Building and breaking a large igneous province: An example from the High Arctic

The genesis of the Amerasia Basin in the Arctic Ocean has been difficult to discern due to overprint of the Cretaceous High‐Arctic Large Igneous Province (HALIP). Based on detailed analysis of bathymetry data, new Arctic magnetic and gravity compilations, and recently published radiometric and seism...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Geophysical Research Letters
Main Authors: Døssing, Arne, Gaina, Carmen, Brozena, J.M.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: American Geophysical Union 2017
Subjects:
Arctic
Arctic Ocean
Pacific
Makarov Basin
Alpha Ridge
Amerasia Basin
alpha ridge
makarov basin
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10852/63174
http://urn.nb.no/URN:NBN:no-65734
https://doi.org/10.1002/2016GL072420
Description
Summary:The genesis of the Amerasia Basin in the Arctic Ocean has been difficult to discern due to overprint of the Cretaceous High‐Arctic Large Igneous Province (HALIP). Based on detailed analysis of bathymetry data, new Arctic magnetic and gravity compilations, and recently published radiometric and seismic data, we present a revised plate kinematic model of the northernmost Amerasia Basin. We show that the smaller Makarov Basin is formed by rifting and seafloor spreading during the latest Cretaceous (to middle Paleocene). The opening progressively migrated into the Alpha Ridge structure, which was the focus of Early‐to‐Middle Cretaceous HALIP formation, causing breakup of the proto‐Alpha Ridge into the present‐day Alpha Ridge and Alpha Ridge West Plateau. We propose that breakup of the Makarov Basin was triggered by extension between the North America and Eurasian plates and possibly North Pacific plate rollback.

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