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Cenozoic evolution of the continental margin off Norway and western Svalbard

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Petroleum Geology of the North European Margin

Abstract

Following the Mesozoic phases of crustal extension the region between Norway and Greenland became relatively quiet, with regional subsidence dominating in a large basinal area which extended into the North Sea and the Barents Sea. At about Palaeocene/Eocene time the mid-Atlantic rift progressed northward and sea-floor spreading started along the newly formed plate boundary. The initiation of Cenozoic rifting and the subsequent drifting phase has fundamentally defined the structural and depositional framework of the present day margin off Norway and western Svalbard. Particularly important observations are: the existence of marginal highs apparently associated with one or several episodes of volcanic activity; the remarkably different amounts of marginal subsidence, with respect to both region and time; the effects of the mid-Oligocene change in relative plate motion on the margin structures; the two-stage evolution of the Greenland Sea with its associated shear movements.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geology, University of Oslo, Norway

    Olav Eldholm, Annik M. Myhre & Jan Inge Faleide

  2. Seismological Observatory, University of Bergen, Norway

    Eirik Sundvor

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  1. Olav Eldholm
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  2. Eirik Sundvor
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  3. Annik M. Myhre
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  4. Jan Inge Faleide
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A. M. Spencer

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© 1984 Norwegian Petroleum Society

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Eldholm, O., Sundvor, E., Myhre, A.M., Faleide, J.I. (1984). Cenozoic evolution of the continental margin off Norway and western Svalbard. In: Spencer, A.M. (eds) Petroleum Geology of the North European Margin. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-5626-1_2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-009-5626-1_2

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