The Cenozoic western Svalbard margin: sediment geometry and sedimentary processes in an area of ultraslow oceanic spreading
The northeastern high-latitude North Atlantic is characterised by the Bellsund and Isfjorden fans on the continental slope off west Svalbard, the asymmetrical ultraslow Knipovich spreading ridge and a 1,000 m deep rift valley. Recently collected multichannel seismic profiles and bathymetric records...
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ftunivbergen:oai:bora.uib.no:1956/5445 2023-05-15T15:38:48+02:00 The Cenozoic western Svalbard margin: sediment geometry and sedimentary processes in an area of ultraslow oceanic spreading Amundsen, Ingrid Marie Hasle Blinova, Maria Hjelstuen, Berit Oline Mjelde, Rolf Haflidason, Haflidi 2011-04-17 application/pdf https://hdl.handle.net/1956/5445 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11001-011-9127-z eng eng Springer Seismic study along the west Spitsbergen continental margin and adjacent area of the West Spitsbergen Fold and Thrust Belt (Isfjorden) urn:issn:0025-3235 https://hdl.handle.net/1956/5445 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11001-011-9127-z Marine Geophysical Research 32(4): 441-453 864970 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0 Copyright the Author(s) 2011 Marine Geophysical Researches 441-453 32 4 Ultraslow spreading ridge Glaciations Sedimentary processes VDP::Mathematics and natural science: 400::Zoology and botany: 480::Marine biology: 497 VDP::Mathematics and natural science: 400::Geosciences: 450 Peer reviewed Journal article 2011 ftunivbergen https://doi.org/10.1007/s11001-011-9127-z 2023-03-14T17:43:36Z The northeastern high-latitude North Atlantic is characterised by the Bellsund and Isfjorden fans on the continental slope off west Svalbard, the asymmetrical ultraslow Knipovich spreading ridge and a 1,000 m deep rift valley. Recently collected multichannel seismic profiles and bathymetric records now provide a more complete picture of sedimentary processes and depositional environments within this region. Both downslope and alongslope sedimentary processes are identified in the study area. Turbidity currents and deposition of glacigenic debris flows are the dominating downslope processes, whereas mass failures, which are a common process on glaciated margins, appear to have been less significant. The slide debrite observed on the Bellsund Fan is most likely related to a 2.5–1.7 Ma old failure on the northwestern Barents Sea margin. The seismic records further reveal that alongslope current processes played a major role in shaping the sediment packages in the study area. Within the Knipovich rift valley and at the western rift flank accumulations as thick as 950–1,000 m are deposited. We note that oceanic basement is locally exposed within the rift valley, and that seismostratigraphic relationships indicate that fault activity along the eastern rift flank lasted until at least as recently as 1.5 Ma. A purely hemipelagic origin of the sediments in the rift valley and on the western rift flank is unlikely. We suggest that these sediments, partly, have been sourced from the western Svalbard—northwestern Barents Sea margin and into the Knipovich Ridge rift valley before continuous spreading and tectonic activity caused the sediments to be transported out of the valley and westward. publishedVersion Article in Journal/Newspaper Barents Sea Bellsund Isfjord* Isfjorden North Atlantic Svalbard Svalbard margin University of Bergen: Bergen Open Research Archive (BORA-UiB) Barents Sea Bellsund ENVELOPE(14.226,14.226,77.662,77.662) Knipovich Ridge ENVELOPE(7.074,7.074,75.712,75.712) Svalbard Marine Geophysical Research 32 4 441 453 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of Bergen: Bergen Open Research Archive (BORA-UiB) |
op_collection_id |
ftunivbergen |
language |
English |
topic |
Ultraslow spreading ridge Glaciations Sedimentary processes VDP::Mathematics and natural science: 400::Zoology and botany: 480::Marine biology: 497 VDP::Mathematics and natural science: 400::Geosciences: 450 |
spellingShingle |
Ultraslow spreading ridge Glaciations Sedimentary processes VDP::Mathematics and natural science: 400::Zoology and botany: 480::Marine biology: 497 VDP::Mathematics and natural science: 400::Geosciences: 450 Amundsen, Ingrid Marie Hasle Blinova, Maria Hjelstuen, Berit Oline Mjelde, Rolf Haflidason, Haflidi The Cenozoic western Svalbard margin: sediment geometry and sedimentary processes in an area of ultraslow oceanic spreading |
topic_facet |
Ultraslow spreading ridge Glaciations Sedimentary processes VDP::Mathematics and natural science: 400::Zoology and botany: 480::Marine biology: 497 VDP::Mathematics and natural science: 400::Geosciences: 450 |
description |
The northeastern high-latitude North Atlantic is characterised by the Bellsund and Isfjorden fans on the continental slope off west Svalbard, the asymmetrical ultraslow Knipovich spreading ridge and a 1,000 m deep rift valley. Recently collected multichannel seismic profiles and bathymetric records now provide a more complete picture of sedimentary processes and depositional environments within this region. Both downslope and alongslope sedimentary processes are identified in the study area. Turbidity currents and deposition of glacigenic debris flows are the dominating downslope processes, whereas mass failures, which are a common process on glaciated margins, appear to have been less significant. The slide debrite observed on the Bellsund Fan is most likely related to a 2.5–1.7 Ma old failure on the northwestern Barents Sea margin. The seismic records further reveal that alongslope current processes played a major role in shaping the sediment packages in the study area. Within the Knipovich rift valley and at the western rift flank accumulations as thick as 950–1,000 m are deposited. We note that oceanic basement is locally exposed within the rift valley, and that seismostratigraphic relationships indicate that fault activity along the eastern rift flank lasted until at least as recently as 1.5 Ma. A purely hemipelagic origin of the sediments in the rift valley and on the western rift flank is unlikely. We suggest that these sediments, partly, have been sourced from the western Svalbard—northwestern Barents Sea margin and into the Knipovich Ridge rift valley before continuous spreading and tectonic activity caused the sediments to be transported out of the valley and westward. publishedVersion |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Amundsen, Ingrid Marie Hasle Blinova, Maria Hjelstuen, Berit Oline Mjelde, Rolf Haflidason, Haflidi |
author_facet |
Amundsen, Ingrid Marie Hasle Blinova, Maria Hjelstuen, Berit Oline Mjelde, Rolf Haflidason, Haflidi |
author_sort |
Amundsen, Ingrid Marie Hasle |
title |
The Cenozoic western Svalbard margin: sediment geometry and sedimentary processes in an area of ultraslow oceanic spreading |
title_short |
The Cenozoic western Svalbard margin: sediment geometry and sedimentary processes in an area of ultraslow oceanic spreading |
title_full |
The Cenozoic western Svalbard margin: sediment geometry and sedimentary processes in an area of ultraslow oceanic spreading |
title_fullStr |
The Cenozoic western Svalbard margin: sediment geometry and sedimentary processes in an area of ultraslow oceanic spreading |
title_full_unstemmed |
The Cenozoic western Svalbard margin: sediment geometry and sedimentary processes in an area of ultraslow oceanic spreading |
title_sort |
cenozoic western svalbard margin: sediment geometry and sedimentary processes in an area of ultraslow oceanic spreading |
publisher |
Springer |
publishDate |
2011 |
url |
https://hdl.handle.net/1956/5445 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11001-011-9127-z |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(14.226,14.226,77.662,77.662) ENVELOPE(7.074,7.074,75.712,75.712) |
geographic |
Barents Sea Bellsund Knipovich Ridge Svalbard |
geographic_facet |
Barents Sea Bellsund Knipovich Ridge Svalbard |
genre |
Barents Sea Bellsund Isfjord* Isfjorden North Atlantic Svalbard Svalbard margin |
genre_facet |
Barents Sea Bellsund Isfjord* Isfjorden North Atlantic Svalbard Svalbard margin |
op_source |
Marine Geophysical Researches 441-453 32 4 |
op_relation |
Seismic study along the west Spitsbergen continental margin and adjacent area of the West Spitsbergen Fold and Thrust Belt (Isfjorden) urn:issn:0025-3235 https://hdl.handle.net/1956/5445 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11001-011-9127-z Marine Geophysical Research 32(4): 441-453 864970 |
op_rights |
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0 Copyright the Author(s) 2011 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11001-011-9127-z |
container_title |
Marine Geophysical Research |
container_volume |
32 |
container_issue |
4 |
container_start_page |
441 |
op_container_end_page |
453 |
_version_ |
1766370137167888384 |