Volcanoes of the Azores: Revealing the Geological Secrets of the Central Northern Atlantic Islands

Description

The Azores archipelago consists of nine islands that emerge from the Azores Plateau in the Central Northern Atlantic, situated within the triple junction of the American, Eurasian and African lithosphere plates. Subaerial volcanic activity has been well known since the Pliocene and continues today, with several well-documented eruptions since the settlement of the islands in the fifteenth century. The origin of the Azores Plateau has been a matter of scientific debate and thus this book provides the first comprehensive overview of geological features in the Azores from volcanological, geochemical, petrological, paleontological, structural and hydrological perspectives Front Matter ....Pages i-xv Introduction (Ulrich Kueppers, Christoph Beier)....Pages 1-2 A Portrait of the Azores: From Natural Forces to Cultural Identity (Rudolf Beier, Johannes Kramer)....Pages 3-26 The “Azores Geosyndrome” and Plate Tectonics: Research History, Synthesis, and Unsolved Puzzles (Peter R. Vogt, Woo-Yeol Jung)....Pages 27-56 The Contribution of Space-Geodetic Techniques to the Understanding of the Present-Day Geodynamics of the Azores Triple Junction (Rui M. S. Fernandes, João Catalão, António N. Trota)....Pages 57-69 Crust and Mantle Structure Beneath the Azores Hotspot—Evidence from Geophysics (Craig O’Neill, Karin Sigloch)....Pages 71-87 The Tectonic Evolution of the Azores Based on Magnetic Data (J. Miguel Miranda, J. Freire Luis, Nuno Lourenço)....Pages 89-100 Volcanism in the Azores: A Marine Geophysical Perspective (Neil C. Mitchell, Rachelle Stretch, Fernando Tempera, Marco Ligi)....Pages 101-126 Characterisation of Seismicity of the Azores Archipelago: An Overview of Historical Events and a Detailed Analysis for the Period 2000–2012 (João Fontiela, Carlos Sousa Oliveira, Philippe Rosset)....Pages 127-153 The Marine Fossil Record at Santa Maria Island (Azores) (Sérgio P. Ávila, Ricardo S. Ramalho, Jörg M. Habermann, Jürgen Titschack)....Pages 155-196 Petrology of the Azores Islands (Patricia Larrea, Zilda França, Elisabeth Widom, Marceliano Lago)....Pages 197-249 Melting and Mantle Sources in the Azores (Christoph Beier, Karsten M. Haase, Philipp A. Brandl)....Pages 251-280 Noble Gas Constraints on the Origin of the Azores Hotspot (Manuel A. Moreira, Pedro Madureira, João Mata)....Pages 281-299 Surface and Groundwater in Volcanic Islands: Water from Azores Islands (Paulo Antunes, M. Rosário Carvalho)....Pages 301-329 Where to Go? A Selection and Short Description of Geological Highlights in the Azores (Ulrich Kueppers, Christoph Beier, Felix S. Genske, Diogo Caetano)....Pages 331-355