Neogene seismic facies and deep-water gateways in the Faeroe Bank area, NE Atlantic

• Published in: Marine geology 1998-11, Vol.152 (1), p.129-140
• Main Authors: Boldreel, L.O, Andersen, M.S, Kuijpers, A
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Faeroe (Faroe) Bank; Jóannes Rasmussens Trough; Marine; Norwegian Sea Overflow Water (NSOW); seismic facies
• ISSN: 0025-3227; 1872-6151
• DOI: 10.1016/S0025-3227(98)00067-X

Interpretation of sedimentary structures on high-resolution multichannel sleeve-gun seismic records has been used to illustrate changes in the Neogene deep-water flow regime around the Bill Bailey Bank. At the southern end of the Faeroe–Shetland Channel, the main part of the Norwegian Sea Overflow Water (NSOW) turns into the Faeroe Bank Channel. Leaving the Faeroe Bank Channel, the NSOW forms an erosive flow along the southern part of the Faeroe Platform where the basalt is outcropping. It is indicated that part of the overflow waters continues to the northwest entering the N Atlantic Basin to the west of the Faeroe–Rockall Plateau. Intermittent overflow of NSOW occurs via the Wyville–Thomson Ridge Complex. Between the Bill Bailey Bank and Faeroe Bank, sedimentary structures seen on the seismic profiles indicate the existence of a former NSOW pathway which was active until presumably the Late Pliocene. Along the southern rise of the Bill Bailey Bank the seismic profiles indicate that deep-water flow was still active in the late Quaternary, which presumably can be related to intermittent overflow of the Wyville–Thomson Ridge Complex.