Quick Search:    advanced search

GSW Home   GeoRef Home   My GSW Alerts   Contact GSW   About GSW   Journals List   Help

This Article Figures Only Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Maclennan, J. Articles by Lovell, B. Search for Related Content GeoRef GeoRef Citation

Control of regional sea level by surface uplift and subsidence caused by magmatic underplating of Earth's crust

¹ Laboratoire de Géosciences Marines, Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris, 4 Place Jussieu, 75005 Paris, France
² Bullard Laboratories, Department of Earth Sciences, Madingley Road, Cambridge CB3 0EZ, UK

Magmatic underplating of the crust is a common feature of major basalt provinces. The emplacement of magma within the lithosphere leads to surface uplift, with a magnitude of the order of 10% of the thickness of the underplated material. The composition of associated igneous rock samples suggests that much of the underplated material is made of gabbro. This gabbro is denser than the magma from which it crystallizes, so uplift of Earth's surface caused by the emplacement of magma at the crust-mantle boundary must be followed by subsidence as the magma solidifies. This subsidence is equal to approximately half the original uplift and takes place within 0.1 m.y. of injection of the magma. The association of magmatic underplating with surface uplift followed by subsidence provides a mechanism for changes of sea level, including previously unexplained episodic highstands of sea level.

Key Words: magmatism • Scotland • subsidence • Tertiary • underplating • uplift

This article has been cited by other articles:

				D. J. BROWN, E. P. HOLOHAN, and B. R. BELL Sedimentary and volcano-tectonic processes in the British Paleocene Igneous Province: a review Geological Magazine, May 1, 2009; 146(3): 326 - 352. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. R. Smallwood Uplift, compression and the Cenozoic Faroe-Shetland sediment budget Geological Society, London, Special Publications, January 1, 2008; 306(1): 137 - 152. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				Y.-G. Xu and B. He Thick, high-velocity crust in the Emeishan large igneous province, southwestern China: Evidence for crustal growth by magmatic underplating or intraplating Geological Society of America Special Papers, January 1, 2007; 430(0): 841 - 858. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				K. T. Pickering and J. Corregidor Mass-Transport Complexes (MTCs) and Tectonic Control on Basin-Floor Submarine Fans, Middle Eocene, South Spanish Pyrenees Journal of Sedimentary Research, September 1, 2005; 75(5): 761 - 783. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				J. R. SMALLWOOD and W. J. KIRK Paleocene exploration in the Faroe-Shetland Channel: disappointments and discoveries Geological Society, London, Petroleum Geology Conference series, January 1, 2005; 6(0): 977 - 991. [Abstract] [PDF]

				D. C. Mudge, D. C. Mudge, and S. M. Jones Palaeocene uplift and subsidence events in the Scotland-Shetland and North Sea region and their relationship to the Iceland Plume Journal of the Geological Society, May 1, 2004; 161(3): 381 - 386. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. Al-Kindi, N. White, M. Sinha, R. England, and R. Tiley Crustal trace of a hot convective sheet Geology, March 1, 2003; 31(3): 207 - 210. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]