Early Tertiary volcanic rocks in Well 163/6-1A, Rockall Trough

Well 163/6-1A, located in the northern part of the Rockall Trough, proved the presence of a thick sequence of extrusive igneous rocks below Upper Palaeocene sediments. K-Ar age dating suggests that the lavas were extruded at approximately 55 Ma. The lava sequence comprises three distinct lithologies. The upper part of the pile consists of olivine tholeiites that show alkalic and picritic tendencies and have a distinct within-plate composition. These are underlain by another group of olivine tholeiites that are much closer in composition to normal mid-ocean ridge basalt (N-type MORB). The Sr and Pb isotopic compositions of the basalts suggests possible contamination by continental crustal material. The basalts are underlain by a sequence of cordierite-phyric dacites of remarkably homogeneous composition. Their highly aluminous nature, high Ni and Cr contents and their Sr and Pb isotopic compositions indicate that they are not differentiates of a basaltic parent magma, and are considered to have originated by melting of argillaceous and, possibly, arenaceous rocks at depth. Organic-rich black shale lithologies may have been involved.