Impact of sub-basalt thrust systems on the Faroe continental shelf for the late Paleoproterozoic–Cenozoic tectonic evolution of the margin.

Background The Faroe margin in the northeastern Atlantic is segmented by margin-orthogonal, WNW–ESE-striking lineaments extending several hundred kilometers out to the continent–ocean transition. Despite several earlier studies speculating that these features are the product of reactivation of pre-Cenozoic basement-seated structures at depth, the thick Cenozoic volcano-sedimentary sequences deposited along the margin mask the underburden, thus rendering the identification and interpretation of such structures and resolving the pre-Cenozoic history of the area challenging. The present study documents for the first time the existence of margin-orthogonal basement-seated thrust systems and describes their detailed geometry, kinematics, and tectonic evolution. Methods We interpreted basement-seated tectonic structures on seismic reflection data from TGS on the Faroe Platform and the Wyville–Thomson and Munkagrunnur ridges using a newly established methodology. Results The data show that the Wyville–Thomson Ridge, Munkagrunnur Ridge, and Faroe Platform are cored by WNW–ESE-striking thrust systems hundreds of kilometers long and 30–50 km wide, showing dominantly top-SSW kinematics. The thrust systems were reworked into NE–SW-striking folds during the Caledonian Orogeny and controlled the formation of Caledonian thrusts, which in turn controlled the formation of post-Caledonian normal faults. The pre-Caledonian nature of the WNW–ESE-striking shear zones and their geometry and kinematics suggest a relationship with late Paleoproterozoic Laxfordian shear zones onshore northern Scotland and the continuation of the coeval Nagssugtoqidian Orogen in southeastern Greenland, the Ammassalik Belt. In addition, the thrust systems align with the Tornquist Zone in eastern Europe and the southern North Sea, thus suggesting a genetic link between these structures, i.e., a possibly much longer (Paleoproterozoic?) tectonic history for the Tornquist Zone. Conclusions The Faroe Island margin is crosscut by late Paleoproterozoic Laxfordian–Nagssugtoqidian thrust systems, which controlled further tectonic development of the margin and may be related to the Tornquist Zone.