ABSTRACT

This work explores the Cenozoic evolution of the West Greenland Margin and Baffin Island through the use of onshore thermochronology in hopes of establishing how the two opposing margins have evolved following the end of rifting in the Early Paleocene. Re-examination of data across the West Greenland margin reveals a protracted cooling history to the south implying continuous erosion throughout the Cenozoic, while the Cretaceous/Paleogene Nuussuaq Basin, around the centre of the margin, presents thermal histories outlining a complex basin formation in the Cretaceous followed by extensive uplift during volcanism in the Paleogene. Similarly, integration of apatite fission track and apatite (U-Th)/He data along the SE margin of Baffin Island also indicates protracted cooling from the Carboniferous to the Triassic and from the Cretaceous to present suggesting limited tectonism in the area and continual erosion of the rift flank by two major fluvial systems during the Cenozoic. These results demonstrate Cenozoic uplift and tectonism across onshore West Greenland and Baffin Island is limited to within the Nuussuaq Basin, while much of the surrounding margins remain unaffected. The conclusions also raise questions on how best to utilise thermochronological data when defining a margin’s evolution and how effective different modelling approaches can be. Future work will look to establish and possibly quantify the uplift within Nuussuaq to better understand how widespread volcanism affects continental margins and their landscapes.