Aeromagnetic surveys were carried out in 1990-92 over parts of the ins
ular shelf south and southeast of Iceland, to extend the coverage prov
ided by a 1973 marine survey. Prominent magnetic anomalies associated
with the shelf edge over a distance of some 400 km, are interpreted in
terms of a continuous basement edge in this region. This edge lies se
veral kilometres landward of the shelf edge as defined from bathymetry
, indicating the presence of a sediment lens of the order of 1 km in t
hickness. The formations making up the shelf seem to form thicker pola
rity zones and have a higher intensity of remanence than Neogene basal
t lava flows and dikes iii Iceland, but their age is unknown. Other ge
ophysical information from the shelf area is too limited to constrain
modelling of the anomaly sources. (C) 1998 Published by Elsevier Scien
ce Ltd. All rights reserved.