North Atlantic Igneous Province

Isotopic dating indicates the most active magmatic phase of the NAIP was between {{circa|60.5}}{{Cite journal|last1=TROLL|first1=VALENTIN R.|last2=NICOLL|first2=GRAEME R.|last3=DONALDSON|first3=COLIN H.|last4=EMELEUS|first4=HENRY C.|date=May 2008|title=Dating the onset of volcanism at the Rum Igneous Centre, NW Scotland|url=https://doi.org/10.1144/0016-76492006-190|journal=Journal of the Geological Society|volume=165|issue=3|pages=651–659|doi=10.1144/0016-76492006-190|bibcode=2008JGSoc.165..651T |s2cid=129576178|issn=0016-7649|url-access=subscription}} and c. 54.5 Ma (million years ago){{cite journal|last=Jolley|first=D. W.|author2=Bell, B. R.|title=The evolution of the North Atlantic Igneous Province and the opening of the NE Atlantic rift|journal=Geological Society, London, Special Publications|date=1 January 2002|volume=197|issue=1|pages=1–13|doi=10.1144/GSL.SP.2002.197.01.01|url=http://sp.lyellcollection.org/content/197/1/1.short|quote=⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar and Pb-U isotopic age data show that the main period of continental flood basalt volcanism in the NAIP extended from ~60.5 Ma through to ~54.5 Ma.|bibcode=2002GSLSP.197....1J|s2cid=129653395|access-date=17 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130119041804/http://sp.lyellcollection.org/content/197/1/1.short|archive-date=19 January 2013|url-status=live|url-access=subscription}} (mid-Paleocene to early Eocene) – further divided into Phase 1 (pre-break-up phase) dated to c. 62–58 Ma and Phase 2 (syn-break-up phase) dated to c. 56–54 Ma.{{cite journal|last=Rousse|first=S.|author2=M. Ganerød|author3=M.A. Smethurst|author4=T.H. Torsvik|author5=T. Prestvik|title=The British Tertiary Volcanics: Origin, History and New Paleogeographic Constraints for the North Atlantic|journal=Geophysical Research Abstracts|year=2007|volume=9|url=http://meetings.copernicus.org/www.cosis.net/abstracts/EGU2007/09087/EGU2007-J-09087.pdf|quote=The NAIP formed during two major magmatic phases: a pre-break-up phase (62–58 Ma) and a syn-break-up phase (56-54 Ma) contemporaneous with the onset of North Atlantic sea floor spreading.|access-date=2013-12-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131217224708/http://meetings.copernicus.org/www.cosis.net/abstracts/EGU2007/09087/EGU2007-J-09087.pdf|archive-date=2013-12-17|url-status=live}}

Continuing research also indicates that tectonic plate movement (of the Eurasian, Greenland, and North American plates), regional rifting events, and seafloor spreading between Labrador and Greenland may have begun as early as c. 95–80 Ma,{{cite journal|last=Torsvik|first=T.H.|author2=B. Steinberger|author3=C. Gaina|title=North Atlantic Plate Motions and Plumes|journal=Geophysical Research Abstracts|year=2007|volume=9|url=http://meetings.copernicus.org/www.cosis.net/abstracts/EGU2007/03964/EGU2007-J-03964.pdf|quote=Fixed hotspot frames show uniform NE movement of the coupled North American, Greenland, and Eurasian plates from ~95 to 80 Ma.|access-date=2013-12-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131217224712/http://meetings.copernicus.org/www.cosis.net/abstracts/EGU2007/03964/EGU2007-J-03964.pdf|archive-date=2013-12-17|url-status=live}} c. 81 Ma,{{cite journal|last1=Faleide|first1=Jan Inge|last2=Tsikalas|first2=F.|last3=Breivik|first3=A. J.|last4=Mjelde|first4=R.|last5=Ritzmann|first5=O.|last6=Engen|first6=O.|last7=Wilson|first7=J.|last8=Eldholm|first8=O.|display-authors=4|title=Structure and evolution of the continental margin off Norway and the Barents Sea|journal=Episodes|year=2008|volume=31|issue=1|page=82|quote=Breakup in the NE Atlantic was preceded by prominent Late Cretaceous-Paleocene rifting. At the onset of this rifting, the area between NW Europe and Greenland was an epicontinental sea covering a region in which the crust had been extensively weakened by previous rift episodes. Ren et al. (2003) suggested onset of rifting at about 81 Ma|doi=10.18814/epiiugs/2008/v31i1/012|doi-access=free}} and c. 63–61 Ma{{cite journal|last=Larsen|first=Lotte Melchior|author2=Rex, D. C.|author3=Watt, W. S.|author4=Guise, P. G.|title=⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar Dating of Alkali Basaltic Dykes along the Southwest Coast of Greenland: Cretaceous and Tertiary Igneous Activity along the Eastern Margin of the Labrador Sea|journal=Geology of Greenland Survey Bulletin|year=1999|volume=184|issue=184|pages=19–29|doi=10.34194/ggub.v184.5227|url=http://www.geus.dk/publications/bull-gl/nr184/nr184_p01-62.pdf#page=19|quote=The start of normal velocity ocean floor spreading in the Labrador Sea took place in the Paleocene, around geomagnetic chrons C27-C28 (61–63 Ma) and was accompanied by a burst in volcanic activity, where large amounts of tholeiitic picrites and basalts were erupted onto the continental margins of West Greenland and Labrador|access-date=2008-06-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160616110238/http://www.geus.dk/publications/bull-gl/nr184/nr184_p01-62.pdf#page=19|archive-date=2016-06-16|url-status=dead}}{{cite journal|last=Chalmers|first=J. A.|author2=Pulvertaft, T.C.R. |title=Development of the continental margins of the Labrador Sea: a review|journal=Geological Society, London, Special Publications|date=1 January 2001|volume=187|issue=1|pages=77–105|doi=10.1144/GSL.SP.2001.187.01.05|quote=The Labrador Sea is a small oceanic basin that developed when the North American and Greenland plates separated. An initial period of stretching in Early Cretaceous time formed sedimentary basins now preserved under the continental shelves and around the margins of the oceanic crust. The basins subsided thermally during Late Cretaceous time and a second episode of tectonism took place during latest Cretaceous and early Paleocene time, before the onset of sea-floor spreading in mid-Paleocene time.|bibcode=2001GSLSP.187...77C|s2cid=140632779}} respectively (late Cretaceous to early Paleocene).

Studies have suggested that the modern day Iceland hotspot corresponds to the earlier 'North Atlantic mantle plume' that would have created the NAIP.{{cite book|last=Lundin|first=Erik R.|author2=Anthony G. Doré|title=Fixity of the Iceland "hotspot" on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge: Observational evidence, mechanisms, and implications for Atlantic volcanic margins|journal=Geological Society of America Special Papers|year=2005|volume=388|pages=627–651|doi=10.1130/0-8137-2388-4.627|isbn=978-0-8137-2388-4}} Through both geochemical observations and reconstructions of paleogeography, it is speculated that the present day Iceland hotspot originated as a mantle plume on the Alpha Ridge (Arctic Ocean) c. 130–120 Ma,{{cite journal|last=Saunders|first=A.D.|author2=S. Drachev|author3=M.K. Reichow|title=Tracking the Iceland Plume across the Arctic Ocean|journal=Geophysical Research Abstracts|year=2005|volume=7|url=http://meetings.copernicus.org/www.cosis.net/abstracts/EGU05/09286/EGU05-J-09286.pdf|quote=It is widely assumed that Iceland sits above a mantle plume or hotspot. Plate reconstructions place the plume beneath what is now northeastern Canada at about 80 Ma. This correlates with an episode of basaltic volcanism in the Queen Elizabeth Islands, dated at around 90 Ma. The aseismic Alpha Ridge is bathymetrically linked to northern Ellesmere Island, and extends northwards beneath the Arctic Ocean.|access-date=2013-12-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131217224536/http://meetings.copernicus.org/www.cosis.net/abstracts/EGU05/09286/EGU05-J-09286.pdf|archive-date=2013-12-17|url-status=live}} migrated down Ellesmere Island, through Baffin Island, onto the west coast of Greenland, and finally arrived on the east coast of Greenland by c. 60 Ma.{{cite journal|last=Tegner|first=C|author2=Duncan, R |author3=Bernstein, S |author4=Brooks, C |author5=Bird, D |author6= Storey, M |title=⁴⁰Ar/³⁹Ar geochronology of Tertiary mafic intrusions along the East Greenland rifted margin: Relation to flood basalts and the Iceland hotspot track|journal=Earth and Planetary Science Letters|date=15 March 1998|volume=156|issue=1–2|pages=75–88|doi=10.1016/S0012-821X(97)00206-9|quote=The East Greenland Tertiary Igneous Province includes the largest exposed continental flood basalt sequence within the North Atlantic borderlands. Plate-kinematic models indicate the axis of the ancestral Iceland mantle plume was located under Central Greenland at ~60 Ma and subsequently crossed the East Greenland rifted continental margin.|bibcode=1998E&PSL.156...75T}}

Extensive outpourings of lava occurred, particularly in East Greenland,{{cite journal|last=Riisager|first=Janna|author2=Riisager, Peter |author3=Pedersen, Asger Ken |title=Paleomagnetism of large igneous provinces: case-study from West Greenland, North Atlantic igneous province|journal=Earth and Planetary Science Letters|date=September 2003|volume=214|issue=3–4|pages=409–425|doi=10.1016/S0012-821X(03)00367-4|bibcode=2003E&PSL.214..409R}} which during the Paleogene was then adjacent to Britain. Little is known of the geodynamics of the opening of the North Atlantic between Greenland and Europe.{{cite journal|last=Geoffroy|first=Laurent|author2=Bergerat, Francoise |author3=Angelier, Jacques |title=Brittle tectonism in relation to the Palaeogene evolution of the Thulean/NE Atlantic domain: a study in Ulster|journal=Geological Journal|date=September 1996|volume=31|issue=3|pages=259–269|doi=10.1002/(SICI)1099-1034(199609)31:3<259::AID-GJ711>3.0.CO;2-8|bibcode=1996GeolJ..31..259G }}

As the Earth's crust was stretched above the mantle hotspot under stress from plate rifting,{{cite journal|last=Thompson|first=R. N.|author2=Gibson, S. A.|title=Subcontinental mantle plumes, hotspots and pre-existing thinspots|journal=Journal of the Geological Society|date=1 December 1991|volume=148|issue=6|pages=973–977|doi=10.1144/gsjgs.148.6.0973|bibcode=1991JGSoc.148..973T|s2cid=130026207}} fissures opened up along a line from Ireland to the Hebrides and plutonic complexes were formed.{{cite journal|last=Hitchen|first=K.|author2=Ritchie, J. D.|title=New K–Ar ages, and a provisional chronology, for the offshore part of the British Tertiary Igneous Province|journal=Scottish Journal of Geology|date=1 May 1993|volume=29|issue=1|pages=73–85|doi=10.1144/sjg29010073|bibcode=1993ScJG...29...73H |s2cid=140557766}} Hot magma over 1000 °C surfaced as multiple, successive and extensive lava flows covered over the original landscape, burning forests, filling river valleys, burying hills, to eventually form the Thulean Plateau, which contained various volcanic landforms such as lava fields and volcanoes. There was more than one period of volcanic activity during the NAIP, in between which sea levels rose and fell and erosion took place.{{cite journal|last=Williamson|first=I. T.|author2=Bell, B. R.|title=The Palaeocene lava field of west-central Skye, Scotland: Stratigraphy, palaeogeography and structure|journal=Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh: Earth Sciences|date=3 November 2011|volume=85|issue=1|pages=39–75|doi=10.1017/S0263593300006301|s2cid=131299688 }}

Volcanic activity would have started with volcaniclastic accumulations, like volcanic ash, quickly followed by vast outpourings of highly fluid basaltic lava during successive eruptions through multiple volcanic vents or in linear fissures. As mafic low viscosity lava reached the surface it rapidly cooled and solidified, successive flows built up layer upon layer, each time filling and covering existing landscapes. Hyaloclastites and pillow lavas were formed when the lava flowed into lakes, rivers and seas. Magma that did not make it to the surface as flows froze in conduits as dikes and volcanic plugs and large amounts spread laterally to form sills. Dike swarms extended across the British Isles throughout the Cenozoic. Individual central complexes developed with arcuate intrusions (cone sheets, ring dikes and stocks), the intrusions of one centre cut through earlier centres recording magmatic activity with time. During intermittent periods of erosion and change in sea levels, heated waters circulated through the flows altering the basalts and deposited distinctive suites of zeolite minerals.

Activity of the NAIP 55 million years ago may have caused the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum, where a large amount of carbon was released into the atmosphere and the Earth substantially warmed.{{cite journal |last1=Jin |first1=Simin |last2=Kemp |first2=David B. |last3=Yin |first3=Runsheng |last4=Sun |first4=Ruyang |last5=Shen |first5=Jun |last6=Jolley |first6=David W. |last7=Vieira |first7=Manuel |last8=Huang |first8=Chunju |date=15 January 2023 |title=Mercury isotope evidence for protracted North Atlantic magmatism during the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum |journal=Earth and Planetary Science Letters |volume=602 |page=117926 |doi=10.1016/j.epsl.2022.117926 |s2cid=254215843 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2023E&PSL.60217926J }}{{cite journal |last1=Dickson |first1=Alexander J. |last2=Cohen |first2=Anthony S. |last3=Coe |first3=Angela L. |last4=Davies |first4=Marc |last5=Shcherbinina |first5=Ekaterina A. |last6=Gavrilov |first6=Yuri O. |date=15 November 2015 |title=Evidence for weathering and volcanism during the PETM from Arctic Ocean and Peri-Tethys osmium isotope records |journal=Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology |volume=438 |pages=300–307 |doi=10.1016/j.palaeo.2015.08.019 |doi-access=free |bibcode=2015PPP...438..300D }} One hypothesis is that the uplift caused by the NAIP hotspot caused methane clathrates to dissociate and dump 2000 gigatons of carbon into the atmosphere.{{cite journal|last1=Maclennan|first1=John|first2=Stephen M.|last2=Jones|title=Regional uplift, gas hydrate dissociation and the origins of the Paleocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum|journal=Earth and Planetary Science Letters|volume=245|issue=1|year=2006|pages=65–80|doi=10.1016/j.epsl.2006.01.069|bibcode=2006E&PSL.245...65M}}

Image:Wfm ardnamurchan landsat.jpg – with clearly visible circular shape, which is the 'plumbings of an ancient volcano'{{Cite journal|last1=O'Driscoll|first1=B.|last2=Troll|first2=V. R.|last3=Reavy|first3=R. J.|last4=Turner|first4=P.|date=2006-03-01|title=The Great Eucrite intrusion of Ardnamurchan, Scotland: Reevaluating the ring-dike concept|url=https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/geology/article/34/3/189/129529/The-Great-Eucrite-intrusion-of-Ardnamurchan|journal=Geology|language=en|volume=34|issue=3|pages=189–192|doi=10.1130/G22294.1|bibcode=2006Geo....34..189O |issn=0091-7613|url-access=subscription}}]]

File:Eigg.AnSgurr.Canthusus.jpg, Eigg – largest exposed piece of pitchstone in the UK{{Cite journal|last1=Troll|first1=Valentin R.|last2=Emeleus|first2=C. Henry|last3=Nicoll|first3=Graeme R.|last4=Mattsson|first4=Tobias|last5=Ellam|first5=Robert M.|last6=Donaldson|first6=Colin H.|last7=Harris|first7=Chris|date=2019-01-24|title=A large explosive silicic eruption in the British Palaeogene Igneous Province|url= |journal=Scientific Reports|language=en|volume=9|issue=1|pages=494|doi=10.1038/s41598-018-35855-w|issn=2045-2322|pmc=6345756|pmid=30679443|bibcode=2019NatSR...9..494T }}]]

File:Staffa04.jpg]]

File:Giant's Causeway (1) - geograph.org.uk - 817036.jpg – polygonal basalt pavement]]

The NAIP is made up of both onshore and offshore basalt floods, sills, dykes, and plateaus. Dependent upon various regional locations, the NAIP is made up of MORB (Mid Ocean Ridge Basalt), alkali basalt,{{cite journal|last=Tarney|first=J.|author2=Wood, D. A. |author3=Saunders, A. D. |author4=Cann, J. R. |author5= Varet, J. |title=Nature of Mantle Heterogeneity in the North Atlantic: Evidence from Deep Sea Drilling|journal=Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences|date=24 July 1980|volume=297|issue=1431|pages=179–202|doi=10.1098/rsta.1980.0209|quote=Studies of dredged and drilled samples from the North Atlantic ocean have revealed that basalts with a wide range of major and trace element compositions have been generated at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Drilling along mantle flow lines transverse to the ridge has shown that different segments of the MAR have produced basalts with a distinct compositional range for tens of millions of years.|bibcode=1980RSPTA.297..179T|s2cid=93530327}}{{cite journal|last=Heister|first=L. E.|author2=O'Day, P. A. |author3=Brooks, C. K. |author4=Neuhoff, P. S. |author5= Bird, D. K. |title=Pyroclastic deposits within the East Greenland Tertiary flood basalts|journal=Journal of the Geological Society|date=1 March 2001|volume=158|issue=2|pages=269–284|doi=10.1144/jgs.158.2.269|quote=Stratigraphic, geochemical and mineralogical characterization of pyroclastic deposits on the Gronau West Nunatak of East Greenland indicates that both alkaline and basaltic tephras occurred during the eruption of flood basalts associated with the opening of the North Atlantic ocean in the early Tertiary.|bibcode=2001JGSoc.158..269H|s2cid=131414316}} tholeiitic basalt, and picrite basalt.{{cite journal|last=Brooks|first=C. K.|author2=Nielsen, T. F. D. |author3=Petersen, T. S. |title=The Blosseville Coast basalts of East Greenland: Their occurrence, composition and temporal variations|journal=Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology|year=1976|volume=58|issue=3|pages=279–292|doi=10.1007/BF00402356|quote=Major and trace element compositions are presented for basalts from the area between Kangerdlugssuaq and Scoresby Sound, East Greenland. The bulk of these lavas have a very uniform composition and are tholeiites... The only significant variation is minor and represents a change to a more evolved type to the south, a variation which may be similar to that observed in Postglacial Icelandic lavas. The earliest lavas are of a picritic type...|bibcode=1976CoMP...58..279B|s2cid=129787285}}

Basaltic volcanic rocks up to {{convert|2.5|km|mi}} thick cover {{convert|65,000|km2|mi2}} in east Greenland. Numerous intrusions related to hot-spot magmatism are exposed in the coastal region of east Greenland. The intrusions show a wide range of compositions. The Skaergaard intrusion (Early Cenozoic or about 55 million year age) is a layered gabbro (mafic) intrusion that has mineralized rock units enriched in palladium and gold. In contrast, the Werner Bjerge complex is made up of potassium- and sodium-rich (alkaline) granitic rock, containing molybdenum.{{USGS|url=http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2005/1294/d/of2005-1294d.pdf|title=Geology and Nonfuel Mineral Deposits of Greenland, Europe, Russia, and Northern Central Asia|first1=W.J.|last1=Nokleberg|first2=W.J.|last2=Baweic|first3=J.L.|last3=Doebrich|first4=B.R.|last4=Lipin|first5=R.J.|last5=Miller|first6=G.J.|last6=Orris|first7=M.L.|last7=Zientek|display-authors=4|publisher=USGS|id=Open File Report 2005–1294D|year=2005|access-date=2016-01-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305013515/http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2005/1294/d/of2005-1294d.pdf|archive-date=2016-03-05|url-status=live }}

Locations of submarine central complexes within the NAIP include:

• Anton Dohrn Seamount
• Rosemary Bank
• Blackstones Bank
• Brendan
• Erlend

The British portion of the NAIP, particularly West Scotland, provides relatively easy access, compared to the largely inaccessible basalt fields of West Greenland, to deeply eroded relics of the central volcanic complexes.{{Cite journal|last1=Emeleus|first1=C. H.|last2=Troll|first2=V. R.|date=August 2014|title=The Rum Igneous Centre, Scotland|journal=Mineralogical Magazine|language=en|volume=78|issue=4|pages=805–839|doi=10.1180/minmag.2014.078.4.04|bibcode=2014MinM...78..805E |issn=0026-461X|doi-access=free}}

Locations of major intrusion complexes within the British part of the NAIP include:

{{div col}}

• Lundy Island{{cite book|last=Smith|first=Sandy|title=Island Studies|year=1997|publisher=Lundy Field Society|location=Bideford|author2=Clive Roberts|editor=Irving, RA|editor2=Schofield, AJ|editor3=Webster, CJ|chapter=The Geology of Lundy|chapter-url=http://www.lundy.org.uk/download/is/LFS_Island_Studies_Smith_Roberts-Geology.pdf|access-date=7 November 2013|archive-date=3 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303233347/http://www.lundy.org.uk/download/is/LFS_Island_Studies_Smith_Roberts-Geology.pdf|url-status=dead}}{{cite journal|last=Thorpe|first=R. S.|author2=Tindle, A. G. |author3=Gledhill, A. |title=The Petrology and Origin of the Tertiary Lundy Granite (Bristol Channel, UK)|journal=Journal of Petrology|date=1 December 1990|volume=31|issue=6|pages=1379–1406|doi=10.1093/petrology/31.6.1379|bibcode=1990JPet...31.1379T}}
• Mourne Mountains{{cite web|last=Devlin|first=Pat|title=Mourne Mountains|url=http://www.devlin-family.com/Mournes.htm|work=The Devlin Family On-Line|access-date=7 November 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120219232703/http://www.devlin-family.com/Mournes.htm|archive-date=19 February 2012|url-status=live}}{{cite journal|last=Hood|first=D |author2=Meighan, I. |author3=Gibson, D. |author4=Mccormack, A.|date=July 1981|title=The Tertiary Granites of the Eastern And Western Mourne Centers, Northern-Ireland|journal=Journal of the Geological Society|volume=138|pages=497}}
• Slieve Gullion – Ring of Gullion AONB{{cite web|last=Porter|first=E M|title=Slieve Gullion Ring – Overview|url=http://www.habitas.org.uk/escr/site.asp?item=1118|work=Geological Sites in Northern Ireland – Earth Science Conservation Review|publisher=National Museums Northern Ireland|access-date=7 November 2013|date=3 May 2003|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131219100558/http://www.habitas.org.uk/escr/site.asp?item=1118|archive-date=19 December 2013|url-status=live}}{{cite journal|last=Gamble|first=J. A.|author2=Meighan, I. G. |author3=Mccormick, A. G. |title=The petrogenesis of Tertiary microgranites and granophyres from the Slieve Gullion Central Complex, NE Ireland|journal=Journal of the Geological Society|date=1 February 1992|volume=149|issue=1|pages=93–106|doi=10.1144/gsjgs.149.1.0093|bibcode=1992JGSoc.149...93G|s2cid=128735039}}
• Arran{{cite web|title=Geology Section|url=http://www.arranmuseum.co.uk/Geology%20Pages/geology.htm|publisher=Isle of Arran Heritage Museum|access-date=7 November 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131219045823/http://www.arranmuseum.co.uk/Geology%20Pages/geology.htm|archive-date=19 December 2013|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}{{cite journal|last=Meade|first=F. C.|author2=Chew, D. M. |author3=Troll, V. R. |author4=Ellam, R. M. |author5= Page, L. M. |title=Magma Ascent along a Major Terrane Boundary: Crustal Contamination and Magma Mixing at the Drumadoon Intrusive Complex, Isle of Arran, Scotland|journal=Journal of Petrology|date=22 December 2009|volume=50|issue=12|pages=2345–2374|doi=10.1093/petrology/egp081|bibcode=2009JPet...50.2345M|doi-access=free}}
• Mull{{cite web|last=Jones|first=Rosalind|title=The Geology of Mull|url=http://www.mull.zynet.co.uk/nature/geology_mull_advanced.htm|work=Mull and Iona Chamber of Commerce – Holiday information site|publisher=Mull and Iona Chamber of Commerce|access-date=19 December 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120207134620/http://www.mull.zynet.co.uk/nature/geology_mull_advanced.htm|archive-date=7 February 2012}}{{cite journal|last=Dagley|first=P. |author2=Mussett, A. |author3=Skelhorn, R.|year=1983|title=Polarity Stratigraphy And Duration of the Mull Tertiary Igneous Intrusive Complex|journal=Geophysical Journal of the Royal Astronomical Society|volume=73|issue=1|pages=308}}{{clarify|date=December 2013}}
• Ardnamurchan{{cite web|title=Tertiary Volcanic Complex – Shepherd's Hut, Kilchoan, Ardnamurchan|url=http://www.thelochanshepherdshut.co.uk/Tertiary-Volcanic-Complex.html|work=The Lochan Shepherd's Hut|access-date=7 November 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131219064640/http://www.thelochanshepherdshut.co.uk/Tertiary-Volcanic-Complex.html|archive-date=19 December 2013|url-status=live}}{{cite journal |last=Geldmacher |first=Jörg |author2=Haase, Karsten M. |author3=Devey, Colin W. |author4=Garbe-Schönberg, C. Dieter |title=The petrogenesis of Tertiary cone-sheets in Ardnamurchan, NW Scotland: petrological and geochemical constraints on crustal contamination and partial melting|journal=Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology|date=27 April 1998|volume=131|issue=2–3|pages=196–209|doi=10.1007/s004100050388|bibcode = 1998CoMP..131..196G |s2cid=129239526 }}
• Rùm{{cite journal|last=Holness|first=M.B.|author2=Isherwood, C.E.|title=The aureole of the Rum Tertiary Igneous Complex, Scotland|journal=Journal of the Geological Society|date=1 January 2003|volume=160|issue=1|pages=15–27|doi=10.1144/0016-764901-098|bibcode=2003JGSoc.160...15H |s2cid=129372571}}
• Eigg{{cite journal|last=Dagley|first=P.|author2=Mussett, A. E.|title=Palaeomagnetism and radiometric dating of the British Tertiary Igneous Province: Muck and Eigg|journal=Geophysical Journal International|date=April 1986|volume=85|issue=1|pages=221–242|doi=10.1111/j.1365-246X.1986.tb05180.x|bibcode = 1986GeoJ...85..217B |doi-access=free}}
• Skye{{cite web|title=Skye – Cuillin Hills|url=http://www.scottishgeology.com/geo/regional-geology/hebrides/skye-cuillin-hills/|publisher=scottishgeology.com|access-date=7 November 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140317081720/http://www.scottishgeology.com/geo/regional-geology/hebrides/skye-cuillin-hills/|archive-date=17 March 2014|url-status=live}}{{cite journal|last=Fowler|first=S. J. |author2=Bohrson, W. |author3=Spera, F.|title=Magmatic Evolution of the Skye Igneous Centre, Western Scotland: Modelling of Assimilation, Recharge and Fractional Crystallization|journal=Journal of Petrology|date=19 August 2004|volume=45|issue=12|pages=2481–2505|doi=10.1093/petrology/egh074|bibcode=2004JPet...45.2481F|doi-access=free}}
• St Kilda{{cite journal|last=Meighan|first=I. G.|author2=Fallick, A. E. |author3=McCormick, A. G. |title=Anorogenic granite magma genesis: new isotopic data for the southern sector of the British Tertiary Igneous Province|journal=Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh: Earth Sciences|date=3 November 2011|volume=83|issue=1–2|pages=227–233|doi=10.1017/S0263593300007914|s2cid=131198989 }}
• Rockall{{cite journal|last=Bull|first=J. M.|author2=Masson, D. G.|title=The southern margin of the Rockall Plateau: stratigraphy, Tertiary volcanism and plate tectonic evolution|journal=Journal of the Geological Society|date=1 August 1996|volume=153|issue=4|pages=601–612|doi=10.1144/gsjgs.153.4.0601|bibcode=1996JGSoc.153..601B|s2cid=128713633}}

{{div col end}}

Those occurrences within the Hebrides are sometimes referred to as the Hebridean Igneous Province.{{cite book |last1=Emeleus |first1=C.H. |last2=Bell |first2=B.R. |title=British Regional Geology: the Palaeogene volcanic districts of Scotland |date=2005 |publisher=British Geological Survey |location=Nottingham |isbn=0852725191 |page=43 |edition=Fourth}}

Other notable NAIP landform locations in the United Kingdom include:

• Giant's Causeway – Polygonal basalt columns, which seen from above are large hexagonal pavements{{cite web|title=Geological Succession|url=http://www.qub.ac.uk/geomaterials/weathering/causeway/geologicalsuccession.html|work=Giant's Causeway|access-date=7 November 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131013084736/http://www.qub.ac.uk/geomaterials/weathering/causeway/geologicalsuccession.html|archive-date=13 October 2013|url-status=live}}
• Canna and Sanday – Basalt lava field with great thicknesses of boulder conglomerate, examples of periods of erosion by fast flowing rivers in between the lava flows.{{cite web|title=Canna and Sanday|url=http://www.snh.org.uk/publications/on-line/geology/rumsmallislands/canna.asp|work=Rum and the Small Islands Online Publication|publisher=Scottish Natural Heritage|access-date=7 November 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924104620/http://www.snh.org.uk/publications/on-line/geology/rumsmallislands/canna.asp|archive-date=24 September 2015|url-status=dead|df=dmy-all}}
• Rathlin Island{{cite journal|title=The Brockley Dolerite Plug and the Church Bay Volcanic Vent, Rathlin Island, Co. Antrim|first=J.|last=Dawson|journal=The Irish Naturalists' Journal|volume=10|issue=16|date=April 1951|pages=156–162|jstor=25533950}} – Paleogene and Neogene lava flows
• Fingal's Cave on the Isle of Staffa – Polygonal basalt columns eroded to form a cave{{cite journal|last=Williamson|first=I. T.|author2=Bell, B. R.|title=The Staffa Lava Formation: graben-related volcanism, associated sedimentation and landscape character during the early development of the Palaeogene Mull Lava Field, NW Scotland|journal=Scottish Journal of Geology|date=24 May 2012|volume=48|issue=1|pages=1–46|doi=10.1144/0036-9276/01-439|bibcode=2012ScJG...48....1W |s2cid=140598302}}
• Ailsa Craig – Volcanic plug
• Cleveland Dyke, North Yorkshire – Dyke swarm related to the Mull intrusive complex{{cite journal|last=MacDonald|first=R.|author2=Wilson, L. |author3=Thorpe, R. S. |author4= Martin, A. |title=Emplacement of the Cleveland Dyke: Evidence from Geochemistry, Mineralogy, and Physical Modelling|journal=Journal of Petrology|date=1 June 1988|volume=29|issue=3|pages=559–583|doi=10.1093/petrology/29.3.559|bibcode=1988JPet...29..559M}}
• The dike complexes of the NAIP contain many examples of dolerite dike swarms found throughout the British Isles.

Carlingford, County Louth is the only location of a major intrusion complex within the Republic of Ireland's part of the NAIP.{{cite web|title=Carlingford Volcanic Centre|url=http://www.gsi.ie/Education/Sites+Walks+Field+Trips/Carlingford+Volcanic+Centre.htm|publisher=Geological Survey of Ireland|access-date=7 November 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131219065916/http://www.gsi.ie/Education/Sites+Walks+Field+Trips/Carlingford+Volcanic+Centre.htm|archive-date=19 December 2013|url-status=live}}{{cite journal|last=Le Bas|first=M. J.|title=On the Origin of the Tertiary Granophyres of the Carlingford Complex, Ireland|journal=Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy, Section B|year=1966–1967|volume=65|pages=325–338|jstor=20518864}}

The intensity of scientific investigation within the NAIP has made it one of the most historically important and deeply studied igneous provinces in the world. Basalt petrology was born in the Scottish Hebrides in 1903 led by the eminent British geologist Sir Archibald Geikie. From the outset Geikie studied the geology of Skye and other Western Isles taking a keen interest in volcanic geology and in 1871 he presented the Geological Society of London with an outline of the 'Tertiary Volcanic History of Britain'.{{cite book|last=Geikie|first=Archibald|title=The ancient volcanoes of Great Britain|year=1897|publisher=Macmillan|location=London|url=https://archive.org/details/ancientvolcanoe02geikgoog}} Following Geikie many have tried, and continue to study and understand the NAIP, and in doing so have advanced knowledge in geology, mineralogy and in more recent decades geochemistry and geophysics.

• Igneous rock
• Geologic province
• Mantle plume
• Hotspot
• Oceanic plateau
• Continental flood basalt
• Large igneous province
• Dike swarm

{{reflist|colwidth=33em}}

• [https://archive.today/20131217134453/http://petrology.oxfordjournals.org/content/41/7/1023/F1.expansion.html Map of NAIP] – from {{cite journal|last=Kent|first=R. W.|author2=J. Godfrey Fitton |title=Mantle Sources and Melting Dynamics in the British Palaeogene Igneous Province|journal=Journal of Petrology|date=1 July 2000|volume=41|issue=7|pages=1023–1040|doi=10.1093/petrology/41.7.1023|bibcode=2000JPet...41.1023K|doi-access=free}}
• [https://archive.today/20131217134414/http://petrology.oxfordjournals.org/content/41/7/919/F1.expansion.html Paleogeographic Map of NAIP] – from {{cite journal|last=Ellam|first=R. M.|author2=F. M. Stuart |title=The Sub-lithospheric Source of North Atlantic Basalts: Evidence for, and Significance of, a Common End-member|journal=Journal of Petrology|date=1 July 2000|volume=41|issue=7|pages=919–932|doi=10.1093/petrology/41.7.919|bibcode=2000JPet...41..919E|doi-access=free}}
• [http://www.mantleplumes.org/TopPages/IcelandTop.html Mantle Plumes – Iceland Hotspot page]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20080511073505/http://www.largeigneousprovinces.org/index.html Large Igneous Province Commission – home page]

{{Large igneous provinces}}

{{coord missing|Atlantic Ocean}}

Category:Large igneous provinces

Category:Paleocene volcanism

Category:Eocene volcanism

Category:Volcanism of the Atlantic Ocean

Category:Flood basalts

Category:Plateaus of the Atlantic Ocean

Category:Geology of Greenland

Category:Geology of Iceland

Category:Volcanism of the United Kingdom

Category:Volcanism of Northern Ireland

Category:Volcanism of Scotland

Category:Dike swarms