The age of the sub Mid-Jurassic tropical weathering profile of andoya, northern Norway, and the implications for the late palaeozoic palaeography in the North Atlantic region

Results are given of a programme of K-Ar age determinations from an equatorial weathering profile beneath the Mid-Jurassic unconformitiy of Anøya, northern Norway. A model is presented where the original age of weathering is considered as Lower Carboniferous with partial resetting of ages during subsequent diagenesis. It is concluded that the Kaolinite of the weathering profile became a closed system of⁴⁰Ar diffusion in late Triassic times, and that a sufficient thickness of Mesozoic-Tertiary strata was never developed to occasion the resetting of the ages. The implication of the results is that a former thick cover of Upper Palaezoic age formerly existed in the region which was effectively removed by erosion in late Triassic — early Jurassic times. The results of the study are reviewed in a context of North Atlantic palaeogeographical evolution.