Fróðskaparrit - 01.01.1979, Page 94

Marine Seismic Investigation of the Shelf
around the Faeroe Islands
P. Hedebol Nielsen1), Regin Waagstein2), Jóannes Rasmussen3)
and Birger Larsen4)
Abstract
Shallow seismic profiling shows that the basaltic shelf
around the Faeroe Islands extents roughly to the 200 m depth
contour. Outside the basaltic shelf the basalts are overlain by
sediments of presumed Tertiary age which dip outwards at
a low angle.
Introduction
The Faeroe Islands are surrounded by a broad shelf which
is part of the Faeroe-Iceland-Greenland ridge in the northern
Atlantic Ocean. It is generally assumed that the ridge consists
largely of volcanic rocks surrounded by sediments. More than
3 km of Lower Tertiary basalt lavas are exposed on the Faeroe
Islands (Rasmussen and Noe-Nygaard 1969). Based on gravi-
metric and deep reflection seismics it seems likely that the
Faeroe shelf is resting on continental crust (Bott and Watts
1971, Bott and others 1974, Nielsen 1976).
‘) Laboratoriet for Geofysik, Finlandsgade 6—8, DK 8200 Aarhus N,
Denmark.
2) Danmarks Geologiske Undersøgelse, Thoravej 31, DK 2400, Køben-
havn NV, Denmark.
3) Føroya Jarðfrøðisavn, J. C. Svabos gøtu 14, 3800 Tórshavn, Faeroe
Islands.
4) Instituttet for Teknisk Geologi, Danmarks Tekniske Højskole, DK
2800 Lyngby, Denmark.