Morphology of seamounts at the Mendeleev Rise, Arctic Ocean

• Published in: Polar Research
• Main Authors: Evgeny Gusev, Pavel Rekant, Valery Kaminsky, Alexey Krylov, Andrey Morozov, Sergey Shokalsky, Sergey Kashubin
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Norwegian Polar Institute 2017
• Subjects: Ocean geomorphology; submarine landscapes; slope structures; Arctic Ocean; Mendeleev Ridge; Environmental sciences; GE1-350; Oceanography; GC1-1581; Arctic; Mendeleev Rise; arktika; Polar Research
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1080/17518369.2017.1298901; https://doaj.org/article/f8c18687ea924f4bace1d6fb1bd11f86

Geological and geophysical studies undertaken during the Russian Arktika-2012 Expedition of 2012 produced evidence of basement outcrops on the steep slopes of the Mendeleev Rise seamounts. Observations of the outcrops from research submarines showed that part of the steep slopes interpreted as basement outcrops based on seismic data were overlain by a light sediment cover. The actual areas of the basement outcrops are therefore much less than indicated by the seismic data alone. The outcrops found are of 5–10 to 100–200 m and are often stretched along some hypsometric level or arranged obliquely, crossing a slope at an angle to the horizon. The rocks are massive and layered, often strongly weathered, cavernous, with visible fissures and extended by dislocations.