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| British Tertiary Volcanic Province | |
|---|---|
| Name | British Tertiary Volcanic Province |
| Type | Igneous province |
| Period | Paleogene |
| Lithology | Basalt, andesite, rhyolite, dolerite, tuff |
| Region | Scotland, Northern Ireland, Faroe Islands, Isle of Skye, Mull |
| Coordinates | 57°N 6°W |
British Tertiary Volcanic Province is a Paleogene igneous province formed during the Paleocene–Eocene interval associated with Atlantic rifting and North Atlantic magmatism. It comprises widespread volcanic centers, intrusive complexes and flood basalts distributed across the Hebrides, Western Scotland, Northern Ireland and adjacent oceanic islands, and played a central role in shaping the present-day geology of the North Atlantic margin. The province records links to plate reorganization, hotspot activity and lithospheric extension that are documented in regional studies on the North Atlantic, Hebridean, and Faroes geology.
The province occupies parts of the Inner Hebrides, Outer Hebrides, Scottish Highlands, Antrim Plateau and the Faroe–Shetland region, and includes well-known centers such as Isle of Skye, Isle of Mull, Arran, Staffa, Fingal's Cave, Antrim Plateau and outlying occurrences beneath the North Sea and Faroe Islands. Its emplacement occurred contemporaneously with magmatism recorded in the North Atlantic Igneous Province, the Rockall Trough basalts and the Labrador Sea volcanic margins, reflecting the regional consequences of Paleogene plate motions involving the Eurasian Plate and the North American Plate. The province overlies Caledonian and Dalradian basement terranes exposed in the Highlands, Isle of Skye Cuillin complex, and nearby structural features such as the Great Glen Fault and the Minch Basin.
Magmatism is tied to lithospheric extension during the separation of Greenland from Europe and the formation of the North Atlantic Ocean, with proposed influences from a mantle plume often associated with the Iceland plume and transient mantle upwelling beneath the proto-Atlantic. Regional tectonic markers include rift-related basins such as the Inner Hebrides Basin, transform structures like the Shetland Fault Complex, and fracture zones linked to the opening of the Rockall Basin. Petrogenesis models invoke decompression melting in the sublithospheric mantle modified by metasomatism from plume-related melts, with inputs of enriched mantle components comparable to sources inferred beneath Iceland and the Azores.
The volcanic stratigraphy includes thick sequences of subaerial and subaqueous basaltic lavas, interlayered tuffs, and voluminous intrusive complexes. Key stratigraphic units are exposed at the Isle of Skye lava fields, the Mull Lava Group and the layered gabbro and dolerite intrusions of the Rum and Skye complexes. Flood basalt sequences on the Antrim Plateau and coastal cliffs display columnar jointing analogous to exposures at Staffa and Giant's Causeway. Sills and dykes intruding Paleogene sedimentary successions occur in the Firth of Clyde and underlie parts of the North Sea and Hebridean Shelf.
Rock types range from tholeiitic basalts and picrites to evolved andesites and rhyolites within central complexes; cumulate gabbros and layered intrusions record magmatic differentiation in chambers exemplified by the Rum Igneous Centre and the Skye Central Complex. Geochemical signatures include low- and high-Ti tholeiitic trends, enriched incompatible element patterns, and isotope ratios (Sr–Nd–Pb) indicating mixed contributions from depleted MORB-like mantle and enriched plume-like components. Trace-element systematics reveal fractional crystallization, crustal contamination, and mantle source heterogeneity comparable to trends documented in North Atlantic Igneous Province studies and in relation to mantle domains beneath Iceland.
High-precision geochronology using K–Ar, Ar–Ar and U–Pb methods constrains main eruptive and intrusive activity to ~62–54 Ma, with some components extending into early Eocene time. Key dated units include flows and intrusions on Isle of Mull, Skye, Rum and Northern Ireland sequences on the Antrim Plateau. Temporal patterns show early flood basalt emplacement followed by focused central complex activity and later dyke-sill swarm emplacement synchronous with ongoing rifting in the Rockall Basin and the onset of seafloor spreading between Greenland and Europe.
The province erupted during greenhouse conditions spanning the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum interval, and volatile release from extensive basaltic eruptions and associated intrusions into organic-rich sediments may have influenced regional climate, ocean chemistry and carbon cycling. Paleogeographic reconstructions position volcanic centers on emergent islands and continental shelves that affected sediment routing in basins like the Hebridean Basin and Mull Shelf', and volcanic topography influenced Paleogene coastline evolution along the Irish Sea Basin and North Atlantic margin. Biotic responses are recorded in contemporaneous marine and terrestrial fossil assemblages from nearby basins and in isotopic excursions correlated with global events.
The province hosts resources of economic interest, including dimension stone from columnar-jointed basalts exploited at Antrim Plateau and ornamental stone from Staffa and Isle of Skye; construction aggregate and crushed stone have local importance in the Western Isles and Highlands. Subsurface sills and intrusions influence hydrocarbon maturation and trapping in the North Sea and Moray Firth petroleum provinces, and mineralization associated with magmatic-hydrothermal systems produces local deposits of zeolites, baryte and base metals historically quarried in parts of Sutherland and Argyll and Bute. The province also underpins significant geotourism at sites such as Giant's Causeway and Fingal's Cave, contributing to regional cultural heritage and conservation designations.
Category:Volcanic fields of the United Kingdom