Ardnamurchan 3D cone-sheet architecture explained by a single elongate magma chamber
Abstract
The Palaeogene Ardnamurchan central igneous complex, NW Scotland, was a defining place for the development of the classic concepts of cone-sheet and ring-dyke emplacement and has thus fundamentally influenced our thinking on subvolcanic structures. We have used the available structural information on Ardnamurchan to project the underlying three-dimensional (3D) cone-sheet structure. Here we show that a single elongate magma chamber likely acted as the source of the cone-sheet swarm(s) instead of the traditionally accepted model of three successive centres. This proposal is supported by the ridge-like morphology of the Ardnamurchan volcano and is consistent with the depth and elongation of the gravity anomaly underlying the peninsula. Our model challenges the traditional model of cone-sheet emplacement at Ardnamurchan that involves successive but independent centres in favour of a more dynamical one that involves a single, but elongate and progressively evolving magma chamber system.
Citation
Burchardt , S , Troll , V R , Mathieu , L , Emeleus , H C & Donaldson , C H 2013 , ' Ardnamurchan 3D cone-sheet architecture explained by a single elongate magma chamber ' , Scientific Reports , vol. 3 , 2891 . https://doi.org/10.1038/srep02891
Publication
Scientific Reports
Status
Peer reviewed
ISSN
2045-2322Type
Journal article
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