--> Abstract: Correlation of the Sedimentary and Tectonic Evolution at the North American Margin, on Svalbard, and on the New Siberian Islands in the Last 650 Million Years, by Karsten Piepjohn; #90177 (2013)

Datapages, Inc.Print this page

Correlation of the Sedimentary and Tectonic Evolution at the North American Margin, on Svalbard, and on the New Siberian Islands in the Last 650 Million Years

Karsten Piepjohn

The comparison and correlation of the sedimentary development and tectonic events in the exotic terrane Pearya (i), on Ellesmere Island (ii), in North Greenland (iii), on Svalbard (iv), and on the New Siberian Islands (v) show differences or similarities concerning the history and evolution since late Neoproterozoic times. In the Late Neoproterozoic and Early Palaeozoic, Svalbard (iv) and Pearya (i) were closely connected as indicated by the occurrence of Vendian diamictites (tillites) and the Palaeozoic sedimentary successions. At the same time, the deposition of the Franklinian Basin on Ellesmere Island (ii) and North Greenland (iii) formed the passive northern continental margin of Laurentia without any evidence for Caledonian tectonics. In the Earliest Carboniferous, the Ellesmerian/Svalbardian deformation was the result of the approach and docking of Pearya/Svalbard (i, iv) against the northern margin of Laurentia (ii, iii). This compressive deformation affected the infill of the Franklinian Basin as well as the Caledonian Orogen and the post-Caledonian Old Red-basins on Svalbard. Between the Ellesmerian/Svalbardian and the Tertiary Eurekan deformations, the evolution in all four areas was similar. The development of the Sverdrup Basin (i, ii), the Wandel Hav Basin (iii) and the Spitsbergen Central Basin (iv) was initiated by extensional tectonics and the formation of fault-bounded basins and was followed by carbonate and clastic sedimentation since the Late Carboniferous and through Mesozoic times. During the break-up of Laurasia and the formation of the Arctic and North Atlantic oceans, all four areas were affected by the Early Tertiary Eurekan Deformation (i, ii, iii) and the formation of the West Spitsbergen Fold-and-Thrust Belt (iv). This complex intracontinental deformation between the North American, Greenland and Eurasian plates represents the last tectonic event which affected all four areas. As a result of the opening of the Arctic Ocean, Pearya (i) remained at the northern margin of Ellesmere Island and became part of the North American plate (ii, iii). Since the termination of the Eurekan Deformation in the Late Eocene/Early Oligocene, the geological evolutions of Pearya, Ellesmere Island and North Greenland (i, ii, iii) on the one hand and Svalbard (iv) on the other are again different. The sedimentary and structural development of the New Siberian Islands (v) is absolutely different from the above four areas: the basin development started in Cambrian times and continued without important breaks until the Early Cretaceous. Evidence for the Caledonian Orogeny and the Ellesmerian/Svalbardian deformation is lacking. The tectonic activity in Cretaceous/Tertiary times started before the separation of the Lomonosov Ridge from the Eurasian continental margin and is more likely related to the closure of the South Anyui Suture Zone, the opening of the Amerasian Basin, and the onset of formation of the Laptev Sea rift.

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