Petrogenesis of Early Tertiary Rift-Related Basalts of the East Greenland Passive Margin

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Detailed mapping and sampling of the lowermost volcanics of the Blosseville Coast succession were undertaken by the PI and student in 1989. This material, supplemented by samples from the University of Copenhagen and Greenland Geological Survey collections, provides the framework for these detailed geochemical and experimental studies. The plan is to conduct major and trace element analyses of whole rock samples, microprobe studies of mineral phases, and Sr, Nd and Pb isotope analyses of selected whole rocks and pyroxene separates to establish temporal changes in magma composition during the transition from continental rifting to oceanic spreading. Complementary experiments are proposed to characterize the compositional relations for "damp" melting of mantle lherzolite and to define the liquid line-of-descent of parental magmas for Blosseville Coast basalts. These geochemical and experimental results will form the basis for modelling East Greenland basalt petrogenesis and for an evaluation of proposed physical models of early rifting in the North Atlantic.