--> Abstract: The Paleogeographic Evolution of the Arctic and North Atlantic Oceans during the Cretaceous, by Paul Markwick, Stanislaw Mazur, Rkia Bouatmani, Andrew Quallington, Daniel Campanile, Amanda Galsworthy, Lauren Raynham, Melise Harland, Kate Benny, Rob Bailiff, Kathelijne Bonne, Laura Hagen, and Dorothea Eue; #90130 (2011)

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The Paleogeographic Evolution of the Arctic and North Atlantic Oceans during the Cretaceous

Paul Markwick, Stanislaw Mazur, Rkia Bouatmani, Andrew Quallington, Daniel Campanile, Amanda Galsworthy, Lauren Raynham, Melise Harland, Kate Benny, Rob Bailiff, Kathelijne Bonne, Laura Hagen, and Dorothea Eue
GETECH, Leeds, United Kingdom.

The Arctic Ocean was a largely geographically isolated basin during the Cretaceous and Paleogene, with only shallow marine connections to the main ocean system to the south. This had a major effect on the climatology and oceanography of the region with consequent effects on surface processes, freshwater discharge, ocean stratification, depositional systems and thereby hydrocarbon prospectivity.

In this study we have reconstructed the stage-level paleogeography of the Arctic and North Atlantic regions in order to examine this geographic isolation and especially to investigate how changes in the hinterland may have affected source to sink relationships. These maps include reconstructions of the gross depositional environments (GDEs), tectonophysiographic terrains (areas above contemporary baselevel defined according to the age and nature of last tectonic event), paleodrainage, paleobathymetry and paleotopography (palaeo-DEMs). A completely new plate tectonic model underpins these maps, which forms part of a new, self-consistent global plate model.

The results reiterate the increasing importance of Siberian and North American seaways during the Cretaceous, as has been noted by numerous authors. These seaways reset the drainages of the paleo-MacKenzie River (by the Western Interior Seaway) and paleo-West Siberian rivers. However, the major rivers of Central and Eastern Siberia, including the paleo-Lena River, appear to have remained largely intact throughout this time. Network reorganisations did not occur until the Tertiary in response to the reactivation of interior uplifts due to the effects of opening of the Eurasia Basin and collisions in northern Tethys. Bathymetrically, shallowing of the central Arctic area occurred in the middle Cretaceous due to intensive volcanism. Locally, this extended onto the margins. We postulate that this activity would have affected stratigraphic geometries around the whole circum-Arctic margins as well as regional climate and nutrient fluxes. In the North Atlantic, we postulate a major paleoriver draining northern Greenland, but on the Norwegian margin medium to short rivers drained a much lower hinterland topography than is seen today.

Palaeogeography highlights the increasing geographic isolation of the Arctic system through the Cretaceous. This had major ramifications for depositional systems and therefore for hydrocarbon prospectivity.

 

AAPG Search and Discovery Article #90130©2011 3P Arctic, The Polar Petroleum Potential Conference & Exhibition, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, 30 August-2 September, 2011.

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