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Coordinates: 68°10′06″N 31°43′01″W / 68.1683°N 31.7169°W / 68.1683; -31.7169
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68°10′06″N 31°43′01″W / 68.1683°N 31.7169°W / 68.1683; -31.7169 The Skaergaard intrusion is a layered igneous intrusion in the Kangerlussuaq area of East Greenland and is comprised of various rocks and minerals including gabbro, olivine, apatite, and basalt.[1]

History and background

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Map and section through the Skaergaard intrusion.
Model of the crystallization of a subsurface magma chamber.

The Skaergaard intrusion was formed 56 million years ago during the opening of the North Atlantic Ocean.[1] The intrusion was emplaced beneath the the preexisting rock in the region, including plateau basalt and gneiss.[1][2] The intrusion has a general oval shape, which is atypical in igneous emplacement.[1] Due to the tectonic activity in East Greenland, the intrusion is now slightly tilted towards the sea.[1] Specifically, the lower parts of the intrusion are exposed to the north while sections of the roof are conserved to the south.[1]

Discovery and early studies

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The Skaergaard intrusion was first discovered by Lawrence Wager on his Arctic Air-Route Expedition in 1930.[1] In 1933, the first aerial photography of the region was taken in order to create a topographic map of the area.[1] The first scientific expedition to the intrusion took place in 1935 and 1936 and lasted over 13 months.[1] This expedition was led by Wager accompanied by a small team, including geologist William Alexander Deer.[1] Through this mission, the team studied the intrusion through reconnaissance mapping.[1]

Geologic characteristics

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The intrusion is made up of three separate geologic sequences which formed at the floor, roof, and walls, with the formation at the floor being much thicker than that of the other two sequences.[1] The rocks of these sequences are further divided into three categories: the lower zone, middle zone, and upper zone.[1] The zone categorization is based on the occurrence of specific minerals such as augite, Fe-Ti oxides, rounded grains of olivine, apatite, and ferrobustamite.[1]

The intrusion formed from the crystallization of a convecting body of magma which resulted in the lineation, layering, cross bedding, and channel structures within the rocks.[1] These features result from sedimentary formations created by grain re-arrangement via magmatic currents.[1]

Within the solid rocks of the formation, the crystals are classified into two categories: primary precipitate crystals and interprecipitate crystals.[1] Primary precipitate crystals form in conditions of high presence of liquids while interprecipitate crystals form from interprecipitate liquid, liquid in the spaces between grains which solidify them together.[1]

This data was developed from the 1939 memoir written by Lawrence Wager and William Alexander Deer from their 1935 expedition.[1]

Scientific significance

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Data acquired from researching the Skaergaard intrusion can be used to model the how the intrusion was originally formed and how magma fractional crystallization takes place.[2] Multiple models of magmatic assimilation and recharge have been developed from the Skaergaard intrusion including the continuous replenishment model, intermittent recharge model, end-member replenishment model, and pulse recharge model.[2]

The Skaergaard intrusion also exhibits the formation of one of the largest basaltic magmatic regions in the world.[2]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s Holness, Marian B.; Nielsen, Troels F.D.; Tegner, Christian (2017-12-01). "The Skaergaard Intrusion of East Greenland: Paradigms, Problems and New Perspectives". Elements. 13 (6): 391–396. doi:10.2138/gselements.13.6.391. ISSN 1811-5217.
  2. ^ a b c d Stewart, Brian W.; DePaolo, Donald J. (1990). "Isotopic studies of processes in mafic magma chambers: II. The Skaergaard Intrusion, East Greenland". Contributions to Mineralogy and Petrology. 104 (2): 125–141. doi:10.1007/bf00306438. ISSN 0010-7999.
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Article Evaluation

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Content

Focused on the article’s content, the article is short but has substantial information. The structure is strong in that it gives a broad overview of the formation in two sentences, followed by the history of the discovery and various characteristics. I think the history of the discovery and characteristics could be its own section and multiple sections could be added like the different locations which the intrusion formed and more of a background on the rocks that make up the formation. Additionally, there are sentences that serve no concrete factual purpose which I plan to remove to make the article more streamlined and rich with information.

Tone

The article’s tone is academic, however can be refined. There are multiple sentences that act only to fill the space instead of adding facts and many of them are run-on.

Sources

In terms of sources, the article references six different sources, however clearly lacks citation in multiple sentences. For example, sentences containing non-common knowledge, such as the first and last sentences, refer to specific information about the Skaergaard intrusion yet have no citation.

Talk Page

There are currently no comments on the article’s talk page, however it is classified as a stub-class article with the themes of volcanoes and geology.