Submarine hydrothermal vent complexes in the Paleocene of the Faroe-Shetland Basin; insights from three-dimensional seismic and petrographical data

This work presents a new method of coarse-grained sediment input into a deep sedimentary basin and presents a new example of igneous processes controlling sedimentary facies. The Mesozoic-Cenozoic Faroe-Shetland Basin sediments are intruded by Late Paleocene igneous sills and dikes. Sill intrusions are frequently expressed on the paleosurface as hydrothermal mounds and vents occurring directly above sill tips. Three-dimensional seismic data are used to image a Paleocene submarine mounded structure that has been penetrated by an exploration well drilled in A.D. 1984. Seismic morphology is combined with petrographic data to show that the mound was erupted from a central vent as a series of sediment pulses consisting of sediments disaggregated and recycled from depth--a submarine sediment volcano.