Seismic characterization of basalt flows from the Faroes margin and the Faroe‐Shetland basin

Abstract

ABSTRACT High‐quality seismic profiles across the Faroes volcanic continental margin and the adjacent continental shelf show contrasting styles of basalt emplacement across two major structural boundaries. At the rifted continental margin, the basalts form prominent seaward dipping reflector sequences up to 5 km thick. The same basalts, after they had travelled in a landward direction across the elevated, subaerial Faroes shelf, produced prominent landward dipping foresets, where they flowed across the paleo‐coastline into the deep water of the Faroe‐Shetland Basin. In both cases we are able to image details of the internal structure of the basalts as a result of using a low‐frequency airgun source capable of penetrating through the basalt sequence, together with long‐offset recordings from ocean bottom seismometers and a 12 km long, deep‐towed, hydrophone streamer.