Project Details
Origin and Geodynamic Evolution of King’s Trough – the Grand Canyon of the North Atlantic
Applicant
Dr. Antje Dürkefälden
Subject Area
Mineralogy, Petrology and Geochemistry
Term
since 2021
Project identifier
Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 491626881
The proposed project is based on hard rock sampling and multi-beam bathymetric mapping conducted at the King’s Trough Complex, several isolated seamounts to the west of the complex and the northern end of the adjacent Azores-Biscay Rise in the North Atlantic during R/V METEOR cruise M168. Prior to the cruise, these structures have been sampled only sparsely or not at all and their origin has been a subject of debate for several decades. To achieve the goals of the proposed project, a comprehensive dataset comprising geochemical (whole rock/glass major and trace elements and radiogenic Sr-Nd-Hf-Pb isotopes) and geochronological (Ar-Ar dating) analyses from selected igneous rock samples recovered from all three working areas will be generated. Combining these data with petrological investigations and tectonic considerations gained from the multi-beam mapping will allow to reconstruct the complex geodynamic evolution of the central eastern North Atlantic that led to the origin of the King’s Trough Complex. This study will thus also provide new insights into the formation of large (Grand Canyon scale) seafloor gorges, which are one of the last poorly understood features on the seafloor. In addition, the analyses of the first available samples from a part of the Azores-Biscay Rise will provide the first clues on the nature of this enigmatic structure.
DFG Programme
Research Grants