Interpretation of the Gravity Anomaly at Darnley Bay, N.W.T.

• Published in: Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences
• Main Author: Stacey, R. A.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Canadian Science Publishing 1971
• Subjects: Arctic; Mackenzie Delta; Darnley; Darnley Bay
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/e71-090; http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/e71-090

The almost circular gravity anomaly which lies at the head of Darnley Bay on the Arctic coast 400 km east of the Mackenzie Delta, has a radius of 50 km with Bouguer values rising 130 mgal above the background field. It is concluded that the anomaly is due to a basic or ultrabasic body in the form of a truncated cone (which may narrow towards the surface or downwards), lying at a comparatively shallow depth within the Proterozoic sediments. Having obtained a feasible configuration for the body, the influence it may have had on the deposition of later Proterozoic and early Paleozoic sediments is discussed in speculative terms.