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The Tertiary lava succession of eastern Iceland dips at shallow angles towards and beneath the axial Quaternary volcanic zone. A 3‐km vertical section through part of this Tertiary pile, studied during the Iceland Research Drilling Project, contains flows ranging in composition from basalt to icelandite. This succession can be divided into three distinct stratigraphic groups: upper and lower groups, 1.7 and 0.6 km thick with Zr/Y ratios of about 4.5, and a 0.7‐km‐thick middle group with a Zr/Y ratio of about 6.5. The middle group also has a significantly higher Ce/Yb ratio and higher elemental Sr abundances. The data on within‐group variation are equally compatible with high‐level fractionation of a plagioclase‐olivine‐clinopyroxene assemblage with accessory apatite and opaque minerals or with open system fractionation models. Dikes occur throughout the 3‐km section and are comparable in trace element composition to the lavas of the upper group. The dikes are part of a N‐S trending swarm originating from the Breiddalur volcanic center some 15 km to the south. These dikes were injected laterally, northward into the Reydarfjordur lava pile at the time of the eruption of the upper group lavas. The lower two major lava groups may be related to similar, but unidentified, discrete volcanic centers perhaps buried downdip. The new data on this deeper section corroborate earlier studies which indicated that on a gross scale, the eastern Iceland lava pile becomes less mafic with depth. This vertical change occurs because each major volcanic center erupted more silicic lavas close to the center and more magnesium‐rich compositions toward the periphery. The formation of the lava pile occurred by tilting toward the spreading center and overlapping repetition of such major units which resulted in the more mafic edges of the lava groups forming the topographically higher parts of the crustal section.

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Major element data are reported for lavas and dikes from a 3.2‐km section through the eastern Iceland lava pile. The section includes a 1.2‐km subaerial exposure and a 1.9‐km sequence drilled by the Iceland Research Drilling Project (IRDP). Alteration increases down‐section, although primary magma chemistry may be interpreted from FeO* Al2O3, TiO2, P2O5 and (to a lesser extent) SiO2 in addition to immobile trace elements. Lava compositions range from MgO‐rich tholeiite to SiO2‐rich icelandite, while dikes range from tholeiite to tholeiitic andesite. Three stratigraphic divisions based on volcanologic and trace element criteria (e.g., Ce/Yb and Zr/Y) are confirmed by major elements. Upper and lower groups are predominantly basaltic while the middle group includes a high proportion of silicic lavas. Variation within groups conforms to simple models combining fractional crystallization and accumulation of phenocryst plagioclase. During build‐up of the pile, eruptive phases commenced with silica‐rich magma and frequently terminated with basaltic or intermediate plagioclase cumulates. Dike chemistry resembles that of upper group lavas and also the nearby Breiddalur volcano. Middle group lavas probably derive from a buried silicic complex, while the lower group may represent the flank of a more deeply buried complex. Chemical stratigrapy is consistent with iterative burial with spreading of lenticular basaltic‐silicic complexes. Magma supply, fractionation, and mixing are considered in the framework of such kinematic models, although it is premature to draw direct analogies to the active Neogene zone of Iceland.

Fifty-two samples of basalt from the four holes drilled on the Leg 81 transect across the Rockall margin were analyzed by X-ray fluorescence for Rb, Sr, Y, Zr, and Nb. On the basis of these results 13 samples were chosen for major and supplementary trace-element analysis. The results show no progressive change in the character of the volcanism, from Hole 555 in the continental domain through Holes 552 and 553A in the dipping reflector sequence to Hole 554A on the outer high. Two distinct magma types are present, apparently reflecting heterogeneity of the underlying mantle, but both types are present in both Holes 553A and 555, while Hole 552 and Hole 554 are each composed of a single type. Both magma types have a clear ocean-floor basalt signature when examined by discrimination diagrams, as does the basalt from Deep Sea Drilling Project Site 112, which formed at the same time as the Leg 81 basalts slightly farther south along the spreading center. In contrast, the basalts of East Greenland, formed at the same time, are more enriched in incompatible elements and have a within-plate geochemical signature, as is found in some basalts of Iceland today. Clearly the present distinction in geochemistry between the basalts of Iceland and those erupting well south on the Reykjanes Ridge was already established when continental splitting took place.