slightly tilted blocks, separated by shear zones, each of which expose granulite facies rocks in the north and (prograde) amphi- bolite facies rocks in the south (Fig. 4B). Rock units inter- preted as remnants of island arcs are exposed in supracrustal belts in the low-grade parts of these blocks. Rocks retro- graded from granulite facies to amphibolite facies com- monly occur in the northern and central parts of these blocks. The paper of Windley & Garde (2009) contains an extensive overview of research carried out in the region. Eoarchaean supracrustal rocks The Isua supracrustal sequence [69] (3700–3800 Ma, Moorbath et al. 1973) in the Isukasia area (Fig. 2) at the head of Nuup Kangerlua/Godthåbsfjord is the most extensive occurrence of Eoarchaean supracrustal rocks known on Earth. It forms a zone up to 4 km wide and up to c. 35 km long and has been investigated in con- siderable detail. A recent review of earlier studies together with new data and geological maps at 1:20 000 is pre- sented by Nutman & Friend (2009). These authors sub- divide the Isukasia area into two tectonic units (terranes), with rocks up to 3700 Ma in the north and >3800 Ma in the south. The supracrustal rocks comprise: (1) lay- ered and massive amphibolites, within which pillow structures are locally preserved; (2) metacherts and a major body of banded iron formation (Fig. 5); (3) biotite- muscovite schists, some of which preserve graded bed- ding; (4) units of talc schist, up to 100 m wide, with relics of dunite; (5) layered carbonate and calc-silicate rocks, strongly affected by metasomatic activity and (6) bod- ies of pale chloritic amphibolite (‘garbenschiefer’) up to 1 km wide, which form c. 25% of the supracrustal belt, and probably represent metasomatically altered metavol- canic rocks. All these rocks have been strongly deformed and metamorphosed at amphibolite facies conditions. Geochemical studies of the least altered amphibolites have shown that they have tholeiitic and boninitic com- positions, similar to modern basaltic rocks formed in oceanic island arcs (Polat et al. 2002; Polat & Hoffman 2003). Outside the Isukasia area enclaves of supracrustal rocks, mainly amphibolites of tholeiitic or komatiitic composition, occur as thin units within Eoarchaean gneisses. These supracrustal rocks have been collectively 17 Fig. 5. Eoarchaean banded iron formation consisting of interlayered magnetite (dark layers) and chert (light layers). Isua supracrustal sequence, Isukasia, inner Godthåbsfjord, southern West Greenland. Pen for scale. Photo: A.A. Garde. termed the Akilia association [69], and are thought to represent remnants of a disrupted greenstone belt (McGregor & Mason 1977). Studies of graphite parti- cles in samples of Isua metasedimentary rocks have yielded evidence of very early life on Earth (Rosing 1999). Eoarchaean (‘Amîtsoq’) gneisses Eoarchaean orthogneisses (Fig. 6), previously known as Amîtsoq gneisses and shown under that name on the geo- logical map [76], occur in an area stretching north-east from Nuuk/Godthåb to Isukasia. They are characterised by the presence of abundant remnants of metamor- phosed basic dykes (Ameralik dykes, Fig. 20; McGregor 1973). The precursors of the gneisses were formed dur- ing a number of distinct intrusive events between c. 3800 and 3600 Ma (Moorbath et al. 1972; Nutman et al. 2004). Because of the diversity in age and origin of the Eoarchaean rocks Nutman et al. (1996) introduced the term Itsaq Gneiss Complex to include all Eoarchaean rocks in the Godthåbsfjord region. The term Amîtsoq gneisses is rarely used in newer publications. Two main types of Eoarchaean orthogneisses (not dif- ferentiated on the geological map) can be recognised: (1) Grey, banded to homogeneous tonalitic to granodioritic orthogneisses of calc-alkaline affinity (commonly with sec- ondary pegmatite banding) which form at least 80% of the outcrop. The oldest of these have been dated at c. 3850 Ma (for overview see Nutman et al. 2004), although these very old dates have been questioned (e.g., Whitehouse et al. 1999); (2) Microcline augen gneisses with associated sub- ordinate ferrodiorites (c. 3600 Ma), which have been referred to as the Amîtsoq iron-rich suite (Nutman et al. 1984). The latter resemble Proterozoic rapakivi granites and were intruded after strong deformation of the surrounding grey banded gneisses. Most Eoarchaean gneisses are in amphi- bolite facies, but locally the rocks have been affected by c. 3600 Ma granulite facies metamorphism possibly related to emplacement of the Amîtsoq iron-rich suite. After compilation of the geological map Eoarchaean orthogneisses have also been found north of the Godt - 18 Fig. 6. Heterogeneous, polyphase Eoarchaean (Amîtsoq) gneiss in the central part of northern Godthåbsfjord, southern West Greenland. Fragments of dark homogeneous amphibolite are interpreted as remnants of disrupted mafic (Ameralik) dykes. The hammer is c. 45 cm long. Photo: A.A. Garde. håbsfjord region, at Qarliit Tasersuat (65°49´N, 50°44´W) and in a larger area east of Sukkertoppen Iskappe, the Aasivik terrane (Rosing et al. 2001; Fig. 4A). Meso- and Neoarchaean supracrustal rocks Ten to twenty per cent of the Archaean craton is made up of a variety of supracrustal rocks [68], mainly amphi- bolites with subordinate paragneisses (often garnetifer- ous ± cordierite ± sillimanite) and ultramafic layers and pods. Amphibolites represent the oldest rocks recognised within each terrane; primary cover–basement relation- ships with underlying rocks have not been observed. Few reliable age determinations for these rocks are available, but it is evident that they belong to several different age groups. Amphibolites locally show well-preserved pil- low structures indicating a submarine volcanic origin. Intense deformation, however, has generally obliterated all primary structures and produced finely layered amphi- bolites. More massive amphibolites may represent orig- inal basic sills within the volcanic pile. The amphibolites range from andesitic to komatiitic in composition; the majority are chemically similar to low-K tholeiitic basalts. Two typical examples of Mesoarchaean supracrustal units are: (1) Andesitic metavolcanic rocks in the south- eastern Akia terrane (Fig. 4A) that have been dated at 3070 Ma. On the basis of field observations and chemical data they have been interpreted as parts of a Mesoarchaean island arc (Garde 2007a). (2) A several kilometres thick, relatively well preserved succession of supracrustal rocks in the southernmost part of the Archaean craton, the Târtoq Group (T, Fig. 4A; Higgins 1968; Berthelsen & Henriksen 1975), which consists of metavolcanic green- schists and metasedimentary rocks. While the youngest detrital zircons in a metasedimentary sample are c. 2840 Ma (Nutman et al. 2004), greenschists at a different locality are cut by sheets of 2940 Ma tonalite (Nutman & Kalsbeek 1994). Apparently the Târtoq Group con- sists of supracrustal packages of varying ages, illustrat- ing once more the geological complexity of the Archaean craton. Metasedimentary rocks occur only locally. Geochron - ological data on detrital zircons suggest a variety of ages (Nutman et al. 2004). While the youngest zircons in most of the investigated samples are c. 2800 Ma (in sam- ples from the Godthåbs fjord region c. 3000 Ma), a sam- ple from Hamborgerland, north of Maniitsoq/Suk - kertoppen, has zircons as young as 2720 Ma. Eoarchaean zircons are rare or absent in all of the investigated sam- ples, supporting the view that the Eoarchaean terranes were separated from the other terranes until the Archaean craton was united by terrane amalgamation during the Neoarchaean. Most supracrustal units are complexly folded and, since they form good marker horizons, they have been used to reveal the intricate structure of the enveloping gneiss complexes. Anorthositic rocks Metamorphosed calcic anorthosites and associated leuco- gabbroic, gabbroic and ultramafic rocks [85] form one of the most distinctive rock associations in the Archaean craton. Such rocks are present in all the terranes, and detailed investigation has revealed subtle geochemical variations between anorthosites from different terranes (Dymek & Owens 2001). Anorthositic rocks occur as concordant layers and trains of inclusions within gneisses, and provide some of the best marker horizons for map- ping structures on a regional scale. They are generally bord - ered by amphibolites into which they are believed to have been intruded. Anorthosites and associated rocks are most spectacu- larly developed in the Fiskenæsset area of southern West Greenland where they form c. 5% of the total outcrop. Here they appear to belong to a single stratiform intru- sion, the Fiskenæsset complex (Myers 1985), which has been dated at c. 2850 Ma (Ashwal et al. 1989). The main rock types are metamorphosed anorthosites, leucogab- bros and gabbros (<10%, 10–35% and 35–65% mafic minerals, respectively), together with minor proportions of ultramafic rocks and chromitite (Ghisler 1976). Although the rocks are commonly strongly deformed, magmatic structures are preserved in low-strain areas: cumulus textures with plagioclase up to 10 cm in size are common and igneous layering can be observed at many localities. The Fiskenæsset complex has undergone com- plex folding. The earliest major folds were recumbent iso- clines; these were refolded by two later fold phases producing structures with steeply inclined axial surfaces (Myers 1985). Meso- and Neoarchaean gneisses Most of the Archaean craton is composed of Mesoar - chaean grey orthogneisses [72, 73]. In accordance with the notion that the craton comprises a number of indi- vidual terranes, variable ages have been reported (for a detailed overview see Windley & Garde 2009). In the Akia terrane (Fig. 4A) of West Greenland ages up to 19 20 3220 Ma occur (Garde 1997), whereas farther south iso- topic ages are generally less than 3000 Ma. The 2825 Ma Ikkattoq gneisses in the Tre Brødre terrane, Godthåbsfjord region (Friend et al. 2009), are an example of these younger gneisses. The Ikkatoq gneisses are mainly of gra- nodioritic composition, with subordinate quartz diorite. Sm-Nd isotope data indicate that Eoarchaean sources played a significant role in their petrogenesis. The igneous precursors of the Archaean gneisses were intruded as sub-concordant sheets and larger complexes that penetrated and disrupted (‘exploded’) pre-existing basic metavolcanic units and anorthositic rocks (Fig. 7); the gneisses commonly occupy much larger volumes than the older rocks into which they were intruded. Individual gneiss sheets range from a few metres to sev- eral kilometres in width. It has been suggested that intru- sion of granitoid magmas was associated with periods of thrusting (Bridgwater et al. 1974). Most of the gneisses are tonalitic to granodioritic in composition and form typical TTG (Tonalite, Trond - hjemite, Granodiorite) suites. A statistical study in the Fiskenæsset area (c. 4000 km2) has shown that such gneisses make up c. 85% of the outcrop area. Tonalitic gneisses (K-feldspar <10%) form c. 57%, granodioritic gneisses (K-feldspar 10–20%) c. 9%, and granitic gneisses (K-feldspar >20%) c. 16% of the terrain (Kalsbeek 1976). Large parts of the craton are occupied by granulite fa - cies gneisses [73]. Granulite facies metamorphism, how- ever, was not synchronous throughout the area: north of Nuuk/Godthåb it is 3000–3100 Ma (Garde 1990; Friend & Nutman 1994), whereas in the Fiskenæsset area it is c. 2800 Ma (Pidgeon & Kalsbeek 1978) and north of Maniitsoq/Sukkertoppen c. 2750 Ma (Friend & Nutman 1994). Commonly the age of granulite facies metamor- phism is similar to that of the igneous precursors of the gneisses. In granulite facies terrains hypersthene is most common in amphibolites, whereas in orthogneisses its presence depends on chemical composition. Regional surveys of stream sediment geochemistry have shown that the distribution of several lithophile elements is strongly correlated with metamorphic facies variations (Fig. 8; Steenfelt 1994). Two kinds of amphibolite facies gneisses [72] can be distinguished: those formed by retrogression of granulite facies rocks, and those that were formed by prograde meta- morphism and never experienced granulite facies condi- tions. These two kinds have not been differentiated on the geological map because criteria to recognize retrograded granulite facies rocks (McGregor & Friend 1997) were not available during the early mapping. An overview of the distribution of prograde and retrograde amphibolite facies gneisses in southern West Greenland is presented by Windley & Garde (2009) and is here shown in Fig. 4B. Commonly the gneisses show complex fold interfer- ence structures (e.g. Berthelsen 1960; Fig. 9). Formation of gneisses by deformation and migmatisation of their igneous precursors has been described in detail by Myers (1978), and a detailed description of the complex evo- lution of the Fiskefjord area, north of Godthåbsfjord, has been presented by Garde (1997). Intrusive rocks Within the Archaean craton a variety of homogeneous granitic to tonalitic rock units have been differentiated on the map as felsic intrusions [80]. These rocks were em placed at various times during the tectonic evolution of the areas in which they occur. Some, e.g. the c. 2980 Fig. 7. Amphibolite agmatite with numerous sheets of tonalite, gra- nodiorite, granite and pegmatite, dated at 3.0–2.97 Ga. South-fac- ing, c. 40 m high cliff in central Godthåbsfjord, southern West Greenland. Person in red anorak for scale. Photo: A.A. Garde. Ma Taserssuaq tonalite north of inner Godthåbsfjord (Ta, Fig. 4A; Garde 1997), represent late phases of the igneous precursors of the gneisses in areas where defor- mation was less intense than elsewhere. Others, e.g. the 2835 Ma Ilivertalik augen granite in the Tasiusarsuaq terrane (I, Fig. 4A; Pidgeon et al. 1976) are younger than the surrounding gneisses, but have been strongly over- printed by later deformation and metamorphism. One rock unit, the 2550 Ma Qôrqut granite complex [79] east of Nuuk/Godthåb (Q, Fig. 4A; Friend et al. 1985), was formed by late crustal melting and is clearly post- tectonic. A distinct 2700 Ma suite of very well-preserved post- tectonic intermediate and mafic intrusions, including gabbros and diorites [82] as well as syenites and granites [80], occurs within Archaean gneisses in the Skjoldungen district of South-East Greenland (Nielsen & Rosing 1990; Blichert-Toft et al. 1995). It is associated with older syenitic gneisses [80] and with a late nephelinite body, the 2670 Ma Singertât complex [83]. Small norite bodies [82] occur within an arcuate belt east of Maniitsoq/Sukkertoppen (Secher 1983), and a small 3007 Ma carbonatite sheet [84] (the oldest car- bonatite known on Earth) has been found at Tupertalik, 65°30´N in West Greenland (Larsen & Pedersen 1982; Larsen & Rex 1992; Bizzarro et al. 2002). Palaeoproterozoic orogenic terrains About forty per cent of the ice-free area of Greenland is underlain by Palaeoproterozoic orogenic terrains (Fig. 2). North of the Archaean craton lies the Nagssugtoqidian oro- gen, which continues beneath the Inland Ice to South-East Greenland. Still farther north are the Rinkian fold belt and the Inglefield orogenic belt of West and North-West Greenland, and south of the Archaean craton lies the Ketilidian orogen (Fig. 2). The Nagssugtoqidian orogen and Rinkian fold belt largely consist of reworked Archaean rocks that underwent strong deformation and metamor- phism during the Palaeoproterozoic 1900–1850 Ma ago, while the Inglefield and Ketilidian orogens contain large proportions of juvenile Palaeoproterozoic crust. Recent investigations have suggested that the Greenland shield was formed by progressive accretion of crustal blocks, from northernmost Greenland to the south (Nutman et al. 2008b; St-Onge et al. 2009). Archaean rocks of the Rinkian fold belt were united with an Archaean block in northernmost Greenland along the Inglefield orogenic belt around 1920 Ma (Nutman et al. 2008a). Archaean gneisses of the Nagssugtoqidian orogen were then accreted 21 45°W45°W 61.761.7 40.140.1 29.529.5 19.019.0 13.613.6 10.410.4 8.28.2 6.46.4 5.25.2 4.04.0 3-13-1 2.12.1 1.71.7 1.11.1 0.80.8 0.10.1 UU ppmppm Granulite facies gneiss 50 Km 62°N 64°N 66°N 51°W 51°W 45°W 54°W 61.7 40.1 29.5 19.0 13.6 10.4 8.2 6.4 5.2 4.0 3-1 2.1 1.7 1.1 0.8 0.1 U ppm Fig. 8. Map showing the variation in uranium concentrations in the <0.1 mm fraction of stream sediments from the Archaean craton of southern West Greenland (Steenfelt 2001). There is a close correla- tion between U concentrations and the metamorphic grade of the underlying rocks (Fig. 4 B), stream sediments from granulite facies terrains having low U compared to those from amphibolite grade areas. 22 to the Rinkian/Inglefield/North Greenland block at c. 1870 Ma along a suture within Disko Bugt (Connelly & Thrane 2005; Thrane et al. 2005; Connelly et al. 2006). Collision within the Nagssugtoqidian orogen followed around 1850 Ma (Connelly et al. 2000), and batholitic rocks of the Ketilidian orogen were accreted to the Archaean craton 1850–1800 Ma ago (Garde et al. 2002). Many details of this process are still uncertain. The largest area of juvenile Palaeoproterozoic rocks in Greenland (600 km along strike and up to 300 km in width) occurs in the Caledonian thrust sheets of North- East Greenland. Its relationships with the other Palaeo - proterozoic terrains in Greenland are unknown. Nagssugtoqidian orogen, West Greenland The distinction of the Nagssugtoqidian orogen in West Greenland from the Archaean craton to the south was first noted by Ramberg (1949). A swarm of basic dykes, the Kangâmiut dykes (2040 Ma; Nutman et al. 1999; Mayborn & Lescher 2006), which are well preserved in the Archaean craton to the south, become increasingly deformed and metamorphosed on entering the Nag - ssugtoqidian orogen (see Fig. 20). This orogen (Fig. 2; van Gool et al. 2002) extends from Søndre Strømfjord to Disko Bugt in West Greenland and continues south- eastwards beneath the Inland Ice to the Ammassalik region in South-East Greenland. It mainly consists of reworked Archaean gneisses [74, 75] (Connelly & Mengel 2000) but also includes Palaeoproterozoic supracrustal and intrusive rocks [67, 78, 81]. In West Greenland main structures trend ENE–WSW, and the orogen exhibits a number of prominent ENE-trending shear zones (among which is the Nordre Strømfjord shear zone; K. Sørensen et al. 2006) that separate areas characterised by open folding. The peak of Proterozoic tectonic and metamorphic activity was at c. 1850 Ma (Taylor & Kalsbeek 1990) when large parts of the orogen under- went granulite facies metamorphism. High-grade meta- 2 km pyroxene-amphibolite unit Surface of an upper Surface of a lower pyroxene-amphibolite unit Fig. 9. Structural stereogram of the western Toqqusap Nunaa area north of Atammik (c. 65°N), southern West Greenland, showing complex fold structures in the late Archaean gneiss complex. Slightly modified from Berthelsen (1960). morphism was followed by an extended period of uplift and cooling (Willigers et al. 2002). Palaeoproterozoic orogenic activity is believed to be related to collision of two Archaean continents, with one or more sutures pre- sent within the Nagssugtoqidian orogen (Kalsbeek et al. 1987; van Gool et al. 2002; Garde & Hollis in press). The reconstruction of St-Onge et al. (2009) shown in Fig. 3 displays two main sutures, which delimit an inter- jacent region termed the Aasiaat domain. The north- western part of this region appears only to have been little affected by Palaeoproterozoic deformation and metamorphism (e.g. Mazur et al. 2006; Stendal et al. 2006). Tectonically emplaced lenses of metaperidotite of apparent mantle origin are common along thrusts that separate Archaean and Palaeoproterozoic rocks in the central part of the orogen (Kalsbeek & Manatschal 1999). Supracrustal rocks Palaeoproterozoic supracrustal units, dominated by pelitic and semipelitic metasedimentary rocks, are prominent in the central part of the Nagssugtoqidian orogen [67]. Marble and calc-silicate rocks are common within these units, and pelitic rocks may be rich in graphite. Deposition of these units took place between c. 2000 and 1920 Ma ago: they are cut by sheets of 1910 Ma quartz diorite, and the youngest detrital zircons are c. 2000 Ma old (Nutman et al. 1999). Small islands NE of Aasiaat/ Egedesminde expose well preserved c. 1850 Ma tholei- itic pillow lavas, chloritic and aluminous shales, man- ganiferous BIF etc., interpreted to represent ocean floor and distal turbidite deposits (Garde & Hollis in press). Within the Nagssugtoqidian orogen Archaean meta - sedimentary rocks [68] are also present, for example at the southern shore of Disko Bugt (Hollis et al. 2006). They are not easily distinguished in the field from Proterozoic rocks and, since isotopic age determinations were few at the time of map compilation, not all supracrustal sequences shown on the map have been assigned to the correct age category. For example, a metasedimentary unit at Ler sletten, south-east of Aasiaat/Egedesminde (68°24’N, 51°14’W), indicated as Archaean on the geological map, has been shown to be 23 Fig. 10. Nagssugtoqidian orogen. Rock face at south side of inner Nordre Strømfjord/Nassuttooq, southern West Greenland, showing tec- tonic contact between pale Archaean tonalitic gneisses and overlying dark dioritic gneisses (Arfersiorfik quartz diorite) and supracrustal rocks of Palaeoproterozoic age. Thin slices of marble and calc-silicates occur at the contact and within the Archaean gneisses. The height of section is c. 350 m. Photo: J.A.M. van Gool. 24 Palaeoproterozoic in age (c. 1900 Ma; Thrane & Connelly 2006). The involvement of Palaeoproterozoic supracrustal rocks in complex fold structures and shear zones in the central part of the belt shows that the deformation was of Proterozoic age. Felsic and intermediate intrusions Only a few granitic and quartz-dioritic intrusive bodies are shown on the map. Some are Archaean [80], whereas others are of Palaeoproterozoic age [78]. A large sheet of quartz diorite [81], the Arfersiorfik quartz diorite, dated at 1910 Ma, occurs close to the border of the Inland Ice at 68°N (Henderson 1969; Kalsbeek et al. 1987; K. Sørensen et al. 2006; van Gool & Marker 2007); it is folded and strongly deformed at its margins, but igneous textures and minerals are preserved in its cen- tre. Strongly deformed Proterozoic quartz-dioritic to tonalitic rocks (not shown on the map) also occur within reworked Archaean gneisses south of the main quartz- diorite body. Together they have been interpreted as rem- nants of a Palaeoproterozoic arc, tectonically interleaved with the Archaean rocks (Fig. 10; Kalsbeek et al. 1987; van Gool et al. 2002). They range in age from 1920 to 1885 Ma (Connelly et al. 2000). A large area (c. 30 × 50 km) east and north-east of Sisimiut/Holsteinsborg is made up of Palaeoproterozoic (1910–1870 Ma) hypersthene gneisses, the Sisimiut intrusive complex (Kalsbeek & Nutman 1996; Connelly et al. 2000; van Gool et al. 2002). In the field these can- not easily be distinguished from Archaean rocks that occur farther east and, since no age determinations on these rocks were available at the time of map compila- tion, all the rocks in this area are shown on the map as Archaean, overprinted by Proterozoic granulite facies metamorphism [75]. Nagssugtoqidian orogen in South-East Greenland Aeromagnetic data show a continuation of the Nag - ssugtoqidian orogen from West Greenland beneath the Inland Ice to South-East Greenland (Fig. 11). Here Palaeo - proterozoic orogenic activity has been documented from 64°30´N to 68°N (Fig. 2) on the basis of deformation and high-grade metamorphism, up to eclogite facies, of mafic dykes. This region, centred around the town of Tassilaq/Ammassalik, is dominated by reworked Archaean gneisses [74, 75] which were tectonically interleaved with metasedimentary rocks during the Palaeoproterozoic (Fig. 12; Chadwick et al. 1989; Kalsbeek 1989). Juvenile Palaeoproterozoic intrusive rocks [81] and post-tectonic (c. 1680 Ma) granite bodies [78] are also present. Palaeoproterozoic pelitic metasedimentary rocks [67] are common and locally contain abundant kyanite; thick marble units also occur. Archaean anorthositic rocks [85] are present in a few places. A detailed geochronological study of rocks and structures in the Ammassalik region has recently been reported by Nutman et al. (2008b). Before the continuity of the Nagssugtoqidian orogenic belt from West- to South-East Greenland was satisfactorily documented, the latter area was termed the Ammassalik mobile belt (Kalsbeek 1989), but this term should now be abandoned. Palaeoproterozoic plutonic rocks A suite of 1885 Ma leuconoritic and charnockitic intru- sive rocks [81], the Ammassalik Intrusive Complex (AIC), occurs as a row of WNW–ESE-trending intrusions at 65°30’N in the centre of the East Greenland Nag - 200 km 65° 70° 70°70° 45°45° 400 200 100 150 50 0 –50 –100 –150 –200 –300 (nT) 45° 70° 40° or og en Ketilidian orogen N ag ss ug to qi di an Fig. 11. Aeromagnetic map of southern Greenland showing the con- tinuity of the Nagssugtoqidian orogen from West to South-East Greenland. Data from Verhoef et al. (1996). 25 ssugtoqidian orogen (Friend & Nutman 1989). It was emplaced into a succession of sedimentary rocks, in which it caused widespread anatexis and produced gar- net-rich granitic gneisses [71]. The AIC is interpreted by Nutman et al. (2008b) as a Palaeoproterozoic arc, which was caught between Archaean crustal units during the Nagssugtoqidian collision c. 1870 Ma ago. Palaeoproterozoic quartz-dioritic to tonalitic intru- sions [81] occur locally; one is shown just north of lat- itude 66°N and has been dated at 1900 Ma (Nutman et al. 2008b). Palaeoproterozoic gneisses, formed locally by deformation of such intrusive rocks, are not distin- guished on the map. Scattered post-tectonic granite plutons [78] associ- ated with diorite and local gabbro occur over the central part of the East Greenland Nagssugtoqidian orogen. Their isotopic age is about 1680 Ma (Kalsbeek et al. 1993a), much younger than the peak of tectonic and metamorphic activity in the belt at c. 1870 Ma (Nutman et al. 2008b). Isotopic data show that the granites con- tain major proportions of crustally derived material (Taylor et al. 1984). Rinkian fold belt The Rinkian fold belt (Henderson & Pulvertaft 1987; Grocott & Pulvertaft 1990) lies to the north of the Nagssugtoqidian orogen in West Greenland between lat- itudes 69°30´N and 75°N (Fig. 2). North of Nuussuaq it is characterised by the presence of a several kilometres thick Palaeoproterozoic sedimentary succession, the Karrat Group [62], which overlies and is interfolded with reworked Archaean gneisses [74]. It has been dif- ficult in the field to define a distinct boundary between the Nagssugtoqidian and Rinkian belts. However, Fig. 12. Nagssugtoqidian orogen in South-East Greenland. Archaean gneisses reworked during the Palaeoproterozoic in granulite and retro- grade granulite facies, with supracrustal layers consisting of amphibolite and paragneis. East of northernmost Sermilik (c. 66°30´N), South- East Greenland. The prominent summit is 1750 m high; relief seen is c. 1500 m. Photo: J.C. Escher. 26 Connelly & Thrane (2005) observed a significant change in Pb-isotopic compositions of K-feldspar in granitoid rocks across a high-strain belt at c. 69°30´N in Disko Bugt, and suggested that this belt of strong deformation rep- resents the suture between two large crustal blocks. They proposed that the northern, Rinkian block forms part of the Rae craton of northern Canada, and that the south- ern, Nagssugtoqidian block is the northernmost (de - formed) part of the North Atlantic craton (Fig. 3). The areas around Qeqertarsuup Tunua/Disko Bugt and the region north of Nuussuaq are described separately below. Archaean and Palaeoproterozoic supracrustal rocks: Disko Bugt and Nuussuaq The geology of the area around Disko Bugt has been described in detail by Garde & Steenfelt (1999) and a geological map at 1:250 000 (Garde 1994) is included in their paper. Supracrustal rocks occur throughout the area. Two representative examples: (1) In north-eastern Disko Bugt an arcuate Archaean greenstone belt con- sists of basic and acid metavolcanic rocks [68, 66]. The basic rocks, mainly greenschists and meta-pillow lavas, contain a subvolcanic sill complex of gabbros and dole - rites [82] (Marshall & Schønwandt 1999). This belt is intruded by the 2800 Ma Atâ igneous complex (Kalsbeek & Skjernaa 1999; see below). (2) Another supracrustal belt runs along the south coast of Nuussuaq. In contrast to most other supracrustal units this belt was demonstrably deposited upon older gneisses. It consists of mafic and ultramafic metavolcanic rocks with rhyolites, metasedi- mentary schists, banded iron formation and minor exhal- itive rocks with widespread, but low-grade gold min - e ralisation. A rhyolite from this belt has yielded an age of c. 2850 Ma (Connelly et al. 2006). The Archaean rocks of north-eastern Disko Bugt are unconformably overlain by a Palaeoproterozoic sedi- mentary succession [62], the Anap nunâ Group, which has been correlated with the Karrat Group farther north (see below). The Anap nunâ Group consists of a lower unit of marble and orthoquartzite overlain by thick shal- low-water siltstones and sandstones. Although the rocks are folded, Palaeoproterozoic deformation and meta- morphism are at a minimum (Garde & Steenfelt 1999). Parts of the succession have suffered intensive metaso- matic albitisation (Kalsbeek 1992). Gneisses and intrusions: Disko Bugt and Nuussuaq Reworked Archaean gneisses [74] in the Disko Bugt region are similar to those of the Nagssugtoqidian oro- gen. On Nuussuaq they show flat-lying tectonic fabrics and contain anorthosite bodies [85] and dioritic intru- sions [82] (Garde & Steenfelt 1999). North-east of Disko Bugt, 2800 Ma tonalitic rocks of the Atâ intrusive com- plex [80] hardly show any signs of Archaean or Protero - zoic deformation. This complex was emplaced into the arcuate Archaean greenstone belt [68] mentioned above and retains many magmatic features (Kalsbeek & Skjernaa 1999). New geochronological data for the Disko Bugt region, together with an overview of earlier information, have been presented by Connelly et al. (2006). The old- est age (3030 Ma) was obtained from a dioritic intru- sion within amphibolites on south-eastern Nuussuaq. Palaeoproterozoic supracrustal rocks north of Nuussuaq: the Karrat Group The geology of the Rinkian fold belt in the area north of Nuussuaq is depicted on the 1:500 000 Geological map of Greenland, Sheet 4, Upernavik Isfjord (Escher 1985). In this region, the Karrat Group [62] is widely expo sed over a 400 km coastal stretch north of Uummannaq (Fig. 2). It was deposited unconformably on Archaean crystalline basement rocks between c. 2000 Ma (U-Pb ages of the youngest detrital zircons; Kalsbeek et al. 1998a) and the emplacement of the Prøven igneous complex [78] at c. 1870 Ma (Thrane et al. 2005). The Karrat Group under- went high-grade metamorphism at relatively low pres- sure at around 1870 Ma (Taylor & Kalsbeek 1990). The Karrat Group has been divided into three forma- tions (Henderson & Pulvertaft 1987). The two lower for- mations, the Mârmorilik Formation (up to 1.6 km, Garde 1978) and Qeqertarssuaq Formation (more than 2 km, Fig. 13), comprise shelf and rift-type sediments, domi- nated respectively by marbles and clastic sediments with minor volcanic rocks. These two formations may be cor- relatives, originally separated by a basement high. At 71°07´N, 51°W the Mârmorilik Formation hosted the now exhausted Black Angel lead-zinc mine (Thomassen 1991). Lead-zinc mineralisation has also been observed at other localities in the region. The upper formation, the Nûkavsak Formation, with a minimum structural thickness of 5 km, is a typical tur- bidite flysch succession. Extensive tight folding makes estimates of the stratigraphic thickness of the Karrat Group uncertain. Proterozoic sedimentary successions 27 similar to the Karrat Group occur in the Foxe fold belt on the western side of Baffin Bugt in north-eastern Canada (the Piling and Penhryn Groups; Henderson & Tippet 1980; Henderson 1983) suggesting correlation of the Rinkian belt of Greenland and the Foxe fold belt of Canada (see Fig. 3). Connelly et al. (2006) suggest that the Karrat Group was deposited on the passive margin of the Rae craton before collision with the North Atlantic craton. The Karrat Group and its underlying crystalline base- ment are complexly interfolded into gneiss-cored fold nappes (Fig. 14; Henderson & Pulvertaft 1987) which were subsequently refolded into large dome structures. Tectonic interleaving of cover rocks with basement gneisses by thrusting has also taken place so that locally Proterozoic supracrustal rocks occur as enclaves within Archaean gneisses. The extent of this process is exemplified by an isolated occurrence of Pb-Zn mineralised marble at 70°30´N, 52°30´W in the centre of Nuussuaq (Garde & Thomassen 1990). Gneisses and intrusive rocks north of Nuussuaq Reworked Archaean gneisses [74] north of Nuussuaq are similar to those elsewhere. Commonly they display flat-lying fabrics related to Palaeoproterozoic thrusting. North of Nuussuaq sheets of Archaean augen gneiss (not distinguished on the map) have been used as structural markers to unravel the complex thrust tectonics of that area (Pulvertaft 1986). The 1870 Ma Prøven igneous complex [78] (Thrane et al. 2005) in the Upernavik area (c. 72°30´N) consists mainly of charnockitic rocks emplaced into Archaean gneisses and metasedimentary rocks of the Karrat Group, which are here at granulite facies. Samples from the Prøven igneous complex have an A-type geochemical signature, and isotope data indicate that the magma was formed by anatexis of Archaean gneisses and Palaeo - proterozoic sedimentary rocks at depth. Melting is sug- gested to have been induced by upwelling of hot asthenospheric mantle due to delamination of mantle lithosphere following continental collision in the Disko Bugt area (see above). North-West Greenland and the Inglefield orogenic belt The region between 75°15´ and 81°N in North-West Greenland is covered by the Geological map of Greenland, Sheet 5, Thule (Dawes 1991, 2006) and Sheet 6, Hum - boldt Gletscher (Dawes 2004; Dawes & Garde 2004). The region up to c. 77°30´N has not been investigated in detail. It consists mainly of reworked Archaean gneisses [74] with local amphibolites and banded iron forma- tion. The Karrat Group has not been recognised in this region. The c. 2700 Ma Kap York meta-igneous complex [82] at 76°N is composed of a suite of plutonic rocks rang- ing from gabbro to granite, and a major anorthosite com- plex [85] is exposed at 77°30´N (Nutman 1984). An overview of available geochronological information is given in Nutman et al. (2008a). The area between c. 77°30´ and 79°N contains the Palaeoproterozoic Inglefield orogenic belt which mainly consists of high-grade Palaeoproterozoic supracrustal and intrusive rocks that are overlain by Mesoproterozoic sed- imentary rocks with basaltic sills, the Thule Supergroup Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y 20 00 m Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y YY Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Y Karrat Isfjord 71°36´N Marble Dolomite Amphibolite Pelite Semipelite Quartzite 71°08´N M âr m or ili k F m Q eq er ta rs su aq F m N ûk av sa k F m Basement Maarmorilik Fig. 13. Schematic lithostratigraphic sections of the Palaeoproterozoic Karrat Group in the Maarmorilik – Karrat Isfjord region. The Nûkavsak Formation consists of a flysch succession of interbedded greywacke and mudstone, now metamorphosed at amphibolite facies. Based on Garde (1978) and Henderson & Pulvertaft (1987). 28 [3, 4, 5], and by Cambrian deposits [23, 25] of the Franklinian Basin. The Inglefield belt is divided into two parts by the E–W-trending Sunrise Pynt Straight Belt (SPSB, not shown on the map) at c. 78°20´N. Archaean rocks south of the SPSB have been intruded by c. 1980 Ma tonalites and diorites (Nutman et al. 2008a). The old- est rocks in Inglefield Land, north of the SPSB, are high- grade metasedimentary rocks of the Etah Group. Most of the Group is composed of variably migmatised para - gneisses, shown as granulite facies gneisses [71] on the geological map, while better preserved marble-domi- nated units are shown as supracrustal rocks [67]. Zircon geochronology brackets deposition of the Etah Group between 1980 and 1950 Ma (Nutman et al. 2008a). The Etah Group has been intruded by a variety of metaplu- tonic rocks (not shown on the map), mainly of inter- mediate to felsic composition, the Etah meta-igneous complex. Most of these rocks are strongly deformed, but less deformed syenitic and monzonitic rocks are also pre- sent, and post-tectonic granites occur locally. Dioritic and granitoid rocks were emplaced during several periods, c. 1950–1940 Ma and c. 1920 Ma, with high-grade meta- morphism around 1920 Ma, while late granites have ages of 1780 and 1740 Ma (Nutman et al. 2008a). Sm-Nd isotopic data show that the older intrusive rocks are of juvenile origin, whereas some of the late intrusions were formed by crustal melting (Nutman et al. 2008a). The Inglefield belt is interpreted as a Palaeo - proterozoic orogen, formed by collision of Archaean crustal blocks. Ketilidian orogen Orthogneisses cut by dolerite dykes at the southern mar- gin of the Archaean craton are unconformably overlain by Palaeoproterozoic sedimentary rocks [64] and basalts [63]. Towards the south these supracrustal sequences, together with the underlying Archaean gneisses and dykes, are progressively affected by deformation and metamorphism as the Ketilidian orogen (Fig. 3) is approached. The centre of the Ketilidian orogen consists mainly of juvenile Palaeoproterozoic granitic rocks, the Julianehåb batholith [70, 78]. In the southern part of the orogen high-grade metasedimentary rocks [67] and large intrusions, shown as rapakivi granites [77] on the map, are prominent. The Ketilidian orogen is covered by the Geological Map of Greenland, Sheet 1, Syd - grønland (Allaart 1975; Garde 2007b). During the 1990s the Ketilidian orogen was reinvestigated in more detail. A comprehensive report on this new information has been presented by Garde et al. (2002). Palaeoproterozoic supracrustal rocks in the northern border zone The best preserved Ketilidian supracrustal rocks occur in Grænseland and Midternæs, north-east of Ivittuut, where they are locally almost unmetamorphosed and only superficially deformed (Fig. 15); the age of depo- sition is not precisely known. The succession has been divided into (1) a lower sedimentary part, the Vallen Group, with c. 1200 m of shales and greywackes with grey gneiss dolerite dykescree grey gneiss (allochthonous) Karrat Group discordant amphibolites dark banded migmatitic gneiss glacier 1692 m E W Fig. 14. Sketch of part of one of the characteristic Palaeoproterozoic nappes in the Rinkian fold belt (Kigarsima nappe seen from the north). North side of Upernivik Ø (71°20´N), central West Greenland. Slightly modified from Henderson & Pulvertaft (1987). subordinate quartzite, conglomerate and carbonate rocks [64], and (2) an upper volcanic part, the Sortis Group [63], which consists mainly of basic pillow lavas and contemporaneous basic sills (Bondesen 1970; Higgins 1970), and has been interpreted to represent ocean floor related to initial rifting. The two groups are in tectonic contact, and it is likely that the Sortis Group was thrust upon the Vallen Group. Southwards these supracrustal rocks become progressively deformed and intruded by Ketilidian granites. Palaeoproterozoic granitoids and basic– intermediate intrusions, the Julianehåb batholith The central part of the Ketilidian orogen is mainly built up of granites, granodiorites and tonalites, commonly with porphyritic textures, collectively known as the Julianehåb batholith (‘Julianehåb granite’ in older publications). Large parts of the batholith were emplaced between 1868 and 1796 Ma in a sinistral transpressive setting (Chadwick & Garde 1996; Garde et al. 2002; Pulvertaft 2008). Major shear zones were formed during emplacement of the batholith, giving rise to tectonic fabrics of variable intensity. The most intensely deformed parts of the batholith are shown as gneisses [70] on the geological map, less deformed varieties as foliated and non-foliated granitic rocks [78]. Basic and intermediate intrusions [81] of various ages are also present. These were commonly emplaced simultaneously with felsic magmas, and may occur as mixed rocks in net-veined intrusions. Many of the basic and intermediate plutonic rocks are appinites (see Fig. 20), i.e. they contain hornblende as the main primary mafic mineral (e.g. Pulvertaft 2008). Isotopic data show that the Julianehåb batholith is of juvenile Proterozoic origin (van Breemen et al. 1974; Patchett & Bridgwater 1984; Kalsbeek & Taylor 1985; Garde et al. 2002) and does not represent reworked Archaean rocks as previously believed. 29 Fig. 15. The basal part of the Ketilidian supracrustal succession in central Grænseland, South-West Greenland, with the Archaean basement in the left background, viewed towards west-north-west. The unconformity forms the red-brown slope in the middle distance, with sporadic sub-Ketilidian regolith and Ketilidian carbonate deposits. The dark layer just above the contact is iron formation. Relief is about 500 m. Orange tent in the right foreground indicates the scale. Photo: A.A. Garde. Metasedimentary rocks in the south-eastern part of the Ketilidian orogen High-grade supracrustal units [67] are prominent in the south-eastern part of the Ketilidian orogen. They are composed of psammitic and semipelitic gneisses with local marbles and basic metavolcanic rocks. Acid vol- canic rocks [65] occur in the inner fjord area north-east of Qaqortoq/Julianehåb (61°30´N). The clastic sedi- ments are composed mainly of erosion products of the Julianehåb batholith, produced more or less contempo- raneously with its emplacement; they are interpreted to represent a fore-arc basin. The rocks underwent high- grade, low-pressure metamorphism, up to granulite facies, and widespread anatexis occurred at c. 1790 Ma (Garde et al. 2002). The Ketilidian rapakivi suite Flat-lying sheets of rapakivi ‘granite’ [77], folded into kilo- metre-scale arcs and cusps, are a prominent constituent of the south-easternmost part of the Ketilidian orogen (Fig. 16). The rocks are characterised by mantled K- feldspar phenocrysts, high Fe/Mg ratios and high levels of incompatible elements. Rather than true granites, the suite mainly includes quartz monzonites, quartz syenites, and norites. Isotopic ages between 1720 and 1750 Ma have been obtained from these rocks (Gulson & Krogh 1975; Garde et al. 2002). 30 R MS Fig 16. Part of the Ketilidian orogen on the north side of Lindenow Fjord (c. 60°30´N) viewed towards the east. Massive outcrops of a sub- horizontal, c. 1740 Ma sheet of the rapakivi suite (R) form the steep cliffs to the north-west (left), above flat-lying metasedimentary rocks (MS) [67]. Highest summits are about 2500 m. Photo: A.A. Garde. Archaean–Palaeoproterozoic basement in the East Greenland Caledonian orogen The East Greenland Caledonian orogen is built up of far- travelled allochthonous thrust sheets overlying the east- ern margin of the Greenland shield. An overview of the geology of the orogen has recently been provided by Higgins et al. (2008), and the region is covered by a new geological map at a scale of 1:1 000 000 (Henriksen 2003). Crystalline basement rocks are prominent both within the thrust sheets and the underlying foreland. They were overlain by Neoproterozoic and Palaeozoic sedimentary successions prior to involvement in the Caledonian orogeny (Higgins & Leslie 2008). In the Scoresby Sund region, 70–72°N, Archaean basement gneisses with mafic dykes [74] are prominent. North of c. 72°50´N the crystalline basement consists mainly of Palaeoproterozoic orthogneisses [70] (Kalsbeek et al. 1993b). In the border region, 72–73°N, Palaeo - proterozoic granitoid rocks have been intruded into Archaean gneisses (Thrane 2002). An overview over the Precambrian evolution of this region is given by Kalsbeek et al. (2008a). The Archaean basement complex [74] in the inner Scoresby Sund region and areas immediately to the north, 70°–72°50´N, consists of a variety of migmatitic gneisses (Fig. 17) with scattered foliated granitoid plutonic rocks [80]. In the Charcot Land tectonic window in the north- western part of the Scoresby Sund region (72°N) the Archaean basement of the foreland is overlain by a Palaeoproterozoic supracrustal succession [67] consist- ing of low-grade metasedimentary and metavolcanic rocks (Steck 1971); these are cut by two major post- kinematic granodioritic–granitic intrusions [78] emplaced c. 1840 Ma ago (Hansen et al. 1980). Similar rocks [45] occur in the Eleonore Sø window (c. 74°N), where they are cut by sheets of quartz porphyry, dated at c. 1915 Ma (Kalsbeek et al. 2008). The basement gneisses in the central and northern parts of the fold belt (north of 74°N), mainly comprise rock units formed c. 2000 Ma ago during a Palaeo - proterozoic event of juvenile crust formation. Both older migmatitic gneisses and younger, more homogeneous granites are present. Some of the latter have been dated at c. 1750 Ma. Most of the gneisses are at amphibolite 31 Fig. 17. Crystalline basement within the Caledonian orogen. Archaean gneisses with dark amphibolite layers, affected by Palaeo- and early Neoproterozoic orogenic events, and subsequently reworked during the Caledonian orogeny. South of inner Nordvestfjord/ Kangersik Kiatteq, Scoresby Sund region (71°30´N), central East Greenland. The profile height is c. 1000 m. 32 facies [70], with occasional areas of granulite facies [71]. Large parts of the region underwent Caledonian eclog- ite facies metamorphism (Gilotti et al. 2008) which, however, is not registered in the gneisses. Supracrustal rocks [67] occur locally. A few isolated intermediate and mafic intrusions [81] occur in the Dove Bugt region (76–78°N; Hull et al. 1994). Within this large region of Palaeoproterozoic rocks Archaean orthogneisses [74] have been documented at two localities: at Danmarkshavn (76°40´N; Steiger et al. 1976) and in Payer Land (74°30´N, 23°W; Elvevold et al. 2003). The relationships of these Archaean rocks with the surrounding Proterozoic gneisses are uncertain. Archaean–Palaeoproterozoic basement beneath the Inland Ice Little is known about the geology of the area now cov- ered by Greenland’s central ice sheet – the Inland Ice (Dawes 2009b). However, in 1993 a 1.5 m core of bedrock was retrieved from beneath the highest part of the ice sheet (> 3000 m) at the GISP 2 ice core locality (Fig. 2; 72°35´N, 38°27´W). The rock is a leucogranite, and SHRIMP U-Pb zircon data on a few poorly preserved zircons indicate that it is of Archaean origin, but strongly disturbed by one or more subsequent tectonometamor- phic events, most likely during the Palaeoproterozoic (A.P. Nutman, personal communication 1995). These results have been confirmed by Sm-Nd, Rb-Sr and Pb- Pb isotope data (Weis et al. 1997). Three samples from ice-transported blocks of grani- toid rocks from the area south and south-east of Independence Fjord, North Greenland, have yielded Sm- Nd model ages (DePaolo 1981) of 3.04–3.38 Ga (Kalsbeek & Frei 2006) and support the view that sig- nificant parts of the hidden basement of north-eastern Greenland may consist of Archaean rocks. 33 The Greenland Precambrian shield is mainly composed of crystalline gneisses and plutonic rocks older than 1600 Ma. Younger rock units, Mesoproterozoic to Phanerozoic in age, are in part related to the formation of sedimen- tary basins and fold belts along the margins of the sta- ble shield. Two major Palaeozoic fold belts – the Elles - merian fold belt of Ellesmere Island (Canada) and North Greenland and the Caledonian fold belt of East Greenland – developed along the north and east margins of the shield respectively. In the descriptions that follow the onshore Proterozoic to Phanerozoic deposits and oro- genic events throughout Greenland are presented chrono- logically within the framework of major depositional basins. Palaeo- to Mesoproterozoic unfolded units Independence Fjord Group, North Greenland The earliest recorded major depositional basin devel- oped on the Greenland shield is represented by the Independence Fjord Group [31] (Figs 18A, B) which is exposed over large areas of eastern North Greenland and North-East Greenland between north-eastern Peary Land (83°N) and westernmost Dronning Louise Land (77°N). The group is more than 2 km thick, with its base only exposed in western Dronning Louise Land. The Independence Fjord Group has been studied pri- marily in the type area around Independence Fjord in North Greenland (see Geological map of Greenland 1:500 000, sheet 8, Peary Land; Bengaard & Henriksen 1986). It is dominated by alluvial clastic deposits, mainly sandstones that form three 300–900 m thick, laterally correlatable units. These are separated by two laterally extensive, much thinner (4–90 m) silt-dominated units that represent deposition in ephemeral lakes. Deposition of the Independence Group took place in an intracra- tonic sag basin and the development of extensive lacus- trine conditions suggests that sedimentation was controlled by basin-wide changes in subsidence rates (Collinson et al. 2008). Deposition of the Independence Fjord Group took place between the end of the Palaeoproterozoic orogenic events in northern Greenland at c. 1750 Ma and the intrusion of the Midsommersø Dolerites at 1380 Ma (see below). Rb-Sr dating of clay minerals from siltstones by Larsen & Graff-Petersen (1980) indicated an age for diagenesis at c. 1380 Ma, but the coincidence of this age with the time of emplacement of the Midsommersø Dolerites suggests that this is not the time of sediment deposition. Geochronological data on detrital zircons indicate that most of the detritus that formed the Inde - pendence Fjord sandstones was derived from Palaeo - proterozoic sources (2000–1800 Ma; Kirkland et al. 2009). The sandstones and siltstones of the Independence Fjord Group are cut by numerous mafic sheets and sills, the ‘Midsommersø Dolerites’ (Kalsbeek & Jepsen 1983; Kalsbeek & Frei 2006), for which a U-Pb baddeleyite age of 1382 ± 2 Ma has been obtained (Upton et al. 2005). The presence of sheets of ‘rheopsammite’ (intrusive rocks formed by partial melting of sandstone at depth; Jepsen 1971; Kalsbeek & Frei 2006) witnesses to the intensity of this magmatic event. Although the dolerites form a significant proportion of the outcrop area of the Inde - pendence Fjord Group, they are not shown on the pre- sent map, but appear on the Geological map of Greenland 1:500 000, Sheet 8, Peary Land, referred to earlier. They are depicted with other important dyke swarms on Fig. 20. Zig-Zag Dal Basalt Formation, North Greenland The Mesoproterozoic Zig-Zag Dal Basalt Formation [30] consists of an up to 1350 m succession of well-pre- served tholeiitic flood basalts. Its main outcrop area is south of Independence Fjord in eastern North Greenland. The Zig-Zag Dal Basalt Formation conformably over- lies the Independence Fjord Group and is itself discon- formably overlain by the Hagen Fjord Group (Fig. 24). South of Independence Fjord the basalt succession crops out over an area of 10 000 km2, but local occurrence of similar basalts in eastern Peary Land indicates that the formation once covered a large part of North Greenland. A close geochemical similarity with the Midsommersø Proterozoic to Phanerozoic geological development after formation of the Precambrian shield 34 Fig. 18. Palaeoproterozoic Independence Fjord Group sandstones. A: Undeformed succession on the south side of Independence Fjord cut by c. 1380 Ma Midsommersø Dolerite intrusions (c. 82°N), eastern North Greenland. Profile height is c. 800 m. B: Folded and metamorphosed sandstones and dolerite sills within the Caledonian fold belt (see text). North of Ingolf Fjord (c. 80°30´N), Kronprins Christian Land, eastern North Greenland. Profile height is c. 1000 m. B A Dolerites implies that the basalts are related to the same igneous event that produced the dolerites, and an age of c. 1380 Ma for the basalts is therefore indicated. The Zig-Zag Dal Basalt Formation is divided into three main units. A ‘Basal Unit’ of thin aphyric basalt flows is 100–200 m thick and includes pillow lavas in its lower part. The overlying ‘Aphyric Unit’ (c. 400 m) and the uppermost ‘Porphyritic Unit’ (up to 750 m) together comprise 30 flows of mainly subaerial lavas. The present distribution pattern of the flows shows a maximum thickness of the succession in the area south of Independence Fjord, implying subsidence of this cen- tral region during the extrusion of the basalts and prior to the peneplanation which preceded deposition of the Hagen Fjord Group. Detailed investigations of the basalts have been car- ried out by Kalsbeek & Jepsen (1984) and Upton et al. (2005). Based on trace element and isotope data the lat- ter authors conclude that magma generation took place in an upwelling mantle plume underneath an attenuat- ing continental lithosphere. The lavas of the Porphyritic Unit are considered to represent essentially uncontami- nated plume-source melts. Correlation with similar rocks in the northernmost part of the East Greenland Caledonides Sandstones and conglomerates interpreted as strongly deformed representatives of the Independence Fjord Group [31] are found within the northernmost parts of the Caledonian fold belt in Kronprins Christian Land and areas to the south (Geological map of Greenland 1:500 000, Sheet 9, Lambert Land, Jepsen 2000; Pedersen et al. 2002; Collinson et al. 2008). As in the North Green - land platform, they are cut by numerous sheets of dolerite (Fig. 18B). Basaltic and andesitic lavas in this area are shown on the map as Zig-Zag Dal Basalt Formation [30], but SHRIMP U-Pb dating has yielded an age of 1740 Ma for associated rhyolitic rocks (Kalsbeek et al. 1999), and correlation with the 1380 Ma Zig-Zag Dal Basalt Formation is therefore excluded. The sandstones and conglomerates in Kronprins Christian Land are interbedded with the lavas, and an age of c. 1740 Ma is therefore indicated. This age is similar to that of the youngest granites within the crystalline basement in the Caledonian fold belt (see p. 31), and the sedimentary rocks can be regarded as molasse-type deposits related to the breakdown of the Palaeoproterozoic orogen in North-East Greenland. If a correlation with the Independence Fjord Group in the platform is assumed, the sandstones and conglomerates in Kronprins Christian Land must rep- resent the lowermost part of that group. Gardar Province, South Greenland The Mesoproterozoic Gardar Province (Upton & Emeleus 1987; Kalsbeek et al. 1990; Upton et al. 2003) is char- acterised by faulting, deposition of sediments and vol- canic rocks, and alkaline igneous activity. An approx - imately 3400 m thick succession of sandstones and lavas referred to as the Eriksfjord Formation (Poulsen 1964) accumulated within an ENE–WSW-trending continental rift, preserved at about 61°N. Within and outside the rift, major central intrusions and numerous dykes were em - placed (see also dyke map Fig. 20). An intrusive com- 35 0 500 1000 1500 m W E 2000 m0 1000 Augite syenite Alkali acid rocks Pulaskite and foyaite Sodalite foyaite Naujaite Lujavrite/pegmatitic borders Kakortokite/pegmatitic borders ??? Fig. 19. Diagrammatic cross-section of the Ilímaussaq intrusion, Gardar Province, west of Narsaq in South Greenland. The intrusion has an outcrop area of 17 × 8 km and has been dated at 1143 ± 21 Ma (see review by Kalsbeek et al. 1990; H. Sørensen 2006a). Slightly modified from Andersen et al. (1981). 36 Dykes in Greenland with one trend direction with two or more trends deformed and metamorphosed Dolerites and associated dykes Legend Kimberlites, lamproites and lamprophyric dykes There are few areas in Greenland where the rocks are not cut by mafic dykes. The dykes range in age from Palaeoarchaean in the Godthåbsfjord area to Cenozoic in parts of North, East and West Greenland. It is very difficult to date mafic dykes, especially where they have been deformed and metamorphosed, and early K-Ar and Rb-Sr age determinations have proved to be imprecise and sometimes entirely misleading. In many cases the age of the dykes is therefore imperfectly known. Moreover, in cases where precise age determinations have been carried out, results show that dykes previously believed to belong to a single swarm may have significantly different ages. The diagrams on the opposite page illustrate the history of dyke em- placement in Greenland, based on the best age estimates available at present. Among the best known dyke swarms in Greenland are the Ameralik dykes in the Godthåbsfjord area, which were intruded into Eoarchaean gneisses, but are cut by Meso- and Neoarchaean granitoid rocks; this permits distinction between Eoarchaean and Meso- and Neoarchaean lithologies. The Kangâmiut dykes in West Green- land are well preserved in the Archaean craton, but deformed and metamorphosed in the Palaeoproterozoic Nagssugtoqidian orogen to the north; this makes it possible to monitor the influence of Nagssugtoqidian meta- morphism and deformation on the host rocks. Undeformed Proterozoic dolerite dyke belonging to the ‘MD’ dyke swarm, cutting Archaean ortho- gneisses, northern Fiskefjord region, southern West Greenland. Photo: A.A. Garde. Deformed and fragmented Archaean Ameralik metabasic dyke cutting Eoarchaean ‘Amîtsoq’ gneisses, Godthåbsfjord region, southern West Greenland. Width of view c. 1.5 m. Photo: A.A. Garde. Fig. 20 (above and facing pages): Diagrammatic representation of the major suites of mafic dykes and sills in Greenland. Compiled by J.C. Escher and F. Kalsbeek 1997. 37 a Dykes and sills related to Tertiary rifting, associated with basalts a Gardar sills and dykes a Dolerite swarm b Lamproites c Appinites (sensu lato) a Kangâmiut dykes b Umîvik dyke swarm c ‘MD’ dykes a Ameralik and Tarssartôq dykes (Age in Ma) c. 15 – c. 60 152–166 c. 65 c. 555–604 c. 135 c. 1100 – c. 1300 c. 670 – c. 1310 c. 1380 c. 1650 c. 1750 c. 1780 – c. 1850 c. 2040 c. 2050 0 Ma 500 Ma 1000 Ma 1500 Ma 2000 Ma 2500 Ma 3500 Ma c b Sills and dykes b Sills and dykes of the Nares Strait and Smith Sound groups c. 630 – c. 730 N N N c N N N c. 3460 – c. 3510 (norite) c. 2200 (tholeiite) c. 2150 d b b a c a b a a b b c a a a a a c c b b b a a a b Kimberlites and lamprophyres c Mafic alkaline dykes a Kimberlites and lamprophyres c Midsommersø Dolerites, associated with basalts d ‘TD’ dykes plex at the head of Danell Fjord (c. 60°50´N, 43°30´W) in South-East Greenland is indicated on the map as Ketilidian rapakivi granite [77], but later radiometric dating has yielded a Gardar age (Garde et al. 2002). The sedimentary [12] and volcanic rocks [11] of the Eriksfjord Formation rest uncomformably on Ketilidian granites. The Eriksfjord Formation comprises c. 1800 m of sedimentary strata and 1600 m of volcanic rocks. The sedimentary rocks, mainly found in the lower part of the succession, are fluvial and aeolian arkosic to quartzitic sandstones and conglomerates (Clemmensen 1988; Tirsgaard & Øxnevad 1998). The volcanic rocks are dominated by basaltic lavas, with subordinate trachytes and phonolites in the upper part and a carbonatite com- plex in the lower part (Stewart 1970; Larsen 1977; Upton & Emeleus 1987). The age of the Eriksfjord Formation is c. 1170–1200 Ma (Paslick et al. 1993). The Gardar intrusive complexes [56] range in age from c. 1300 to c. 1120 Ma and have been divided into three age groups (Upton & Emeleus 1987; Upton et al. 2003). They comprise central ring intrusions, complexes with several individual intrusive centres, and giant dykes (Emeleus & Upton 1976; Upton & Emeleus 1987). Petrologically, the intrusive complexes are dominated by differentiated salic rocks including syenites, nepheline syenites, quartz syenites, and granites (Fig. 19); mildly alkaline gabbros and syenogabbros are subordinate but are dominant in the giant dykes. The intrusions were em - placed in the middle part of the Gardar rift as well as in the areas to the north-west and south-east. Major swarms of basic dykes of Gardar age occur throughout South and South-West Greenland (see dyke map, Fig. 20). Early Neoproterozic orogenic units reworked in the East Greenland Caledonian fold belt A suite of early Neoproterozoic augen granites and leu - cogranites [55] is widely distributed within the Krum - medal supracustal sequence of the high-grade uppermost Caledonian (Hagar Bjerg) thrust sheet between Scoresby Sund (70°N) and about 74°N; the granitoids have yielded protolith ages of 940–910 Ma (Jepsen & Kalsbeek 1998; Kalsbeek et al. 2000; Watt & Thrane 2001). These mag- matic events are contemporaneous with high-grade meta- morphism dated in overgrowth rims on detrital zircons (Kalsbeek et al. 2000; Watt et al. 2000; Watt & Thrane 2001), as well as ductile deformation that, at least locally, produced nappe-scale recumbent folds in the reworked migmatite and paragneiss complex [52]. A comparable scenario is recorded in eastern Svalbard where 970–940 Ma events are recorded and augen gran- ites have been emplaced synchronously with deforma- tion (Johansson et al. 2000); in Scotland zircon geo - chronology has revealed a range of tectonothermal events from 840–730 Ma (Leslie et al. 2008). Supracrustal rocks The Krummedal supracrustal sequence [46] consists of a 2500–8000 m thick suite of pelitic, semipelitic and quartzitic rocks generally metamorphosed at amphibo- lite facies (Henriksen & Higgins 1969; Higgins 1974, 1988; Higgins & Leslie 2008; Figs 21, 22). Lateral and vertical lithological variations are considerable and cor- relation between the various local successions has not been possible. Contacts with the underlying Archaean [74] and Palaeoproterozoic gneisses [70] are generally 38 + + + + + + + + + + + 20 00 m Quartzite Semipelite Pelite Augen granite Migmatitic Thrust contact Fig. 21. Sections of the Mesoproterozoic Krummedal supracrustal sequence, north of inner Nordvestfjord/Kangersik Kiatteq (71°30´N), Scoresby Sund region, central East Greenland. Based on Higgins (1974). 39 conformable, but rare discordances may reflect preser- vation of an original unconformity (Higgins et al. 1981). The ‘Smallefjord sequence’ [46] that crops out between Grandjean Fjord (75°N) and Bessel Fjord (76°N) (Friderichsen et al. 1994) is comparable in lithology and development to the Krummedal succession. Age deter- minations on zircons suggest deposition of both sequences later than c. 1100 Ma, and high-grade metamorphism dur - ing an early Neoproterozoic event at c. 950 Ma (Strachan et al. 1995; Kalsbeek et al. 1998b). The Krummedal sequence of the lowermost Caledonian (Niggli Spids) thrust sheet appears to lack the early Neoproterozoic gran- itoids and migmatitic developments recorded in similar rocks within the uppermost (Hagar Bjerg) thrust sheet (see later). Migmatites and granites The Krummedal supracrustal sequence of the upper- most Hagar Bjerg thrust sheet in the southern part of the East Greenland Caledonian fold belt has been intensely migmatised and transformed into paragneiss [52], and as noted above, has been intruded by sheets of augen granites up to 1000 m thick as well as other granite bod- ies [55] (Steiger et al. 1979). In the Scoresby Sund region these rock units have been deformed into major recum- bent folds (Leslie & Nutman 2003). A second genera- tion of Caledonian granite intrusions [54] was produced by partial melting of the Krummedal supracrustal sequence, and some of these granites migrated upwards into the overlying Eleonore Bay Supergroup [44]. Mesoproterozoic – early Neoprotero- zoic sedimentary basin in North-West Greenland and Ellesmere Island Thule Supergroup The Thule basin is defined by a thick undeformed sed- imentary-volcanic succession – the Thule Supergroup – that straddles northern Baffin Bugt and Smith Sund (Dawes et al. 1982; Dawes 1997, 2004, 2006). The east- ern and western parts of the basin are exposed in North- West Greenland and south-eastern Ellesmere Island (Canada), with extensive sections offshore (Funck et al. 2006). As such, the Thule Basin is one of several Meso– Neoproterozoic intracratonic depocentres fringing the northern margin of the Canadian–Greenland shield. In Greenland, the rocks are widely exposed between Ingle - field Land (79°N) and Thule Air Base/Pituffik (76°N). The Thule Supergroup has a cumulative thickness of at least 6 km and comprises continental to shallow marine sedimentary rocks, basaltic rocks and a conspicuous num- Fig. 22. Krummedal supracrustal sequence comprising rusty garnet - iferous gneissic schists and siliceous paragneisses, inner Nordvestfjord/ Kangersik Kiatteq (71°30´N), Scoresby Sund region, central East Greenland. Profile height is c. 1500 m. ber of doleritic sills. Resting with a profound unconfor- mity on the peneplained Archaean–Palaeoproterozoic crystalline shield, the basin developed between c. 1270 Ma and around 900 Ma ago (for discussion, see Dawes 1997, 2006; Samuelsson et al. 1999). It is dissected by a half-graben system dominated by WNW–ESE-trend- ing faults. The Thule Supergroup is divided into a lower part of three groups [5] and an upper part of two [3, 4]. All of the groups contain red beds. When the map was com- piled, a Middle – Late Proterozoic age was assigned (Dawes & Vidal 1985; Dawes & Rex 1986), but reappraisal of the acritarch fauna suggests a middle Mesoproterozoic to early Neoproterozoic age for the entire succession (Samuelsson et al. 1999; Dawes 2006). The lower part comprises: (1) the Smith Sound Group of mainly shal- low marine sandstones and multicoloured shales with stromatolitic carbonates; (2) the Nares Strait Group which at its base consists of inner shelf mudstones and fluvial sandstones, succeeded by terrestrial basaltic extru- sive rocks and volcaniclastic red beds overlain by stro- matolitic carbonate and shales topped by shallow marine sandstones; (3) the Baffin Bay Group of multicoloured sandstones and conglomerates with intervals of shale–siltstone, mainly of mixed continental to shoreline origin. The upper part of the Thule Supergroup com- prises: (4) the Dundas Group [4] of deltaic to coastal plain deposits, dominated by dark shales, siltstones and fine- grained sandstones with thin carbonate-rich beds, and (5) the Narssârssuk Group [3], representing deposition in a low-energy environment, with a cyclic carbonate and red-bed siliciclastic succession. The latter comprises interbedded dolomite, limestone, sandstone, siltstone and shale with evaporites. The Narssârssuk Group, the youngest unit, has a very restricted occurrence in a half-graben on the south-eastern margin of the Thule Basin (Fig. 23). Neoproterozoic sedimentary basins in North, North-East and East Greenland Hagen Fjord Group, North Greenland Neoproterozoic basin deposits laid down between 800 and 590 Ma ago occur extensively in eastern North Green - land, where they crop out over an area of 10 000 km2 west of Danmark Fjord. These deposits, assigned to the Hagen Fjord Group (Figs 24, 25), overlie sandstones of the Palaeoproterozoic Independence Fjord Group and basalts of the Mesoproterozoic Zig-Zag Dal Basalt Formation together with their (1380 Ma) correlatives the Midsommersø dolerite intrusions (Sønderholm & Jepsen 1991; Clemmensen & Jepsen 1992; Sønderholm et al. 2008). The easternmost occurrences of the succes- sion are represented in the Caledonian Vandredalen thrust sheet in Kronprins Christian Land that has a demonstrable westward displacement of 35–40 km (Higgins et al. 2001a, b, 2004b; Leslie & Higgins 2008). 40 Kap York Q KT/RF CH JH/BB CC N W RB SB KA PH CC Inglefield Land Kap Alexander 50 km NE NW SE Narssârssuk Group Smith Sound Group Dundas Group Precambrian shield Baffin Bay Group Nares Strait Group Q: RF: Robertson Fjord Fm KT: Kap Trautwine Fm W: Nares Strait Group CH: Clarence Head Fm BB: JH: CC: Cape Combermere Fm N: Smith Sound Group SB: Sonntag Bugt Fm RB: Rensselaer Bay Fm KA: Kap Alexander Fm PH: Pandora Havn Fm CC: Cape Camperdown Fm Baffin Bay Group Qaanaaq Fm Wolstenholme Fm Northumberland Fm Josephine Headland Fm Barden Bugt Fm Fig. 23. Cross-section through the Thule Basin, North-West Greenland, with the lower Thule Supergroup as basin fill, showing the relation- ships of groups and their formations. The spatial relationship of the Dundas and Narssârssuk Groups superimposed on this Mesoproterozoic evolutionary stage is shown by the green bars. Vertical exaggeration × 25. Slightly modified from Dawes (1997). The Hagen Fjord Group [27] has a maximum thick- ness of 1000–1100 m and comprises a succession of sili- ciclastic and carbonate sedimentary rocks deposited on a shallow-water shelf. Its lower part mainly comprises sandstones which are overlain by a sandstone-siltstone association. The upper part is characterised by limestones and dolomites with abundant stromatolites (Fyns Sø Formation). The overlying sandstone unit (Kap Holbæk Formation) is now known to be early Cambrian, and is excluded from the Hagen Fjord Group (Smith et al. 2004). The age of the Hagen Fjord Group is poorly con- strained, but a pre-600 Ma age is now suggested (Sønder- holm et al. 2008). The Rivieradal sandstones [29], now the Rivieradal Group (Smith et al. 2004), are confined to the allochtho- nous, Caledonian, Vandredalen thrust sheet in the Kron - prins Christian Land area, and are interpreted as deep- marine deposits equivalent in age to the lower part of the Hagen Fjord Group (Clemmensen & Jepsen 1992; Sønderholm et al. 2008). This succession is 7500 to 10 000 m thick and comprises conglomerates, sand- stones, turbiditic sandstones and mudstones that accu- mulated in a major east-facing half-graben basin; the bounding western fault was reactivated as a thrust dur- ing the Caledonian orogeny (Higgins et al. 2001b). A succession of diamictites and sandstones up to 200 m thick, believed to be late Precambrian (Marinoan, c. 635 Ma) in age, forms isolated small outcrops in east- ern North Greenland; these are known as the Morænesø Formation [28]. The formation is not included in the redefined Hagen Fjord Group of Clemmensen & Jepsen (1992) but is in part equivalent or slightly younger in age (Collinson et al. 1989; Sønderholm & Jepsen 1991; Smith & Rasmussen 2008). Eleonore Bay Supergroup, East and North-East Greenland The Eleonore Bay Supergroup comprises a more than 14 km thick succession of shallow-water sedimentary rocks which accumulated in a major sedimentary basin exposed between latitudes 71°40´ and 76°N in East and North-East Greenland (Sønderholm & Tirsgaard 1993; Sønderholm et al. 2008). Exposures only occur within the present Caledonian fold belt, and in general the sed- imentary rocks are moderately deformed and weakly to moderately metamorphosed. The nature of the lower contact of the Eleonore Bay Supergroup has been widely debated. The oldest sedimentary rocks are in contact with the Krummedal supracrustal succession, with the contact described in some areas as an extensional detach- ment (Hartz & Andresen 1995; Andresen et al. 1998; White et al. 2002), and in other areas as a westward directed thrust (Higgins & Leslie 2008; Leslie & Higgins 2008). Relationships are complicated by extensive ana- texis and the presence of Caledonian granites. Sedimen - tation is constrained to the interval between c. 900 Ma and c. 665 Ma by the youngest ages on detrital zircons from the lowest levels of the Eleonore Bay Supergroup and the Marinoan (c. 635 Ma) age of the overlying Tillite Group (Sønderholm et al. 2008). 41 100 km NW F ra nk lin ia n B as in C am br ia n SE Kronprins Christian Land Wandel Valley Fm Tavsens Iskappe Gp Brønlund Fjord Gp Buen Fm Portfjeld Fm Independence Fjord Gp (Palaeoproterozoic) Morænesø Fm Zig-Zag Dal Basalt Fm Hagen Fjord Gp Rivieradal Group (allochthonous) > 1 00 0 m N eo pr ot er oz oi c O rd ov ic ia n P al ae o– M es o- pr ot er oz oi c Basaltic flowsSandstone with intrusives Sandstone Siltstone KH Wandel Dal Carbonate Fig. 24. Schematic cross-section of the Proterozoic–Ordovician succession in eastern North Greenland between Wandel Dal (c. 82°N) and Kronprins Christian Land (c. 80°N). The cross-section shows the relationships between the Mesoproterozoic Zig-Zag Dal Basalt Formation, the Neoproterozoic Hagen Fjord Group with correlatives, and the underlying and overlying sequences. Colours correspond to those used on the map. Bold lines represent erosional unconformities. Slightly modified from Clemmensen & Jepsen (1992). KH, Kap Holbæk Formation. 42 The lower part of the Eleonore Bay Supergroup (Fig. 26) consists of up to 9000 m of sandstones, silt- stones and minor carbonates assigned to the Nathorst Land Group [44]; these were deposited in a shelf envi- ronment with facies associations indicating outer to inner shelf environments (Smith & Robertson 1999; Sønder - holm et al. 2008). The upper part comprises three groups (Lyell Land, Ymer Ø and Andrée Land Groups) depicted on the map by a single colour division [43]. Alternating sandstones and silty mudstones of the Lyell Land Group (Fig. 27) reflect deposition in marine shelf environments (Tirsgaard & Sønderholm 1997; Sønderholm et al. 2008). Individual units are 40–600 m thick with a total thick- ness of 2800 m. The overlying 1100 m thick Ymer Ø Group records two significant phases of shelf prograda- tion. Depositional environments range from siliciclastic basinal and slope deposits through carbonate slope and shelf deposits to inner shelf siliciclastics and evaporites (Sønderholm & Tirsgaard 1993; Sønderholm et al. 2008). The latest stage of basin fill is mainly represented by the up to 1200 m thick Andrée Land Group of bedded lime- stone and dolomites, with 10–30 m thick units of stro- matolitic dolomite. Deposition took place in a carbonate ramp system, with a steepened ramp towards the deep sea to the north-east and a sheltered inner lagoon behind an inner shallow-barrier shoal (Frederiksen & Craig 1998). The uppermost sequence heralding the Marinoan glaciation of the Tillite Group consists of a strongly ret- rogradational succession indicating drowning of the car- bonate platform and deep marine deposition, followed by a short period of carbonate platform progradation (Sønderholm et al. 2008). Tillite Group, East Greenland The Tillite Group [42] consists of a 700–800 m thick suc - cession of Marinoan–Ediacaran age (c. 635 – c. 575 Ma) and includes two Marinoan glacigene diamictite forma- tions (Hambrey & Spencer 1987; Sønderholm et al. 2008). It crops out in East Greenland between latitudes 71°40´ and 74°N where it overlies the Eleonore Bay Supergroup with no major hiatus, but locally with an ero- sional unconformity. The Tillite Group is subdivided into five formations which include sandstones, shales and dolostones in addition to the diamictite formations. KB KB FS CD JA PF Fig. 25. Hagen Fjord Group on the north-west side of Hagen Fjord, eastern North Greenland. A lower light coloured sandstone (Jyske Ås Formation, JA, 400 m) is overlain by a multicoloured sandstone-siltstone association (Campanuladal and Kap Bernhard Formations, CD and KB, 450 m), with a light coloured limestone–dolomite succession at the top (Fyns Sø Formation, FS, 170 m, and Portfjeld Formation, PF). The fault has a displacement of c. 300 m down to the right (north). The section is c. 600 m high. From Sønderholm et al. 2008. 43 Isolated occurrences of diamictites correlated with the Tillite Group directly overlie crystalline basement com- plexes in Gåseland (70°15´N), Charcot Land (71°52´N) and in the Målebjerg window (73°38´N), all located in the Caledonian foreland (Henriksen 1986; Moncrieff 1989; Smith & Robertson 1999); the first two of these are shown on the map by a special symbol [41]. These foreland tillites are directly overlain by Cambrian quartzites or truncated by the Caledonian sole thrust. Sedimentary rocks of unknown age in the East Greenland Caledonides Two successions of low-grade metamorphic rocks occur in the nunatak region between 70° and 74°N underly- ing Caledonian thrusts. Their correlation with other known successions was uncertain when the map was compiled, and they have been indicated on the map as of ‘unknown age’ [45]. One succession crops out in the Gåseland window in the south-west corner of the Scoresby Sund region (70°15´N), overlying Archaean crystalline basement rocks. A thin sequence of weakly metamorphosed mar- bles and chloritic schists, often highly sheared adjacent to the Caledonian sole thrust, overlies diamictites [28] preserved in erosional depressions in the gneiss surface (Phillips & Friderichsen 1981). The diamictites are now correlated with the Marinoan Tillite Group of the fjord zone (Moncrieff 1989), suggesting the overlying sheared marbles and schists are either of early Palaeozoic age or belong to a thin lowermost thrust assemblage of diverse lithologies distinguished as the Gemmadal thrust sheet in the central part of the fjord region (c. 73°30´N; Higgins & Leslie 2008). The second succession, traditionally known as the ‘Eleonore Sø series’, crops out in Arnold Escher Land (74°N; Katz 1952). Field studies in 1997 have shown the succession to occur in a tectonic window beneath Cale - donian thrust units of metasedimentary rocks and gneisses. The Eleonore Sø series comprises low-grade metamor- phic sandstones, shales and carbonates associated with volcanic rocks (tuffs and pillow lavas). U-Pb ion probe studies on zircons from a quartz porphyry intruding the Eleonore Sø series indicate a minimum emplacement age of 1915 ± 16 Ma (Kalsbeek et al. 2008). This suc- cession is overlain unconformably by a thick Cambrian quartzite unit which preserves abundant Skolithos (Slottet Formation) and a few hundred metres of Lower Palaeozoic carbonates (Målebjerg Formation), recently described and defined by Smith et al. (2004). Nathorst Land Group Fault / Shear zone Grenvillian? basement Ymer Ø Group Lyell Land Group Andrée Land Group Tillite Group Limestone Dolostone Mudstone Sandstone 0 2 4 E LE O N O R E B A Y S U P E R G R O U P 6 8 10 12 14 km Fig. 26. Schematic composite section of the Neoproterozoic Eleonore Bay Supergroup, central fjord zone (72–74°N), North-East Greenland. Units on the map: Nathorst Land Group [44]; Lyell Land, Ymer Ø and Andrée Land Groups [43]; Tillite Group [42]. Based on Sønderholm & Tirsgaard (1993) and Sønderholm et al. (2008). 44 Carbonatites, kimberlites and associated rocks, West Greenland In addition to the 3007 Ma Tupertalik carbonatite [84] mentioned earlier, two younger occurrences of carbon- atite are shown on the geological map, the 565 Ma Sarfartoq carbonatite complex [61] south of Søndre Strømfjord at 66°30´N (Secher & Larsen 1980), and the c. 165 Ma (middle Jurassic) Qaqarssuk carbonatite complex [59], east of Maniitsoq/Sukkertoppen at 65°23´N (Knudsen 1991). Since the compilation of the map another occurrence of carbonatitic rocks has been detected within the Archaean craton, the 158 Ma Tikiusaaq carbonatite complex at 64°N, 49°46´W, c. 100 km east of Nuuk/Godthåb (Steenfelt et al. 2006). Carbonatites also occur within some of the intrusive complexes in the Mesoproterozoic Gardar Province (Upton et al. 2003). A review of all alkaline-ultramafic and carbonatitic rocks in West Greenland (except the newly discovered Tikuusaaq occurrence) has been pre- sented by Larsen & Rex (1992). These rocks are invari- ably related to episodes of continental rifting. They were formed from small melt fractions generated deep within the lithospheric mantle, and many dykes contain xeno- liths of both mantle and crustal origin. Most carbonatite complexes are associated with swarms of ultramafic dykes, kimberlites, aillikites etc. (Nielsen et al. 2009), here collectively termed ultramafic lam- prophyres (sensu lato) (UML dykes). The dykes are too small to be shown on the geological map, but they are important for diamond exploration. Hundreds of dia- monds have been recovered from a single dyke in the Sarfartoq region, the largest of which are c. 4 carats and of good gem quality (Hutchison & Heaman 2008). A regional overview of diamond occurrences in southern West Greenland is given by Jensen et al. (2004). Recent investigations of UML dykes have concen- trated on the areas around Sisimiut/Holsteinsborg, Sarfartoq and Maniitsoq/Sukkertoppen, the ‘Diamond Province’ of southern West Greenland (Nielsen et al. 2009). They fall in several age groups (Secher et al. 2009). UML dykes in the Sisimiut region have yielded ages of c. 590 Ma (Scott 1981). Dykes in a wide region around the Sarfartoq carbonatite complex have Neoproterozoic ages between 604 and 555 Ma. Similar ages were found for dykes in the Maniitsoq region, but samples collected around the Qaqarssuk carbonatite complex are of Jurassic age 152–166 Ma. Only Neoproterozoic dykes have as yet proved to be diamondiferous (Secher et al. 2009). Fig. 27. Part of the upper Eleonore Bay Supergroup, west side of Ymer Ø (c. 73°N), North-East Greenland. Succession is approximately 2 km in thickness and includes from left to right: Lyell Land Group (apart from the two lowest formations) and to the right of the black dashed line Ymer Ø Group (the lowest five of seven formations). Photo: M. Sønderholm. The Palaeozoic Franklinian Basin of North Greenland and Ellesmere Island The Palaeozoic Franklinian Basin extends from the Canadian Arctic Islands across North Greenland to Kronprins Christian Land in eastern North Greenland, an E–W distance of 2000 km (Peel & Sønderholm 1991); only part of the Canadian segment of the basin is rep- resented on the map. The preserved part of the succes- sion shows that deposition in this E–W-trending basin began in the latest Precambrian and continued until at least the earliest Devonian in Greenland and later Devonian to earliest Carboniferous in Canada; sedimen - tation was brought to a close by the mid- to late Palaeozoic Ellesmerian orogeny. In the Canadian Arctic Islands deposition continued more or less continuously through- out the Devonian and probably into the earliest Car - boniferous. Deposition of clastic sediments of Middle and Late Devonian age in the southern part of the Franklinian Basin in the Canadian Arctic Islands reflects an early orogenic event with uplift and erosion starting in latest Silurian time (Trettin 1991, 1998). Deposition in the Franklinian Basin in North Green - land took place along a passive continental margin, and its evolution during the Early Palaeozoic resulted in a dis- tinctive differentiation into a southern, broad, shallow shelf bordered to the north by a slope with moderate water depths and a broad deep-water trough (Higgins et al. 1991). The shelf succession is dominated by carbon- ates and reaches 3 km in thickness, whereas the trough deposits are dominated by siliciclastic rocks and have a total thickness of c. 8 km (Fig. 28). The shelf–trough boundary was probably controlled by deep-seated faults, and with time the trough expanded southwards to new fault lines, with final foundering of the shelf areas in the Silurian. The sedimentary successions in the North Green - land and Canadian (Ellesmere Island) segments of the basin show close parallels in development, although dif- ferent lithostratigraphic terminologies are employed (Trettin 1991, 1998). The evolution of the Franklinian Basin in North Green land has been divided into seven stages, with sig- nificant changes in the sedimentary regime linked to southward expansion of the basin margin (Higgins et al. 1991; Henriksen & Higgins 2000). Uppermost Neoproterozoic – Silurian in North Greenland The oldest shelf deposits range from latest Neoproterozoic to Cambrian in age, and consist of a mixture of car- bonates and siliciclastic sediments [25]; they crop out in a narrow, almost continuous zone extending from Dan - mark Fjord in the east through southern Peary Land to southern Wulff Land in the west (Ineson & Peel 1997). The southernmost outcrops farther to the west in Ingle - field Land rest on crystalline basement. Three principal divisions are recognised: a lower varied sequence of sand- stones, dolomites and mudstones (Skagen Group), a middle dolomitic unit locally with stromatolites (Portfjeld Formation), and an upper siliciclastic unit (Buen For - mation). Total thickness reaches 1–2 km. The Buen Formation in North Greenland is noted at one location for its well-preserved soft-bodied fossil fauna (Conway Morris & Peel 1990, 1995, 2008). Early Cambrian deep-water turbidite trough sedi- ments [26] dominate the northernmost parts of Greenland bordering the Arctic Ocean, and they also crop out in a broad E–W-trending belt north of Lake Hazen in Ellesmere Island. The lower part (Nesmith Beds in Canada, Paradisfjeld Group in Greenland) comprises calcareous mudstones and dolomites with, in Greenland, carbonate conglomerates at the top. The upper division (Polkorridoren Group) is made up of thick units of sandy turbidites and mudstones. The thickness of these two divi- sions totals about 3–4 km (Friderichsen et al. 1982; Higgins et al. 1991). Carbonate sedimentation resumed on the platform in the late Early Cambrian (Ineson et al. 1994; Ineson & Peel 1997) and continued with minor siliciclastic intervals until the early Silurian, giving rise to an up to 1500 m thick succession of carbonate lithologies (Brøn - lund Fjord, Tavsen Iskappe, Ryder Gletscher and Morris Bugt groups, and Petermann Halvø and Ymers Gletscher formations [23]). Throughout the period sedimentation was influenced by differential subsidence and southwards expansion of the deep-water trough. Uplift in eastern North Greenland led to erosion of the Cambrian to late Early Ordovician succession in Kronprins Christian Land, after which the Middle Ordovician to Early Silurian platform succession was deposited. A broad zone of out- crop can be traced from Danmark Fjord to Washington Land, with outliers to the south-west in northern Inglefield Land. On Ellesmere Island extensive outcrops are found on Judge Daly Promontory. The up to 1500 m thick succession (Fig. 29) of massive dolomites, carbonate grainstones, carbonate mass-flow deposits and evaporites reflects both progradation and aggradation phases of platform evolution. The Cambrian – Early Silurian starved slope and trough deposits (Surlyk & Hurst 1984) are represented by a condensed succession, dominated for the most part 45 by carbonate mudstones and carbonate conglomerates in the lower part (Vølvedal Group) and by cherts and cherty shales in the upper part (Amundsen Land Group) [24]. In central North Greenland thin-bedded turbidites characterise both the lower and upper parts of the suc- cession. In Greenland these deposits occur in thrust slices and anticlinal fold cores (Fig. 30; Soper & Higgins 1987, 1990); in Ellesmere Island they occur mainly in scat- tered anticlinal fold cores. Thicknesses vary greatly, from a minimum of 50–150 m to a maximum of about 1 km. 46 Turbiditic siltstones and sandstones Open marine platform carbonates Restricted platform carbonates Biostromal carbonates Platform margin carbonates Backmound and intermound carbonates Outer shelf-slope carbonates Evaporites Mounds Inner shelf sandstones and shales Outer shelf shales and sandstones Hemipelagic mudstones and siltstones Unconformity f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f f ff f f f f f f f f Cherty shales Conglomerates Mega breccia Proterozoic sandstones and shales Crystalline basement rocks Terrigenous mudstones f f In gl ef ie ld L an d W as hi ng to n L an d H al l L an d W ul ff La nd N ar es L an d w es te rn P ea ry L an d ce nt ra l P ea ry L an d no rt he rn P ea ry L an d 7T 6T 5T 4T 3T 2T 1 K ro np rin s C hr is tia n La nd 7T 6T 5S 4S 3S 2 1 6S 5S 4S 4S 3S 2S Fig. 28. Block diagram illustrating relationships between shelf, slope and trough sequences in the Lower Palaeozoic Franklinian Basin of North Greenland. The schematic fence diagram covers a region of c. 700 km east–west and c. 200 km north–south. Shelf stages (S) and trough stages (T) are divided into time intervals. 1: late Neoproterozoic? – Early Cambrian; 2: Early Cambrian; 3: Early Cambrian; 4: Late Early Cambrian – Middle Ordovician; 5: Middle Ordovician – Early Silurian; 6: Early Silurian; 7: later Silurian. Units on the map: Portfjeld and Buen Formations [25] – stages 2–3 S; Brønlund Fjord, Tavsen Iskappe, Ryder Gletscher and Morris Bugt Groups and Petermann Halvø and Ymers Gletscher Formations [23] – stages 4–5 S; Washington Land Group exclusive above mentioned for- mations [21] – stages 6–7 S; Skagen, Paradisfjeld and Polkorridoren Groups [26] – stages 1, 2–3 T; Vølvedal and Amundsen Land Groups [24] – stages 4–5 T; Peary Land Group [22] – stages 6–7 T. Modified from Higgins et al. (1991) and with information from M. Sønderholm (personal communication 1998). Silurian carbonate ramp and rimmed shelf deposits (Washington Land Group [21]) crop out in an almost continuous narrow strip extending from Kronprins Christian Land in the east to Washington Land in the west (Hurst 1980, 1984; Sønderholm & Harland 1989; Higgins et al. 1991). The comparable deposits of this age in Ellesmere Island have been included in an extension of unit [23] – see legend. Sedimentation on the plat- form was closely linked to the dramatic increase in depo- sition rates in the trough and was initiated in the Early Silurian (early Late Llandovery) by a major system of sandstone turbidites (Peary Land Group [22]) derived from the rising Caledonian mountains in the east (Hurst & Surlyk 1982; Surlyk & Hurst 1984; Larsen & Escher 1985). Loading effects of the turbidites led to down- flexing of the outer platform and expansion of the trough. With progressive drowning of the shelf, carbonate depo- sition was only locally maintained on isolated reef mounds up to 300 m high (e.g. Samuelsen Høj Formation, Hauge Bjerge Formation). Mound formation terminated over much of the region during the Late Llandovery, but per- sisted in western North Greenland into the Late Silurian (Early Ludlow). The Silurian turbidite trough deposits occur in a broad belt traceable across North Greenland (Peary Land Group [22]) and Ellesmere Island; the commencement of tur- bidite sedimentation was essentially synchronous in both regions within the limits of biostratigraphic resolution (Trettin 1991). The trough sediments represent the deposits of a major E–W-trending sand-rich turbidite sys- tem. Palaeocurrent directions in North Greenland indi- cate a source area in the rising mountains of the Cale - donian fold belt to the east (Higgins et al. 1991; Henriksen & Higgins 2000), whereas current directions in Ellesmere Island demonstrate an additional source area in the north. The initial phase of sandstone turbidite deposition in North Greenland laid down between 500 and 2800 m of sediment within the Early Silurian (Late Llandovery); this filled the deep-water trough, buried the former shelf escarpment and led to deposition of black mudstone over extensive former shelf areas. Renewed prograding fan systems built up and turbidite deposition continued throughout the Silurian, punctuated by an episode of chert conglomerate deposition in the middle Wenlockian (Surlyk 1995). Palaeontological evidence from the youngest deposits in North Greenland indicates a Late 47 Fig. 29. Cambro-Ordovician platform margin sequence in the foreground and Ordovician shelf sequence clastic rocks in the middle distance. View from the south, inner J.P. Koch Fjord, central North Greenland. Profile height in the foreground is c. 500 m. F Silurian (Pridoli) to Early Devonian age (Bendix-Almgreen & Peel 1974; Blom 1999). In Ellesmere Island this phase of turbidite deposition persisted into the Lower Devonian; farther to the west in the Canadian Arctic Islands clas- tic sedimentation associated with the advance of Ellesmerian deformation continued through the Devonian into the earliest Carboniferous. Proterozoic–Silurian exotic terrane of Ellesmere Island (Pearya) The geological province of Pearya, now recognised as an exotic terrane, is confined to northernmost Ellesmere Island (Trettin 1991, 1998). Pearya appears to have been accreted during the latest Ordovician to early Silurian, 48 4 2 0 2 4 6 N km Kap Washington Group volcanics Silurian turbiditic sandstones and mudstones, Peary Land Group Ordovician fine-grained clastic sedimentary rocks, Vølvedal and Amundsen Land Groups Cambrian sandstones and mudstones, Polkorridoren Group Cambrian lime mudstones, Paradisfjeld GroupCretaceous sedimentary rocks Wandel Sea Basin Deep-water basin succession Cambrian quartzitic sandstones, Skagen GroupCarboniferous sedimentary rocks Fig. 30. Middle Ordovician – Lower Silurian sediments in the deep-water sequence of the Franklinian Basin (Amundsen Land Group dark unit; Merqujôq Formation light coloured unit). The sedimentary rocks were folded into south-facing tight folds during the Ellesmerian orogeny. North- east cape of Victoria Fjord, central North Greenland, view towards the east. Profile height is c. 400 m. Fig. 31. N–S structural cross-section through the North Greenland (Ellesmerian) fold belt and its southern foreland in North Greenland (c. 39°W, westernmost Peary Land). Compiled from Soper & Higgins (1990) and Henriksen (1992). and underwent further convergence or accretion during the late Silurian (de Freitas et al. 1999; Tessensohn & Roland 2000). On the geological map it is represented by two divisions: late Mesoproterozoic crystalline rocks [52] and a Neoproterozoic to Late Silurian complex of undifferentiated metasedimentary and metavolcanic rocks (the mainly exotic terrane [2] of the map legend). The rocks of the latter division are stratigraphically or struc- turally associated with the formation of the Franklinian deep-water basin. The crystalline rocks consist of gran- itoid gneisses and lesser amounts of amphibolite, schist, marble and quartzite in several outcrop areas with dif- ferent structural settings and trends. The younger su - pra crustal complexes include different carbonate and clastic sediments together with varied acid and mafic volcanic rocks. These supracrustal rocks have been folded and constitute the Markham Fold Belt, which is a com- plex region that fringes the Pearya terrane on the south- east. The Pearya exotic terrane is noted for emplacement of granite plutons associated with the early Middle Ordovician M’Clintock orogeny, not recorded elsewhere in Ellesmere Island. Ellesmerian orogeny in North Greenland and Ellesmere Island The Palaeozoic Ellesmerian orogeny, which brought sed- imentation in the Franklinian Basin to a close, involved compression of the Lower Palaeozoic trough succession against the carbonate shelf to the south following colli- sion with an unknown continent to the north (Higgins et al. 2000). The resulting Ellesmerian fold belts of both North Greenland and northern Ellesmere Island are char- acterised by E–W- to NE–SW-trending chains of folds, broadly parallel to the main facies boundaries within the Franklinian Basin. In the North Greenland fold belt deformation is most intense in the north, where three phases of folding are recognised and metamorphic grade reaches low amphibolite facies. Deformation decreases southwards, and the southern part of the fold belt is a thin-skinned fold and thrust zone (Soper & Higgins 1987, 1990; Higgins et al. 1991) that coincides with the region which was transitional between the platform and trough for much of the Cambrian (Fig. 31). A promi- nent belt of major folds is traceable between northern Nyeboe Land and J.P. Koch Fjord, and farther east spec- tacular imbricate thrusts occur north of the head of Frederick E. Hyde Fjord (Pedersen 1986). The same gen- eral pattern of Ellesmerian deformation is seen in Ellesmere Island, except that the southernmost belt of folding prop- agated some 100 km southward into the platform, pro- ducing the large-scale, concentric-style folding seen north-west of Kennedy Kanal. The age of the Ellesmerian orogenic deformation in North Greenland is not well constrained, but is assumed to be Late Devonian to Early Carboniferous. 49 0 5 10 km S Shelf_slope succession Silurian carbonates Cambro-Ordovician shelf carbonates Cambrian sandstones and mudstones, Buen Formation Cambrian dolomites, Portfjeld Formation Precambrian basement Fault Thrust 50 Lower Palaeozoic of East Greenland Cambrian–Ordovician sediments in the Caledonian fold belt Cambrian–Ordovician rocks [40] make up an approxi- mately 4500 m thick succession within the East Greenland Caledonian fold belt between latitudes 71°40´ and 74°30´N (Haller 1971; Peel 1982; Henriksen 1985), and were placed in the Kong Oscar Fjord Group by Smith et al. (2004). The sedimentary rocks laid down in this Lower Palaeozoic basin are disturbed by large-scale folding and faulting, but are non-metamorphic. Lime - stones and dolomites dominate the succession which spans the period from the earliest Cambrian to the Late Ordovician (Fig. 32); uppermost Ordovician to Silurian sediments are not known in East Greenland (Smith & Rasmussen 2008). The Lower Palaeozoic succession begins with c. 200 m of Lower Cambrian sandstones and siltstones with trace fossils, interpreted as deposited in a tidal to shallow marine environment. These are overlain by a c. 2800 m thick Lower Cambrian – Middle Ordovician (Dar riwilian) succession of alternating limestones and dolomites, con- taining a diversified shelf-type Pacific fauna (Cowie & Adams 1957; Peel & Cowie 1979; Peel 1982). Stable shelf conditions prevailed throughout the Early Palaeozoic, with the progressive lithology changes con- sidered to reflect increasing isolation from detrital sources (Swett & Smit 1972). Sedimentary and orga nic–sedi- mentary structures indicate generally very shallow depo- sitional environments, implying that sed i mentation and subsidence rates were roughly equal. The absence of angular unconformities reflects a non-tectonic environ- ment. The Pacific fauna indicates that these areas were developed on the western margin of the proto-Atlantic (Iapetus) ocean. Caledonian orogeny in East and North-East Greenland The Caledonian fold belts on both sides of the North Atlantic developed as a consequence of collision between the continents of Laurentia to the west and Baltica to the east following closure of the proto-Atlantic ocean (Iape- tus; Higgins et al. 2008). The East Greenland Caledonian fold belt is well exposed between 70° and 81°30´N as a 1300 km long and up to 300 km wide coast-parallel belt. Large regions of the fold belt are characterised by reworked Precambrian basement rocks [74, 70, 52], overlain by Meso- to Neoproterozoic [46–43] and lower Palaeozoic [40] sedimentary rocks (Fig. 33), all of which form parts of westward-directed major thrust sheets. The Palaeoproterozoic basement gneiss complexes locally pre- serve traces of Proterozoic fold structures (Fig. 34), and have been reworked during Caledonian orogenesis. The onshore East Greenland Caledonian orogen is composed of far-travelled, foreland-propagating thrust sheets that were derived from the Laurentian margin and translated westward across the orogenic foreland (Higgins & Leslie 2000, 2008). The deepest preserved level of the orogen is found north of Danmarkshavn (76°40´N) where abundant Caledonian eclogitic enclaves occur in the Palaeoproterozoic basement gneisses (Gilotti 1993; Brueckner et al. 1998; Gilotti et al. 2008). Medium- temperature high-pressure eclogite facies metamorphism has been dated at 410–390 Ma (Gilotti et al. 2008). Central parts of the orogen (70–75°N) are formed by a pile of several thrust sheets that in their western parts overlie foreland windows (Higgins et al. 2004a). The individual thrust sheets include Archaean–Palaeo - proterozoic gneiss complexes overlain by thick successions of latest Mesoproterozoic to earliest Neoproterozoic sed- imentary rocks (Krummedal supracrustal sequence). In the highest thrust sheet these sedimentary rocks preserve evidence of early Neoproterozoic orogenesis (migmatites and 940–910 Ma augen granites). Caledonian meta- morphism led to emplacement of a suite of Caledonian granites, some of which migrated into the basal parts of Limestone m 3000 2000 1000 0 Middle Early Late Middle Early O R D O V IC IA N C A M B R IA N Formations Heimbjerge Narwhale Sound Antiklinalbugt Cape Weber Dolomite Point Hyolithus Creek Bastion Kløftelv Ella Ø Dolomite Sandstone Fig. 32. Schematic lithostratigraphic composite section of the Cambro- Ordovician sediments in East Greenland (c. 71°30´–74°30´N). Unit [40] on the map. Thicknesses after Smith & Rasmussen (2008). 51 the overlying Eleonore Bay Supergroup (see also below; Kalsbeek et al. 2008b). Extensional structures charac- terise some of the late tectonic phases (Strachan 1994; Hartz & Andresen 1995; Andresen et al. 1998; Gilotti & McClelland 2008). The northernmost part of the fold belt in Kronprins Christian Land preserves high-level thin-skinned structures. Reviews of the East Greenland Caledonides have been presented by Haller (1971), Henriksen & Higgins (1976), Henriksen (1985) and Hig gins et al. (2008). Caledonian intrusions and plutonic rocks During the Caledonian orogeny widespread migmatisa- tion took place in the crystalline complexes in the south- ern part of the fold belt and a suite of late to post-kinematic plutons [54] was emplaced in the region between Scoresby Sund (70°N) and Bessel Fjord (76°N). North of latitude 72°N the intrusions were emplaced mainly in the boundary zone between the Neoproterozoic Eleonore Bay Supergroup sedimentary rocks and the adjacent metamorphic complexes (Jepsen & Kalsbeek 1998; Fig. 35), whereas in southern areas plutonic bod- ies are widespread within the crystalline complexes. Granodiorites and granites are the most abundant types and have yielded intrusive ages ranging from 466 Ma to c. 420 Ma. Most ages occur in the range 440–425 Ma (Kalsbeek et al. 2008b). The Caledonian granites in the northernmost part of their region of occurrence (75–76°N) were emplaced about 430–425 Ma ago and these contain a large proportion of crustally derived com- ponents (Strachan et al. 2001). The southernmost known ‘Caledonian’ intrusion is the Batbjerg complex (Brooks et al. 1981) which occurs in a late Archaean granulite facies terrain at Kangerlussuaq 68°40´N, c. 200 km south of the nearest exposed part of the Caledonian orogenic belt. The Batbjerg complex consists largely of pyroxenites including some leucite- bearing types [60], and has been dated at c. 440 Ma (Brooks et al. 1976). Major thrust FORELAND EAST GREENLAND CALEDONIAN FOLD BELT OROGEN (N ot to s ca le ) Ma (Windows south of 76°N) North of 78°N South of 78°N Franklinian Basin (North Greenland) Hagen Fjord Group Zig-Zag Dal Basalt Fm. Precambrian shield (incl. metased. + volc.) Precambrian shield W in do w s Ellesmerian ? (North Greenland) Caledonian Caledonian Franklinian Basin Hagen Fjord Group Rivieradal Group Independence Fjord Group Basement gneisses T hi n sk in ne d th ru st b el t P ar au to ch . th ru st b el t U pp er th ru st u ni t Old Red Basin Caledonian granites Basement Basement U pp er th ru st s he et Kong Oscar Fjord Group Tillite Group Eleonore Bay Supergroup Cambrian Ordovician Silurian Carboniferous Devonian 416 542 1000 1600 2500 Palaeo- Meso- Neo- P ro te ro zo ic P al ae oz oi c Augen granites Krummedal sed. Grenvil l ian Lo w er th ru st s he et N ig gl i S pi ds u ni t H ag ar B je rg u ni t F ra nz J os ep h un it Windows (E. Greenland) unconformity Archaean OrogenyDetachment Fig. 33. Schematic diagram showing lithostratigraphy and structural units with pre-Caledonian and Caledonian elements occurring in the East Greenland Caledonian fold belt. Devonian continental sediments in East Greenland Following the Caledonian orogeny the extensional col- lapse of the overthickened crustal welt led to the initia- tion of Devonian sedimentary basins in central East Greenland (Larsen & Bengaard 1991; Hartz & Andresen 1995; Larsen et al. 2008). The Devonian sediments unconformably overlie Ordovician and older rocks, and the deposits were accommodated by SE–NW-oriented dip-slip faulting and are preserved in N–S-trending graben-like structures. The basin fill is of Middle and Late Devonian age [39] and consists of more than 8 km of mainly coarse continental siliciclastic sediments with some volcanic intervals. Four lithostratigraphic groups have been estab- lished, each corresponding to a tectonostratigraphic basin stage (Fig. 36). The stages are separated by unconformities related to tectonic events, which took place both during and after sedimentation (Haller 1971; Olsen & Larsen 1993). Each basin stage is composed of several deposi- tional complexes and shows approximately similar drainage patterns, with deposition mainly from the west and north. The earliest deposits (Vilddal Group, up to 2500 m thick) are interpreted as laid down by eastwards draining gravelly braided rivers and sandy and silty allu- 52 Gl._Fig. 32 Nyt_Fig.34 Bulletin 185_2 25-05-09 Fig. 34. Major isoclinal fold in reactivated Palaeoproterozoic grey orthogneisses, comprising units of darker banded gneisses and lighter coloured more homogeneous granitoid rocks. The earlier structures have been refolded by N–S-trending open folds with steeply inclined axial surfaces. North side of innermost Grandjean Fjord (c. 75°10´N), North-East Greenland; c. 40 km south-west of Ardencaple Fjord. The cliff is approximately 1200 m high. Fig. 35. Caledonian granite with large sedimentary xenoliths of the Neoproterozoic Eleonore Bay Supergroup. East of Petermann Bjerg (c. 73°N), North-East Greenland. Summit about 2100 m high; upper c. 700 m of cliff face shown. 53 vial fans, which gave way to meandering streams and flood plains. The overlying sandstones (Kap Kolthoff Group, up to 2700 m thick) were deposited by exten- sive coalescing braidplain systems with southward drainage patterns (Olsen & Larsen 1993; Olsen 1993) dominated by sandy deposits; this group contains intervals of basic and acid volcanic rocks. During the following stage (Kap Graah Group, up to 1300 m thick) sedimentation was dominated by aeolian deposits succeeded by an alluvial and aeolian complex, which was dominated by fine- grained sandstones and siltstones. The following stage (Celsius Bjerg Group, 1550 m thick) is characterised by northwards drainage patterns. The deposits comprise fluvial sandstones, flood basin sediments and lacustrine siltstone. The uppermost c. 200 m thick part of the con- tinental Celsius Bjerg stage is now considered early Tournaisian (Carboniferous) in age (Marshall et al. 1999). Celsius Bjerg Gr. Harder Bjerg Fm. Trail Ø Gr. Kap Graah Gr. Kap Kolthoff Gr. Vilddal Gr. Caledonian folded rocks Early Midddle Late late Middle 0 2000 4000 6000 8000 10 000 m D E V O N IA N C A R B O N IF E R O U S Siltstone Conglomerate Unconformity Sandstone With pebbles Fig. 36. Schematic, lithostratigraphic composite section of Devonian – Lower Permian continental clastic deposits in central East Greenland (71–74°30´N), units [39] and [38] on the map. Compiled from Olsen & Larsen (1993), Stemmerik et al. (1993) and P.-H. Larsen et al. (2008). North Greenland rift basinWandel Sea strike-slip mobile belt Late Cretaceous Local pull-apart basins Late Jurassic _ Early Cretaceous Two separate basins Trolle Land Group Late Permian _ Middle Triassic Mallemuk Mountain Group Late Carboniferous _ Early Permian Sortebakker Formation Early CarboniferousFaultThrust Paleogene Kap Washington Group volcanics Earliest Paleocene Peary Land Kap Washington Wandel Hav Trolle Land fault zone Inland Ice Kr on pr in s C hr is tia n La nd 75° 50° 25° 82100 km Harder Fjord fault zone Fig. 37. Distribution of the Wandel Sea Basin sequences in central and eastern North Greenland. Modified from Håkansson et al. (1994). Carboniferous–Tertiary deposits of the Wandel Sea Basin, central and eastern North Greenland The Wandel Sea Basin deposits were laid down along the northern and north-eastern margin of the Greenland shield (Figs 37, 38). Three main phases of basin forma- tion are recognised, commencing with a widespread Carboniferous to Triassic event of block faulting and regional subsidence (Stemmerik 2000). Later, during the Late Jurassic and Cretaceous, more localised basin for- mation took place during two separate events in a strike- slip zone formed at the plate boundary between Greenland and Svalbard (Håkansson & Stemmerik 1989, 1995). Lower Carboniferous fluvial deposits (Sortebak - ker Formation [20]) are restricted to an isolated half- graben in southern Holm Land (c. 80°N; Stemmerik & Håkansson 1989, 1991). After mid-Carboniferous re - gional uplift, rifting started in the late Carboniferous and more than 1100 m of Upper Carboniferous to Lower Permian shallow marine sediments were deposited (Mallemuk Mountain Group [19]) (Stemmerik et al. 1996, 1998, 2000). The Carboniferous succession is dominated by cyclicly interbedded shelf carbonates (with minor reefs) and siliciclastic rocks. The Lower Permian is mainly represented by shelf carbonates. Renewed sub- sidence took place during the mid-Permian, and the Upper Permian succession is dominated by alternating shallow marine carbonates and sandstones and deep- water shales. A low-angle unconformity separates these deposits from the overlying Lower and Middle Triassic shelf sandstones and shales (Trolle Land Group [18]) in eastern Peary Land. Sedimentation resumed in the Late Jurassic, and dur- ing the Late Jurassic and Early Cretaceous shelf sandstones and shales (Ladegårdsåen Formation [17]) were deposited in a series of small isolated sub-basins (Håkansson et al. 1991). Following a new episode of strike-slip move- ments, renewed sedimentation took place in six minor pull-apart basins during the Late Cretaceous. Each basin is characterised by high sedimentation rates, a restricted lateral extent and its location along strike-slip fault zones (Håkansson & Pedersen 1982; Birkelund & Håkansson 1983). Depositional environments range from deltaic to fully marine. At Kap Washington, on the north coast of Greenland, c. 5 km of extrusive volcanic rocks and volcanogenic sed- iments (Kap Washington Group [16]) of peralkaline affinity are preserved (Fig. 37; Brown et al. 1987). They are of earliest Paleocene age (64 ± 3 Ma, Estrada et al. 2001), and their extrusion may be associated with intru- sion of a dense swarm of alkali dolerite dykes in North 54 • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 4000 2000 0 6000 H: Hiatus F: Folding Sortebakker Fm Mallemuk Mountain Group Caledonian folded rocks Trolle Land Group Thyra Ø Fm Herlufsholm Strand Fm + correlatives Seven informal formations at Kilen Ladegårdsåen Fm C A R B O N IF E R O U S P E R M IA N T R IA S C R E T A C E O U S P A LE O - G E N E JU R m Late Late Late Early Early Early Early Middle Late Early Major unconformity Conglomerate Limestone Sandstone Siltstone Dolomite Mudstone F F H F H H F Fig. 38. Composite section of the Wandel Sea Basin successions in eastern North Greenland. The successions occur in several distinct sub-basins. Corresponding units on the map: Sortebakker Formation [20]; Mallemuk Mountain Group [19]; Trolle Land Group [18]; Ladegårdsåen Formation and correlatives [17]; Herlufsholm Strand Formation and correlatives [15]; Thyra Ø Formation [14]. Compiled from Håkansson & Stemmerik (1989), Stemmerik & Håkansson (1989) and Stemmerik et al. (2000). 55 Greenland (see Fig. 20). The volcanic rocks are preserved below a major, southward-dipping thrust which trans- ported folded Lower Palaeozoic rocks northwards over the volcanic successions (see Fig. 31). All pre-Upper Cretaceous deposits in eastern North Greenland were subjected to compressional deformation during the so-called ‘Kronprins Christian Land orogeny’ (Håkansson et al. 1991). Subsequently to this deforma- tion event a thin succession of upper Paleocene to lower Eocene fluviatile and marine sandstones (Thyra Ø For - mation [14]) accumulated, which are the youngest deposits of the Wandel Sea Basin succession (Håkansson et al. 1991; Lyck & Stemmerik 2000). Late Palaeozoic and Mesozoic rift basins in East Greenland A series of Carboniferous–Mesozoic sedimentary basins developed in East Greenland following initial post- Caledonian Devonian deposition. The basins formed as N–S-trending coast-parallel depocentres which reflect prolonged subsidence. Important phases of block fault- ing and rifting took place during the Early and Late Carboniferous, Late Permian, Late Jurassic and Creta - ceous, presaging the opening of the North Atlantic in the late Paleocene (Surlyk 1990, 2003; Stemmerik et al. 1993; Surlyk & Ineson 2003). There is a marked difference in post-Carboniferous structural style and depositional history between the basins south and north of Kong Oscar Fjord (c. 72°N). The Jameson Land Basin to the south developed as a Late Permian – Mesozoic sag basin, while the region to the north was characterised by con- tinued block faulting and rifting (Fig. 39). Initial rifting took place during the latest Devonian to earliest Carboniferous, when fluvial sandstones and shales were deposited in narrow half-grabens [38] (Stemmerik et al. 1991). A pronounced hiatus marked by non-deposition and erosion occurred during the mid- Carboniferous, and active deposition did not resume until the Late Carboniferous when up to 3000 m of flu- vial and lacustrine sediments were deposited in active half-grabens [38]. Deposition ceased sometime during the latest Carboniferous or earliest Permian. During the Early Permian a new episode of regional up lift and ero- sion took place. Late Permian – Early Cretaceous deposits of the Jameson Land Basin (70–72°N) The Jameson Land Basin contains a stratigraphically complete succession of Upper Permian to earliest Creta - ceous sediments (Fig. 40). Sediment infill was derived km 0 2 4 0 10 20 30 40 50 W E Middle _ Late Jurassic Caledonian crystalline Carbonifero s Earl Permian Late Permian J rassicD i 0 20 10 20 0 40 60 80 100 120 140 160 km km NW SE Late Jurassic _ Early Cretaceous 60 km Palaeogene basaltCaledonian crystalline basement A B Fig. 39. Upper Palaeozoic – Mesozoic basins in East Greenland. A: Northern development at Wollaston Forland (c. 74°30´N). B: Southern development at Jameson Land (c. 71°N). Note the different scales of the two profiles. From Christiansen et al. (1991) and Surlyk (1991). 56 from both the east and west during most of the basin his- tory. The first marine incursion into the area since the Early Palaeozoic took place during the Late Permian and earliest Triassic with deposition of more than 900 m of shallow marine sediments [37] (Surlyk et al. 1986). The Permian deposits include alluvial fan conglomerates to marginal marine carbonates and evaporites in the lower part, and carbonate platform to basinal shale deposits in the upper part. The latest Permian and Triassic deposits were dominated by marine sandstones and shales. The next stage in basin development began with deposition of c. 1400 m of alluvial conglomerates and lacustrine dolomite and shale during the Triassic [36] (Clemmensen 1980a, b). This Late Palaeozoic – Mesozoic extensional basin in East Greenland contains a succession from uppermost Trias sic to Lower Cretaceous, recording at first thermal subsidence, then onset and culmination of rifting, and finally waning of rifting (Surlyk 2003). A major lacus- trine basin [35] covered most of Jameson Land during the latest Triassic – earliest Jurassic (Dam & Surlyk 1993, 1998). Renewed marine incursions took place during the Early Jurassic (Dam & Surlyk 1998), and during the remaining part of the Jurassic and earliest Cretaceous shelf conditions persisted in the basin (Surlyk 1990). During Middle and Late Jurassic time the basin infill mainly comprised shallow-water sandstones in the north- ern half of the basin while deeper water shales occur in the southern part [34]. Latest Jurassic and earliest Cre - taceous deposits [33] are restricted to the southernmost part of the basin and are dominated by shallow marine sandstones (Surlyk 1991). A revised stratigraphy of the uppermost Triassic to Jurassic has been proposed by Surlyk (2003). UnconformityConglomerate Limestone Sandstone Siltstone Gypsum Mudstone Hesteelv Fm Raukelv Fm Hareelv Fm Olympen Fm Vardekløft Fm Neill Klinter Gp Kap Stewart Gp Fleming Fjord Fm Gipsdalen Fm Pingo Dal Fm Wordie Creek Fm Foldvik Creek Gp Late Late Late Late Middle Middle Middle Early Early Early P E R M . T R IA S S IC C R E T . JU R A S S IC JU R A S S IC C R E T A C E O U S JAMESON LAND WOLLASTON FORLAND m m 4000 3000 2000 2000 1000 1000 0 0 Albian_Aptian Lindemans Bugt Fm Palnatokes Bjerg Fm Bernbjerg Fm Vardekløft Fm Caledonian folded rocks • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Fig. 40. Schematic sections of the southern (Jameson Land) and northern (Wollaston Forland) developments in the Late Permian and Mesozoic rift margin basins of East Greenland. Corresponding units on the map: Foldvik Creek Group and Wordie Creek Formation [37]; Pingo Dal, Gipsdalen and Fleming Fjord Formations [36]; Kap Stewart Group and Neill Klinter Group [35]; Vardekløft, Olympen, Hareelv and Bernbjerg Formations and correlatives [34]; Raukelv, Hesteelv, Lindemans Bugt and Palnatokes Bjerg Formations and Aptian–Albian sediments [33]. Compiled from: Surlyk & Clemmensen (1975); Clemmensen (1980b); Surlyk et al. (1981, 1986); Surlyk (1990, 1991); Stemmerik et al. (1993); Dam & Surlyk (1998). A revised provisional lithostratigraphy of the uppermost Triassic – Jurassic has been proposed by Surlyk (2003). Late Permian – Cretaceous deposits in North-East Greenland (72–76°N) The sedimentary succession is stratigraphically less com- plete in this part of East Greenland due to continuous block faulting during the Mesozoic (Surlyk 1990; Stemmerik et al. 1993). Major hiatuses occur at around the Permian–Triassic boundary and in the Triassic and Early Jurassic. The Upper Permian and Lower Triassic sediments [37, 36] resemble those in Jameson Land; continental Middle Triassic deposits are restricted to the southern- most part of the region. The Middle to Upper Jurassic sediments [34] also resemble those in Jameson Land (Fig. 40), but were deposited in a separate basin (Surlyk 1977). Renewed rifting disrupted the northern part of the region into a series of 10–40 km wide half-grabens during the latest Jurassic and earliest Cretaceous (Surlyk 1978). These were infilled with more than 3000 m of syn-sedimentary marine breccias and conglomerates that pass laterally into sandstones and shales. The younger Cretaceous sediments (upper part of [33]) were deposited in a less active rift setting and are dominated by sandy shales with minor conglomerates. Cretaceous–Palaeogene deposits Central West Greenland Cretaceous–Palaeogene sedimentary rocks [8] crop out in the Disko–Svartenhuk Halvø region (69–72°N) of West Greenland, where they are overlain by Palaeogene basalts (Pedersen et al. 2006). The sediments were laid down in the Nuussuaq Basin and are referred to as the Nuussuaq Group. Although now bounded to the east by an extensional fault system, the sediments may origi- nally have extended both east and south of their present area of outcrop (Chalmers et al. 1999). A single seismic reflection line acquired on the south coast of Nuussuaq c. 25 km west of locality 2 in Fig. 41 suggests that there are at least 6 km, and perhaps as much as 8 km, of Mesozoic sedimentary rocks below sea level at this local- ity (Christiansen et al. 1995; Chalmers et al. 1999), but the age and character of the deepest deposits are not known. The following notes are drawn largely from a new comprehensive description of the entire succession of exposed and drilled sedimentary rocks in the basin (Dam et al. 2009). The oldest sedimentary rocks exposed in the Nuussuaq Basin belong to the Kome Formation of Albian age (col- umn and locality 4 in Fig. 41). These were deposited during a syn-rift phase and crop out on north-east Nuus - suaq where they lie directly on weathered Precambrian basement. The coarse sandstones, mudstones and sparse coal of the Kome Formation reflect an environment dominated by fluvial channels, flood plains and fan deltas amid basement highs. The Slibestensfjeldet Formation that overlies the Kome Formation on north-eastern Nuussuaq is up to 240 m thick and was deposited in an extensive lake. In latest Albian to Early Campanian time the south- eastern part of the Nuussuaq Basin was the site of a major fluvio-deltaic system that fanned out to the west and north-west from a point somewhere east of the island of Disko/Qeqertarsuaq, reaching deeper water at a shelf edge situated approximately at the position of the N–S- trending fault system crossing Disko and Nuussuaq that is shown in the inset map in Fig. 41. The deposits of this system constitute the Atane Formation which is at least 3000 m thick in the Vaigat area, although the thickest exposed sections are only up to 800 m thick. In the south-east, sandstones alternating with mudstones, coal seams and heteroliths represent the deposits of a braided river plain while farther north-west (e.g. at locality 2 in Fig. 41) the formation consists of stacked, typical deltaic, coarsening-upward successions (Fig. 42). The coeval deep marine sedimentary rocks on west- ern Nuussuaq and eastern Svartenhuk Halvø are referred to the Itilli Formation which comprises slope mudstone, turbidite sandstone and conglomerate units (Dam & Sønderholm 1994). On Svartenhuk Halvø the formation is dominated by mudstone intercalated with thin beds of sandstone interpreted as distal turbidites (Dam 1997). The slope deposits of the Itilli Formation were also pen- etrated in the GRO#3 exploration well on western Nuussuaq (locality 1, Fig. 41) that terminated drilling at 3 km depth. The thickness of the Itilli Formation is estimated to be at least 2000 m on western Nuussuaq and at least 1000 m in eastern Svartenhuk Halvø (Dam et al. 2009). In the Early Campanian the region again became tec- tonically unstable (Dam et al. 2000). Phases of block- faulting and uplift were followed by incision of both submarine and subaerial canyons into the underlying deposits (Fig. 42). Conglomerates, turbiditic and fluvial sands and mudstones of Maastrichtian to Danian age (Kangilia, Quikavsak and Agatdal Formations) were deposited mainly in valleys and submarine canyons and consequently vary considerably in thickness (Dam & Sønderholm 1994, 1998; Dam 2002; Dam et al. 1998, 2009). The Kangilia Formation varies in thickness from 440 m where it is thickest (locality 3, Fig. 41) to only 75 m on central Nuussuaq. The Quikavsak and Agatdal 57 58 Thanetian Western Nuussuaq (GRO#3 well) South coast Nuussuaq North coast Nuussuaq Selandian P al eo ce ne U pp er C re ta ce ou s Lo w er C re ta ce ou s Danian Maastrichtian Campanian Santonian Turonian Cenomanian Albian Ages in Ma Coniacian 99.6 93.5 83.5 70.6 65.5 61.7 V ai ga t S lib es te ns fje ld et A ta ne K om e Contact to basement Iti lli A ta ne K an gi lia K an gi lia Iti lli V ai ga t A ga td al E E Q ui ka vs ak t Tuff1.5 km undated deep marine sediments M 1 At South coast Nuussuaq V ai ga t Q ui ka vs ak K an gi lia E M At A ta ne 2 4 3 5 Alluvial fan Fluvial channel Flood plain Lake Volcanic rocks Delta front Marine shoreface Marine shelf Marine slope Marine slope channel Coal Mudstone Sandstone Conglomerate Macrofossils Delta plain Hyaloclastic breccia Subaerial lava flow t t t t Estuary Palaeogene basalts and intrusives Cretaceous-Paleocene sediments Precambrian basement Fault Disko 50 km 70° 53° Nuussuaq 1 2 5 43 Fig. 41. Lithostratigraphic sections in the Nuussuaq Basin, Disko–Nuussuaq region, central West Greenland (from Dam et al. 2009). The names of the formations are shown to the left of the simplified logs which indicate the main lithologies and depositional environments. M: Maligât Formation (belongs to the overlying West Greenland Basalt Group); At: Atanikerluk Formation; E: Eqalulik Formation. Locations of the sections are shown in the index map. Formations are time-equivalents, the former being flu- vial–estuarine and the latter marine. The thickness of the entirely channelised Quikavsak Formation varies from zero to 180 m, while the Agatdal Formation is 18–65 m thick on central Nuussuaq but c. 250 m thick in the GRO#3 well. On central Nuussuaq some units in the Agatdal Formation are extremely rich in redeposited marine fossils, mainly gastropods and bivalves. The marine mudstones of the Eqalulik Formation that overlie the formations mentioned before are locally interspersed with volcaniclastic sandstones and tuffs, thus recording the earliest evidence of volcanic activity within the sedimentary section of the Nuussuaq Basin. The thickness of the Eqalulik Formation varies from 12 m to more than 200 m. The youngest deposits (Atanikerluk Formation) in the Nuussuaq Basin were deposited in lakes in the east- ern part of the basin when basalts in the form of hyalo- clastite ‘deltas’ overlain by subaerial lava flows prograded from the west and dammed up a large body of standing water fed by fluvial run-off (G.K. Pedersen et al. 1998; A.K. Pedersen et al. 2007). The deposits that filled the lakes are arranged in two coarsening-upward succes - sions beginning with lacustrine mudstones and passing 59 KF AFAFAFAFAAFAFAAFAAAAFAFAAFAA d VFVFVFVFFVVFVVQFQFQFQFQFQFQQQFQFQFFQ VFQF AF Fig. 42. Major submarine canyon incised in Middle Turonian to Late? Santonian sediments (Atane For - mation, AF) and infilled with Late Maastrichtian and Early Danian turbidites (Kangilia Formation, KF). Thickness of the well-exposed part of the section is approximately 250 m. Note the coarsening-upwards cyclicity in the Atane Formation sediments. Pale sandstones of the Danian Quikavsak Formation (QF) can be seen high up on the ridge. The highest rocks exposed are hyaloclastic breccias of the Vaigat Formation (VF); a dyke is marked d. Summit of the ridge is 920 m a.s.l. Locality: Ataata Kuua (locality 2 in Fig. 41). up into lacustrine–fluvial sandstones. The cumulative thickness of the deposits is c. 500 m, the thickest single section (c. 400 m) occurring on eastern Disko. Southern East Greenland A c. 1 km thick Cretaceous to Palaeogene sedimentary succession [50] occurs in East Greenland in the Kan - gerlussuaq Basin north-west of Nansen Fjord (68°17´N). The sediments onlap crystalline basement to the east and north, but elsewhere the base of the succession is not seen. The sedimentary rocks belong to the Kanger - dlugssuaq and Blosseville Groups (Soper et al. 1976; Nielsen et al. 1981). The oldest exposed deposits are flu- vial and estuarine sandstones of Late Aptian – Early Albian age. They are overlain by Upper Cretaceous off- shore marine mudstones interbedded with thin turbiditic sandstones. In the early Paleocene sediment input increased and submarine fan sandstones were deposited along the northern basin margin whereas mudstone depo- sition continued within the basin. The offshore marine succession is unconformably overlain by fluvial sheet sandstones and conglomerates of latest Paleocene age (M. Larsen et al. 1999, 2001, 2006). The succession records a basin history of mid-Cretaceous transgression and Late Cretaceous – early Paleocene highstand fol- lowed by extensive uplift and basin-wide erosion in the mid-Paleocene. The uplift was quickly followed by renewed subsidence and the onset of extensive volcanism. Tertiary volcanics, intrusions and post-basaltic sedimentary rocks The Palaeogene lava regions of both West and East Greenland represent major eruption sites at the edges of the continent, from which lavas spilled over Mesozoic – early Paleocene sedimentary basins and lapped onto the Precambrian basement of the continental interior. The volcanic products were formed during the initial phase of continental break-up and initiation of sea-floor spread- ing in the early Palaeogene. Palaeogene basalts, central West Greenland Palaeogene volcanic rocks crop out in central West Green - land between latitudes c. 69° and 73°N. They are noted for the presence of native iron-bearing basalts and large volumes of high-temperature picrites and olivine basalts (Clarke & Pedersen 1976; L.M. Larsen & Pedersen 2009). The composite stratigraphic thickness of the suc- cession varies between 4 and 10 km, with the smallest thickness on Disko and a maximum on Ubekendt Ejland/Illorsuit (71°N). Eruption of the basalts began in a submarine envi- ronment, and the earliest basalts, which occur to the west (Fig. 41), consist of hyaloclastite breccias. When the growing volcanic pile became emergent, thin subaerial pahoehoe lava flows started to form. They flowed east- wards into a deep marine embayment where they became transformed into hyaloclastite breccias that prograded eastwards in large-scale Gilbert-type deltas with foresets up to 700 m high (Pedersen et al. 1993). Blocking of the outlet caused the marine embayment to be transformed into a lake, which was ultimately filled in with volcanic rocks (A.K. Pedersen et al. 1996; G.K. Pedersen et al. 1998) so that subsequent lava flows lapped onto Pre - cambrian crystalline basement highs in the east. The lower part of the succession (Vaigat Formation) consists almost entirely of tholeiitic picrites and olivine- phyric to aphyric magnesian basalts [7] (Pedersen 1985a). The upper part of the succession (Maligât Formation) consists of tholeiitic, plagioclase-phyric basalts [6] which formed thick plateau lava flows of aa-type. Both the Vaigat and Maligât Formations contain sediment-con - taminated units of magnesian andesite and, in the Maligât Formation, also dacite and rhyolite, mostly as tuffs (e.g. Pedersen 1985b). Some of the sediment-contaminated rocks in both formations contain graphite and native iron, formed by reaction with coal and organic-rich mud- stones. The succession is mostly flat lying, but is cut by coast-parallel faults in the western part where the lavas dip at up to 40° westwards. On Svartenhuk Halvø the upper part of the succes- sion is named the Svartenhuk Formation, which is the stratigraphic equivalent to the Maligât Formation (J.G. Larsen & Pulvertaft 2000). This area is characterised by extensional faulting and tilting, which together with flex- ure zones locally give rise to dips of up to 60° to the south-west. The major part of the volcanic pile was erupted in a short time span 62–60 Ma ago. On western Nuussuaq and Svartenhuk Halvø there is a younger group of lavas dated at c. 55 Ma (recognised after the map was printed) which also occurs on Ubekendt Ejland (Storey et al. 1998). 60 61 Palaeogene basalts, East Greenland Early Palaeogene volcanic rocks crop out in East Greenland between latitudes 68° and c. 75°N. South of Scoresby Sund/Kangertittivaq (c. 70°N) plateau basalts cover an extensive region of c. 65 000 km2, resting on Meso - zoic–Paleocene sediments in the east and south, and on Caledonian and Precambrian gneisses in the west (Nielsen et al. 1981; L.M. Larsen et al. 1989). North of Scoresby Sund Palaeogene basic sills and dykes are widespread in the Mesozoic strata, and a further sequence of plateau basalts is found between latitudes 73° and 75°N. Blosseville Kyst region (68–70°N) The earliest Palaeogene volcanics are 61–58 Ma old (Storey et al. 2007). They comprise a c. 1.8–2.5 km thick succession of tholeiitic basalts with subordinate picrite [49], which occurs in the southernmost part of the vol- canic province between 68° and 68°30´N (Nielsen et al. 1981). The basalts are aphyric or olivine-pyroxene-phyric, and the succession consists of intercalated subaerial flows, hyaloclastites, tuffs and sediments. It is interpreted as the infill of a shallow, partly marine, basin with a source area to the south, along the present coast or on the shelf. The main part of the region 68–70°N is made up of a thick succession of 56.1–55.0 Ma old tholeiitic plateau basalts [48] formed by 5–50 m thick subaerial flows of plagioclase-phyric to aphyric basalt (L.M. Larsen et al. 1989, 1999; Pedersen et al. 1997; Storey et al. 2007). The succession is at least 5.5 km thick in the central Blosseville Kyst area and thins inland and to the north to 2–3 km (Fig. 43). Four formations can be followed over almost the whole area and represent two major volcanic episodes. Eruptions took place over the entire area, but accumu- lation was largest in the coastal areas where the lava pile sagged during deposition. The subsidence accelerated with time, suggesting increased focusing of the magmas into a developing rift zone beyond the present coast. Along the present coast the lava flows dip seawards at 10–50° due to later flexing and faulting (Nielsen & Brooks 1981; Pedersen et al. 1997). Intense injection of coast-parallel dykes occurred in several episodes (Nielsen 1978; L.M. Larsen et al. 1989). Younger alkali basalt lavas cap the plateau basalts in some small inland areas; one of these occurrences is of Miocene age (13–14 Ma; Storey et al. 1996). Hold with Hope to Shannon region (73–75°N) A succession of c. 600–800 m of plateau basalts [32] occurs in the Hold with Hope to Shannon region in a block-faulted area. The succession is divided into a lower part of uniform tholeiitic lavas and an upper part with variable tholeiitic and alkali basaltic lavas (Upton et al. 1984, 1995; Watt 1994). Between the two there are local occurrences of intervolcanic conglomerates. The basalts on Shannon and the Pendulum Øer, north-east of Wol - Fig. 43. Major unconformity between Precambrian gneisses deformed during the Caledonian orogeny [52] and Palaeogene plateau basalts [32]. The basalt section shown is approximately 800 m thick. North of Gåsefjord/Nertiit Kangersivat (c. 70°N), Scoresby Sund region, cen- tral East Greenland. Photo: W.S. Watt. 62 laston Forland, mainly occur as voluminous sills. The reduced magnitude of volcanic activity in this northerly area, compared to the region south of Scoresby Sund, sug- gests that it was peripheral to the main volcanic activity in the East Greenland Tertiary volcanic province. Small areas of basalts with alkaline chemistry occur in the nunatak region (74°N) where they overlie Caledonian and older crystalline rocks (Katz 1952; Brooks et al. 1979; Bernstein et al. 2000). Palaeogene intrusions, East Greenland Numerous intrusions are exposed along about 1000 km of the coastal region of East Greenland between latitudes 66°30´ and 74°N, in addition to the many dykes and sills (see Fig. 20); approximately 20 of these intrusions are shown on the map, separated into felsic [53] and inter- mediate and mafic [57] types (Fig. 44). They reflect episodes of alkaline magmatism linked to the continental break up of the North Atlantic (Nielsen 1987), and range in age from late Paleocene to Oligocene. The oldest intru- sions occur in the south, and have ages between 57 and 47 Ma. Felsic intrusions in the south are 35–37 Ma old, whereas the more northerly intrusions (72–74°N) have ages in the range 48–25 Ma (Tegner et al. 1998, 2008; Brooks et al. 2004). Petrologically the intrusions can be divided into three groups (Nielsen 1987): (A) alkaline inland intrusions; (B) alkaline dyke swarms and (C) syenitic to granitic com- plexes and dykes. Most of the numerous intrusions found along the coast belong to the third group; they are cen- tral intrusions and intrusive complexes, often with sev- eral rock types within the same complex. They range from a few square kilometres to c. 850 km2 in size. The felsic complexes [53] are dominated by alkali granites, quartz syenites, syenites and nepheline syenites. The mafic to intermediate complexes [57] are dominated by tholeiitic gabbros, whereas subordinate rock types locally include monzonite and alkali gabbro. The 55 Ma old Skaergaard intrusion is a classic example of a layered gab- broic intrusion, and has been studied in great detail (Wager & Deer 1939; McBirney 1996a, b; Irvine et al. 1998). Post-basaltic Palaeogene sedimentary rocks, East Greenland Post-basaltic sedimentary rocks [47] are preserved in two small, down-faulted areas near the Atlantic coast south of Scoresby Sund (Kap Brewster, c. 70°10´N and Kap Dal ton, c. 69°25´N). They comprise a c. 100 m thick suc- ces sion of Palaeogene (Middle Eocene, 48–45 Ma old) fluvial to shallow marine sandstones and siltstones (M. Larsen et al. 2005) referred to as the Kap Dalton Group. These post-volcanic deposits have been dated by dinofla- gelate cysts and suggest that volcanism in this region came to an end close to the Early-Middle Eocene bound- ary between 49 and 48 Ma. The Palaeogene sedimentary rocks preserved onshore are marginal exposures of an extensive and much thicker (5–6 km) Tertiary succession found on the adjacent shelf areas (see p. 75). Pliocene–Pleistocene sediments, central North Greenland The late Pliocene – early Pleistocene Kap København For - mation [13] is a c. 100 m thick succession of unconsol- idated sand and silt, which crops out over an area of c. 500 km2 in easternmost Peary Land, North Greenland S coresby Sund Inland Ice 27°33° 72° 68° ICELAND D a n m a r k S t r æ d e Felsic intrusions Intermediate and mafic intrusions Kangerdlugssuaq Gustav Holm Kap Kialineq Imilik Nualik Skaergaard Kap Edvard Holm Borgtinderne Lilloise Hold with Hope Kap Parry Kap Simpson Werner Bjerge 100 km Fig. 44. Major Tertiary intrusive centres in East Greenland (c. 66°30´–74°N). Slightly modified from Nielsen (1987). (Funder & Hjort 1980; Funder 1989). The succession contains well-preserved faunal and floral elements. The base of the succession is not exposed. The lower 25 m comprise marine silt containing high Arctic molluscs, whereas the upper sand-dominated part containing tree trunks reflects nearshore environments. The flora and fauna found in this upper unit point to a much warmer climate than the present. The Kap København Formation shows disturbance caused by overriding glaciers during the Quaternary glaciation, and is overlain by till. Quaternary glacial sediments and glaciation During most of the Quaternary Greenland was com- pletely, or almost completely, covered by ice, and glacial deposits are widespread on the present ice-free land areas and on the adjacent shelf (Funder 1989; Funder et al. 1998). As the map is a bedrock geology map, Quaternary deposits are only shown in regions where a thick cover of Quaternary superficial deposits conceals the bedrock over large areas (valleys, interior plains and some coastal areas). These areas have been shown on the map as undif- ferentiated Quaternary. Recent studies indicate that the glaciation of North- East Greenland had started as early as the mid-Miocene (14–15 Ma ago; Thiede et al. 2001). Evidence from the shelf areas shows that an early glaciation of Greenland at the end of the Pliocene (c. 2.4 million years ago) was more extensive than any succeeding glaciation, with an ice sheet covering nearly the entire shelf region up to a few hundred kilometres beyond the present coastline (Funder 1989). During this glaciation the land area was subjected to extensive erosion, with much of the eroded material being deposited on the offshore shelves. The superficial deposits found on the ice-free land areas are dominated by the late Quaternary development of the past c. 130 000 years (Saalian/Illinoian–Holocene). The last interglacial period (Eemian/Sangamonian) is recorded in both East and West Greenland. During the late Weichselian/Wisconsinan c. 18 000 years ago the maximum extent of the ice around the northern parts of Greenland was close to the present coastline, whereas in parts of West and South-East Greenland the ice advanced onto the shelf area (Funder & Hansen 1996; Fig. 45). In South Greenland, modelling of the thick- ness of the ice cover over the outer coast during the Last Glacial Maximum shows that the ice must have been at least 1500 m thick (Bennike et al. 2002). Recent stud- ies indicate that the Greenland ice sheet during the late Weichselian/Wisconsinan reached out to the middle– outer continental shelf in North-East Greenland, a dis- tance of more than 100–200 km beyond the present coastline (Evans et al. 2009). The retreat of the Inland Ice after the last glacial period began 14 000–10 000 years ago, and continued with oscillations to a maximum stage of withdrawal approx- imately 6000 years ago when the ice margin was up to 20 km inside its present position. The position of the mar- gin of the Inland Ice where it now abuts against land areas only shows minor fluctuations (Fig. 46). Significant changes are almost restricted to major drainage outlets where the Inland Ice flows into fjords to form calving gla - ciers; the most active glaciers in Greenland have veloci- ties of up to 22 m per 24 hours. 63 30° W 80° 70° 60° 400 km 50° W 40° W ? ? ? ? Greenland Inland Ice Fig. 45. Former extent of the Greenland Inland Ice during the last glacial maximum. Green: c. 18 000 years before present; red: c. 10 000 years ago; blue arrows: major glacier outlet streams. Modified from Funder & Hansen (1996). The present ice cover of Greenland is a relic of the Pleis - tocene ice ages. It consists of the large continental ice sheet (the Inland Ice), and local ice caps and glaciers (Weidick 1995). The Inland Ice has an area of c. 1 707 000 km2 and reaches an altitude of 3230 m with a maximum thick- ness of 3420 m. The local ice caps and glaciers cover areas of c. 49 000 km2 (Weng 1995). The volume of the Inland Ice has been estimated at 2 600 000 km3, based on ice thickness measurements by airborne radio-echo sounding; a rough estimate of the volume of local ice caps and glaciers is 20 000 km3. On the map, surface con- tours, isopachs of ice thickness and contours of the bedrock below the Inland Ice are shown. Mean annual air temperatures on the Inland Ice range from –30°C over a large region in its central and north- ern parts to about –5°C in its south-western marginal areas. The temperature of the ice ranges between –32° and 0°C; with increasing depth, the temperature gener- ally increases due to geothermal heat flux and internal heating caused by deformation. In some locations, the temperature at the base of the ice sheet may reach its melting point. Mass balance The mass balance (budget) of the Inland Ice is the dif- ference between accumulation (of snow in the interior region mainly) and ablation by melting and calving of icebergs in the marginal areas. The accumulation of snow decreases from south to north from more than 2000 mm water equivalent/year in coastal areas in the south-west to 100 mm water equiv- 64 Glaciology Fig. 46. Characteristic front of the Inland Ice abutting the ice-free land area, with moraines and small lakes. The distance from the bottom of the picture to the land area in the background is approximately 5 km. The locality is about 75 km north-north-east of Søndre Strømfjord air- port, southern West Greenland, at c. 67°30´N. View is towards south. Photo: H. Højmark Thomsen. 65 alent/year or less in interior north-eastern areas (Ohmura & Reeh 1991). Melt rates also decrease from south to north. Away from the coast in South-West Greenland, the annual melting of the ice at sea level probably reaches values near 10 000 mm water equivalent. However, even along the northernmost margins of the Inland Ice sig- nificant melting occurs; melt-rate models predict values near 2000 mm water equivalent/year at sea level. Calving glacier fronts producing icebergs are generally located at the heads of fjords at some distance from the outer coast. The most concentrated source region for icebergs is cen- tral West Greenland (Disko Bugt and the area between Nuussuaq and Svartenhuk Halvø) where about 100 km3 of calf ice are produced annually. The effects of climate change in recent years on the mass balance of the Greenland ice sheet have been doc- umented by satellite gravity measurements. Over the four years 2004–2007 the ice sheet lost an average of c. 400–500 km3 in the summer period of each year and only gained c. 250–350 km3 of snow in the winter. The net result is a loss of c. 150 km3/year from the beginning of the 20th century (Witze 2008), although some researchers estimate even larger figures for the present net loss. Past climate and environment Up to 2009 five deep ice cores have been retrieved by drilling through the Inland Ice (one drilling was only to a depth of 1400 m), and these have provided consider- able information about climate and environmental vari- ations during the past 150 000 years. The ice-core records indicate that in central Greenland the Inland Ice sur- vived the last interglacial (the Eemian) which culmi- nated about 125 000 years ago, without completely disappearing even when the climate was several degrees warmer than at present. However, according to ice- dynamic model calculations of the evolution of the Inland Ice, the ice cover in northern and southern Greenland was less extensive during the Eemian (Fig. 47). The ice-core records indicate dramatic temperature fluc- tuations during the last ice age, which lasted from about 115 000 years ago to about 11 700 years ago. In the cold - est parts of this period, temperatures in Greenland may have been 10–12°C colder than now, whereas tempera- tures in other periods of the ice age were only about 5 degrees colder (Dansgaard 1997; Hammer 1997). A B C 400 km 130 000 years 15 000 years 0–1000 m 1000–1600 m 1600_2400 m 2400–3000 m > 3000 mIce free Present Fig. 47. Models of the Inland Ice with indication of thickness of the ice sheet in metres. A: The last interglacial (the Eemian) with a tem - perature 4–5°C higher than the present. B: During the late glacial maximum (Weichselian) with a temperature 10–12°C colder than at pre- sent. C: Under the present climatic conditions. From model calculations by Letréguilly et al. (1991). The models do not include the offshore extent of the ice, only that of present land areas. The interpretation of the offshore geology shown on the 1:2 500 000 scale map was based mainly on seismic sur- veys carried out between 1970 and 1992, supplemented by aeromagnetic and gravimetric data and, in the case of southern West Greenland, by data from five exploration wells drilled in 1976–77. Offshore South-East Greenland six holes were drilled in 1993 at c. 63°N, constituting Leg 152 of the Ocean Drilling Program (ODP; H.C. Larsen et al. 1994a); the positions of three of these wells are shown on the map. In 1995 three more holes were drilled off South-East Greenland as part of the aborted ODP Leg 163, but no results were available when the map went to press (H.C. Larsen et al. 1996). However, the coverage of geophysical data in different areas was, and still is, uneven, and is dependent on ice conditions. Off southern West Greenland, where there are only scat- tered icebergs and no pack ice in the late summer and early autumn, more than 37 000 km of seismic data were acquired by the oil industry in the 1970s and a further 10 259 km of non-exclusive data were acquired in this area in the years 1990–1994 (Pulvertaft 1997). In con- trast, the often ice-infested areas off East, North-East and North-West Greenland were only covered by recon- naissance surveys, principally as a result of the KANU- MAS and North Atlantic D (NAD) surveys. The KANU - MAS project was a marine seismic reconnaissance financed by six major oil companies, with the Greenland-Danish national oil company Nunaoil A/S as operator (H.C. Larsen & Pulvertaft 1990; Pulvertaft 1997). In the 1990s KANUMAS surveys acquired c. 7000 km of seismic data off North-East and central East Greenland, and c. 4000 km of data off North-West Greenland; although these data are confidential company data, some results had been released in time to be included in the 1:2 500 000 map. The North Atlantic D project was a combined aeromagnetic and seismic survey of the East Greenland shelf carried out by Grønlands Geologiske Undersøgelse (GGU) in 1979–83. During this project c. 8000 km of seismic data were acquired off central East and South- East Greenland (Thorning et al. 1982; H.C. Larsen 1985). In Nares Stræde (Nares Strait) and off North Greenland, where no seismic data existed, interpretation of the geology was based on aeromagnetic and sparse gravity data alone. Aeromagnetic and shipborne magnetic data constituted the main source of information in oceanic areas. The 1:2 500 000 map was designed to show two gen- eral aspects of offshore geology: (1) the extent of conti- nental crust [a], oceanic crust [c–g], and of the intervening, poorly understood, transition zone [b] and (2) the dis- tribution of sedimentary basins and major faults. Where extensive volcanic units are known to occur in areas underlain by continental crust, their distribution is also shown. Since compilation of the 1:2 500 000 map a large amount of new data has been acquired in the maritime regions surrounding Greenland, both by the industry and by academic research institutes. It is clear from these data that the map is not correct in many places. In the following text, attention is drawn to the known errors in the map, and as more data are released, there will no doubt be need for further corrections. The distribution of crustal types offshore as now understood (2009) is shown in Fig. 49A, p. 68, while offshore and onshore sed- imentary basins are shown in Fig. 56. The continental margin off East and North Greenland East Greenland south of 77°N In general terms, the continental margin off East Greenland between the southern tip of Greenland and 76°N can be described as a volcanic rifted margin (H.C. Larsen 1990; H.C. Larsen et al. 1994a, b), formed when Greenland became separated from northern Europe at the start of sea-floor spreading in early Eocene time (mag- netochron 24R). Between c. 68°N and the Jan Mayen Fracture Zone, however, Greenland remained attached to the Jan Mayen microcontinent (Fig. 49A, B) until Oligocene time when spreading shifted from the Aegir Ridge to the Kolbeinsey Ridge. The position of the continent–ocean boundary (COB) was drawn on the basis of aeromagnetic data supple- mented by characteristic features in the NAD reflection seismic data. The absolute seawards (eastern) limit of continental crust cannot overlap areas where linear mag- netic anomalies characteristic of oceanic crust can be identified with confidence. Along the entire volcanic rifted margin seaward-dipping reflectors can be seen in the seismic data. These arise from subaerial lava flows or groups of flows that were erupted in the early stages of 66 Offshore geology sea-floor spreading prior to differential subsidence below sea-level. In connection with the seaward-dipping reflec- tors, buried volcanic escarpments may occur. These are landward-facing escarpments formed at the landward end of the dipping reflectors, where lava flows interfin- ger with sedimentary rocks (Fig. 48; H.C. Larsen & Jakobsdóttir 1988; H.C. Larsen 1990). The zone off East Greenland shown on the map as underlain by transitional crust [b] was drawn in a rather arbitrary manner, at least with regards to its width. This zone is thought to consist of attenuated and fragmented continental crust with increasing numbers of dykes and other intrusions as oceanic crust is approached. Much of the onshore coastal area around and south of Kang - erlussuaq (68°N) is very intensely intruded by Palaeogene coast-parallel dyke swarms (Nielsen 1978; Klausen & Larsen 2002; not shown on the map). Aeromagnetic data indicate that these dyke swarms continue south- westwards under the shelf as far south as 63°N (H.C. Larsen 1978). This intensity of dyke intrusion suggests the proximity of the continent–ocean boundary, i.e. the outer edge of the transition zone. Since the map was printed, results of intensive research carried out off southern East Greenland along Leg 152 of the Ocean Drilling Program (ODP sites 914–919, c. 63°N) have been published (H.C. Larsen & Saunders 1998; H.C. Larsen et al. 1998). Results of this research indicate that the continent–ocean boundary, defined here as the point at which thinned, intensely dyked con- tinental crust finally gives way to a sheeted dyke com- plex, is situated in this area about 12 km landwards of the shelf break (H.C. Larsen & Saunders 1998 fig. 12). The shelf break here is the edge of a thick prograding wedge of glaciomarine sediments. The inner boundary of the continent–ocean transition zone, i.e. the point at which extensional faulting intensifies and marked atten- uation of continental crust begins, lies 25–40 km land- wards of the continent–ocean boundary (H.C. Larsen & Saunders 1998 fig. 12; H.C. Larsen et al. 1998 fig. 7). Thus the continent–ocean transition zone may be a lit- tle wider than shown on the 1:2 500 000 map, and the continent–ocean boundary probably lies about 25 km north-west (landwards) of the position shown on the map. At c. 68°N the eastern margin of continental Greenland cuts obliquely across linear magnetic anomalies 24–13 in the oceanic crust. This was not originally regarded as the expression of a transform fault, but rather as an oblique ocean–continent transition along a former north- ward-propagating spreading ridge (H.C. Larsen 1988). However, prior to anomaly 13 time, the Jan Mayen mi - cro continent was attached to East Greenland between c. 68° and 72°N. A coast-parallel dyke swarm along Blosseville Kyst between 68°20´ and 70°N and volumi- nous intraplate volcanism in this region may reflect an unsuccessful attempt at continued Eocene spreading along an axis at about the position of the present coast (H.C. Larsen 1988). However, to find the ‘missing’ mag- netic anomalies 24–13 (i.e. Eocene) oceanic crust, it is to the east of the Jan Mayen micrcontinent that one should look (e.g. Lundin & Doré 2002). During this period a transform fault must have linked the Reykjanes Ridge to the southern end of the Aegir Ridge – the Denmark Strait Fracture Zone (Lundin & Doré 2002). After anomaly 13 time spreading between Greenland and the Jan Mayen microcontinent propagated north- wards, reaching the Jan Mayen Fracture Zone at about anomaly 6 time. North of Jan Mayen Fracture Zone the 1:2 500 000 map shows the COB off East Greenland transgressing magnetic anomalies 24B, 24A and 23 at a low angle, indicating that here the spreading ridge propagated towards the south-west. Newer interpretations of the position of the COB here differ, not only from what is shown on the map but also from one another. Tsikalas et al. (2002) extend anomalies 24B and 24A into the shelf, the anomalies crossing the shelf edge at approxi- mately 74°15´N and 73°55´N respectively. This implies that the shelf has prograded over oceanic crust here, and that there was no south-westwards progradation of the spreading axis in this region. However, refraction seis- mic data from the shelf between 72° and 74°N (Voss & Jokat 2007) show clearly that the boundary of true oceanic crust lies very slightly seawards of what is shown in the 1:2 500 000 map, while the transition zone, described by Voss & Jokat as “intruded and stretched continental crust”, extends landwards 100 km from the COB. Farther 67 Isochrones Basalts Direction of lava flow 2 km Sediments Sediment flow PSE PSE PSE A pp ro x. 1 km Fig. 48. Cross-section based on seismic section, illustrating the for- mation of so-called pseudo-escarpments (PSE) at the landward end of dipping basalts. Sediments: pale blue to light brown layers; basalts: green. Landward direction to the left. Slightly modified from H.C. Larsen (1990). 68 G R E E N L A N D S v a l b a r d E l l e s m e r e I s l a n d B a f f i n I s la n d I c e l a n d 75 ° 39 ° 3°W 9°E 82 ° 78 °86° 82° 74° 70° 66° 62° 63 ° 58° 33° 21° 66° 3° 62° 15° 74 ° 39°51°54° 58° 99° 111° 0 250 500 km QH GR A north Berger & Jokat (2008), on the basis of reflection seismic data, place the landward boundary of oceanic crust a little seawards of the position shown on the enclosed 1:2 500 000 map, the difference between Berger & Jokat’s interpretation and the 1:2 500 000 map dimin- ishing south-westwards. North-East Greenland (77–83°N) At the Greenland Ridge (see Fig. 49A, B) a sliver of con- tinental crust extends from the shelf south-eastwards along the fracture zone until this turns slightly anti- clockwise. North-east of the fracture zone there is an area tentatively interpreted as extremely thinned conti- nental crust (Døssing et al. 2008); this is included in the area shown as continental or transitional crust in Fig. 49A. North of the fracture zone the position of the COB steps to the north-west. Sea-floor spreading magnetic anom- alies have lower amplitudes and are more ambiguous in the oceanic area north of the fracture zone and in the Fram Strait than in the oceanic region to the south. At the time the 1:2 500 000 map was compiled, there was no agreed interpretation of magnetic anomalies, and hence 69 Ridge G.R.G.R. E l l e s m e r e E l l e s m e r e I s l a n d I s l a n d B a f f i n I s la n d N.W.BN.W.B. „ 75 ° 82 ° 78 ° 99° 86° 74° 70° 66° 62° 63 ° 58° 111° 33° 21° 66° 62° 58° 15° 74 ° 70 ° 39° 51° 54° G R E E N L A N D L i n c o l n S e a E u r a s i a B a s i n E l l e s m e r e I s l a n d M.J .R . G.R. S.F.Z. M.F.Z. Y.P l . Lo.R. F r a m S t r a i t G ak ke l S v a l b a r d R ey kj an es R id ge K o lb e in se y R id ge J an Mayen F.Z. M o hn s R id ge R idge Kn ipov ich L a b r a d o r S e a ? U .F. Z. D. S.H . B a f f i n I s la n d B.P. C.D. Jan M ayen M c. S .Sd . N ares S t . K .K . R id ge 82° 39 ° 3°W 15° 9°E N.W.B. „„ B a f f i n B a y I c e l a n d 250 500 km0 B Land areas. Maritime areas underlain by continental or transitional crust Oceanic crust, Pliocene–Recent Oceanic crust, Miocene Oceanic crust, Oligocene Oceanic crust, Eocene Oceanic crust, Paleocene Oceanic crust, Age uncertain Palaeogene basalts exposed at seabed in areas underlain by con- tinental or transitional crust Palaeogene basalts buried under younger sediments in areas underlain by continental or transitional crust Seaward-dipping reflectors Oceanic spreading axis, active Oceanic spreading axis, extinct Transform fault Major basin – bounding fault; mark on downthrown side Compressional fault, thrust Exploration well; Q: Qulleq-1, G: Gjoa G-37, R: Ralegh N-18, H: Hekja 0-71 Fig. 49. A (facing page): Map showing distribution of crustal types and major structures offshore Greenland. Only basalts overlying conti- nental crust are shown. B (above): Place names and names of structural features shown in A or mentioned in the text. Lo.R.: Lomonosov Ridge; M.J.R.: Morris Jesup Rise; Y.Pl.: Yermak Plateau; S.F.Z.: Spitsbergen Fracture Zone; M.F.Z.: Molloy Fracture Zone; G.R.: Greenland Ridge; Jan Mayen F.Z.: Jan Mayen Fracture Zone; Jan Mayen Mc.: Jan Mayen Microcontinent; U.F.Z.: Ungava Fracture Zone; D.S.H.: Davis Strait High; ‘N.W.B.’: ‘North Water Bay’; S.Sd.: Smith Sound; K.K.: Kennedy Kanal; B.P. Bache Peninsula; C.D.: Cape Dyer. Legend, facing page: the age of oceanic crust between the Hovgård Ridge (position c. 0°W, 78°30´N, shown as transitional crust) and the Spitsbergen Fracture Zone (see Fig. 49A, B) is shown as [g] (age unspecified) on the map. Recently, however, Engen et al. (2008) have reviewed the geology and evolution of the Fram Strait and provisionally iden- tified and numbered several sea-floor spreading mag- netic anomalies in the seaway, so that the oceanic crust in the strait can now be subdivided chronostratigraphi- cally as it is elsewhere (Fig. 49A). Between the Greenland Ridge and the Molloy Fracture Zone (Fig. 49A, B) the oldest sea-floor spreading mag- netic anomaly that can be identified with confidence is anomaly 18 (39 Ma; Middle Eocene) (Engen et al. 2008). Regarding the COB here, Døssing et al. (2008) place the seaward limit of continental crust slightly east of where it is shown on the 1:2 500 000 map, close to the shelf edge. The north-east margin of continental Greenland, north of 79°N, has a very different character. It is shown on the enclosed map as a former intracontinental trans- form plate boundary. A consensus exists that a substan- tial dextral displacement of Svalbard relative to North-East Greenland took place along an intracontinental NW–SE megashear, the De Geer megashear (Harland 1969; Eng - en et al. 2008), in the time interval corresponding to mag - netochrons 24R–13 (earliest Eocene – earliest Oligocene). In the early Oligocene, rifting began to take place along this zone, and a spreading ridge, the Knipovich Ridge, linking the Mohns Ridge and the Gakkel Ridge, devel- oped along the site of the earlier transform fracture. Since this time, the flanking continental margins have devel- oped as passive margins separated by an obliquely spread- ing ocean (e.g. Vogt & Tucholke 1989; Eldholm et al. 1990; Kristoffersen 1990; Engen et al. 2008; Faleide et al. 2008). Spreading propagated south-eastwards from the Gakkel Ridge so that the earliest identified magnetic anomaly between the Yermak Plateau and the Morris Jesup Rise is anomaly 7, while in the Fram Strait the old - est anomaly approaching the Spitsbergen Fracture Zone is anomaly 5 (Engen et al. 2008). It has also been sug- gested that mantle peridotite has been exposed in this part of the strait (Jokat et al. 2005). Whatever the case, the 1:2 500 000 map is incorrect with regard to the age of the oceanic crust in this area. The Morris Jesup Rise and the Yermak Plateau One particular outstanding problem here is the nature of the crust underlying the Morris Jesup Rise and its conjugate feature, the Yermak Plateau, north of Svalbard (Fig. 49A, B). Recent work has shown that the Yermak Plateau south of 82°N (the area shown without colour on the 1:2 500 000 map) is most likely underlain by continental crust, and that the south-west margin of this part of the plateau is a continental margin (Ritzmann & Jokat 2003; Engen et al. 2008). North of 82°N the Yermak Plateau runs NE–SW; it is this outer part of the plateau that adjoined the Morris Jesup Rise prior to the opening of the Eurasia Basin and Fram Strait. The nature of the crust in the outer Yermak Plateau is still open to discussion. Jokat et al. (2008) favour a model of stretched and intruded continental crust, and Engen et al. (2008) argue against the earlier hypothesis that this part of the plateau formed by volu- minous oceanic volcanism at an Eocene triple junction between Eurasia, Greenland and North America, point- ing out that the termination of sea-floor spreading mag- netic anomalies 23–13 at the north-east flank of the outer plateau favours a continental outer Yermak Plateau. A limited amount of work has been done on the con- jugate feature, the Morris Jesup Rise. Available data indi- cate that the feature is underlain by thinned and rifted continental crust (Ostenso & Wold 1977). As is also the case in the Yermak Plateau, high-amplitude and irregu- lar magnetic anomalies suggest the presence of volcanic rocks, possibly of Cretaceous age (Engen et al. 2008). Dawes (1990) favoured the view that the Morris Jesup Rise has a complex structure and that it may contain appreciable continental remnants below a thick cover of volcanic rocks. The continental margin off West Greenland Southern West Greenland (58–64°N) The continental margin off southern West Greenland also presents problems of interpretation, although more reflection seismic data are available from this area. There has also been some controversy as to when sea-floor spreading in the Labrador Sea began, as discussed in the following, but all agree that sea-floor spreading between Greenland and Canada began earlier than in the North Atlantic, and that it had ceased by magnetochron 13 time. Distinct linear magnetic anomalies can be seen in the Labrador Sea off South-West Greenland (Srivastava 1978). The earliest magnetic anomalies trend NNW–SSE, while the younger anomalies (24 and younger) trend 70 NW–SE, parallel to an extinct spreading axis roughly midway between Canada and Greenland. The oldest unambiguous magnetic anomaly in the Labrador Sea is anomaly 27. The crust landward of this is shown as transitional crust on the 1:2 500 000 map. Srivastava (1978) and Roest & Srivastava (1989) indi- cated that linear magnetic anomalies could be identified much closer to the continental shelf than anomaly 27, suggesting 31 or 33 as the number of the oldest anom- aly. However, a substantial body of evidence has accu- mulated since 1991 that refutes the hypothesis that pre-anomaly 27R oceanic crust exists in the Labrador Sea. Modelling of the magnetic data acquired by the Bundesanstalt für Geowissenschaften und Rohstoffe (BGR), during seismic transects across the Labrador Sea in 1977, indicates oceanic crust with alternating strips of normally and reversed magnetised crust landwards as far as anomaly 26R or 27R (Chalmers 1991; Chalmers & Laursen 1995). Landwards of this, a model assuming thinned and rifted continental crust intruded by reversed magnetised igneous material provides the best fit with the observed data. South of 62°N it appears that ser- pentinised peridotite subcrops sediments in the outer part of the transitional zone and that the remnants of con- tinental crust are very thin (Chian & Louden 1994; Chalmers 1997). Whatever the case, the seawards limit of normal continental crust off southern West Greenland lies well to the south-west of the continental slope, at water depths of more than 1500 m. This interpretation of the distribution of crustal types is supported by the struc- tural pattern seen in the seismic lines. Both the normal continental crust and the zone of transitional crust show large tilted fault blocks overlain by syn- and post-rift sediments (Chalmers & Pulvertaft 2001). The oldest sediments are most likely of Early Cretaceous age (see later). Definitive evidence concerning the crustal structure in the inner Labrador Sea was obtained when the Qulleq-1 exploration well was drilled in 2000 at 63°49´N, 54°27´W. According to Srivastava & Roest (1999 fig. 5), this should lie on magnetic anomaly 33 (73.6–79 Ma, middle Cam - panian; Cande & Kent 1995), but the well terminated in Santonian sandstone without reaching basement (Christiansen et al. 2001), showing that the basement here must be older than oceanic crust anywhere in the North Atlantic region north of 56°N. The crustal structure in the inner Labrador Sea has recently been studied in a reflec- tion/refraction seismic transect running WSW from the Qulleq-1 well to the Gjoa G-37 and Hekja 0-71 wells off eastern Canada. This new seismic line shows that oceanic crust is restricted to two narrow zones at or close to the Ungava Fracture Zone, a major transform zone that transferred sea-floor spreading through the Davis Stræde (Davis Strait) into Baffin Bugt (Baffin Bay; Fig. 49A, B; Funck et al. 2007). Funck et al. believe that these zones of oceanic crust formed when phases of transtension along the fracture zone created gaps which were filled with melt that formed new oceanic crust. Davis Stræde (c. 64–69°N) The crust under Davis Stræde is estimated to be 22 km thick (Keen & Barrett 1972), which is intermediate between the thickness of normal oceanic and continen- tal crust. There is a basement high within the strait (the Davis Strait High), where the sedimentary cover is thin and locally virtually absent. Palaeogene volcanic rocks have been recovered from the high (Srivastava 1983; Williamson et al. 2003), and it has been suggested that the high is a volcanic plateau formed by hotspot vol- canic activity. Hotspot activity is also suggested by the occurrence of thick picritic lavas of Paleocene age in the Disko – Nuussuaq – Svartenhuk Halvø area in central West Greenland and at Cape Dyer (Fig. 49B) on the south-east side of Baffin Island in Canada (Clarke & Upton 1971; Clarke & Pedersen 1976). On the Greenland side of the strait, strata of Late Cretaceous age have been traced on seismic lines westwards from the Ikermiut-1 exploration well (66°56´N) onto the eastern flank of the high (Chalmers et al. 1995), indicating that the high is formed of pre-Late Cretaceous rocks. An E–W seismic profile across the high west of the Ikermiut-1 well shows dipping internal reflectors within the high (Gregersen & Bidstrup 2008), suggesting the presence a sedimentary unit. The very high abundance of Ordovician carbon- ates in dredge samples collected on the high suggests that this unit consists of Ordovician limestones (Dalhoff et al. 2006), a possibility supported by the occurrence of Ordovician carbonates in wells offshore Labrador (Bell & Howie 1990) and onshore at ‘Fossilik’ c. 65 km east of Maniitsoq in West Greenland (Stouge & Peel 1979; [9] on the 1:2 500 000 map). The crust under Davis Stræde is therefore interpreted by the Survey as being formed of thinned continental crust, in accordance with the interpretation of the distribution of crustal types far- ther south. 71 Baffin Bugt (69–77°N) The distribution of crustal types underlying Baffin Bugt has not yet been mapped out with certainty, not least because linear sea-floor spreading magnetic anomalies are not distinct in this region. In the central, deep part of Baffin Bugt refraction seismic experiments have shown that the crust is very thin, the M (moho) discontinuity lying only 11 km below sea-level. The thickness of the cover of sediments exceeds 4 km in all but the south- ernmost part of this region. Seismic velocities in the crust below these sediments are in the range 5.7–7.0 km/sec (Srivastava et al. 1981; Balkwill et al. 1990), in agreement with those known from oceanic layers 2 and 3. Gravity and magnetic evidence (see next paragraphs) is also con- sistent with the interpretation of the central part of Baffin Bugt as being underlain by oceanic crust (e.g. Balkwill et al. 1990). However, geophysical evidence has been presented which indicates that in north-western Baffin Bugt continental crust is replaced oceanwards by a layer of serpentinised mantle, which would account for the lack of distinct linear magnetic anomalies in this area (Reid & Jackson 1997). The weakness of linear sea-floor spread- ing magnetic anomalies could also be attributed to very oblique spreading (see Roots & Srivastava 1984) and to the dampening effect of the thick sedimentary cover. In spite of the weakness of the magnetic anomalies, Oakey (2005) has succeeded in interpreting linear anom- alies between 69° and 73°N and divided these into two directions, NNW–SSE and NW–SE, corresponding respectively to the Paleocene and Eocene anomalies in the Labrador Sea. Oakey’s interpretation has been accep - ted in the recently published 1:5 000 000 map of the entire polar region north of 60°N (Harrison et al. 2008), on which the oceanic crust in Baffin Bugt is divided into crust of Paleocene and Eocene age. The same interpre- tation is shown in Fig. 49A. The extinct spreading axis located by Chalmers & Pulvertaft (2001) is the axis of Eocene spreading. Oakey (2005) agrees with Chalmers & Pulvertaft (2001) that the major transfer faults along which the spreading axis was displaced, trend c. N–S. In the absence of easily recognisable sea-floor spread- ing magnetic anomalies, the landward limit of proven oceanic crust cannot yet be placed with any degree of con- fidence. Existing released geophysical data are not suffi- cient to allow any interpretation of the position, width and nature of the continent–ocean transitional zone. On the 1:2 500 000 map the area underlain by continental crust was delineated on the evidence of crustal thickness and structural style (large extensional faults and rotated fault blocks), the latter being known from the KANU- MAS reconnaissance seismic survey (Whittaker et al. 1997). In southern Baffin Bugt a recently acquired NW–SE refraction seismic line has revealed a material with high velocity (6.8 km/s) underlying sediments at c. 68°40΄N, east of the N–S transform fault running N–S at c. 60°W (T. Funck, personal communication 2009). This could be oceanic crust, but at present neither the age nor the north–south extent of this high velocity layer is known. Nares Stræde (77–82°N) The nature of the geological structure underlying Nares Stræde, the linear seaway separating Greenland from Ellesmere Island (Fig. 49B), has for some time been a con- troversial subject (Dawes & Kerr 1982; Tessensohn et al. 2006). Geophysicists have argued that the strait is the site of a major transform fault with a left-lateral displace - ment of more than 100 km that accommodated the opening of the Labrador Sea and Baffin Bugt during the Palaeogene, and also of movement normal to the strait (e.g. Srivastava 1985). In contrast, geologists familiar with the surrounding onshore geology find that there is no significant lateral displacement in Smith Sund (Smith Sound). Several geological markers correlate perfectly from the Thule-Inglefield Land area in Greenland to south-east Ellesmere Island south of the Bache Peninsula (Dawes 2009a). However, in the Kennedy Kanal (kanal = channel) and Robeson Kanal and along the north-west coast of Kennedy Kanal, both thrusting and sinistral strike-slip faulting have been observed (Tessensohn et al. 2006), and a strike-slip displacement of up to 70 km is considered possible (Harrison 2006). The apparent con- tradiction between what can be interpreted in Kennedy Kanal and what is observed across Smith Sund can be resolved if south-east Ellesmere Island is geologically speaking part of the Greenland plate. Assuming this is the case, the tectonic junction between Greenland and Ellesmere Island runs along the north-west side of Kennedy Kanal as far south as 80°N and then turns inland just north of Bache Peninsula, where the strike- slip displacement in and along the north-west coast of Kennedy Kanal is transferred into thrusting along the southern front of the Eurekan Orogen (Fig. 49A). The cumulative shortening across the major thrust zones of the Eurekan Orogen has been estimated to be of the order of 100 km (De Paor et al. 1989). Recent work in Baffin Bugt has diminished the like- lihood that Nares Stræde is the site of a major transform fault, because 1) the direction of transform fracture zones and hence spreading movement in this area is almost 72 north–south, i.e. at an angle of about 40° to Nares Stræde (see Fig. 49A, B; Wheeler et al. 1996; Whittaker et al. 1997; Chalmers & Pulvertaft 2001; Harrison et al. 2008) and 2) the width of the area of oceanic crust in Baffin Bugt may be much less than previously supposed (Oakey 2005; Harrison et al. 2008)). It may well be that Baffin Bugt spreading has been accommodated to a substantial degree by a series of rifts in the Canadian Arctic Islands together with compression in the Eurekan orogen, just as the Gakkel Ridge spreading axis terminates in a sys- tem of rifts and extension zones in the Laptev Shelf north of Siberia (Drachev 2000). The continental margin off North Greenland, west of the Morris Jesup Rise Ice conditions in Lincoln Hav (the Lincoln Sea) off North Greenland are the most severe anywhere in Greenland waters. Consequently, the only indications of what might underlie the sea were for many years pro- vided entirely by airborne geophysical data. Summarising the results of earlier work in the region, Dawes (1990) concluded that while gravity data from Lincoln Hav sug- gest that the North Greenland margin is underlain by thinned continental crust, the crustal structure of the offshore region is conjectural. For this reason a wide area is shown without colour on the 1:2 500 000 map. In 2006 geophysicists succeeded in acquiring two wide-angle refraction/reflection seismic lines on the sea ice north of Ellesmere Island and Greenland (Dahl-Jensen et al. 2006). These seismic sections show that thinned continental crust continues northwards from the inner Greenland shelf under a 2000 m deep channel to the southern end of the Lomonosov Ridge. Consequently it is now believed that the entire area shown without colour as ‘type of crust unknown’ on the 1:2 500 000 map is underlain by thinned continental crust. The >2000 m deep area shown as underlain by oceanic crust older than 45 Ma [f] on the 1:2 500 000 map is also likely to be underlain by continental/transitional crust, an inference supported by the fact that linear sea-floor spreading mag- netic anomalies identified to the north do not continue into this area (Engen et al. 2008). The study by Dahl- Jensen et al. (2006) also showed that a previously sus- pected deep sedimentary basin underlying Lincoln Hav does in fact exist (see later). Offshore sedimentary basins (Fig. 56) Reflection seismic surveys have shown that large sedi- mentary basins occur offshore East Greenland between latitude intervals 67–72°N and 75–80°N. In the inter- vening area there are extensive Palaeogene basalts below which thick sedimentary successions have been tenta- tively interpreted, but these cannot be resolved in exist- ing seismic data. Offshore West Greenland there are rift basins with substantial thicknesses of sediment as far north as 76°N, and also smaller basins in southern Nares Stræde. As just mentioned, under Lincoln Hav a major sedimentary basin has recently been identified (Dahl- Jensen et al. 2006; K. Sørensen, personal communica- tion 2009). North-East Greenland shelf (72–80°N) The existence of thick sedimentary successions on the North-East Greenland shelf was first suggested on the basis of interpretation of aeromagnetic data (Thorning et al. 1982; H.C. Larsen 1984). Seismic and gravity data ac - quired as part of the KANUMAS project confirmed the existence of major sedimentary basins under this shelf, but at the time the 1:2 500 000 map was printed, very few details had been released. Later a summary of the struc- ture and succession in the basins in this shelf has been published (Hamann et al. 2005). The sediments on the shelf were deposited in two basins separated by a basement high, the Danmarkshavn Ridge (Fig. 50A). Judging from the known geology of the Barents Sea, the Norwegian shelf and onshore North- East Greenland, the age of these sediments is likely to be Devonian to Recent, with unconformities in the mid- dle Permian and at the base of the Paleocene. In the inner basin the maximum thickness of the basin fill is c. 13 km, and the succession is thought to span the entire period between Devonian and Neogene. A profound unconfor - mity separates the ?Devonian–Cretaceous section from the overlying Paleocene and younger units (Fig. 50B). The presence of a thick salt layer in the deep part of the basin is clearly shown by gravity lows that coincide with diapiric structures seen in the seismic sections (Hamann et al. 2005). This salt formation passes into time-equiv- alent carbonates deposited on the platform to the west. By comparison to the Nordkapp Basin, Norwegian Bar - ents Sea, the salt is inferred to be of Late Carboniferous – earliest Permian age (Hamann et al. 2005). A very thick succession also occurs in the outer basin. Here, however, it has not been possible to interpret layers lower 73 than ?Jurassic–Cretaceous, although there are indirect indications that older sediments occur here, just as they do in the inner basin. On the shelf between latitudes 72°15´ and 75°30´N extensive volcanic rocks of presumed Palaeogene age have been interpreted from the aeromagnetic and seismic data (H.C. Larsen 1990). In the near-shore area these are exposed at the seabed; eastwards they become increas- ingly deeply buried under younger sediments. It is con- sidered almost certain that the pre-Paleocene sediments interpreted to the north and south of this area continue beneath the volcanic rocks. High amplitude magnetic anomalies suggest the presence of igneous intrusions in the sedimentary and volcanic rocks just north of 72°N. 74 ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ Greenland Fracture Zone ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ W andel Sea Basin D an m ar ks ha vn B as in Th et is B as in Vo lc an ic p ro vi nc e a b K ol de w ey P la tfo rm O LL B IL LB KCL 80°N 78°N 76°N 74°N 72°N 70°N 250 km Inland Ice SS Younger sedimentary basins (55–0 million years old) Oceanic basalts (55–0 million years old) Palaeogene basalts and intrusions onshore/offshore Platform sediment Palaeozoic–Mesozoic onshore/offshore Basin: Cretaceous–Cenozoic offshore Wandel Sea Basin sediments onshore/offshore Basin: Upper Palaeozic – Mesozoic onshore/offshore Caledonian and older rocks onshore/offshore Basin with salt diapirs Oceanic crust Continental crust Fold belts and foreland ILLB: Inner Liverpool Land Basin OLLB: Outer Liverpool Land Basin Fracture zone Fault Thrust fault▲ Fault in the subsurface Jan MayenFracture Zone Ja m es on L an d B as in A 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 Plio-Pleistocene Neogene Palaeogene Cretaceous Intrusion Upper Permian – Jurassic Devonian – Middle Permian Caledonian Basement ?Lower Palaeozoic 50 km Koldewey Platform Danmarkshavn Basin Thetis BasinDanmarkshavn Ridge D ep th in k m a b B Fig. 50. A: Map showing the sedimentary basins offshore North-East Greenland, between Scoresby Sund (SS, 70°N) and Kronprins Christian Land (KCL, 82°N). Modified from Hamann et al. (2005). B: Cross-section of the North-East Greenland shelf at c. 77°N (a–b in A). From Hamann et al. (2005). Liverpool Land Basin, central East Greenland (69°30´–72°N) A very thick succession of sediments can be recognised in the seismic data offshore Liverpool Land. The sedi- ments are particularly thick within the part of the area underlain by continental crust, where the base of the sediments cannot be identified on the existing data. The upper part of the sedimentary succession is a virtually com- plete Cenozoic succession up to 6 km thick; this formed a large prograding wedge that spread out across both continental and oceanic crust from the mouth of Scoresby Sund. In the part of the area underlain by continental crust the Cenozoic succession lies with angular uncon- formity on block-faulted and tilted sediments of pre-Paleo - cene (Late Palaeozoic – Mesozoic) age (Fig. 51). Where the Cenozoic sediments have prograded into the area underlain by oceanic crust, they are underlain by subaer- ial lavas seen as seaward-dipping reflectors in the seismic data (Larsen & Jakobsdóttir 1988; H.C. Larsen 1990). Blosseville Kyst Basin, East Greenland (67–69°30´N) More than 4 km of post-middle Eocene sediments occupy an elongate, coast-parallel sedimentary basin off the Blosseville Kyst. The sediments lie entirely on Palaeogene basalts. In the area underlain by continental crust there are almost certainly Mesozoic and Paleocene sediments beneath the basalts, as there are onshore and farther to the south (Ocean Drilling Program well 917A; H.C. Larsen et al. 1994a). However, it is not possible to inter- pret the geology underlying the basalts on the basis of existing seismic data. Southern West Greenland (60–68°N) Several large, more or less coast-parallel, rift basins occur offshore West Greenland between c. 62° and 68°N. Smaller basins south of 62°N have yet to be mapped properly. The earliest sediments that can be confidently interpreted in these basins are pre- and syn-rift sequences up to 3 km or more in thickness, the Kitsissut and Appat sequences (Fig. 52); by analogy with the Labrador Shelf, these are believed to be Early Cretaceous (Barre - mian–Albian) in age (Chalmers et al. 1993; Chalmers & Pulvertaft 2001). The abundance of Ordovician car- bonates in dredge samples collected on the Davis Strait High (Dalhoff et al. 2006) indicates that Ordovician limestones overlie basement locally in the region. As noted above, this possibility is supported by the occur- rence of Ordovician carbonates in wells offshore Labrador (Bell & Howie 1990) and onshore at ‘Fossilik’ c. 65 km east of Maniitsoq in West Greenland (Stouge & Peel 1979; [9] on the 1:2 500 000 map). 75 Pleistocene Late Miocene _ Pliocene Late Miocene Oceanic crust Continental crust (including Palaeozoic– Mesozoic sediments) Crystalline rocks Early _ middle Miocene Late Oligocene _ early Miocene Eocene _ early Oligocene 5 4 3 2 1 Approximate position of ocean-to-continent transition Inner Liverpool Land Basin Outer Liverpool Land Basin TWT sec Sediments EW 20 km Middle _ late Miocene East Greenland escarpment rift unconformity Eocene ? Pseudo- escarpment Fig. 51. E–W cross-section across the transition from continental to oceanic crust and the overlying Liverpool Basin at c. 71°N, East Greenland. From Larsen (1990 plate 6, profile E). The Appat sequence is overlain by a widespread Upper Cretaceous mudstone-dominated succession, the Kangeq sequence (Fig. 52), the upper part of which was pene- trated in the Ikermiut-1 well (66°56´N, 56°35´W) and in the Qulleq-1 well (63°49´N, 57°27´W). A major hia- tus spanning the interval Campanian – early Paleocene (Nøhr-Hansen 2003) probably reflects the same episode(s) of faulting, uplift and erosion as are recorded in the suc- cession in the Nuussuaq Basin to the north (see pp. 57–60). Following these disturbances, fan sands inter- calated with mudstones were deposited. Early Palaeogene volcanism gave rise to local ‘shields’ – the Maniitsoq and Hecla Highs. Deposition of mudstones continued into the early Eocene, but from the middle Eocene sedimentation was dominated by coarser clastic sediments deposited mainly in southwards prograding sequences. A major middle Eocene (early Lutetian) hiatus occurs in the three north- ernmost West Greenland wells (Hellefisk-1, Ikermiut-1 and Kangâmiut-1; Nøhr-Hansen 2003), and another major hiatus spans at least the Oligocene (A.B. Sørensen 2006). During the Eocene, compressional structures developed in the area west of the Ikermiut-1 well as a con- sequence of transpression along the transform Ungava Fracture Zone, west of the 1:2 500 000 map boundary (Chalmers et al. 1993). A study of dated minor intrusions onshore West Greenland has shown that intrusion forms and melt compositions changed with time, depending on increas- ing lithospheric attenuation (L.M. Larsen et al. 2009). Significantly, this study suggests that by Late Jurassic – earliest Cretaceous time thinning of the lithosphere had reached a stage when sedimentary basins could begin to form in the nascent Labrador Sea. Central West Greenland (68–73°N) The Palaeogene basalts exposed onshore in the Disko – Nuussuaq – Svartenhuk Halvø area continue offshore where they have been mapped from seismic and mag- netic data over the entire region between latitudes 68° and 73°N (Gregersen & Bidstrup 2008). In the eastern part of this region the basalts outcrop at the seabed and have been sampled by dredging, but to the west they become increasingly buried under a cover of Eocene and younger sediments. While the upper surface of the basalts can usually be mapped easily from the seismic data, the base of the basalts is difficult to interpret and it is uncer- tain just where the basalts finally thin out and disappear to the west. Nevertheless, from newer seismic data acquired by the oil industry it can be seen that a substantial thick- ness of Mesozoic sediments underlies the basalts (Gre - gersen & Bidstrup 2008). North-West Greenland (73–77°N) North of 73°N seismic data acquired as part of the KANUMAS project confirmed the existence of a very deep graben or half-graben in the west and south-west part of Melville Bugt (Melville Bay; Fig. 53; Whittaker et al. 1997). This had earlier been outlined from aeromag- netic and gravity data acquired in the late 1960s and 76 Mid-Eocene – Recent sediments Lower Eocene sediments Paleocene basalts Kangeq sediments Appat/Kitsissut sediments and sills Basement (and possible older sediments) 1 0 2 3 4 ap pr ox im at e de pt h in k m 5 6 Hecla High Fylla fault complexNuuk BasinLady Franklin Basin 25 km sea level Lower Eocene basalts Paleocene sediments EW Fig. 52. Zig-zag cross-section through the area west of Nuuk at about 64°N based on interpreted and depth-converted seismic data from an unpublished interpretation by J.A. Chalmers. early 1970s. The more recent data have also revealed sev- eral other graben and half-graben structures extending to the northern limit of the survey at 76°30´N. In the Melville Bugt graben the thickness of sediments exceeds 12 km. By analogy with the onshore geology of West Greenland and north-east Canada (Bylot Island), the main phase of rifting is thought to have taken place in the Cretaceous, prior to sea-floor spreading in Baffin Bugt. Later, northern parts of the area were subjected to marked inversion. Small sedimentary basins with up to 4 km of ?Creta - ceous–Neogene sediments occur in an area known as North Water Bay, between Kitsissut (Carey Islands) and Smith Sund (Neben et al. 2006). The two easternmost of these basins strike NW–SE; these are on line with extensional basins mapped farther south in northern Melville Bugt (Whittaker et al. 1997) and hence are not likely to belong to any pull-apart system (pace Neben et al. 2006). Sediments belonging to the Thule Supergroup underlie the younger sediments and appear to be con- tinuous right across North Water Bay (Funck et al. 2006). Offshore North Greenland; the Lincoln Sea Basin As already mentioned, ice conditions in Lincoln Hav are the most severe anywhere offshore Greenland, and until recently airborne geophysical data provided the only hints that a major sedimentary basin lies underneath this sea (Sobczak & Stephens 1974; Kovacs 1982; McMillan 1982). Recently the two wide-angle refraction/reflection seismic traverses successfully carried out by Dahl-Jensen et al. (2006) not only established the continental nature of the crust between the Greenland margin and the south- ern end of the Lomonosov Ridge but also revealed an up to 14 km deep sedimentary basin consisting of two lay- ers interpreted to be part of the Arctic Continental Terrace Wedge, under which there is a 9 km thick layer inter- preted to be the offshore continuation of the Upper Palaeozoic – Mesozoic succession in the Sverdrup Basin in the Canadian Arctic Islands. 77 0 2 4 6 8 SW NE TWT sec ? ? ? ? ? Baffin Bugt ? Oceanic crust/ Transition zone Kivioq Ridge Kivioq Basin Melville Bugt Ridge Melville Bugt Graben Melville Bugt Fault Glacial deposits Thermal subsidence Post-drift Early syn-rift Break-up/syn-drift BasementLate syn-rift Sediments Crystalline rocks 25 km Fig. 53. Representative cross-section offshore North-West Greenland at c. 75°N compiled from seismic reflection data. From Whittaker et al. (1997). Mineral raw materials in Greenland occur in a series of different geological environments that include sedi- mentary deposits, metamorphic crystalline rocks, and volcanic and plutonic rocks. An overview of selected mineral occurrences with their place names are shown in Fig. 54. Mining activities have been carried out in Greenland since the middle of the 19th century, with the cryolite mine at Ivittuut as the only long-term mine; it was in operation for a period of 130 years. The cryolite deposit was associated with a granite intrusion in the Meso - proterozoic Gardar Province of South Greenland (p. 38), and represents an example of a very rare type of miner- alisation, of which there are only very few similar deposits in the world (Pauly & Bailey 1999). Other mining activ- ities in Greenland have exploited more common types of mineralisation. The two most important ones were both lead-zinc deposits – one at Mestersvig in East Greenland was associated with quartz veins of probable Palaeo - gene age, and the other at Maarmorilik in central West Greenland was a stratabound mineralisation in the Palaeoproterozoic Mârmorilik Formation (p. 27). Most recently a gold occurrence in Kirkespirdalen in the Palaeoproterozoic Ketilidian orogen, South Greenland, has been mined (Nalunaq Gold Mine, see below). Mining activities have so far been very limited in Green land considering the expected potential of such a large area. However, systematic exploration did not com- mence until the late 1950s when new legislation governing the mineral sector was introduced to encourage the min- ing industry to undertake exploration. This was inten- sified with the introduction of Home Rule status for Greenland in 1979. In recent years exploration activities have concen- trated on prospecting for gold, base metals, platinum elements, molybdenum, iron ore and diamonds. Gold exploration has focused on the Archaean and Palaeo - proterozoic Precambrian shield of West Greenland and the Palaeogene Skaergaard layered gabbro intrusion (p. 62) in southern East Greenland (Andersen et al. 1998; Secher et al. 2007). A major new gold province in the Palaeoproterozoic Ketilidian orogen forming the south- ern tip of Greenland (Steenfelt 2000; Stendal & Frei 2000; Stendal & Secher 2002) was first recognised by panning of stream sediments, and in 1992 visible gold was found in quartz veins transecting mafic supracrustal rocks. The Nalunaq Gold Mine in Kirkespirdalen (a val- ley north-east of Nanortalik) operated from 2004 to 2008, but the mine is presently (2009) placed on ‘care and maintenance’. Another find substantiating the inter- pretation of the Ketilidian orogen as a gold province was made in southernmost South-East Greenland, where gold mineralisation was found in a quartz-bearing shear zone cutting a sequence of mafic to andesitic extrusives and intrusives and associated sedimentary rocks. The promising gold mineralisations in South Greenland are situated at the southern border of the Julianehåb batholith (p. 29), which is also the root zone of a former volcanic arc (Chadwick & Garde 1996; Garde et al. 1998, 2002; McCaffrey et al. 2004). Exploration for base metals in recent years has focused on showings in the Lower Palaeozoic Franklinian Basin and Ellesmerian fold belt of North Greenland. A mas- sive sulphide deposit with lead and zinc was discovered in 1993 at Citronen Fjord in Peary Land (Fig. 54; van der Stijl & Mosher 1998). It occurs as stratiform sheets in a folded sequence of dark argillaceous rocks of the Upper Ordovician to Lower Silurian Amundsen Land Group. The Citronen Fjord deposit is located at the east- ern end of the Franklinian Basin, which extends across North Greenland into Arctic Canada and is known to be a significant prospective zone which includes the Polaris zinc-lead mine in Canada. Diamond exploration has focused on the Archaean and Palaeoproterozoic crystalline shield areas of West Green - land. The kimberlite province in this region in cludes the Archaean craton and areas of Archaean rocks farther north reworked during the Palaeoproterozoic. The province con- tains various Meso–Neoproterozoic ultramafic lam - prophyres (UML) as well as Mesozoic UML-intrusions. 78 Mineral deposits Facing page Fig. 54. Map of known mineral occurrences in Greenland. The presentation combines the geological map with the knowledge of mineral prospects and deposits gathered over more than 150 years. The main geological divisions on the geological map cover periods from Archaean to Palaeogene and are summarised in the legend. From GEUS Department of Economic Geology. 79 E l l e s m e r e I s l a n d C a n a d aC a n a d a 250 km Nalunaq Au Niaqornaarsuk AuAmitsoq Graphite Ilímaussaq Zr, Be, REE, Nb, U, Th Ivittuut Cryolite Taartoq Au Kobberminebugt (‘Josva’) Cu Grønnedal-Ika Fe Motzfeldt Sø Ta, Nb Sinarsuk V, Ti Kangerluluk Au Illorsuit U Stendalen Cu, Ni, Ti Fiskenæsset Cr, Pt, Ruby Isukasia Fe Isua Au Ivisaartoq W Majuagaa Diamond Seqi Olivine Amikoq Pt, Pd, Os Qaqqaarsuk REE, Nb, P Sillisissanguit Ni, Pt Attu Au Sarfartoq Nb, Ta Storø Au Qussuk Au Eqi Au Hammer Dal Fe, Pt Maarmorilik (‘Black Angel’) Zn, Pb, Ag Karrat Au, Cu, Zn Moriusaq Ti Washington Land Zn, Pb, Ag Inglefield Land Fe, Au,Cu Ymer Ø Sb, W, Au Clavering Ø Pb, Zn, Fe Brogetdal Cu Citronen Fjord Zn, Pb Qullissat Coal Nuussuaq Coal Arveprinsen Ejland Cu, Zn Ilukunnguaq Ni, Pt Saqqaq Au Itilliarsuk, Itilli Fe, Au, Cu, Co, Ni Eqalussuit Graphite Melville Bugt Fe Langø Graphite Navarana Fjord Zn, Barite Naternaq Cu, Zn Kangerlussuaq Diamond Mestersvig (‘Blyklippen’) Pb, Zn Malmbjerg Mo, W Bredehorn Barite Milne Land Zr, REE, Ti Devon Dal Cu Flammefjeld Mo, Au, Ag Kap Edvard Holm Au, Pt Tasiilaq Ni, Cu, Pt Skærgaard Au, Pd, Ti, V Karstryggen Celestite I N L A N D I C E ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ■ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ ■ E l l e s m e r e I s l a n d C a n a d a Carboniferous–Cretaceous sediments, North-East Greenland Palaeogene basalts Cretaceous–Palaeogene sediments, Nuussuaq Basin in West Greenland and Kangerlussuaq Basin in East Greenland Carboniferous–Palaeogene sediments, Wandel Sea Basin in eastern North Greenland Carboniferous–Cretaceous sediments, Jameson Land Basin in East Greenland Devonian Basin of North-East Greenland Shelf Trough Caledonian orogenic belt Palaeo- to Neoproterozoic sediments and volcanic rocks Palaeoproterozoic orogenic belts Archaean craton Intrusive complexes: Palaeogene in East Greenland, Mesoproterozoic in South Greenland (Gardar Province) Fault, thrust Mine site Abandoned mine Lower Palaeozoic sediments, North Greenland, Franklinian Basin I c e l a n d ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ A large number of these intrusions contain diamonds, and intensive exploration activity has been in progress since the 1990s (Secher & Jensen 2004; Jensen et al. 2004; Nielsen et al. 2009). At present more than 1000 occurrences of diamondiferous kimberlite dykes have been found, and the largest diamond so far discovered is of 2.5 carat. The Archaean block also contains three large intrusive carbonatite complexes with a resource potential for various speciality commodities such as nio- bium and tantalum. Mineral occurrences in specific geological settings Significant occurrences of a broad range of metallic and industrial minerals are present in all the principal geo- logical provinces in Greenland, ranging in age from Archaean to Quaternary (Fig. 54; Schønwandt & Dawes 1993; Stensgaard & Thorning 2009). In broad terms these can be related to five main settings: Archaean–Palaeoproterozoic high-grade regions Mesoproterozoic intracratonic intrusions Palaeozoic orogenic belts Upper Palaeozoic – Mesozoic basins Late Phanerozoic intrusions. The following description covers the principal active and former mines and some significant prospects (Fig. 54); at present (2009) there are two active mines, although one is ‘on hold’. On the printed map sheet the locations of only four abandoned mines are shown (Ivittuut cry- olite mine in South-West Greenland, Maarmorilik zinc and lead mine in central West Greenland, Mestersvig lead mine in central East Greenland and Qullissat coal mine in central West Greenland). Promising prospects are a large Zn-Pb mineral occurrence in Citronen Fjord in North Greenland, a banded iron occurrence at Isukasia in the Nuuk region, a zirconium and rare-earth element prospect/deposit in the Ilímaussaq complex in South Greenland and the Malmbjerg molybdenum deposit in central East Greenland. Information about a large num- ber of mineralised localities is available in the continu- ally updated Greenland Mineralisation Data Bank at the Survey (see: www. geus.dk/gmom: Greenland Mineral Occurrence Map on-line). Archaean–Palaeoproterozoic high-grade regions At Isukasia (Isua supracrustal sequence [69]; Fig. 54) north-east of Nuuk, a major Archaean banded iron for- mation is composed of interlayered magnetite and chert (Fig. 5). The deposit, which is partly covered by the In - land Ice, has been drill tested and a minimum tonnage of 1900 million tonnes grading 32.9% Fe is estimated (Niel sen 1976; Appel 1991). The Nuuk region in southern West Greenland has revealed a good potential for gold mineralisations (Stensgaard & Stendal 2007). The gold occurs in the supracrustal parts of the Archaean craton, which largely consists of amalgamated islands arcs, which gradually merged into micro-continental blocks (Windley & Garde 2009). The supracrustal belts reflect both island-arc and ocean-floor environments, and also contain ultramafic to mafic magmatic intrusions. Gold showings occur in a NNE-trending belt along the fjord Nuup Kangerlua (Godthåbsfjord) from Nuuk to Isukasia, and a multi- disciplinary approach has now resulted in division of the occurrences into three main groups (Stensgaard & Stendal 2007). The occurrences contain up to 3–7 g/t Au with local grades of up to 20 g/t Au. Intensive exploration with drilling both north and south of the fjord has been undertaken since 2003. A series of gold occurrences has also been found in the crystalline basement rocks of the Nagssugtoqidian oro- gen north-east of Disko Bugt, central West Greenland. Here Archaean orthogneisses with their Archaean and Palaeoproterozoic cover rocks have been variably affected by the c. 2.0 to 1.75 Ga Nagssugtoqidian orogeny. The gold is hosted in Archaean metasedimentary and meta - volcanic rocks and may be either stratabound or located in veins, breccias or shear zones (Steenfelt et al. 2004). The gold values are modest with only a few ppm in the mineralised zones, but there is a potential for further occurrences in the investigated region. A folded and metamorphosed Archaean anorthosite complex [85] at Qeqertarsuatsiaat/Fiskenæsset, southern West Greenland (the Fiskenæsset complex; Fig. 54) hosts widespread chromite-bearing layers (Ghisler 1976). The complex, which has a strike length of more than 200 km and an average thickness of 400 m, has an estimated po - tential of 100 million tonnes of low-grade chromium ore. Enhanced precious metal values have been reported from the ultramafic parts of the complex (Appel 1992). Ruby-bearing rocks occur at several localities in the Fiskenæsset complex, where the corundum/ruby occurs in zones close to the contact between anorthosite and 80 amphibolite/ ultrabasite. A mining company has obtained an exclusive exploration licence for rubies, and tests have shown that some types of ruby and sapphire are of gem quality (Secher & Appel 2007). A Neoarchaean iron province occurs in the coastal areas along Melville Bugt in North-West Greenland. Geographically it is the largest iron province in Greenland (Dawes 2006) and is traceable in a WNW–ESE-trend- ing belt for c. 350 km. The belt contains magnetite and hematite in quartz-banded iron formation (BIF), mas- sive lenses and layers with iron oxides and disseminated iron minerals in schists. BIF occurs in units of varying thickness, ranging from less than a metre to 40 m where iron concentrations typically are 30–35%. At Maarmorilik, central West Greenland, the Black Angel (Fig. 54) zinc-lead ore bodies hosted in Palaeo - proterozoic marble (p. 27; lower part of [62]) were mined in the period 1973–1990. Production totalled c. 11 mil- lion tonnes ore grading 4.0% Pb, 12.6% Zn and 29 ppm Ag. The deposits were almost exhausted in that period, but a re-establishment of the mine is planned for 2010–2011, based on the remaining ore in pillars in the mine combined with other marble-hosted lead-zinc prospects in the area (Thomassen 1991, 2006; MINEX 2008b). Prior to the Pb-Zn mining, some 8000 tonnes of marble were quarried at Maarmorilik in 1936–1971. The Nalunaq Gold Mine in Kirkespirdalen, north-east of Nanortalik, South Greenland (Figs 54, 55) is a small, high-grade gold deposit associated with up to 1.8 m wide quartz-veins in a major shear zone. The deposit is an orogenic-type gold mineralisation (mesothermal lode gold) hosted in Palaeoproterozoic amphibolite facies volcanic rocks within the Ketilidian orogen. The mine was opened in 2004, but mining was placed on ‘care and maintenance’ by the owner at the end of 2008. In 2009 a new company is negotiating to take over the 81 Level 450 Level 400 Level 350 Level 300 Mining camp Exposed quartz vein Fig. 55. View of the mining area around the Nalunaq Gold Mine in South Greenland. Access to the underground mine is at four levels of 300, 350, 400 and 450 m. The mine was opened in 2004. Photo: Bureau of Minerals and Petroleum, Nuuk. mine and start production again. Production in 2006 totalled 108 000 tonnes of ore with an average gold grade of 17.9 grams per tonne (Secher et al. 2008). Several large, homogeneous, olivine-rich (dunitic) bodies occur in the Archaean gneiss terrain some 90 km north of Nuuk. An opencast mine, the Seqi Olivine Mine, was opened in 2005 in the northernmost part of the Niaqunngunaq/Fiskefjord fjord system (see Fig. 54).This homogeneous deposit contains at least 100 mil- lion tonnes of high-quality olivine. Mesoproterozoic intracratonic intrusions Cryolite hosted in a Gardar granite stock (part of [56]) at Ivittuut, South-West Greenland (Fig. 54) was worked from 1858 until 1987, and a total of 3.7 million tonnes ore grading 58% cryolite was quarried from an open pit. In addition to cryolite, galena, chalcopyrite and siderite were extracted as by-products. The main ore body is now exhausted, but there are indications of deep-seated reserves in the area (Bondam 1991). In the Gardar Ilímaussaq alkaline intrusion (part of [56]; see Fig. 19; Fig. 54) east of Narsaq in South Green - land, a deposit with rare metals such as niobium, tanta- lum, zirconium, yttrium, rare-earth elements, lithium and beryllium and accessory uranium and thorium has been delimited by diamond drilling, indicating a reserve of 56 million tonnes of U with a grade of 365 ppm (Nyegaard 1979). The rare-earth and other special ele- ments are concentrated in the final, highly volatile, prod- ucts of the magmatic differentiation. The last rocks to solidify are therefore relatively rich in elements such as niobium, tantalum, zirconium and rare-earth elements (Bondam 1995). The Motzfeldt centre east of Narsarsuaq is another of the large intrusive syenite complexes in the Gardar Province. This centre has preserved accumulations of the mineral pyrochlore which has a high content of tantalum and niobium. The deposit has been explored and is rated as a ‘low-grade – large tonnage’ type of re - source, with 600 million tonnes of ore with 120 g/t tan- talum and 130 million tonnes of ore with 1400 g/t niobium. The deposit is believed to be one of the largest tantalum deposits in the world (H. Sørensen et al. 2006b). Late Neoproterozoic (604–555 Ma old) in situ kim- berlite intrusions and ultramafic lamprophyre dykes are widespread as dykes and sheets in the region around the fjord Kangerlussuaq / Søndre Strømfjord, West Greenland (Secher et al. 2009). They are found on both sides of the boundary between the Archaean craton to the south and the Palaeoproterozoic Nagssugtoqidian orogen to the north. The intrusions have been known since the mid- 1960s and the first microdiamonds were found in stream sediments in the Sarfartoq river. The finds of micro - diamonds led to intensive prospecting, and at present sev- eral microdiamond sites have been reported from outcropping kimberlitic rocks (MINEX 2002, 2007a, 2008a, b; Secher & Jensen 2004). Diamonds and dia- mond indicator minerals have since been found in numer- ous samples of stream sediments, in boulders and in situ kimberlites, both in the Sarfartoq area and in the Maniitsoq/Sukkertoppen area (65°N). In the Sarfartoq area exploration has resulted in finds of commercial- sized diamonds of up to 2.5 carats, and in 2008 the exploration company reported the recovery of another large diamond of c. 4 carat from a dyke. In the Maniitsoq area recent field work has resulted in recognition of a large kimberlite dyke system with a combined length of more than 10 km. The known carbonatite intrusions of Sarfartoq, Qaqarssuk and Tikiusaaq (legend numbers [59] and [61] on the 1: 2 500 000 map) within the alkaline province south of Kangerlussuaq / Søndre Strømfjord have a recog- nised potential for accumulations of niobium and rare- earth elements (Secher & Jensen 2004; Kolb & Stens- gaard 2009). Tikiusaaq was found in 2005 (Steenfelt et al. 2006) and is thus not indicated on the map. Palaeozoic orogenic belts South of Citronen Fjord (Fig. 54) in Peary Land, North Greenland, a large sulphide-rich zone hosts a major lead- zinc-bearing, Sedex-type, massive sulphide deposit in Ordovician black shales (part of [24]) (Kragh et al. 1997). Diamond drilling since the discovery in 1993 and up to 2008 has yielded 44 km of core and has indicated a resource of more than 102 million tonnes grading 4.7% Zn + Pb at a 2% Zn cut-off grade (van der Stijl & Mosher 1998; MINEX 2007b, 2008b). The deposit is located north of a prominent palaeo-escarpment separating car- bonate shelf sedimentary rocks to the south from deep- water trough sedimentary rocks to the north. The prospect is currently (2009) under evaluation for opening of a mine in the near future. Another discovery of zinc-lead-silver mineralisation in the same province has been made in Washington Land, western North Greenland, where a galena occurrence is hosted in evaporitic Lower Ordovician carbonates in the platform succession (Jensen 1998). 82 Upper Palaeozoic – Mesozoic basins At Qullissat (Fig. 54) on Disko, central West Greenland, Cretaceous sub-bituminous coal was mined during the period 1924–1972. A total of about 570 000 tonnes of coal was shipped before the mine was closed due to the low coal quality (Schiener 1976). On nearby Nuussuaq, more than 180 million tonnes of sub-bituminous coal distributed in layers more than 0.8 m thick have been indicated by surface investigations and limited drilling (Shekhar et al. 1982). Late Phanerozoic intrusions The 54.5 Ma old Skaergaard layered gabbro intrusion (Fig. 54) at Kangerlussuaq, north-east of Ammassalik in southern East Greenland, hosts a major deposit of low- grade palladium, platinum and gold (Bird et al. 1991). Intensive diamond drilling totalling 42 drill holes with a combined length of more than 21 km, has shown a resource of more than 1520 million tonnes grading 0.21 ppm Au, 0.61 ppm Pd and 0.04 ppm Pt (Thomassen & Nielsen 2006; Secher et al. 2007). The mineralisation is hosted in a 100 m thick zone with gold and platinum- group elements accumulated in five intervals with thick- nesses of several metres. In these intervals concentrations of gold and platinum-group elements are much higher than the average figures given above. Titanium, vanadium and iron are important additional commodities in the middle of the mineralised zone, and a test profile across the deposit indicates average contents of 6.6% TiO2, 0.13% V2O5 and 19% Fe2O3. Similar mineralisation is known in other nearby intrusions. Lead-zinc-bearing quartz veins, probably of Palaeogene age, occur in Lower Permian sediments near Mestersvig in East Greenland (Fig. 54). One of these occurrences, the Blyklippen deposit, was mined in the period 1956–1962. After production of 560 000 tonnes ore grad ing 11.1% Pb and 8.6% Zn the deposit was exhausted (Harpøth et al. 1986; Thomassen 2005). A large porphyry-molybdenum deposit of Miocene age occurs at Malmbjerg (Fig. 54) south of Mestersvig, East Greenland, hosted in an intrusive complex [53]. Ore resource calculations were based on 22 km of diamond drill cores which indicate a tonnage of 150 million tonnes grading 0.23% MoS2 and 0.02% WO3 (Harpøth et al. 1986). A re-evaluation of the deposit was initiated in 2004 and has confirmed the earlier tonnage estimates. A mining company obtained an exploitation licence in 2009 and aims at opening an open pit mine in the near future with a production rate of c. 10 000 tonnes molyb- denum per year (MINEX 2007b, 2008b). Other less well-investigated porphyry-molybdenum occurrences exist in the East Greenland Palaeogene volcanic province (Geyti & Thomassen 1984). 83 The petroleum potential of Greenland is confined to the sedimentary basins of Phanerozoic age. Onshore, such basins occur in North Greenland, North-East and cen- tral East Greenland, and central West Greenland. Off - shore, large sedimentary basins are known to occur off both East and West Greenland (Fig. 56). No proven commercial reserves of oil or gas have been found to date (2009), but so far only seven exploration wells have been drilled, six offshore southern West Greenland between latitudes 63°49´N and 68°N, and one onshore, on Nuus - suaq at 70°28´N in central West Greenland (Christiansen et al. 1997; Pulvertaft 1997). In recent years there has been much interest in petroleum exploration mainly off- shore West Greenland, where a number of exploration licences (Fig. 57) have been granted to consortia of both large and small oil companies (F.G. Christiansen, per- sonal communication 2009). In the coming years focus will also be directed towards Baffin Bugt off North-West Greenland. Recent investigations include acquisition of geophysical data (seismic and airborne magnetic/gravity surveys) and seabed sampling. Another main target for future oil and gas exploration will be the shelf areas of North-East Greenland, where geophysical investigations have revealed the existence of a number of large sedi- mentary basins (Hamann et al. 2005). Based on data from the adjacent onshore areas it may be assumed that source rocks, reservoirs and seals are likely to occur here, and that several play types are present. The geophysical investigations in North-East Greenland both onshore and offshore have up to now only been carried out at reconnaissance level, and the area must still be charac- terised as essentially unexplored for oil and gas. The greatly increased interest in recent years for petro- leum exploration in Greenland has been supported by its relatively high ranking given by the Arctic Petroleum Appraisal of the United States Geological Survey. Here, North-East Greenland was selected as a prototype for an evaluation of this and similar other areas in the cir- cum-arctic region (F.G. Christiansen, personal commu- nication 2009). The undiscovered resource estimates for both oil and gas are quite high and the Danmarkshavn Basin (see p. 74) in particular is mentioned as a promis- ing area (Gautier et al. 2009). A brief summary of the petroleum-geological features of the main sedimentary basins is given on the follow pages. Onshore basins Franklinian Basin, North Greenland (80–83°N) The Franklinian Basin of North Greenland (see p.45) is the eastern continuation of the Cambrian–Devonian Franklinian Basin of the Canadian Arctic Islands. It con- sists of a belt of flat-lying, shallow-water carbonate rocks to the south and a northern belt of deep-water folded sed- imentary rocks. Good type II (oil-prone) shaly source rocks are known in both Lower–Middle Cambrian and Lower Silurian outer shelf terrigenous and carbonate mudstones. Potential reservoirs include Lower and Middle Cambrian shelf sandstones and Lower Silurian reef and platform margin carbonate build-ups (Stemmerik et al. 1997). The rocks in the north are probably postmature due to the thermal influence of the Ellesmerian orogeny (see p. 49), but oil has been preserved in the southern areas and can now be seen as asphalt residues in pores and fractures in various carbonate rocks. The most promis- ing play involves long-distance migration up-dip from Middle Cambrian source rocks into Lower Cambrian shelf sandstones (Christiansen 1989). Late Palaeozoic – Mesozoic basins, eastern North Greenland (80–83°N) Deposits in the Wandel Sea Basin comprise a succession of sedimentary rocks which were laid down along the northern and north-eastern margin of the Greenland shield (see p. 54). The development spans a period from Early Carboniferous to Palaeogene and includes three main phases of basin formation. The region is transected by a major NW–SE fault zone dividing the area into two blocks with different structural, depositional and thermal histories and hydrocarbon potential (Stemmerik 84 Petroleum potential of Greenland Facing page Fig. 56. Simplified map showing the onshore and offshore sedimentary basins with petroleum potential of Greenland. Distribution of crustal types can be seen in Fig. 48 A. Ellesmere Island (Canada), Iceland and Svalbard are shown as light brown: undifferentiated. Map based on Henriksen et al. (2000), Chalmers & Pulvertaft (2001) and Hamann et al. (2005). 85 62° ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ■ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ Melville Bugt Melville Bugt CanadaCanada EEll llee ssmm eerree II ss llaanndd Nares S t ræ de Melville Bugt D e n m a r k S t r a i t Labrador Sea At lant i c Ocean El le sm ere Is land 50°60°70° 40°W 30° 20° 10° 0° 10°Ø 10° 80° 0° 78° 76° 10° 74° 66° 70° 64° Ice land Illoqqortoormiut / Scoresbysund 70° 74° 72° 68° 60 ° Sisimiut 64° Nuuk Qaanaaq 50° 20° Nares S t ra i t Melville Bugt Disko Bugt Qaqortoq Upernavik Daneborg 40°W 35° Reykjavik 60° 62° 70° 76° Canada Ilulissat Alert 80° 78° 90° 72° 90° 80° M elville Bay Graben Kivioq Basin Ikermiut Basin Ka ng aa m iu t Ba sin N uu k Ba sin Paam iut Basin Lady Franklin Basin Sisimiut Basin Liverpool Land Basin Thetis Basin D anm arkshavn Basin Wandel Sea Basin Lincoln Sea Basin B o rd er w it h C an ad a Aa sia at Ba sin 250 km G r e e n l a n d S e a Ages in million years BASINS WITH PETROLEUM POTENTIAL Onshore areas Younger sediments (400–0) Cambro-Silurian sediments (540-400) Offshore basins Sediments, large basins (400–0) Basalts and intrusives (60–50) Ellesmerian fold belt (350) Caledonian fold belt (420) Older sediments and magmatic rocks (1740–420) Proterozoic basement (2000–1750) Archaean basement (3800–2550) OTHER BASINS AND CRYSTALLINE ROCKS Onshore areas Oceanic basalts (65–0) Basalts and intrusives (60–30) Younger fold belts and basement locally covered by sediment Offshore areas Station Nord Sva lbard Davis Strait 66° Baffin Bay ▲ ▲ ▲ ▲ 68° Spreading axis inactive active Extensional fault Compressional fault thrust Fault zone Deep borehole Bl os se vil le Ba sin Tasiilaq/Ammassalik et al. 2000). To the north of the fault zone the pre- Paleocene sedimentary rocks are considered postmature with respect to petroleum generation and of limited eco- nomic interest. This is also likely to be the case on the nearby shelf in eastern North Greenland where a simi- lar sedimentary succession is expected to be present. In contrast, onshore sedimentary rocks in the coastal region south of the fault zone are early mature to immature and therefore there might be a prospective zone in the off- shore region along the expected continuation of the fault zone at c. 80°N (Fig. 37). Carboniferous and Permian reservoir rocks occur onshore, but source rocks have not been identified. Late Palaeozoic – Mesozoic rift basins, North-East Greenland (72–76°N) The main source rocks in these North-East Greenland basins are: (1) Upper Carboniferous type I–II (highly oil-prone – oil-prone) mudstones with very high genera - tive potential but restricted lateral extent, (2) Upper Permian type II marine mudstones with wide areal extent and high generative potential, and (3) Upper Jurassic (Kimmeridgian) marine mudstones which are mainly gas-prone in onshore outcrops but are likely to be highly interesting oil-prone source rocks on the continental shelf to the east (Hamann et al. 2005). Reservoir lithologies include Upper Carboniferous fluvial sandstones, Upper Permian carbonates, Upper Jurassic sandstones, and uppermost Jurassic – Lower Cre - taceous syn-rift conglomerates and sandstones. The basins are partially fault bounded and tilted, and there are both stratigraphical and structural plays. From regional mapping and maturity considerations an area of about 6000 km2 is considered to have potential prospectivity (Stemmerik et al. 1993), but at present there are no seis- mic data on which to base a more stringent evaluation. A more detailed understanding of the Jurassic bio - stratigraphy and depositional models with their poten- tial for source and reservoir lithologies has been gained in recent years (Ineson & Surlyk 2003; Stemmerik & Stouge 2004). Jameson Land Basin, central East Greenland (70°30´–72°N) The Jameson Land Basin, which extends over an area of about 10 000 km2, is covered by a 1798 km seismic sur- vey, carried out by Atlantic Richfield Company (ARCO) in 1985–89, and consequently is better known than the basins to the north. The structural history of the basin is also different in that rifting began in the Devonian and ended in the mid-Permian; Late Permian – Mesozoic de position in the basin was governed by thermal subsi- dence. In addition to the source rock intervals known to the north (Christiansen et al. 1992), an important low- ermost Jurassic lacustrine type I–II source rock (highly oil-prone – oil-prone) occurs in Jameson Land (Dam & Christiansen 1990). Potential reservoirs are Upper Carboniferous (and possibly older) fluvial sandstones, Upper Permian carbonates, and Lower Jurassic deltaic sandstones. Apart from an Upper Carboniferous tilted fault block play, play types are stratigraphic. ARCO stopped their exploration activities at a time when the potential seemed restricted to a Permian play in north- west Jameson Land. Later reinterpretation by GEUS of the seismic data, supplemented by new field work, analy- ses of source and reservoir rocks and modelling also sug- gest a possible Lower Jurassic play in central Jameson Land (Dam et al. 1995). The main risk factor in the Jameson Land Basin is the effect of Palaeogene and Neogene uplift that amounts to 2 km or more (Mathiesen et al. 1995). Cretaceous–Palaeogene basin, central West Greenland (69–72°N) Source rocks in outcrop are mainly gas-prone, but the discovery of surface oil showings in vesicular basalts over a large area extending from northern Disko to south- east Svartenhuk Halvø, as well as the occurrence of oil in three of the five core holes drilled on western Nuussuaq in 1993–1995, prove that source rocks capable of gen- erating oil occur in this region. A 3 km deep wild-cat well (GRO#3) was drilled in 1996 on south-western Nuussuaq by the small Canadian company grønArctic Energy Inc. The logs yield some indications of oil and gas, but with- out giving sufficient background for a continuation of the work (Christiansen et al. 1999). In the region as a whole, biomarkers in the oils indicate that five types of oil are present, with source rocks of Cretaceous–Paleocene age (Bojesen-Koefoed et al. 1999). Reservoirs in the area may be either Cretaceous deltaic sandstones or upper- most Cretaceous – lower Paleocene turbiditic sandstones. 86 Offshore basins North-East Greenland shelf (75–80°N) An area of more than 125 000 km2 offshore North-East Greenland is believed to have considerable petroleum potential. This view is based on extrapolation from the adjacent onshore area, where oil source rocks are pre- sent at several levels, and also from the northern North Sea, West Norwegian shelf and south-west Barents Sea, areas which were contiguous with the North-East Greenland shelf before the opening of the Green - land–Norwegian Sea (Tsikalas et al. 2005). The KANU- MAS reconnaissance seismic survey of the shelf area confirmed that thick sedimentary basins occur on the shelf comprising possible Devonian to Neogene deposits with a thickness of up to c. 13 km (Hamann et al. 2005). Interpretation of the gravity and seismic data furthermore indicates that Upper Carboniferous – Lower Permian salt deposits are widespread between c. 77–79°N (Stem - merik & Worsley 2005), as shown on the geological map and on Fig. 50A. The East Greenland succession on the shelf almost certainly includes Upper Jurassic and other source rocks. In the Danmarkshavn Basin (see Fig. 50B) the Jurassic sediments have been buried deeply enough to generate hydrocarbons. The succession is expected to include extensive, excellent quality source rocks, and trap structures include large-scale fault blocks (Hamann et al. 2005). Possible source rocks are correlatives of the following onshore occurrences: 1) organic-rich marine shales from the Upper Permian Ravnefjeld Formation con- sidered to be good to excellent source rocks (Christiansen et al. 1993), 2) marine Jurassic shales of Kimmeridgian age known as the Hareelv Formation in central East Greenland (Christiansen et al. 1992, 1993; Surlyk 2003) and other equivalents to the world class Upper Jurassic source rocks known from the North Atlantic region (Christiansen et al. 1993; Hamann et al. 2005), 3) Upper Triassic – Lower Jurassic lacustrine organic-rich shales from the Kap Stewart Formation in central East Greenland and 4) other source rocks may be found in lacustrine deposits of Late Palaeozoic age and from equivalents of Middle Jurassic coal deposits found onshore North-East Green - land. The Arctic Petroleum Appraisal of the United States Geological Survey has rated the North-East Greenland shelf region an area with major potential for oil and gas; most of the undiscovered resources are likely to be in the Danmarkshavn Basin (Gautier et al. 2009). Liverpool Land Basin, central East Greenland (69°30´–72°N) Up to 6 km of Cenozoic sedimentary rocks uncon- formably overlie block-faulted Upper Palaeozoic – Mesozoic sedimentary rocks in the inner (landward) part of the Liverpool Land Basin. In the outer part of this basin oceanic crust occurs beneath a thick wedge of Neogene and Plio–Pleistocene sedimentary rocks (H.C. Larsen 1990; Hamann et al. 2005). Source rocks are likely to 87 Sisimiut Ilulissat Nuuk NuussuaqDisko Jameson Land Tasiilaq Qaanaaq Bor de r w ith Ic ela nd Greenland Canada Iceland 250 km Existing licences Blocks to be awarded KANUMAS preference area Open area Exploration well Disko Qaqortoq 76° 72° 80° 28°36° 44° 28° 44° 68° 64° 60° B or de r w ith C an ad a Fig. 57. Summary map of Greenland showing the state of conces- sion agreements for hydrocarbon exploration at the end of 2008 (awarded licence areas shown in red). Licensing rounds were held in 2002, 2004, 2006 and 2007. Licences in two smaller areas west of Nuuk were awarded in 2003 and 2005, and a large region west of Disko was awarded in seven block areas in 2007 to four groups of oil companies. The green areas are blocks to be awarded in connec- tion with a licence call round in 2010. The violet areas are covered by a so-called ‘open-door’ policy where oil companies can apply for concessions at any time. The yellow areas show where a group of companies (the KANUMAS companies) have preferential positions, but where exploration is not expected to take place in the near future. From Bureau of Minerals and Petroleum, Nuuk. occur at several levels in the pre-Cenozoic sedimentary rocks, but are probably postmature. Nothing can be deduced about the nature of mudstones in the Palaeogene. Only a few weak structures have been observed in the Cenozoic section, and the best traps are likely to be strati- graphic. Blosseville Kyst Basin, East Greenland (67–69°30´N) Only the post-basalt Cenozoic sedimentary rocks in the Blosseville Kyst Basin are considered likely to have any potential for petroleum, since any sedimentary rocks underlying the basalts will be thermally postmature. The outermost sedimentary rocks overlie oceanic crust. Trap structures occur where the sediments drape buried vol- canic edifices, and it is likely that there are also strati- graphic traps. Submarine fan sandstones fed from the land areas to the north and north-west are likely to be the best potential reservoirs in the area. Source rocks are most likely to occur in the Eocene – Lower Oligocene sedimentary rocks, which were deposited at a time when the area had only limited connections with the early Atlantic Ocean, a factor that would favour oxygen-defi- cient conditions (H.C. Larsen 1985). West Greenland Southern West Greenland was the first offshore area where companies were awarded exclusive licenses for hydrocarbon exploration. About 37 000 km of seismic data were acquired in the shallower parts of the area (water depths <500 m) in the early 1970s, and five wells were drilled. One well (Kangâmiut-1, c. 66°N) encoun- tered wet gas (Chalmers et al. 1995), but the others were dry. With hindsight it can be seen that only the Kang - âmiut-1 well tested a viable structure (Chalmers & Pulvertaft 1993). In the 1990s exploration was resumed in the region, and more than 23 000 km of additional seismic data were acquired, extending knowledge of the geology into deeper water areas which appear to be the most prospective. A sixth well (Qulleq-1, west of Nuuk) was drilled by Statoil in 2000; this yielded important new stratigraphic information but was dry (Christiansen et al. 2001). In the last ten years, interest for oil and gas exploration in West Greenland has been driven by the documentation of live petroleum systems onshore between 70°12´ and 71°29´N (Bojesen-Koefoed et al. 1999), the identification of large sedimentary basins and structures offshore, and high oil prices. A number of licensing rounds have been held with the result that at present (2009) 11 blocks covering more than 125 000 km2 have been awarded to company consortia (Fig. 57; F.G. Christiansen, personal communication 2009). In some areas outside the licensing areas an ‘open door’ policy has been introduced in order to encourage data acquisition while accepting higher risk. The result of the last ten years’ exploration activity is that there is now a modern regional data coverage of the region between c. 62° and 76°N, including more than 50 000 km non-exclusive seis- mic data and also airborne magnetic and gravity data covering very large areas. South and South-West Greenland (c. 57–62°N) The shelf south of 62°N is relatively narrow with a steep, locally unstable, slope towards the ocean floor in the Labrador Sea. Seismic data coverage is sparse, but new data acquisition in the recently awarded licence blocks (Fig. 57), combined with investigations within the scope of the Danish Continental Shelf Programme, will pro- vide a greatly improved data base in coming years. With the limited existing data base, assessment of the potential for oil and gas and possible play types is very speculative. However, there are indications of Mesozoic rifting in the few available seismic lines, and a 141 Ma old onshore coast-parallel dyke swarm bears witness of the initiation of rifting in the earliest Cretaceous (Watt 1969; L.M. Larsen et al. 2009). Southern West Greenland (c. 62–68°N) This region is the site of extensive and deep basins with thick successions of Mesozoic–Cenozoic sediments. Knowledge of the region is based not only on extensive seismic, magnetic and gravity surveys and seabed sam- pling but also on the data obtained from five wells drilled in the late 1970s: Nukik-1, 65°32´N, 54°46´W Nukik-2, 65°38´N, 54°46´W Kangâmiut-1, 66°09´N, 56°11´W Ikermiut-1, 66°56´N, 56°35´W Hellefisk-1, 67°53´N, 56°44´W and a sixth well drilled in 2000: Qulleq-1,63°49´N, 57°27´W No well penetrated the deepest sediments in the region; the oldest sediments encountered being those at the base 88 of the Qulleq-1 well which are of Santonian age (Chri - stiansen et al. 2001). In consequence interpretation of the age and lithologies of the deepest sediments is based largely on analogies with the Labrador shelf where many more wells have been drilled. A prerequisite for petroleum prospectivity is the pres- ence of a good source rock. Although none of the wells sampled a good source rock, the live oil showings in vuggy Paleocene basalts on the Nuussuaq peninsula prove that such rocks exist in central West Greenland (Chri - stiansen et al. 1996; Bojesen-Koefoed et al. 1999). The source rocks most likely to occur offshore southern West Greenland are 1) lacustrine mudstones and coals in the Lower Cretaceous syn-rift Kitsissut and Appat sequences, 2) Cenomanian–Turonian organic-rich mudstones at or near the base of the post-rift Kangeq sequence. These are correlatives of the marine Cenoman ian–Turonian source rock interpreted as having given rise to the Itilli oil type, one of the five oil types occurring in the live oil show- ings on Nuussuaq (Bojesen-Koefoed et al. 1999), 3) Paleocene deltaic mudstones, correlatives of the Creta - ceous–Paleocene source rocks in central West Greenland from which three of the five oil types in live showings was derived (Bojesen-Koefoed et al. 1999) and 4) mud- stones deposited distally relative to prograding Palaeogene sequences that were described by Dalhoff et al. (2003) The main play type involves block-faulted and tilted reservoir sandstones of the Kitsissut and Appat sequences with oil (and/or gas) derived from Cenomanian–Turonian source rocks and sealed by Cenomanian–Campanian mudstones of the Kangeq Formation or Paleocene mud- stones that drape the fault blocks (Chalmers et al. 1993). Anticlinal structures generated locally by transpression along the Ungava Fracture Zone (Fig. 48B) provide another potential for traps. New interpretations of the Paleocene–mid-Eocene seismic sequences combined with stratigraphic correlations with well data have shown that within the Palaeogene succession there are sandy basin- floor fans and turbidite channel complexes encased in basin mudstones that could act as stratigraphic traps (Dalhoff et al. 2003). From the Kangâmiut-1 well wet gas (up to C5) was reported by Chalmers et al. (1995), but the drill stem test produced only water from the drilling mud, not forma- tion fluid (Skaarup 2007). Thus the possibility remains that a significant, untested, hydrocarbon field exists in the Kangâmiut structure. Central West Greenland (c. 68–73°N) In this region Palaeogene basalts are widespread which hampers interpretation of Early Paleocene and older sed- iments. However, since the 1:2 500 000 map was printed in 1995, a wealth of new data has been acquired in this region, allowing greatly improved interpretations and the compilation of an overview map showing the main structural elements in the area (Fig. 58; Gregersen et al. 2007). Interest in acquiring new data in this area was stim- ulated by the discovery of live oil seeps in the adjacent onshore area (Christiansen et al. 1996; Bojesen-Koefoed et al. 1999). Five oil types have been identified in these seeps, three likely to have been derived from Cretaceous and Paleocene prodelta source rocks and a fourth, the Itilli oil type, from dysoxic to anoxic marine shales, probably of Cenomanian–Turonian or older age. All these source rocks can be expected to occur in the offshore region. The new data have clearly revealed the existence of a number of deep basins with Mesozoic and Cenozoic sed- imentary successions and also several large structures and 89 50 km 70°30'N 69°00'N 60°W 57°W 54°W Nuussuaq Basin Nuussuaq Disko Gneiss Ridge Disko High Disko lulissat High Ilulissat Graben Aasiaat Basin Aasiaat Structural Trend K an ge rlu k S tr uc tu re Hellefisk Structure Nagssugtôq Subbasin Sisimiut Basin Ik er m iu t F Z Ikermiut Basin Davis Strait High N. Ungava Basin Ilu lis sa t G ra be n E dg e GRO#3 Hellefisk-1 Ikermiut-1 Trend Graben Subbasin Basin High Ikermiut Fault Zone Fault Exploration well Border with Canada Fig. 58. Structural elements offshore central West Greenland. From Gregersen et al. 2007. Qulleq-1 closures that could provide traps (Gregersen & Bidstrup 2008). The structures were initiated during Early to mid- Cretaceous rifting. Syn-rift sediments deposited during this phase are likely to be sandstones with potential reser- voir properties. During the subsequent Late Cretaceous quiet phase, a thick basinal mudstone unit was deposited, the equivalent of the Kangeq sequence farther south. This may well contain source rocks that correlate with the source of the Itilli oil type. Renewed tectonic activ- ity in the latest Cretaceous – Early Paleocene caused uplift and formation of large structures, some of which could provide traps for hydrocarbons. Prodelta Paleocene source rocks equivalent to the suggested sources of three of the oil types identified in onshore seeps could be pres - ent. Late Paleocene – Eocene transpression related to the Ungava Fracture Zone (Fig. 49B) led to the formation of anticlinal structures that have a potential as traps. Finally, during the Eocene and especially during the late Miocene and Pliocene, the offshore basins subsided rapidly, and large sedimentary wedges prograded towards the west and south. Direct hydrocarbon indicators (DHIs) such as bright spots in some seismic lines are encouraging signs that this segment of Greenland waters hosts live petroleum sys- tems (Gregersen et al. 2007). North-West Greenland (73–77°N) The region is the site of some of the largest structures and deepest rift basins anywhere offshore West Greenland (Fig. 53; Whittaker et al. 1997). This was first shown by the results of the KANUMAS reconnaissance seismic survey carried out in 1992; later public domain surveys carried out in north-east Baffin Bay in 2000 have pro- vided a more detailed picture of this part of the rift sys- tem (Gregersen 2008). In addition, recent gravity and magnetic surveys have supplemented knowledge of the deep basins and structural highs. No wells have been drilled in this region, so inter- pretation of the age and character of the sedimentary fill of the basins is based on analogies with onshore areas in north-east Canada (Bylot Island) and central West Greenland (the Nuussuaq Basin), and with the Labrador Sea. The bulk of the up to 12 km thick sedimentary fill is likely to be of Cretaceous–Neogene age. Rifting prob- ably started in the Early Cretaceous (Whittaker et al. 1997), and sandstones deposited in the early syn-rift stage could be good reservoirs for hydrocarbons. During subsequent thermal subsidence a transgressive unit was deposited that is analogous to the latest Cenoma n ian– Turonian Kanguk Formation in the Canadian Arctic Islands. Near the base of this formation there are oil- prone, marine shale source rocks which, however, in this area are thermally immature (Núñez-Betulu 1993). If the analogy to the Kanguk Formation holds, a similar marine source rock can be expected near the base of the transgressive unit in north-east Baffin Bay. Support for this suggestion has been obtained by submitting samples of the source rock shales in the Kanguk Formation to hydrous pyrolysis. This yielded bitumen that shares a number of important characteristics with the Itilli oil type occurring in vuggy basalts and fractures onshore central West Greenland (Bojesen-Koefoed et al. 2004). The Itilli oil type was generated from marine source rocks of presumably Cenomanian–Turonian age (Boje - sen-Koefoed et al. 1999). Marine source rocks usually have a wide areal distribution, so this source rock may well occur offshore north of 73°N and even tie up physically with the Kanguk Formation source rocks. The mud- stones of the transgressive unit could also provide a seal to hydrocarbons trapped in the underlying sandstones in tilted fault blocks and anticlinal inversion structures. Three of the other oil types described by Bojesen- Koefoed et al. (1999) were derived from Cretaceous and Paleocene prodelta source rocks. Similar source rocks could also occur locally in north-east Baffin Bay. Hydrocarbons generated from these source rocks could be trapped in the cores of anticlines formed during inver- sion and transpression, particularly in the northern part of the area. Reservoir could be provided by depositional systems such as turbidite fan lobes shed off the inversion highs (Whittaker et al. 1997). Western North Greenland (north of 80°N) Lincoln Sea (Lincoln Hav on the map) north of North Greenland and Ellesmere Island (Canada) contains an extensive shelf region (almost 500 × 200 km) with water depths below 500 m. The sea is normally covered by thick multi-year sea ice, and our present knowledge of the subsurface geology stems from two recent seismic refraction profiles (Dahl-Jensen et al. 2006) and earlier magnetic and gravity data. Interpretation of the geo- physical data suggests that the basin underlying the Lincoln Sea comprises a sedimentary sequence with a thickness of more than10 km. Based on modelling from the seismic data it is assumed that the sedimentary succession in the Lincoln Sea Basin is comparable with the deposits in the Mesozoic–Cenozoic Sverdrup Basin of Arctic Canada. By comparison with 90 known petroleum indications in the Sverdrup Basin it is inferred that strata in the Lincoln Sea Basin may con- tain source rocks of marine shales of mid-Triassic – lat- est Jurassic and also marine type 2 source rocks of Upper Jurassic age (K. Sørensen, personal communication 2009). Mesozoic reservoir rocks may be widespread and inter- vening shales could form potential seals. Acknowledgements The map was compiled in 1994–95 and printed in 1995. The onshore areas of the map sheet were compiled by J.C. Escher with contributions from North and East Greenland by H.-J. Bengaard and N. Henriksen. The off- shore areas were compiled by T.C.R. Pulvertaft, and the final compilation and legend design was carried out by J.C. Escher (see also map legend). This second revised edition of the descriptive text was prepared in 2009. Comments to the various sections have been provided by: The Greenland Precambrian shield: A.A. Garde The Gardar Province: L.M. Larsen Thule Supergroup: P.R. Dawes Carbonatites, kimberlites and associated rocks: L.M. Larsen and T.F.D. Nielsen The Franklinian Basin: J.R. Ineson Devonian to Cenozoic basins in North-East Greenland: S. Piasecki Cretaceous–Palaeogene basins in West Greenland: G. Dam, G.K. Pedersen and M. Sønderholm Palaeogene volcanic rocks and intrusions: L.M. Larsen and T.F.D. Nielsen Quaternary sediments and glaciology: O. Bennike Offshore geology: T. Dahl-Jensen, T. Funck and Ø. Engen Mineral deposits: K. Secher Petroleum potential: F.G. Christiansen, J.A. Chalmers, U. Gregersen, K. Sørensen and N. Skaarup. 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Unit occurs only on Ellesmere Island, Canada. [2] Pearya – mainly exotic terrane. Unit occurs only in northern- most Ellesmere Island, Canada (p. 49). [3]–[5] Middle Mesoproterozoic to early Neoproterozoic Thule Supergroup (p. 40), North-West Greenland. Age shown on map legend must be revised according to more recent acritarch stud- ies. [3] Carbonate and siliciclastic sediments: Narssârssuk Group, North- West Greenland (p. 40). [4] Shales and siltstones: Dundas Group, North-West Greenland. [5] Sandstones and shales: Smith Sound, Nares Strait and Baffin Bay Groups, North-West Greenland (p. 40). [6] Palaeogene tholeiitic lavas, central West Greenland (p. 60). [7] Palaeogene picritic lavas, central West Greenland (p. 60). [8] Cretaceous–Paleocene sediments: Nuussuaq Group, central West Greenland (p. 57). [9] Ordovician limestone in fault block in Archaean gneiss. ‘Fossilik’ locality (Stouge & Peel 1979), southern West Greenland (65°25´N) (pp. 71, 75). [10] Phanerozoic limestones in fault block within reworked Archaean gneiss (Peel & Secher 1979), southern West Greenland (66°32´N). [11] Basaltic lavas: Eriksfjord Formation, Mesoproterozoic, Gardar Province, South Greenland (p. 38). [12] Continental sandstones and conglomerates: Eriksfjord Formation, Mesoproterozoic, Gardar Province, South Greenland (p. 38). [13] Pliocene–Pleistocene sand-silt deposits: Kap København Formation, central North Greenland (p. 62). [14] Paleocene–Eocene fluviatile and marine sandstones: Thyra Ø Formation, Wandel Sea Basin, eastern North Greenland (pp. 54, 55). [15] Upper Cretaceous sandstones and shales: Herlufsholm Strand Formation and correlatives, Wandel Sea Basin, central and east- ern North Greenland (p. 54). [16] Lower Paleocene basic volcanics and volcanogenic sediments: Kap Washington Group, Wandel Sea Basin, central North Greenland (p. 54). [17] Upper Jurassic – Lower Cretaceous sandstones and shales: Ladegårdsåen Formation and correlatives, Wandel Sea Basin, central and eastern North Greenland (p. 54). [18] Upper Permian – Middle Triassic shales and sandstones: Trolle Land Group, Wandel Sea Basin, central and eastern North Greenland (p. 54). [19] Upper Carboniferous – Lower Permian carbonates: Mallemuk Mountain Group, Wandel Sea Basin, central and eastern North Greenland (p. 54). [20] Lower Carboniferous sandstones and siltstones: Sortebakker Formation, Wandel Sea Basin, eastern North Greenland (p. 54). [21] Silurian carbonates deposited on shelf and slope areas: Washington Land Group, Franklinian Basin, North Greenland (pp. 46, 47). [22] Silurian sandstones and siltstones deposited in deep-water tur- biditic trough: Peary Land Group, Franklinian Basin, North Greenland and Ellesmere Island (pp. 46, 47). [23] Lower Cambrian – Lower Silurian carbonates from shelf and slope areas: Brønlund Fjord, Tavsen Iskappe, Ryder Gletscher and Morris Bugt Groups, Franklinian Basin, North and North-West Greenland and Ellesmere Island (pp. 45, 46). [24] Upper part of Lower Cambrian – Lower Silurian mudstones and shales: starved slope and trough deposits, Vølvedal and Amundsen Land Groups, Franklinian Basin, North Greenland and Ellesmere Island (pp. 46, 82). [25] Lower Cambrian carbonates and siliciclastic sediments; shallow- water deposits: Portfjeld and Buen Formations, Franklinian Basin, North and North-West Greenland and Ellesmere Island (pp. 46). [26] Upper Neoproterozoic – Lower Cambrian calcareous mudstones and sandy turbidites: Skagen, Paradisfjeld and Polkorridoren Groups, deep-water trough deposits in the Franklinian Basin in North Greenland and on Ellesmere Island (pp. 45, 46). [27] Neoproterozoic siliciclastic and carbonate sediments: Hagen Fjord Group, North Greenland (p. 41). [28] Upper Neoproterozoic (Marinoan ~ uppermost Cryogenian) diamictites and sandstones: Morænesø Formation, central North Greenland (pp. 41, 43). [29] Neoproterozoic sandstones in Caledonian nappe units: Rivieradal Group, in part older than the Hagen Fjord Group, eastern North Greenland (p. 41). [30] Mesoproterozoic tholeiitic basalts (1380 Ma): Zig-Zag Dal Basalt Formation, central and eastern North Greenland west of Danmark Fjord (pp. 33, 35). Basalts in Kronprins Christian Land, east of Danmark Fjord, indicated on the map as Zig-Zag Dal Basalt Formation, are 1740 Ma old, i.e. much older. [31] Palaeo- to Mesoproterozoic sandstones: Independence Fjord Group, central and eastern North Greenland. Shown as Meso - proterozoic on the map legend, but new age dating shows that parts are around 1740 Ma (pp. 33, 35). [32] Palaeogene (Paleocene–Eocene) plateau basalts: North-East Greenland (p. 61). [33] Upper Jurassic and Lower Cretaceous shallow marine sand- stones: Raukelv, Hesteelv, Lindemans Bugt and Palnatokes Bjerg Formations and Aptian–Albian sediments, central East and North-East Greenland (pp. 56, 57). A revised stratigraphy has been proposed by Surlyk (2003). [34] Middle–Upper Jurassic marine sandstones and shales: Vardekløft, Olympen, Hareelv and Bernberg Formations, central East and North-East Greenland (pp. 56, 57 ). A revised stratigraphy has Legend explanation Geological units Onshore: indicated by numbers [1]–[86] in the map legend. Offshore: indicated by letters [a]–[g] and six ornamentations in the map legend. 111 been proposed by Surlyk (2003). [35] Upper Triassic – Lower Jurassic lacustrine sandstones and shales: Kap Stewart and Neill Klinter Groups, central East Greenland (p. 56). A revised stratigraphy has been proposed by Surlyk (2003). [36] Lower–Upper Triassic alluvial sandstones and lacustrine dolomites and shales: Pingo Dal, Gipsdalen and Fleming Fjord Formations, central East Greenland (pp. 56, 57). [37] Upper Permian – Lower Triassic shallow marine carbonates, sandstones and shales: Foldvik Creek Group and Wordie Creek Formation, central East Greenland (pp. 56, 57). [38] Carboniferous – Lower Permian fluvial sandstones and shales, central East and North-East Greenland (pp. 53, 55). [39] Middle–Upper Devonian continental siliciclastic sedimentary rocks: Vilddal, Kap Kolthoff, Kap Graah and Celsius Bjerg Groups, North-East and central East Greenland (pp. 52, 53). [40] Cambro-Ordovician dominantly limestones and dolomites in the East Greenland Caledonian fold belt: Kløftelv, Bastion, Ella Ø, Hyolithus Creek, Dolomite Point, Antiklinalbugt, Cape Weber, Narwhale Sound and Heim Bjerge Formations, North- East Greenland (p. 50). [41] Tillites of supposed Marinoan (uppermost Cryogenian) age in isolated occurrences, central East Greenland (p. 43). [42] Diamictites, sandstones, shales and dolostones in succession of Marinoan – Ediacaran age: Tillite Group in East Greenland Caledonian fold belt, North-East Greenland (pp. 42, 43). [43] Succession of siliciclastic, calcareous and dolomitic sediments of Neoproterozoic (Cryogenian) age: upper Eleonore Bay Supergroup including Lyell Land, Ymer Ø and Andrée Land Groups, East Greenland Caledonian fold belt, North-East Greenland (pp. 42, 43). [44] Succession of sandstones and siltstones of Neoproterozoic (Tonian–Cryogenian) age: lower Eleonore Bay Supergroup – the Nathorst Land Group, East Greenland Caledonian fold belt, North-East Greenland (pp. 42, 43). [45] Palaeoproterozoic to early Palaeozoic. Mixed basement gneisses, metasedimentary rocks, greenstones, tillites and sedimentary rocks. Exposed in tectonic windows in the East Greenland Caledonian fold belt, North-East Greenland (pp. 31, 43). [46] Late Mesoproterozoic to early Neoproterozoic metasedimentary rocks in the East Greenland Caledonian fold belt: Krummedal supracrustal sequence and correlative Smallefjord sequence, North- East Greenland (pp. 38, 39). [47] Eocene siliciclastic sedimentary rocks overlying Lower Palaeogene basalts, central and southern East Greenland (p. 62). [48] Eocene tholeiitic plateau basalts in central and southern East Greenland (p. 61). [49] Paleocene tholeiitic basalts with picritic intervals, southern East Greenland (p. 61). [50] Lower Cretaceous – Upper Paleocene sandstones and shales. Pre-basaltic succession in Kangerlussuaq Basin, southern East Greenland (p. 60). [51] Neogene and Quaternary volcanic rocks in Iceland, predomi- nantly basalt lavas. [52] Migmatites and gneisses of Palaeoproterozoic to early Neo - proterozoic and Caledonian origin in the East Greenland Caledonian fold belt, central East and North-East Greenland (pp. 39, 50) and Ellesmere Island, Canada (p. 49). [53] Palaeogene felsic intrusions in East Greenland (p. 62). [54] Late- to post-kinematic granitic s.l. intrusions in the East Greenland Caledonian fold belt, central East and North-East Greenland (pp. 39, 51). [55] Neoproterozoic augen granite intrusions, deformed during the Caledonian orogeny, central East and North-East Greenland (pp. 38, 39). [56] Mesoproterozoic intrusive complexes, mainly syenites: Gardar Province, South Greenland (pp. 38, 82). [57] Palaeogene mafic to intermediate intrusive complexes in East Greenland (p. 62). [58] Upper Cretaceous gabbroic intrusion. Pearya terrane, Ellesmere Island, Canada. [59] Middle Jurassic carbonatite complex: Qaqarssuk, southern West Greenland (pp. 44, 82). [60] Silurian pyroxenitic intrusions in Archaean granulite gneisses: Batbjerg complex, southern East Greenland (p. 51). [61] Late Neoproterozoic carbonatite complex in Archaean gneisses: Sarfartoq, southern West Greenland (pp. 44, 82). [62] Palaeoproterozoic metasedimentary rocks (marbles and silici- clastic rocks) in the Rinkian fold belt: Karrat Group compris- ing the Mârmorilik, Qeqertarssuaq and Nûkavsak Formations, central West Greenland (pp. 25, 26, 81). [63] Palaeoproterozoic basic metavolcanic rocks: Sortis Group in the northern border zone of the Ketilidian orogen, South-West Greenland (pp. 28, 29). [64] Palaeoproterozoic metasedimentary rocks: Vallen Group in the northern border zone of the Ketilidian orogen, South-West Greenland (pp. 28, 29). [65] Palaeoproterozoic acid metavolcanic rocks in the Ketilidian oro- gen, South Greenland (p. 30). [66] Archaean acid metavolcanic rocks north-east of Disko Bugt in the Rinkian fold belt, central West Greenland (p. 26). [67] Palaeoproterozoic, high-grade supracrustal units (paragneisses, marbles, quartzites and basic metavolcanic rocks) in Palaeo - proterozoic orogenic belts (pp. 23, 24, 28, 30, 32). [68] Meso- and Neoarchaean supracrustal rocks (amphibolites and gneissic metasediments) in the Archaean craton, West Greenland and South-East Greenland (pp. 19, 23, 26). [69] Eoarchaean supracrustal rocks (Isua and Akilia assemblages) in the Archaean craton, southern West Greenland (pp. 17, 18, 80). [70] Palaeoproterozoic amphibolite facies gneisses (generally orthogneisses) dominantly of juvenile Proterozoic origin. Ketil - idian orogen, South and South-East Greenland (pp. 28, 29) and basement in northern part of Caledonian fold belt in North-East Greenland (pp. 31, 32, 38, 50). [71] Palaeoproterozoic gneisses in granulite facies: Inglefield Land oro- genic belt, North-West Greenland and Ellesmere Island, Canada (p. 28); Nagssugtoqidian orogen, South-East Greenland (p. 25) and Caledonian fold belt in North-East Greenland (p. 32). [72] Meso- and Neoarchaean orthogneisses in amphibolite facies. Archaean craton, southern West Greenland and South-East Greenland (pp. 19, 20). [73] Meso- and Neoarchaean orthogneisses in granulite facies. Archaean craton, southern West Greenland and South-East Greenland (pp. 19, 20). 112 [74] Reworked amphibolite facies Archaean gneisses in Palaeo - proterozoic orogens in West and South-East Greenland (pp. 22, 25–27) and in the basement of the southern part of the East Greenland Caledonian fold belt, central East Greenland (pp. 31, 32, 50). [75] Reworked Archaean granulite facies gneisses in Palaeoprotero - zoic orogens in central and southern West Greenland (pp. 22, 24) and in South-East Greenland (p. 24). [76] Eoarchaean gneisses in the core of the Archaean craton in south- ern West Greenland: ‘Amîtsoq gneiss’ (p. 18). [77] Palaeoproterozoic rapakivi ‘granites’ in the Ketilidian orogen, South Greenland (pp. 28, 30, 38). [78] Palaeoproterozoic granites: the Julianehåb batholith in the Ketil - idian orogen, South Greenland (pp. 28, 29); the Prøven Igneous Complex in the Rinkian fold belt (pp. 26, 27 ) and some gran- ites in the Nagssugtoqidian orogen of southern West and South- East Greenland (pp. 24, 25) and within the basement of the Caledonian fold belt in East Greenland (p. 31). [79] Neoarchaean post-tectonic granite complex: Qôrqut granite, southern West Greenland (p. 21). [80] Meso- to Neoarchaean granitic to tonalitic plutonic rocks; early–late kinematic intrusions: Taserssuaq tonalite, Ilivertalik augen granite, southern West Greenland (pp. 20, 21, 24). In South-East Greenland syenitic and granitic rocks (p. 21), and an intrusive complex in central West Greenland (p. 26). [81] Palaeoproterozoic intermediate plutonic rocks in the Nagssugtoqidian orogen: Arfersiorfik quartz diorite at 68°N, West Greenland (p. 22, 24); Ammassalik intrusive complex and similar rocks in SE Greenland (p. 24, 25). Other occurrences in the Ketilidian orogen in South Greenland (p. 29) and in the Caledonian fold belt in North-East Greenland (p. 32). [82] Meso- and Neoarchaean post-tectonic intermediate and mafic intrusions in South-East and West Greenland (pp. 21, 26) and North-West Greenland (p. 27). [83] Neoarchaean alkaline intrusive complex: Skjoldungen alkaline province, South-East Greenland (p. 21). [84] Mesorchaean carbonatite sheet: Tupertalik, southern West Greenland (pp. 21, 44). [85] Mesoarchaean anorthositic rocks in the Archaean craton: Fiskenæsset complex and correlatives, southern West Greenland (pp. 19, 80); also in central West Greenland (p. 26), in South- East Greenland (p. 24) and in the Thule region (c. 77°30´N) North-West Greenland (p. 27). [86] Palaeoproterozoic gabbro-anorthosite, East Greenland Caledo - nian fold belt, North-East Greenland (76°N) (Stecher & Henriksen 1994). Offshore [a] Areas underlain by continental crust with or without cover of sedimentary rocks and Tertiary volcanic rocks (p. 66). [b] Transition zone between continental and oceanic crust. In many areas thought to consist of continental crust with increasing intensity of dykes and intrusions as oceanic crust is approached (p. 66). Off South-West Greenland transition zone is extremely thin continental crust flanked to the south-west by a zone of ser- pentinised mantle peridotite. [c]–[f ] Areas underlain by oceanic crust, divided according to age at 15 million year intervals. Oldest oceanic crust [f] was formed more than 45 million years ago. Divisions based on sea-floor spreading magnetic anomalies (p. 66). [g] Oceanic crust of unspecified age (pp. 66, 70). Ornamentations Palaeogene volcanic rocks at seabed or concealed, latter only shown in areas underlain by continental crust: North-East Greenland 72–75°N (p. 74); West and North-West Greenland 68–73°N (p. 76). Buried volcano with high relief, central East Greenland, 69°N. Intrusions in sedimentary and volcanic rocks, East Greenland (71–73°N). Probably of Palaeogene age (p. 74). Areas with widespread salt deposits of supposed Late Palaeozoic age, North-East Greenland shelf 76°30´–79°30´N (p. 73). Sedimentary basins with thicknesses over 4 km (pp. 73–77). Most sediments are of Late Palaeozoic – Cenozoic age. Little known basins with thick sedimentary successions (pp. 73, 74, 76, 77). 113 A Aasiaat 68°43′/52°53′ 6 Akia 64°24′/51°43′ 7 Alert (Canada) 82°30′/62°09′ 5 Alluitsup Paa 60°28′/45°34′ 7 Ameralik [Lysefjord] 64°07′/51°00′ 7 Ammassalik 65°36′/37°38′ 10 Anap Nunaa 69°57′/50°30′ 6 Andreé Land 73°42′/26°25′ 12 Ardencaple Fjord 75°20′/21°00′ 12 Arfersiorfik 68°10′/52°28′ 6 Arsuk 61°11′/48°26′ 7 Atammik 64°48′/52°12′ 7 Attu 67°57′/53°38′ 6 B Bache Peninsula (Canada) 79°13′/76°50′ 5 Baffin Bugt 73°00′/62°00′ 6 Bessel Fjord 75°59′/21°00′ 11 Bildsøe Nunatakker 78°08′/23°48′ 11 Bjørnesund 62°55′/50°10′ 7 Blosseville Kyst 68°49′/26°00′ 12 Bredefjord 60°55′/46°25′ 7 Breitafjör›ur (Iceland) 64°25′/23°00′ 13 C Camp Century 77°11′/61°07′ 5 Canning Land 71°40′/22°15′ 12 Carey Øer 76°43′/72°58′ 5 Charcot Land 71°53′/29°45′ 12 Christianshåb 68°49′/51°11′ 6 Clavering Ø 74°18′/21°00′ 12 Constable Pynt 70°45′/22°36′ 12 D Daneborg 74°19′/20°14′ 12 Danell Fjord [Iluileq] 60°53′/43°08′ 10 Danmark Fjord 81°10′/21°30′ 11 Danmark Stræde 66°10′/27°00′ 12, 13 Danmarkshavn 76°46′/18°39′ 11 Davis Stræde 68°00′/57°00′ 6 Disko 69°45′/53°30′ 6 Disko Bugt 69°11′/52°45′ 6 Dome GRIP (Summit) 72°35′/37°38′ 9 Dove Bugt 76°37′/20°00′ 11 Dronning Louise Land 76°30′/24°30′ 11 Dye 3 65°11′/43°50′ 10 E Egedesminde 68°43′/52°53′ 6 Eleonore Bugt 73°26′/25°23′ 12 Ella Ø 72°55′/25°05′ 12 Ellesmere Island (Canada) 80°00′/80°00′ 5 F Fiskefjord 64°54′/51°33′ 7 Fiskenæsset 63°05′/50°41′ 7 Frederick E. Hyde Fjord 83°10′/30°30′ 8 Frederikshåb 62°00′/49°40′ 7 Frederikshåb Isblink 62°35′/49°55′ 7 Freuchen Land 82°20′/43°30′ 8 G Gåsefjord 70°04′/28°00′ 12 Geikie Plateau 69°56′/25°30′ 12 Germania Land 77°06′/18°55′ 11 Giesecke Isfjord 73°36′/55°58′ 6 GISP 2 72°35′/38°27′ 9 Gletscherland 72°40′/27°00′ 12 Godhavn 69°15′/53°33′ 6 Godthåb 64°11′/51°45′ 7 Godthåbsfjord 64°25′/51°25′ 7 Grænseland 61°23′/47°53′ 7 Greely Fiord (Canada) 80°24′/83°00′ 5 Grønlandshavet 77°00′/10°00′ 11 Grønnedal 61°14′/48°06′ 7 Gunnbjørn Fjeld 68°51′/29°52′ 12 H Hagen Fjord 81°35′/25°30′ 8 Hall Bassin 81°30′/63°00′ 5 Hall Bredning 70°54′/24°45′ 12 Hall Land 81°30′/60°00′ 5 Hans Ø 80°50′/66°38′ 5 Hans Tausen Iskappe 82°32′/38°00′ 8 Hareøen 70°26′/54°55′ 6 Hellefisk-1 67°52′/56°44′ 6 Herluf Trolle Land 82°30′/26°30′ 8 Place names register Includes all place names shown on the geological map. The names in square brackets are some well-known alternative names that do not appear on the map. Map segment numbers refer to the index map on page 10 (Fig. 1). In the alphabetical sorting the Danish letters Æ, Ø and Å are treated as AE, O and A; for convenience Øfjord also follows Z. Place name Lat. / Long. Map N W segment Place name Lat. / Long. Map N W segment 114 Hochstetter Forland 75°30′/19°53′ 12 Hold with Hope 73°44′/21°10′ 12 Holm Land 80°26′/17°30′ 11 [Holm Ø] see Kiatassuaq Holsteinsborg 66°56′/53°40′ 6 Hovgaard Ø 79°55′/18°30′ 11 Hudson Land 73°49′/23°00′ 12 Humboldt Gletscher 79°30′/63°30′ 5 I Ikaasakajik 70°55′/27°00′ 12 Ikeq 64°56′/40°35′ 10 [Ikerasassuaq] see Prins Christian Sund Ikermiut-1 66°56′/56°35′ 6 Ikersuaq 60°55′/46°25′ 7 Ikertivaq 65°29′/39°35′ 10 Île de France 77°49′/17°50′ 11 Ilimananngip Nunaa 70°43′/26°48′ 12 Illoqqortoormiut 70°29′/21°58′ 12 Illorsuit 71°09′/53°40′ 6 [Iluileq] see Danell Fjord Ilulissat 69°13′/51°07′ 6 Independence Fjord 82°05′/29°30′ 8 Inglefield Land 78°44′/69°00′ 5 Ingolf Fjord 80°30′/18°00′ 11 Innaanganeq 75°55′/66°28′ 5 Inuit Qeqertaat 83°40′/30°35′ 8 Ísafjör›ur (Iceland) 66°05′/23°10′ 13 Island (Iceland) 65°00′/18°00′ 13 Isukasia 65°11′/49°48′ 7 Ittertivaa 69°25′/24°06′ 12 Ivisaartoq 64°49′/49°58′ 7 Ivittuut 61°12′/48°10′ 7 J Jakobshavn 69°13′/51°07′ 6 Jakobshavn Isfjord 69°10′/50°30′ 6 Jameson Land 71°10′/23°15′ 12 J.C. Christensen Land 81°40′/29°30′ 8 Johannes V. Jensen Land 83°20′/32°00′ 8 Jøkelbugten 78°38′/20°00′ 11 J.P. Koch Fjord 82°45′/44°30′ 8 Julianehåb 60°43′/46°03′ 7 K Kaffeklubben Ø 83°40′/30°35′ 8 Kane Bassin 79°30′/69°00′ 5 Kangaamiut 65°50′/53°21′ 7 Kangaarsugsuaq 77°01′/71°23′ 5 Kangaatsiaq 68°19′/53°28′ 6 Kangâmiut-1 66°09′/56°11′ 7 Kangeq 61°50′/42°06′ 10 Kangerlussuaq (East Greenland) 68°22′/32°12′ 9, 12 Kangerlussuaq (West Greenland) 66°24′/52°30′ 7 [Kangerlussuatsiaq] see Lindenow Fjord Kangersik Kiatteq 71°30′/26°00′ 12 Kangersuatsiaq 72°23′/55°34′ 6 Kangertittivaq 70°17′/23°00′ 12 Kangertittivatsiaq 66°21′/35°43′ 10 Kangikajik 70°09′/22°03′ 12 Kap Alexander 78°11′/73°02′ 5 Kap Brewster 70°09′/22°03′ 12 Kap Bryant 82°20′/55°15′ 8 Kap Cort Adelaer 61°50′/42°06′ 10 Kap Dalton 69°25′/24°06′ 12 Kap Edvard Holm 67°51′/32°11′ 9 Kap Eiler Rasmussen 82°35′/19°45′ 8 Kap Farvel 59°47′/43°55′ 10 Kap Franklin 73°15′/22°10′ 12 Kap Gustav Holm 66°34′/34°20′ 10 Kap København 82°23′/20°57′ 8 Kap Morris Jesup 83°39′/33°25′ 8 Kap Møsting 63°41′/40°31′ 10 Kap Parry 77°01′/71°23′ 5 Kap Ravn 68°26′/28°16′ 12 Kap Tordenskjold 61°24′/42°23′ 10 Kap Washington 83°33′/38°40′ 8 Kap York 75°55′/66°28′ 5 Karrat Isfjord 71°34′/52°25′ 6 Keflavik (Iceland) 64°00′/22°30′ 13 Kejser Franz Joseph Fjord 73°21′/23°30′ 12 Kennedy Kanal 80°40′/68°00′ 5 Kialiip Imaa 66°55′/33°45′ 10 Kiatassuaq [Holm Ø] 74°30′/57°00′ 6 Kilen 81°11′/13°25′ 11 Kitsissut 76°43′/72°58′ 5 Kobberminebugt 60°55′/48°17′ 7 Køge Bugt 64°56′/40°35′ 10 Kong Oscar Fjord 72°22′/24°00′ 12 Kronprins Christian Land 80°40′/21°00′ 11 Kuhn Ø 74°50′/20°20′ 12 Kullorsuaq 74°34′/57°10′ 6 Kulusuk 65°34′/37°11′ 10 Kuummiut 65°52′/37°01′ 10 L Lake Hazen (Canada) 81°47′/70°50′ 5 Lambert Land 79°19′/20°48′ 11 Lauge Koch Kyst 76°20′/60°00′ 5 Lincoln Hav 83°25′/57°00′ 8 Lindenow Fjord [Kangerlussuatsiaq] 60°30′/43°30′ 10 Liverpool Land 70°55′/22°00′ 12 Lyell Land 72°38′/25°35′ 12 [Lysefjord] see Ameralik M Maarmorilik 71°08′/51°18′ 6 Mallemukfjeld 80°10′/17°04′ 11 Place name Lat. / Long. Map N W segment Place name Lat. / Long. Map N W segment 115 Maniitsoq 65°25′/52°52′ 7 Melville Bugt 75°45′/60°50′ 5 Mestersvig 72°14′/23°55′ 12 Midternæs 61°37′/47°56′ 7 Milne Land 70°43′/26°48′ 12 Mont Forel 66°56′/36°49′ 10 Mylius-Erichsen Land 81°00′/26°00′ 8 N Nakkehoved 81°42′/13°03′ 11 Nanortalik 60°09′/45°15′ 7 Nansen Fjord 68°17′/29°50′ 12 Nansen Land 82°56′/44°20′ 8 Nansen Sound (Canada) 81°00′/90°00′ 5 Nares Stræde 80°00′/69°00′ 5 Narsaq 60°55′/46°03′ 7 Narsarsuaq 61°10′/45°25′ 7 Nassuttooq 67°45′/53°00′ 6 Neriap Nunaa 61°23′/47°53′ 7 Nertiit Kangersivat 70°04′/28°00′ 12 Niaqornaarsuk 68°14′/52°52′ 6 Niaqorsuaq 75°04′/58°05′ 6 Nioghalvfjerdsfjorden 79°34′/21°00′ 11 Nordatlanten 62°00′/29°00′ 13 Nordlandet 64°24′/51°43′ 7 Nordostrundingen 81°21′/11°20′ 11 Nordre Strømfjord 67°45′/53°00′ 6 Nordvestfjord 71°30′/26°00′ 12 Norske Øer 79°07′/17°50′ 11 Nukik-1 65°31′/54°45′ 7 Nukik-2 65°38′/54°46′ 7 Nunakuluut [Nunarssuit] 60°46′/47°57′ 7 Nunap Isua 59°47′/43°55′ 10 [Nunarssuit] see Nunakuluut Nuuk 64°11′/51°45′ 7 Nuup Kangerlua 64°25/51°25′ 7 Nuussuaq 70°35′/52°55′ 6 Nyeboe Land 81°45′/57°00′ 8 O Øfjord 70°55′/27°00′ 12 P Paamiut 62°00′/49°40′ 7 Peary Land 82°35′/31°00′ 8 Petermann Bjerg 73°05′/28°37′ 12 Petermann Gletscher 80°35′/59°35′ 5 Pituffik 76°33′/68°15′ 5 Prins Christian Sund [Ikerasassuaq] 60°07′/43°30′ 10 Prinsen af Wales Bjerge 68°56′/32°30′ 9 Prøven 72°23′/55°34′ 6 Q Qaanaaq 77°28′/69°14′ 5 Qaqortoq 60°43′/46°03′ 7 Qasigiannguit 68°49′/51°11′ 6 Qeqertarsuaq (Disko) 69°45′/53°30′ 6 Qeqertarsuaq (Godhavn) 69°15′/53°33′ 6 Qeqertarsuatsiaat 63°05′/50°41′ 7 Qeqertarsuatsiaq 70°26′/54°55′ 6 Qeqertarsuup Tunua 69°11′/52°45′ 6 Qimusseriarsuaq 75°45′/60°50′ 5 Qullissat 70°05′/53°01′ 6 Qunaranaaq 61°24′/42°23′ 10 R Ravn Storø 62°43′/50°23′ 7 Red Head 75°04′/58°05′ 6 Renland 71°20′/26°45′ 12 Reykjavik (Iceland) 64°10′/22°00′ 13 Rink Isbræ 71°47′/51°23′ 6 Robeson Kanal 81°53′/62°00′ 5 S Saqqisikuik 63°22′/41°35′ 10 Sarfartoq 66°25′/51°23′ 7 Scoresby Land 71°45′/25°00′ 12 Scoresby Sund 70°17′/23°00′ 12 Scoresbysund 70°29′/21°58′ 12 Sermersuaq (Humboldt Gletscher) 79°30′/63°30′ 5 Sermersuaq (Steenstrup Gletscher) 75°17′/57°53′ 6 Sermiligaarsuk 61°30′/48°40′ 7 Sermilik 66°11′/37°36′ 10 Shannon 75°08′/18°15′ 12 Sherard Osborn Fjord 82°05′/52°05′ 8 Sisimiut 66°56′/53°40′ 6 Skærfjorden 77°30′/19°30′ 11 Skærgårdshalvø 68°09′/31°45′ 12 Skjoldungen 63°22′/41°35′ 10 Skrækkens Bugt 66°55′/33°45′ 10 Smith Sund 78°30′/74°00′ 5 Snæfellsnes (Iceland) 64°50′/23°37′ 13 Søndre Strømfjord (airport) 66°58′/50°57′ 6 Søndre Strømfjord (fjord) 66°24′/52°30′ 7 Station Nord 81°35′/16°41′ 11 Stauning Alper 72°00′/25°00′ 12 Steenstrup Gletscher 75°17′/57°53′ 6 Store Koldewey 76°30′/19°00′ 11 Storstrømmen 76°53′/22°50′ 11 Suess Land 72°58′/25°35′ 12 Sukkertoppen 65°25′/52°52′ 7 Sullorsuaq 70°16′/53°25′ 6 Svartenhuk Halvø 71°45′/54°50′ 6 Sydprøven 60°28′/45°34′ 7 T Taartoq 61°25′/48°50′ 7 Tasiilap Karra 66°34′/34°20′ 10 Place name Lat. / Long. Map N W segment Place name Lat. / Long. Map N W segment 116 Tasiilaq 65°36′/37°38′ 10 Thule 77°28′/69°14′ 5 Thule Air Base 76°33′/68°15′ 5 Traill Ø 72°40′/23°43′ 12 Tuttut Nunat 71°20′/26°45′ 12 U Ubekendt Ejland 71°09′/53°40′ 6 Ullersuaq 78°11′/73°02′ 5 Umiivik 64°16′/40°35′ 10 United States Range (Canada) 82°00′/72°00′ 5 Upernavik 72°47′/56°10′ 6 Upernavik Isfjord 72°55′/55°30′ 6 Ussing Isfjord 73°54′/56°00′ 6 Uummannaq 70°41′/52°08′ 6 V Vaigat 70°16′/53°25′ 6 Victoria Fjord 82°09′/47°45′ 8 W Waltershausen Gletscher 74°09′/25°30′ 12 Wandel Dal 82°14′/33°30′ 8 Wandel Hav 82°30′/12°00′ 11 Ward Hunt Ice Shelf (Canada) 83°08′/75°00′ 5 Warming Land 81°34′/52°50′ 8 Washington Land 80°30′/64°00′ 5 Watkins Bjerge 68°51′/29°30′ 12 Wollaston Forland 74°26′/19°35′ 12 Wulff Land 81°51′/48°30′ 8 Y Ymer Ø 73°11′/24°30′ 12 Ø Øfjord 70°55′/27°00′ 12 Place name Lat. / Long. Map N W segment Place name Lat. / Long. Map N W segment 117 Abbreviations Fm Formation Gp Group SGp Supergroup cEG central East Greenland cNG central North Greenland cWG central West Greenland EG East Greenland (includes cEG, NEG, sEG, SEG) eNG eastern North Greenland NEG North-East Greenland NG North Greenland NWG North-West Greenland sEG southern East Greenland SEG South-East Greenland SG South Greenland sWG southern West Greenland SWG South-West Greenland WG West Greenland (includes cWG, NWG, sWG, SWG) wNG western North Greenland A Aasiaat domain 23 Aasiat Basin: cWG 15 Aasiat Structural Trend: cWG 89 Aasivik terran: sWG 19 Accretion of Precambrian crustal blocks: sWG 15, 21, 48 Aeromagnetic data 24, 66, 67 Agatdal Formation (Paleocene): cWG 57, 58, 59 Agpaitic rocks, see Alkaline rocks Akia terrane (Mesoarchaean): sWG 19 Akilia association (Eoarchaean): sWG 18 Albian: NEG, cWG, SEG, sWG 56, 58, 60, 75 Albian–Campanian (Cretaceous): cWG 57 Alkali acid rocks (Gardar): SG 35 Alkaline rocks: EG, SG 62, 82 Ameralik dykes (Eoarchaean): sWG 18, 18, 36 Amikoq: sWG 79 Amitsoq: SG 79 Amîtsoq gneiss (Eoarchaean): sWG 18, 36, 37 Amîtsoq iron-rich suite (Eoarchaean): sWG 18 Ammassalik Intrusive Complex (Palaeoproterozoic): SEG 24 Ammassalik mobile belt (Palaeoproterozoic): sEG, SEG 24 Amundsen Land Gp (Ordovician): NG 46, 46, 48, 78 Anap nunâ Gp (Palaeoproterozoic): cWG 26 Andrée Land Gp (Neoproterozoic): cEG, NEG 42, 43 Anorthositic rocks cWG (Mesoarchaean) 26 NEG (Proterozoic), see Legend explanation [86] 112 NWG (Neoarchaean) 27 SEG (Nagssugtoqidian orogen) 24 sWG (Mesoarchaean) 16, 19, 80 Antiklinalbugt Fm (Ordovician): NEG 50 Antimony (Sb): NEG 79 Appat sequence (Cretaceous): sWG 75, 76, 76, 89 Appinites (Proterozoic): SG, SEG 29, 37 Aptian–Albian (Cretaceous) NEG 56 sEG 60 Archaean Eoarchaean craton: sWG 16, 17, 18, 36 craton: SEG, sWG, SWG 14, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19–22, 21, 28, 36, 44, 79, 80 gneisses (Meso–Neoarchaean): sWG, SEG 19, 21 intrusive rocks (Meso–Neoarchaean): SEG, sWG 20, 21 mineral deposits 80, 81 reworked rocks 14, 14 cEG, NEG 31 sEG, SEG, WG 21–28, 23, 25 supracrustal rocks Eoarchaean: sWG 17 Meso–Neoarchaean cWG 23 SEG, sWG, SWG 19, 24 terrane boundaries 16, 17, 19–21 Archaean basement beneath the Inland Ice 32 Archaean orogenesis 15–20 Archaean terraines 14 ARCO 86 Arfersiorfik quartz diorite: sWG 23, 24 Arveprinsens Ejland: cWG 79 Asphalt residues 84 Atâ igneous complex 26 Ataata Kuua: cWG 59 Atammik: sWG 22 Atane Fm (Cretaceous): cWG 57, 58 Atanikerdluk Fm (Paleocene): cWG 58 Atlantic Richfield Company 86 Attu: sWG 79 Augite syenite (Gardar): SG 35 B Bache Peninsula (Canada) 69, 72 Baffin Bay Gp (Meso–Neoproterozoic): NWG 40, 40 Baffin Bay (Bugt): NWG 71, 85, 90 Baffin Island (Canada) 71 Index In the listing the Danish letters Æ, Ø and Å are treated as AE, O and A. For the use of the geographical subdivisions see the map on page 4. Page numbers in bold refer to figures. 118 Baltica 50 Banded iron formation Isua supracrustal sequences: sWG 17, 17, 80 cWG 26 NWG 27, 81 Barden Bugt Fm (Meso–Neoproterozoic): NWG 40 Barite: NG, cEG 79 Barremian–Albian (Cretaceous), offshore: sWG 75 Basalts Archaean 19 Paleocene: cNG 53, 54 Palaeoproterozoic: SWG 28 Meso–Neoproterozoic: NG, SG, NWG 33, 35, 37, 39 Palaeogene 79, 85 cWG 37, 58, 59, 60, 89, 90 EG 37, 60, 61, 61, 62 Tertiary offshore 67–69, 74, 76, 76, 85 Base metals, exploration 9, 78 Basement provinces 9, 14, 14 Basic dykes, see Dykes and sills Basins, see Sedimentary basins Bastion Fm (Cambrian): NEG 50 Batbjerg complex (Caledonian): sEG 51 Bathymetry 13 Bernbjerg Fm (Jurassic): NEG 56 Beryllium, prospect / deposit: SG 79, 82 BGR (Bundesanstalt für Geowiss. und Rohstoffe) 71 Bitumen 90 Bjørnesund block: sWG 16 Black Angel (Sorte Engel) lead-zinc deposit: cWG 26, 79, 81 Blosseville Gp (Cretaceous–Palaeogene): sEG 60 Blosseville Kyst Basin: cEG, sEG 75 petroleum potential 88 Blyklippen lead-zinc deposit (Mestersvig): cEG 79, 83 Borgtinderne intrusion (Tertiary): sEG 62 Bredehorn: cEG 79 Brogetdal: NEG 79 Brønlund Fjord Gp (Cambrian): NG 41, 46 Buen Fm (Cambrian): NG 41, 45, 46, 49 Bundesanstalt für Geowiss. und Rohstoffe (BGR) 71 C Caledonides, East Greenland 50, 51 Archaean – Palaeoproterozoic basement: cEG, NEG 31, 31 sedimentary rocks of unknown age: NEG 43 fold belt units: cEG, eNG, NEG 51 reworked Neoproterozoic units: cEG, NEG 38, 38, 39, 39 sedimentary successions (Neoproterozoic–Palaeozoic) 41–44, 43, 44, 50 intrusions: cEG, NEG 51, 52 orogeny: cEG, eNG, NEG 50, 51, 52 Cambrian sediments: NG 28, 41, 45, 46, 48, 49 deep-water trough: NG 45, 46, 48 source rocks: NG 84 Cambrian–Ordovician sediments: NEG 43, 50, 50 Cambrian–Silurian sediments: NG, NWG 45, 46 Campanuladal Fm (Neoproterozoic): cNG, eNG 42 Cape Camperdown Fm (Mesoproterozoic): NWG 40 Cape Combermere Fm (Mesoproterozoic): NWG 40 Cape Dyer (Canada) 69 Cape Smith orogen (Canada) 15 Cape Weber Fm (Ordovician): NEG 50 Carbonatite complexes 44 Mesoarchaean: sWG 21 Gardar (Mesoproterozoic): SG 38 Neoproterozoic / Jurassic: sWG 44 Carboniferous sediments cEG, NEG 53, 53, 55, 55, 86, 87 eNG 53, 54, 54, 79, 84, 86 NG 45, 48, 48 Carboniferous–Permian salt formation, offshore: NEG 73 Celestite: cEG 79 Celsius Bjerg Gp (Devonian–Carboniferous): NEG 53, 53 Charcot Land supracrustal succession (Palaeoproterozoic): cEG 31 Charcot Land tectonic window: cEG 31 Charnockitic intrusive rocks NWG (Prøven ignous complex) 27 SEG (Ammassalik Intrusive Complex) 24 Chromite mineralisation: sWG 80 Chromium: sWG 79, 80 Chron numbers (magnetochrons) 13, 66, 70 Citronen Fjord: cNG 76, 78, 79, 80 Citronen Fjord lead-zinc deposit: cNG 80 Clarence Head Fm (Mesoproterozoic): NWG 40 Clavering Ø: NEG 79 Climate, past 63, 65 Coal: cWG 79 Coal deposit (Cretaceous): cWG 57, 58, 60 Cobalt: cWG 79 Continental break up, Palaeogene 60, 62 Continental crust, offshore 66–73, 68, 74, 75, 75 Continental margin EG, NG 66–70, 73 WG 70–72 Continental shelf 11, 63, 71, 86 Continent–ocean boundary (COB) 66, 67 Continent-ocean transition zone 67 Copper: NWG, cWG, SG, SEG, NEG 79 Cretaceous, sediments 79 cEG 55, 56, 56 cNG, eNG 48, 53, 54, 55 cWG 8, 57, 58, 83, 86 NEG 55, 56, 57, 74, 74 offshore sWG, SWG 71, 75, 76, 86, 88–90 sEG 60 NG, NWG 70, 77 Cryolite: SWG 78, 79, 80, 82 D Danell Fjord: SEG 38 Danish Expeditions to East Greenland 11 Danmark Stræde (Denmark Strait): sEG 67 119 Danmarks Geologiske Undersøgelse (DGU) 11 Danmarkshavn Basin: NEG 74, 84, 85, 87 Danmarkshavn Ridge: NEG 73, 74 Davis Stræde (Davis Strait): sWG 69, 71, 75, 85 Davis Strait High: sWG 69, 71, 75, 89 De Geer megashear 70 Deep drillings Inland Ice 65 onshore: cWG 57, 85, 89 offshore SEG 66, 67, 75 sWG 66, 68, 71, 84, 87 through Inland Ice 32 Denmark Strait Fracture Zone 67 Devon Dal: cEG 79 Devonian sediments NEG 51, 52, 53, 53, 79 cEG 55 wNG 45, 48, 49 offshore: NEG 73, 74, 87 Diamictites (Neoproterozoic) Morænesø Fm: cNG 41, 41 Tillite Gp: NEG 41, 42, 43, 43, 51 Diamond: sWG 79 Diamond exploration: sWG 44, 78 ‘Diamond Province’: sWG 44 Disko Bugt suture: cWG 15, 22 Disko Bugt: cWG 4, 14, 15, 85 Disko Gneiss Ridge: cWG 89 Disko High: cWG 89 Dolerite dykes, see Dykes and sills Dolomite Point Fm (Cambrian): NEG 50 Dove Bugt: NEG 32 Drill holes Inland Ice 32, 65 offshore: sWG 66, 68, 71, 84, 87 onshore: cWG 57, 85, 89 Dundas Gp (Meso–Neoproterozoic): NWG 40, 40 Dykes and sills Ameralik (Palaeoarchaean) 18, 18, 36, 37 Archaean 18, 18, 36, 37 Gardar (Mesoproterozoic): SG 35, 37, 38 Kangâmiut (Palaeoproterozoic): sWG 22, 36, 37 ‘MD’ (Palaeoproterozoic): sWG, SWG 37 Midsommersø (Mesoproterozoic): cNG, eNG 33, 34, 37, 40 Phanerozoic 37 Proterozoic 37 Tarssartôq (Palaeoarchaean): sWG 37 ‘TD’ (Cretaceous): SG, SWG 37 Tertiary 37, 61, 62, 67 Umîvik (Palaeoproterozoic): sEG, SEG 37 E East Greenland escarpment: cEG 75 Eclogite: NEG 32, 50 sWG 24 Eemian (Quaternary) 63, 65, 65 Eleonore Bay SGp (Neoproterozoic): cEG, NEG 39, 41, 42, 43, 44, 51, 52 Eleonore Sø series (Palaeoproterozoic): NEG 43 Eleonore Sø window: NEG 31 Ella Ø Fm (Cambrian): NEG 50 Ellesmere Island (Canada) 4, 33, 39, 45–49, 48, 72, 73, 85, 90 Ellesmere-Devonian terrane (Canada) 15 Ellesmerian fold belt (Palaeozoic): NG 48, 49, 78, 85 Ellesmerian orogeny (Palaeozoic): NG 51 Eoarchaean 15 supracrustal rocks 17 gneisses 16, 18, 18 Eocene oceanic crust 68 Eocene sediments offshore cEG 75, 75, 88 cWG 76, 90 sWG 76, 76, 89 onshore: sEG 62 eNG 55 Eocene triple junction 70 Eqalulik Formation (Paleocene): cWG 58, 59 Eqalussuit: sWG 79 Eqi: cWG 79 Eriksfjord Fm (Gardar): SG 35, 38 Etah Gp (Palaeoproterozoic): NWG 28 Eurasia Basin 70 Eurekan Orogen 72, 73 Evaporites, onshore Carboniferous–Permian: NEG 73 Permian: cEG 56 Ordovician: NG 45, 46 Neoproterozoic: NEG 42 Meso–Neoproterozoic: NWG 40 Evaporites, offshore: NEG 73 Exotic terrane, Ellesmere Island (Canada), see Pearya 48, 49 Exploration wells (hydrocarbon): WG 57, 66, 67, 71, 84, 87, 88, 88 F Færingehavn terrane: sWG 16, 17 Færingehavn: sWG 16 Fiskefjord block: sWG 16 Fiskefjord: sWG 20, 36 Fiskenæsset: sWG 79 Fiskenæsset complex (Mesoarchaean): sWG 19, 20, 80 Flammefjeld: sEG 79 Fleming Fjord Fm (Triassic): cEG 56 Foldvik Creek Gp (Permian): cEG 56 ‘Fossilik’ (Ordovician): sWG, see Legend explanation [9] 110 Foxe fold belt (Canada) 27 Foyaite (Gardar): SG 35 Fracture zones, oceanic: EG, WG 66, 67, 69, 69, 70–72, 74, 76, 89, 90 Fram Strait (Greenland–Svalbard) 69, 70 Franklinian Basin (Cambro-Silurian) NG, NWG 28, 41, 45, 46, 48, 49, 51 120 mineral deposits: NG 78, 79 petroleum potential: NG 84 Franz Joseph thrust sheet unit: NEG 51 Fylla fault complex: cWG 76 Fyns Sø Fm (Neoproterozoic): cNG, eNG 41, 42 G Gakkel Ridge: eNG 69, 70, 73 Garbenschiefer: sWG 17 Gardar Province (Mesoproterozoic): SG 15, 16, 35 intrusive complexes 35, 38, 44 sediments 38 sills and dykes 38 volcanics 38 mineral deposits 78, 79, 82 Gas 84, 86–89 Gåsefjord: cEG 61 Gåseland window: cEG 43 Geochemical surveys 11, 20, 21, 78 Geodetic Institute (GI) 13 Geological Survey of Denmark (DGU) 11 Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS) 11 Geological Survey of Greenland (GGU) 11 Geophysical surveys 11, 66 Gipsdalen Fm (Triassic): cEG 56 GISP 2 (drilling through the Inland Ice): NEG 14, 32 Glaciation Neoproterozoic Morænesø Fm: cNG 41 Tillite Gp: NEG 42 Quaternary 63 Glaciers 12, 63, 64 Glaciology 64 Glaciomarine sediments (offshore) 67 Godthåb (Nuuk): sWG 14, 16, 18 Godthåbsfjord (Nuup Kangerlua): sWG 17, 18, 18–21, 36, 80 Godthåbsfjord-Ameralik belt: sWG 16 Gold 79 Gold deposits Nalunaq: SG 78, 79, 81, 81 Nuup Kangerlua (Godthåbsfjord): cWG 80 Skaergaard: sEG 62, 79, 83 Gold exploration 78 Gold occurrences (Disko Bugt): cWG 80 Grænseland: SW 28, 29 Granulite facies NEG 32 NWG 27, 28 SEG 25 sEG 51 SG 30 WG 16, 17, 18, 20, 21, 22, 24 Graphite: NWG, sWG, SG 18, 23, 60, 79 Gravimetric data 12, 66 Greenland geological map 10, 85 size 13 ice-free land areas 13 Greenland Fracture Zone: NEG 74 Greenland Mineralisation Data Bank 80 Greenland Ridge: NEG 69, 69, 70 Greenland Sea (Grønlandshavet): NEG 85 Greenstone belts (Archaean) Disko Bugt: cWG 26 Eoarchaean: sWG 18 Grenvillian: cEG, NEG 43, 51 GRO#3 exploration well: cWG 58, 59, 86, 89 grønArctic Energy Inc. 86 Grønlandshavet (Greenland Sea): NEG 85 Grønnedal: SWG 79 H Hagar Bjerg thrust sheet: NEG 38, 39, 51 Hagen Fjord Gp (Neoproterozoic): cNG, eNG 33, 35, 40, 41, 41, 42, 51 Hagen Fjord: eNG 42 Hall Land: wNG 46 Hammer Dal: cWG 79 Harder Bjerg Fm: NEG 53 Harder Fjord fault zone: cNG 53 Hareelv Fm (Jurassic): cEG 56, 87 Hauge Bjerge Fm (Silurian): NG 47 Hecla High: sWG 76, 76 Heimbjerge Fm (Ordovician): NEG 50 Hellefisk Structure: sWG 89 Hellefisk-1 exploration well: sWG 76, 88 Herlufsholm Strand Fm (Cretaceous): cNG, eNG 54 Hesteelv Fm (Cretaceous): cEG 56 Hold with Hope: NEG 61, 62 Holocene (Quaternary) 63 Hovgård Ridge: NEG 70 Hyaloclastite (Tertiary) cWG 59, 60 sEG 61 Hydrocarbon exploration, concession areas 87 Hydrocarbon potential 9, 84, 87, 88, 90 Hydrocarbons 87–90 Hyolithus Creek Fm (Cambrian): NEG 50 I Iapetus Ocean 50 Ice-core records 65 Ika: SWG 79 Ikermiut Basin: sWG 85, 89 Ikermiut Fault Zone: sWG 89 Ikermiut-1 exploration well: sWG 71, 76, 88, 89 Ikkattoq gneisses (Mesoarchaean): cWG 20 Ilimaussaq: SG 35, 79, 80, 82 Ilímaussaq intrusion (Gardar): SG 35 Ilivertalik augen granite (Mesoarchaean): sWG 16, 21 Illinoian (Quaternary) 63 Illorsuit: SG 79 Ilukunnguaq: cWG 79 Ilulissat Graben: cWG 89 121 Ilulissat High: cWG 89 Imilik intrusion (Tertiary): SEG 62 Independence Fjord Gp (Palaeo–Mesoproterozoic): cNG, eNG 33, 34, 35, 40, 51 Independence Fjord: cNG 34 Inglefield orogenic belt (Palaeoproterozoic): NWG 14, 14, 15, 21, 27 Ingolf Fjord: eNG 34 Inland Ice bedrock below 32 former extent 63, 63, 65 GISP core 14, 32 mass balance 64, 65 size 13 thickness 64 volume 64 Iron: NWG, cWG, sWG, SWG, NEG 79 Iron deposit Banded iron formation (Archaean): sWG, cWG, NWG 17, 17, 26, 27, 80 Skaergaard (Eocene): sEG 83 Iron ore exploration 78 Iron province, Melville Bugt: NWG 81 Island arcs 17, 19, 80 Isua: sWG 79 Isua supracrustal sequence (Eoarchaean): sWG 17, 17, 18, 80 Isukasia: sWG 14, 16, 17, 18, 79, 80 Isukasia terrane: sWG 16 Itilli: cWG 79 Itilli Fm (Cretaceous): cWG 57, 58 Itilli oil type 89, 90 Itsaq Gneiss Complex (Eoarchaean): sWG 18 Ivigtut cryolite deposit (Gardar): SWG 78, 79, 80, 82 Ivisaartoq: cWG 79 Ivittuut: SWG 79 Ivittuut block: SWG 16 J Jameson Land Basin: cEG 55, 55, 74, 79, 85 petroleum potential 85, 86 Jan Mayen Fracture Zone: NEG 66, 67, 69, 74 Jan Mayen microcontinent (Norway–Iceland) 66, 67, 69 Josephine Headland Fm (Meso–Neoroterozoic): NWG 40 Julianehåb batholith (Palaeoproterozoic): SG 15, 16, 28, 29, 30, 78 Julianehåb granite: SG 29 Jurassic, sediments cNG, eNG 53, 54, 54 NEG, cEG 55, 55, 56, 56, 57, 74, 74, 86, 87, 91 sWG 76 Jyske Ås Fm (Neoproterozoic): cNG, eNG 42 K Kakortokite (Gardar): SG 35 Kangaamiut Basin: sWG 85 Kangâmiut dykes (Palaeoproterozoic): sWG 22, 36, 37 Kangâmiut-1 exploration well: sWG 76, 88, 89 Kangeq sequence (Cretaceous): sWG 76, 76, 89, 90 Kangerlussuaq Gp (Cretaceous–Palaeogene: sEG 60 Kangerdlugssuaq intrusion (Palaeogene): sEG 62 Kangerluk Structure: cWG 89 Kangerluluk: SEG 79 Kangerlussuaq (airport): sWG 4, 16 Kangerlussuaq Basin: sEG 79 Kangersik Kiatteq: cEG 2, 31, 38, 39 Kangilia Fm (Cretaceous–Paleocene): cWG 57, 58, 59 KANUMAS 66, 72, 73, 76, 87, 90 KANUMAS preference areas 87 Kap Alexander: NWG 40 Kap Alexander Fm (Mesoproterozoic): NWG 40 Kap Bernhard Fm (Neoproterozoic): cNG, eNG 42 Kap Dalton: sEG 62 Kap Dalton Gp (Eocene): sEG 62 Kap Edvard Holm intrusion (Palaeogene): sEG 62, 79 Kap Graah Gp (Devonian): NEG 53, 53 Kap Gustav Holm intrusion (Palaeogene): sEG 62 Kap Holbæk Fm (Cambrian): NG 41, 41 Kap København Fm (Plio-Pleistocene): cNG 62, 63 Kap Kolthoff Gp (Devonian): NEG 53, 53 Kap Parry intrusion (Palaeogene): NEG 62 Kap Simpson intrusion (Palaeogene): NEG 62 Kap Stewart Gp (Triassic–Jurassic): cEG 56, 87 Kap Trautwine Fm (Meso–Neoproterozoic): NWG 40 Kap Washington: cNG 53 Kap Washington Gp (Paleocene): cNG 48, 53, 54 Kap York: NWG 40 Kap York meta-igneous complex (Neoarchaean): NWG 27 Kapisilik terrane: sWG 16 Karrat: cWG 79 Karrat Gp (Palaeoproterozoic): cWG, NWG 14, 15, 25–27, 27, 28 Karrat Isfjord: cWG 27 Karstryggen: cEG 79 Kennedy Kanal (Channel): NWG 49, 69, 72 Ketilidian front: SWG 16 Ketilidian orogen: SEG, SG 14, 14–16, 21, 22, 24, 28–30, 30 gold mineralisation: SG 78, 81 Kialineq intrusion (Palaeogene): sEG 62 Kigarsima nappe: cWG 28 Kimberlite: sWG 36, 37, 44 diamond exploration: sWG 78, 80, 82 Kimmeridgian marine mudstones: EG 86, 87 Kirkespirdalen gold deposit (Nalunaq): SG 78, 81 Kitsissut sequence (Cretaceous), offshore: sWG 75, 76, 89 Kitsissut (Carey Islands): NWG 77 Kivioq Basin: NWG 77, 85 Kivioq Ridge: NWG 77 Kløftelv Fm (Cambrian): NEG 50 Knipovich Ridge (Svalbard) 69, 70 Kobberminebugt: SG 79 Koch, Lauge 11 Kolbeinsey Ridge (Iceland) 66, 69 Koldewey Platform: NEG 74 Kome Fm (Cretaceous): cWG 57, 58 Kong Oscar Fjord Gr: NEG 50, 51 Kort & Matrikelstyrelsen (KMS: National Survey and Cadastre) 13 Kronprins Christian Land: eNG 34, 35, 40, 41, 45, 46, 47, 51, 122 53, 74 ‘Kronprins Christian Land orogeny’: eNG 55 Krummedal supracrustal sequence (Mesoproterozoic): cEG, NEG 2, 38, 38, 39, 39, 41, 50, 51 Kvanefjord block: SWG 16 L Labrador Sea 69, 70–72, 76, 85, 88, 90 Ladegårdsåen Fm (Jurassic): cNG 54, 54 Lady Franklin Basin: sWG 76, 85 Lamproites: cWG 36, 37 Lamprophyres: sWG, SWG 37, 44, 82 Langø: NWG 79 Laurentia 14, 50 Laurentian Shield 9, 14 Lead: NG, cWG, NEG 26, 78, 79 Lead-zinc deposits Citronen Fjord: cNG 78, 79, 82 Maarmorilik (Sorte Engel): cWG 79, 80, 81 Mestersvig: NEG 79, 83 Legend concept 11–13 Licensing rounds, hydrocarbon exploration 87, 88 Lilloise intrusion (Palaeogene): sEG 62 Lincoln Sea (Hav): NG 69, 73, 85 Lincoln Sea Basin: NG 73, 77, 85 Lindemans Bugt Fm (Jurassic–Cretaceous): NEG 56 Lithium, prospect/deposit: SG 82 Liverpool Land Basin: cEG 74, 75, 75, 85 petroleum potential 87 Llandovery (Silurian): NG 47 Lomonosov Ridge: NG 69, 73, 77 Ludlow (Silurian): NG 47 Lujavrite (Gardar): SG 35 Lyell Land Gp (Proterozoic): NEG 42, 43, 44 M M’Clintock orogeny (Ordovician), Canada Maarmorilik: cWG 79 lead-zinc deposit 80, 81 Maarmorilik Formation: cWG 27 Maastrichtian (Cretaceous): cWG 57, 58, 59 Magnetic data 24, 24, 66, 67, 69–72, 74, 76, 84, 88, 90 Magnetochrons 70, 71 Majuagaa: sWG 79 Makkovik orogen (Canada) 15 Maligât Fm (Paleocene): cWG 58, 60 Mallemuk Mountain Gp (Carb.–Permian): cNG, eNG 53, 54, 54 Malmbjerg: cEG 79 molybdenum deposit: cEG 80, 83 Maniitsoq block: sWG 16, 21 Maniitsoq High: sWG 76 Marinoan (c. 635 Ma; Tillite Gr) 41–43 Markham Fold Belt (Ordovician), Canada 49 Mârmorilik Fm (Proterozoic): cWG 26, 78 Mass balance of Inland Ice 64, 65 ‘MD’ dykes (Palaeoproterozoic): sWG, SWG 37 Melville Bugt: NWG 4, 76, 79, 85 Melville Bugt Fault: NWG 77 Melville Bugt Graben: NWG 76, 77, 77, 85 Melville Bugt Ridge: NWG 77 Merqujôq Fm (Silurian): NG 48 Mesoarchaean supracrustal rocks 19 gneisses 19 intrusive rocks 19, 21 Mesoproterozoic rocks 33–35, 35, 38, 39, 40, 41, 44, 49, 50, 79 mineral deposits 80, 82 Mesozoic sedimentary onshore basins EG 55, 55, 56, 56, 60 NG 53, 54, 54, 55 WG 57, 58, 59, 59 Mesozoic sediments, offshore basins: EG, WG 75, 76, 87 Mestersvig: cEG 4, 79 lead-zinc deposit 78, 79, 80 Midsommersø Dolerites (Mesoproterozoic): cNG, eNG 33, 34, 37, 40 Milne Land: cEG 79 Mineral deposits chromium 79, 80 coal 57, 58, 79, 80, 83 cryolite 78, 79, 80, 82 diamonds 44, 78, 79, 80, 82 gold 78, 79, 80–83, 81 iron 17, 17, 27, 78, 79, 80, 81, 83 lead 26, 78, 79, 80–83 molybdenum 79, 80, 83 PGE (platinum group elements) 78, 79, 83 platinum 78, 79, 83 silver 79, 81, 82 uranium 79, 82 zinc 78, 79, 80–83 Mines 79, 80–83, 81 Miocene (Tertiary) glaciation 63 intrusion 83 offshore: cEG, WG 75, 90 volcanic rocks 61, 68, 69 Mohns Ridge 69, 70 Moho 72 Molloy Fracture Zone (Svalbard) 69 Molybdenum: sEG, cEG 78, 79, 83 Molybdenum deposit (Malmbjerg): cEG 79, 80, 83 Morænesø Fm (Neoproterozoic): cNG 41, 41 Moriusaq: NWG 79 Morris Bugt Gp (Ordovician–Silurian): cNG, wNG 45, 46 Morris Jesup Rise: cNG 69, 70 N Nagssugtôq subbasin: sWG 89 Nagssugtoqidian front: sWG 16 Nagssugtoqidian orogen (Palaeoproterozoic): cWG, sWG, SEG 14, 21, 22–25, 23, 24, 25, 36 mineral deposits 80, 82 Nalunaq: SG 79 123 gold mine (Kirkespirdalen) 78, 81 Nansen Fjord: cEG 60 Nares Land: cNG 46 Nares Stræde (Nares Strait): NWG, wNG 4, 66, 69 Nares Strait geological structure: NWG, wNG 72, 73 Nares Strait Gp (Meso–Neoproterozoic): NWG 37, 40, 40 Narsaq: SG 35, 82 Narssârssuk Gp (Neoproterozoic): NWG 40, 40 Narwhale Sound Fm (Ordovician): NEG 50 Naternaq: cWG 79 Nathorst Land Gp (Neoproterozoic): NEG 42, 43 National Survey and Cadastre (KMS) 13 Nationale Geologiske Undersøgelser for Danmark og Grønland, De 2, 4 Naujaite (Gardar): SG 35 Navarana Fjord: cNG 79 Neill Klinter Gp (Jurassic): cEG 56 Neoarchaean 15 supracrustal rocks 19, 81 gneisses 19, 20, 81 intrusive rocks 20, 21, 36 Neogene (Tertiary) 73, 74, 75, 77, 86, 87, 90 Neoproterozoic sedimentary onshore basins NWG 39, 40 EG 41, 43 NG 40, 41 orogeny (Grenvillian) 38, 39, 50, 51 intrusions 82 Neria terrane: SWG 16 Nertiit Kangersivat: cEG 61 Nesmith Beds (Canada) 45 Net-veined intrusions (Proterozoic): SG 29 New Quebec orogen (Canada) 15 Niaqornaarsuk: SG 79 Nickel, prospect: cWG, sWG, SG, SEG 79 Niggli Spids thrust sheet: cEG, NEG 39, 51 Niobium, prospect/deposit: sWG, SG 79, 80, 82 Nordre Isortoq steep belt: sWG 15 Nordvestfjord: cEG 2, 31, 38, 39 North Atlantic craton 15, 16, 26, 27 North Atlantic D surveys (NAD project) 66 North Ungava Basin (Canada) 89 North Water Bay: NWG 69, 77 Northumberland Fm (Meso–Neoproterozoic): NWG 40 Nualik intrusion (Palaeogene): sEG 62 Nûkavsak Fm (Palaeoproterozoic): cWG 26, 27 Nukik-1 & 2 exploration wells: sWG 88 Nunaoil A/S 66 Nuuk Basin: sWG 76, 85 Nuuk: sWG 4, 14, 16, 85, 87 Nuup Kangerlua (Godthåbsfjord): sWG 16 Nuussuaq Basin: cWG 57, 58, 59, 59, 76, 79, 89 core wells 86 offshore 76, 89, 90 Nuussuaq Group (Cretaceous–Palaeogene): cWG 57 O Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) 66, 67, 75 Ocean floor ridges 66, 67, 69, 70, 73, 77 Oceanic crust 13, 66, 67, 68, 69, 69, 70–73, 74, 75, 77, 87, 88 Ocean-to-continent transition zone 13, 66, 67, 68, 69, 77 ODP see Ocean Drilling Program Offshore 66–77 geology 68, 85 sedimentary basins 85 Oil (petroleum potential) 84–91 Oil seeps 84, 86, 89, 90 Oil showings 86, 89, 90 Oligocene hiatus offshore: WG 76 Olivine deposit, Niaqunngunaq/Fiskefjord: sWG 79, 82 Olympen Fm (Jurassic): cEG 56 Onshore sedimentary basins, see Sedimentary basins, onshore ‘Open-door’ areas, hydrocarbon exploration 87, 88 Ordovician carbonate sediments: NG 41, 45, 46, 47, 49 clastic sediments: NG 46, 48 deep-water trough: NG 46, 48 carbonate sediments: NEG 50, 50, 51 ‘Fossilik’: sWG, see Legend explanation [9] sediments: NEG 71, 75, 110 offshore: WG 71, 75 sediments with mineral deposits 78, 82 P Paamiut Basin: sWG 85 Paamiut terrane: SWG 16 Pacific fauna 50 Palaeogene 12, 57–62, 86 sediments 57, 58, 60, 62, 74, 75, 76, 84, 86, 89 volcanic rocks 61, 61, 68, 69, 71, 74, 74, 79 intrusions 62, 62, 67, 78, 79 mineral deposits 83 Palaeoproterozoic unfolded sediments 33, 34, 35, 41 supracrustal rocks 23, 26, 28, 30 intrusive rocks 24, 27, 29 Palaeoproterozoic orogenic belts 79 Basement in Caledonian fold belt: cEG, NEG 31, 32, 52 Inglefield orogenic belt: NWG 27, 28 Ketilidian orogen: SG, SEG 28–30, 81 Nagssugtoqidian orogen: cWG, sWG, SEG 22–24 Nagssugtoqidian in Ammassalik region: SEG, sEG 24 Rinkian fold belt: cWG, NWG 25–27, 78 Palaeozoic fold belts: NG, NEG 49, 50, 51 sedimentary basins, see Sedimentary basins Paleocene sediments eNG 55 cWG 58, 86, 89, 90 offshore: WG, NEG 74, 75, 76, 76 SEG 60 Paleocene volcanic rocks: cNG 54, 71 124 intrusions: sEG 62 oceanic crust 68, 69, 72 Palladium, prospect/deposit: sEG, cWG 79, 83 Palnatokes Bjerg Fm (Jurassic): NEG 56 Pandora Havn Fm (Meso–Neoproterozoic): NWG 40 Paradisfjeld Gp (Cambrian): cNG 45, 46, 48 Passive margins: EG, WG, NG 27, 45, 70 Peary Land Gp (Silurian): NG 46, 47, 48 Peary Land: cNG 4, 33, 46, 48, 53 Pearya (Canada) 48, 49 Peralkaline rocks Ilímaussaq intrusion (Gardar): SW 35, 79 Kap Washington Gp (Paleocene): cNG 54 Peridotite 23, 70, 71 Permian sediments cEG, NEG 55, 55, 56, 56, 57, 73, 74, 86, 87 cNG, eNG 53, 54, 54, 57, 86 Petermann Halvø Fm (Silurian): NG 45, 46 Petroleum appraisal (by US Geological Survey) 84, 87 Petroleum exploration licences 84, 87, 88 Petroleum potential 85 NG 84 NEG 84–88 WG 86, 88–91 Phosphor: cWG 79 Picrite (Palaeogene): cWG, cEG 60, 61 Pillow lavas Archaean cWG, Disko Bugt 26 sWG, Isua 17, 19 Palaeoproterozoic NEG 43 cWG, Aasiaat/Egedesminde 23 SWG 29 Mesoproterozoic NG, Zig-Zag Dal 35 Pingo Dal Fm (Triassic): cEG 56 Pituffik (Thule Air Base): NWG 4 Place names 13, 69, 78, 79, 113 Platinum, prospect/deposit: cWG, sWG, SEG, sEG 78, 79, 83 Plays (petroleum) 86 Pleistocene sediments (Quaternary): cNG 62, 63, 74, 75, 87 Pliocene sediments (Neogene): cNG 62, 63, 68, 69, 75, 90 Polkorridoren Gp (Cambrian): cNG 45, 46, 48 Portfjeld Fm (Cambrian): cNG, eNG 41, 42, 45, 46, 49 Precambrian Greenland shield 12, 21, 31, 33, 39, 54, 84 Pridoli (Silurian): wNG 48 Prospecting activities 9, 78, 82 Proterozoic sediments in Caledonian fold belt Neoproterozoic: cEG, NEG 41, 42 Mesoproterozoic: cEG, eNG, NEG 33, 38, 39 Proterozoic unfolded units Neoproterozoic sedimentary basin, Thule Basin: NWG 39 sedimentary basin, Hagen Fjord Basin: NG 40 Mesoproterozoic basalts: NG, SG 33, 34, 35 Gardar Province: SG 35, 38 sedimentary basins: NG, NEG, SG, NWG 33, 35, 38, 39 Prøven igneous complex (Palaeoproterozoic): NWG 14, 15, 26, 27 Pseudo-escarpment (PSE): EG 67, 75 Pulaskite (Gardar): SG 35 Pull-apart basin: eNG 53, 54, 77 Q Qaanaaq Fm (Meso–Neoproterozoic): NWG 40 Qaqqaarsuk: sWG 79 Qaqarssuk carbonatite complex (Jurassic): sWG 44, 82 Qarliit Taserssuat assemblage: sWG 16, 19 Qeqertarssuaq Fm (Palaeoproterozoic): cWG 26, 27 Qeqertarsuup Tunua (Disko Bugt): cWG 4, 14, 15 Qôrqut granite complex (Neoarchaean): sWG 16, 21 Quaternary 63 Quikavsak Fm (Paleocene): cWG 57, 58, 59, 59 Qulleq-1 exploration well: cWG 68, 69, 71, 76, 88 Qullissat: cWG 79 Qullissat coal deposit (Cretaceous): cWG 80, 83 Qussuk: sWG 79 R Rae craton (Canada) 15, 26, 27 Rapakivi ’granite’ (Palaeoproterozoic): SEG, SG 28, 30, 30, 38 Rare-earth element, prospect/deposit: sWG, SG, cEG 79, 80, 82 Raukelv Fm (Jurassic): cEG 56 Ravnefjeld Formation (Permian): cEG 87 Rensselaer Bay Fm (Meso–Neoproterozoic): NWG 40 Reservoir rocks 84, 86, 88–91 Reykjanes Ridge (Iceland) 67, 69 Rift basins EG 55, 86 WG 73, 75, 90 Rinkian fold belt (Proterozoic): cWG, NWG 14, 14, 21, 25, 26, 28 Rivieradal Gp (Neoproterozoic): eNG 41, 41, 51 Robertson Fjord Fm (Meso–Neoproterozoic): NWG 40 Ruby, prospect/deposit: sWG 79, 80, 81 Ryder Gletscher Gp (Cambro-Ordovician): NG 45, 46 S Saalian (Quaternary) 63 Salt formation (see also evaporates) 73 Samuelsen Høj Fm (Silurian): cNG, eNG 47 Sangamonian (Quaternary) 63 Saqqaq: cWG 79 Sarfartoq: sWG 79 Sarfartoq carbonatite complex (Neoproterozoic): sWG 44, 79, 82 Sea-floor spreading 60, 66, 67, 68, 69–73, 69, 77 Seaward-dipping reflectors 66, 67, 68, 69, 75 Sedex-type sulphide deposit: cNG 82 Sedimentary basins offshore Blosseville Kyst Basin: cEG, sEG 75, 85, 88 Kivioq Basin: NWG 77, 85 Lady Franklin Basin: sWG 76, 85 Liverpool Land Basin: cEG 74, 75, 75, 85, 87 onshore Franklinian Basin: NG 45–48, 84 Jameson Land Basin: cEG 55, 55, 56, 56, 74, 79, 86, 87 Kangerlussuaq Basin: sEG 60 Nuussuaq Basin: cWG 57, 58, 59, 76, 79, 89, 90 Palaeozoic, Kong Oscar Fjord Gp: EG 50, 51 Wandel Sea Basin: cNG, eNG 48, 53, 54, 54, 55, 74, 84, 85 Wollaston Forland: NEG 55, 56 petroleum potential 84–90 Seismic data offshore 66, 67, 69, 70, 73–76, 87, 88, 90 onshore 86 Seqi: sWG 79 Seqi Olivine Mine, Niaqunngunaq/Fiskefjord: sWG 79, 82 Sermiligaarsuk terrane: SWG 16 Sermilik block: sWG 16 Sermilik: SEG 25 Sillisissanguit: SWG 79 Sills, see Dykes and sills Silurian: NG carbonate sediments 45, 46, 47, 49, 51, 84, 85 turbidite trough 45–48, 46, 48, 51, 78, 85 Silver, prospect/deposit: cWG, sEG 79, 82 Sinarsuk: sWG 79 Singertât complex (Neoarchaean): SEG 21 Sioraq terrane: SWG 16 Sisimiut Basin: sWG 85, 89 Sisimiut intrusive complex (Palaeoproterozoic): sWG 24 Skærgaard: sEG 62, 79 Skaergaard intrusion (Eocene): sEG 62, 62, 78, 79, 83 gold and platinum deposit: sEG 79, 83 Skagen Gp (Cambrian): NG 45, 48 Skjoldungen intrusions (Neoarchaean): SEG 21 Skolithos: NEG 43 Slibestensfjeldet Fm: cWG 57, 58 Slottet Fm (Cambrian): NEG 43 Smallefjord sequence (Neoproterozoic): NEG 39 Smith Sound: NWG 69, 72 Smith Sound Gp (Meso–Neoproterozoic): NWG 37, 40, 40 Sodalite foyaite (Gardar): SG 35 Soft-bodied fossil fauna: cNG 45 Sonntag Bugt Fm (Meso–Neoproterozoic): NWG 40 Sortebakker Fm (Carboniferous): eNG 53, 54 Sortis Gp (Palaeoproterozoic): SWG 29, 29 Source rocks (oil and gas) 84 offshore 87–91 onshore 84, 86 Spitsbergen Fracture Zone (Greenland–Svalbard) 69, 70 Spreading axis 67, 68, 69, 71–73, 85 Spreading ridge 67, 70 Stendalen: SG 79 Storø: sWG 79 Structural trend lines 13 Sunrise Pynt Straight Belt (Palaeoproterozoic): NWG 28 Svalbard (Norway) 38, 69, 70, 85 Svartenhuk Formation (Paleocene): cWG 60 Sverdrup Basin (Arctic Canada) 77, 90, 91 T Taartoq: SWG 16, 79 Tantalum, prospect/deposit: sWG, SG 79, 80, 82 Tarssartôq dykes (Palaeoarchaean): sWG 37 Târtoq Gp (Mesoarchaean): SWG 16, 19 Taserssuaq tonalite (Mesoarchaean): sWG 16, 21 Tasiilaq: SEG 79 Tasiusarssuaq terrane (Archaean): sWG 16 Tavsen Iskappe Gp (Cambro-Ordovician): cNG, wNG 45, 46 ‘TD’ dykes (Cretaceous): sWG, SWG 37 Tectono-metamorphic provinces 12 Terranes Archaean 15, 16, 17, 19–21 Palaeozoic 48, 49 Tertiary, mainly Palaeogene 60–63 basalts cWG 60 EG 61, 62 offshore: EG 74, 85 offshore: WG 76, 85 dykes and sills: EG 37, 62 intrusions: EG 62 sediments onshore cWG 57, 58, 59 eNG 53, 54, 55, 62 SEG 60 offshore EG 73–75 WG 75–77 volcanics: EG, WG 85 Thetis Basin: NEG 74, 85 Thorium, prospect/deposit: SG 79, 82 Thule Air Base (Pituffik) 4 Thule SGp (Meso–Neoproterozoic): NWG 39, 40, 40, 77 Thyra Ø Fm (Palaeogene): eNG 54, 55 Tikiusaaq carbonatite complex (Jurassic): sWG 44, 82 Tillite Gp (Neoproterozoic): cEG, NEG 41–43, 43, 51 Tillitic rocks cNG 41 NEG 42, 43 Titanium, prospect/deposit: 79, 83 Topographic base 13 Toqqusap Nunaa: sWG 22 Trail Ø Group (Carboniferous): NEG 53 Transform faults 13, 67, 68, 69, 70, 72, 76 Transition zone, offshore 13, 66, 67, 77 Transitional crust 67, 68, 69, 69, 70, 71, 73 Tre Brødre: sWG 16 Tre Brødre terrane: sWG 16, 17, 20 Triassic sediments cEG 56, 56, 87 cNG, eNG 53, 54, 54 NEG 56, 57 NWG 91 Trolle Land fault zone: cNG, eNG 53 Trolle Land Gp (Permo-Triassic): cNG 53, 54, 54 Tupertalik carbonatite (Mesoarchaean): sWG 21, 44 Turbidite flysch Cambro-Silurian: NG 41, 45, 46, 46, 47, 48, 48 125 Palaeoproterozoic: sWG, cWG 23, 26 Cretaceous: cWG, SEG 57, 58, 59, 60 Palaeogene: cWG 89, 90 U Ubekendt Ejland: cWG 60 Umîvik dykes (Palaeoproterozoic): sEG, SEG 37 Ungava Fracture Zone 69, 71, 76, 89, 90 Upernavik: NWG 4, 14, 85 Upernivik Ø: cWG 28 Uranium, prospect/deposit: SG 79, 82 Uranium concentrations in stream sediments: WG 21 UTM projection 13 Uummannaq: cWG 14 V Vaigat Fm (Paleocene): cWG 58, 59 Vallen Gp (Palaeoproterozoic): SWG 28, 29 Vanadium, prospect/deposit: sWG, sEG 79, 83 Vandredalen thrust sheet: eNG 40, 41 Vardekløft Fm (Jurassic): cEG 56 Victoria Fjord: cNG, wNG 14, 14, 48 Vilddal Gp (Devonian): NEG 52, 53 Vølvedal Gp (Cambro-Ordovician): cNG, wNG 46, 46, 48 W Wandel Dal: cNG 41 Wandel Sea Basin: cNG, eNG 48, 53, 54, 54, 55, 74, 84, 85 Wandel Sea strike-slip mobile belt: NG 53 Wandel Valley Fm (Ordovician): NG 41 Washington Land: wNG 45, 46, 79, 82 Washington Land Gp (Silurian): NG 47 Weichselian (Quaternary) 63, 65 Wells, exploration, offshore 66, 68, 69, 71, 73, 75, 76, 84, 87, 88, 89, 89 Wells, exploration, onshore 58, 59, 86, 87 Wenlockian (Silurian): NG 47 Werner Bjerge complex (Tertiary): cEG 62 Windows in Caledonian orogen: NEG, cNG 31, 43, 50, 51 Wisconsinan (Quaternary) 63 Wolfram, prospect: sWG, cEG, NEG 79 Wollaston Forland (Jurassic–Cretaceous): NEG 55, 56 Wolstenholme Fm (Meso–Neoproterozoic): NWG 40 Wordie Creek Fm (Triassic): cEG 56 Wulff Land: wNG 46 Y Yermak Plateau (Svalbard) 69, 70 Ymer Ø: NEG 79 Ymer Ø Gp (Neoproterozoic): NEG 42, 43, 44 Ymers Gletscher Fm (Silurian): cNG 45, 46 Yttrium, prospect 82 Z Zig-Zag Dal Basalt Fm (Mesoproterozoic): cNG, eNG 33, 35, 40, 41, 51 Zinc, prospect/deposit: NG, cWG, NEG 26, 78, 79, 80–83 Zirconium, prospect/deposit: SG, cEG 79, 80, 82 126