TECTONIC EVOLUTION OF THE GREENLAND-SCOTLAND RIDGE DURING THE PALEOGENE - NEW CONSTRAINTS

Understanding the early history of the North Atlantic Ocean is made di fficult by a lack of detailed tectonic information from its margins. A nalysis of brittle deformation in the basalts of the Faeroe Islands co nstrains ages, types, and orientations of tectonic movements related t o the North Atlantic Paleogene kinematic evolution. Three synmagmatic tectonic episodes affected the Faeroe area between chrons 26r and 24, followed by postmagmatic transtension. Changes in trends of minimum ho rizontal stress am consistent with variations in the directions of Nor th Atlantic early opening, and this tectonic history is correlated wit h the Greenland drift episodes in Paleogene time. Although transtensio nal strike-slip faulting dominated, unexpected reverse faulting with N 60-degrees-E-trending compression occurred between chrons 25 and 24, c orresponding to a major kinematic change in the Labrador Sea opening.