Table of Contents 1
Cover
6
Section I: Remote Origins
1 The Opening of the North Atlantic
Plate Tectonic Résumé
Magnetic Anomalies
Mantle Plumes
The Iceland Plume
Early Palaeocene Before the North Atlantic Opening
The Geographical Pattern of Break‐Up
Micro‐continent Formation
Magmatism Heralding the Birth of the New Ocean
Flood Basalt Eruptions
Seaward Dipping Reflectors
Ash Beds of Western and Central Europe
The Palaeocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum
Iceland
Evidence for Plume Pulsing
Continental Uplift after Ocean Formation
Summary
Acknowledgements
References
2 Cenozoic Vegetation and Phytogeography of the Sub‐arctic North Atlantic
Introduction
Paleogene Floras and Vegetation
Neogene Floras and Vegetation
Biogeographic Implications
Conclusion and Future Research
References
3 Interglacial Biotas from the North Atlantic Islands
Introduction
The Faroe Islands
Iceland
Greenland
Discussion and Conclusions
References
7
Section II: Origins of the Present Biota
4 Origin and Dispersal of the North Atlantic Vascular Plant Floras
North Atlantic Endemics – A History of Over‐Description and Rapid Hybrid Speciation
Colonisation History of North Atlantic Plants
Genetic and Floristic Relationships Among Five Atlantic Floras
Some Glacial Survivors After All?
Concluding Remarks
Acknowledgements
References
5 The Aquatic Fauna of the North Atlantic Islands with Emphasis on Iceland
Introduction
Aquatic Invertebrates
Endemism
Discussion
References
6 The Vascular Floras of High‐Latitude Islands with Special Reference to Iceland
Introduction
A Survey of High‐Latitude Islands
Patterns of Species Richness
Iceland and Its Vascular Flora
Summary
Acknowledgements
References
7 Quaternary Vertebrates from the North Atlantic Islands
Introduction
Fish
Birds
Pre‐Holocene Mammal Remains
Holocene Marine Mammals
Holocene Terrestrial Mammals
Discussion and Conclusions
Acknowledgements
References
8 North Atlantic Insect Faunas, Fossils and Pitfalls
Introduction
The
