Late Pliocene integrated age model for Bleiksmýrardalur, north central Iceland (2.5-3.2 Ma), from lithostratigraphy, magnetostratigraphy and 40Ar/39Ar dating

In this paper we have determined an age model for upper Bleiksmýrardalur, which is southeast of Akureyri. The Bayesian-framework age model was constructed from three lava sequences from a combination of lithostratigraphic and magnetostratigraphic data, plus new 40Ar/39Ar dates. We show that the lava sequences were extruded over a period of ~2.5-3.2 Ma, and have similar extrusion rates as the upper sections of neighbouring Eyjafjarðardalur. Ten lava units were used for 40Ar/39Ar dating, nine of which yielded ages from duplicate or triplicate specimens. A total of 37 lava units yielded palaeomagnetic polarities for the magnetostratigraphic study; however, due to the limited number of sun-reading orientations, only seven of these palaeomagnetic directions are considered sufficiently robust to yield virtual geomagnetic poles.