Tracking the Progressive Filling of the Barents Sea in the Mesozoic using Zircon Age Data

Edina Pózer Bue

Detrital zircon U-Pb LA-ICPMS data from Triassic and Jurassic sandstones along the western and northern margins of the Barents Sea (Bjørnøya, Svalbard and Franz Josef Land) demonstrate distinct zircon age signatures. Late-Triassic samples from Franz Josef Land are dominated by Permo-Triassic detrital zircons. We relate this signature to sources in the Uralian orogen and the Siberian traps to the south-east of the Barents Sea. In addition, some of these samples include Neoproterozoic zircons indicating a contribution from the Timanide orogen. Based on zircon age data, the samples from Bjørnøya and Svalbard form three distinct groups. One group of samples is dominated by Permo-Triassic detrital zircons. A second group of samples is dominated by Proterozoic zircons, interpreted to reflect a western provenance (Greenland). A third group yields a mix of the two age signatures described above, and is interpreted to reflect reworking and mixing of sediments from these groups. The Permo-Triassic detrital zircons demonstrate the arrival of easterly derived sediments in the Early and Late Triassic along the western margin of the Barents Sea. This distinct and easily identifiable detrital zircon age fingerprint provides a direct means of tracking easterly derived sediments in the Barents Sea region.

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90177©3P Arctic, Polar Petroleum Potential Conference & Exhibition, Stavanger, Norway, October 15-18, 2013