Mineralogy of ODP Leg 104 holes

Weathering products of early Paleogene volcanic material at Rockall Plateau, over the Faeroe-Iceland Ridge and the Voring Plateau indicate a hot and moist climate (lateritic environment) existed then.

From Eocene to Oligocene, mineralogical assemblages of terrigenous sediments suggest the existence of a warm but somewhat less moist climate at that time than during the early Paleogene. At the beginning of early Miocene, climatic conditions were warm and damp. The large amounts of amorphous silica in Miocene sediment could indicate an important flux of silica from the continent then, or suggest the formation of upwelling.