Seafloor relief inhomogeneities and the tectonics of the Greenland-Lofoten Basin in the North Atlantic

Abstract

Bathymetry and single seismic reflection methods were used to study the seafloor inhomogeneities in the Norwegian-Greenland region. North of the Mohns Ridge we have identified nearly east-west trending morphostructures (MS) in seafloor relief, which are horst ridges separated by troughs, and have provided their characteristics. We carried out a seismostratigraphic analysis to study the structure of the Cenozoic sedimentary cover and the conditions that existed during its formation. We showed that these seafloor MSs came into being after the origination of the Cenozoic sedimentary cover (during post-Quaternary time); that is to say, they are young features, and are not reflected in the magnetic anomalies of the Greenland Basin. We examined bathymetric characteristics and earthquake focal mechanisms within the Mohns Ridge to provide a preliminary identification of transverse faults (probably of the normal-oblique type) that control the blocky structure of the ridge.