Evidence for continental crust in the offshore Palaeogene volcanic province, central West Greenland

Abstract

The Palaeogene volcanic province of central West Greenland extends for 550 km from north to south and 200 km from east to west (Henderson 1973; Henderson et al. 1981; Whittaker 1996). In a preliminary interpretation of the area offshore Disko and Nuussuaq, based on older seismic data, Whittaker (1996) described a number of large rotated fault blocks containing structural closures at top volcanic level that could indicate leads capable of trapping hydrocarbons. This work, combined with the discovery of oil in the basalts onshore, led the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland (GEUS) to acquire 1960 km of multi-channel 2D seismic data in the area between 68°N and 71°N in 1995 (Fig. 1). These seismic data are the primary data source for the interpretation presented in this paper.