Crustal structure and tectonic model of the Arctic region

Publikation: Bidrag til tidsskriftTidsskriftartikelfagfællebedømt

  • Oleg Petrov
  • Andrey Morozov
  • Sergey Shokalsky
  • Sergey Kashubin
  • Irina Artemieva
  • Nikolai Sobolev
  • Evgeny Petrov
  • Richard E. Ernst
  • Sergey Sergeev
  • Morten Smelror

We present a new model of the crustal and tectonic structure of the Arctic region north of 60° N latitude, constrained as a part of the international Atlas of Geological Maps of the Circumpolar Arctic under the aegis of the Commission for the Geological Map of the World. The region is largely formed by (i) Archean-Paleoproterozoic shields and platforms, (ii) orogenic belts of the Neoproterozoic to the Late Mesozoic ages overlain by platform and basin sediments, (iii) Cenozoic rift structures formed in part as a consequence of seafloor spreading in the North East Atlantic Ocean with propagation into the Central Arctic Ocean along the Gakkel Ridge, (iv) deep-water ocean basins and shallow-water shelves of the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, and (v) associated large igneous provinces (LIPs).We present a series of maps for the Circumpolar Arctic which include maps of the depth to Moho and thickness of the sedimentary cover and presents tectonic regionalization based on 18 major crustal types (oceanic, transitional, and continental) recognized in the Arctic. A 7600. km-long crustal geotransect across the region illustrates the details of its crustal and tectonic structure. We discuss geological, geophysical and geochemical datasets on which the new regional model is based. These include magnetic and gravity maps of the Circumpolar Arctic and a wide range of existing and recently acquired bathymetric, geophysical (including seismic), geological, isotope and geochronological data (illustrated by new age data for seabed and bedrock samples from the New Siberian Islands). The analysis of these data in the framework of regional tectonic evolution allows for correlating onshore and offshore lithospheric fragments and for recognizing regions with oceanic, transitional, and continental crust in the Circumpolar Arctic.

OriginalsprogEngelsk
TidsskriftEarth-Science Reviews
Vol/bind154
Sider (fra-til)29-71
Antal sider43
ISSN0012-8252
DOI
StatusUdgivet - 2016

ID: 160420017