Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Letter
  • Published:

New Tertiary Volcanic Centre on the Rockall Bank, Eastern North Atlantic Ocean

Abstract

THE islet of Rockall (57° 36.0′ N, 13° 41.1′ W) is the sole subaerial of an extensive area less than 1,000 fathoms in depth located midway between Iceland and Ireland (Fig. 1, inset) known as the Rockall plateau and separated from the Scottish continental margin by the Rockall trough. Bullard et al.1, in their pre-drift reconstruction of Laurasis, included the Rockall plateau to fill an unacceptably large gap between the fitted continental margins of Europe and North America–Greenland. The inclusion of this area implied that it might be a continental fragment. Although the available geophysical data indicate that the Rockall plateau is continental in thickness (my unpublished results) and probably in composition2, the detailed geology and structure of both the Rockall plateau and the Rockall bank are unknown.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Rent or buy this article

Prices vary by article type

from$1.95

to$39.95

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Bullard, E. C., Everett, J. E., and Smith, A. G., Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc., A, 258, 41 (1965).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  2. Moorbath, S., and Welke, H., Earth Planet. Sci. Lett., 5, 4, 211 (1968).

    Google Scholar 

  3. Cole, A. J. G., Trans. Roy. Irish Acad., 31, 58 (1897).

    Google Scholar 

  4. Lacroix, A., CR Hebd. Séanc. Acad. Sci. Paris, 177, 437 (1923).

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Miller, J. A., and Mohr, P. A., Scott. J. Geol., 1, 93 (1965).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Sabine, P. A., Bull. Geol. Surv. Gt. Brit., 16, 156 (1960).

    Google Scholar 

  7. Bullerwell, W., Aeromagnetic Map of Great Britain, Geol. Surv. Gt. Brit. (1965).

  8. Avery, O. E., Burton, G. D., and Hertzler, J. R., J. Geophys. Res., 73, 14, 1583 (1968).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Tarling, D. H., and Gale, N. H., Nature, 207, 837 (1965).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Moorbath, S., and Bell, J. D., J. Petrol., 6, 37 (1965).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  11. Wager, L. R., and Hamilton, E. I., Nature, 204, 1079 (1964).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  12. Ulrich, J., Erdkunde, 17, 314, 190 (1963).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Ulrich, J., Kieler Mecresforsch., 20, 2, 95 (1964).

    Google Scholar 

  14. Vine, F. J., Science, 154, 1405 (1966).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

ROBERTS, D. New Tertiary Volcanic Centre on the Rockall Bank, Eastern North Atlantic Ocean. Nature 223, 819–820 (1969). https://doi.org/10.1038/223819a0

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/223819a0

This article is cited by

Comments

By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.

Search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing