Geology and Geophysics Program Summary for FY90. SEAMARC II investigation of the Northern Norwegian-Greenland Sea: Program 1990 and Expansion

• Main Authors: Shor, Alexander N., Crane, Kathleen, de Moustier, Christian
• Other Authors: HAWAII INST OF GEOPHYSICS HONOLULU
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 1991
• Subjects: Physical and Dynamic Oceanography; Geology; Geochemistry and Mineralogy; *GEOLOGY; *GEOPHYSICS; GREENLAND SEA; MATERIAL PROPERTIES; Arctic; Arctic Ocean; Greenland; Greenland Sea; Ice Shelves; Iceberg*; Sea ice; Spitsbergen
• Online Access: http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/ADA266622; http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA266622

The high-latitude northern Norwegian-Greenland Sea and the adjacent part of the Arctic Ocean north of Spitsbergen comprise an unequaled natural laboratory for the study of several important processes involving the generation and/or modification of sea-floor topography, subbottom structure, and material properties. These processes, active now or in the geologically recent past, include (1) tectonism (faulting), volcanism, magma intrusion into rift valley seafloor sediments; (2) erosion and redeposition of sediment by bottom currents; (3) slumping and other downslope processes on glaciated margins; (4) sedimentation from sea ice/icebergs/ice sheets, at water depths less than 100- 500 m, (5) erosion and redeposition by icebergs and grounded ice shelves/sheets. SeaMARC II is the ideal tool for investigating the results of these processes, e.g. the present bathymetric and back-scatter characteristics of the seafloor. The investigation area is probably unique in terms of diversity of processes which can be examined in a relatively small region.