Composition of alkali picrites from the southwestern Greenland continental margin

Bottom morphology of the Labrador Sea is rather complicated. Data of seismic profiling in this region indicate presence of numerous submarine mountains and hills, which are dominated by volcanic rocks.

Some chemical and mineral characteristics of the rocks, in particular, high concentrations of alkalis and phosphorus, and presence of high-titanium augite, ilmenite, and devitrified glass enriched in K and Na, allow us to attribute them to K-Na subalkaline picrites typical for ocean islands, seamounts, and oceanic plateaus. Rocks of the K-Na subalkaline series usually form submarine basements and subaerial volcanoes of ocean islands, seamounts, and oceanic plateaus.