Sylfjellet: a new outcrop of the Paleogene Van Mijenfjorden Group in Svalbard

A hitherto unrecognized Paleogene outcrop has been discovered at Sylfjellet, a mountain located at the northern side of Isfjorden, Svalbard. The strata, which cover an area of 0.8 km2, have until now been assigned to the Lower Cretaceous succession of the Adventdalen Group. In this study, the Sylfje...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:arktos
Main Authors: Jochmann, Malte Michel, Augland, Lars Eivind, Lenz, Olaf, Bieg, Gerd, Haugen, Turid, Grundvåg, Sten-Andreas, Jelby, Mads E., Midtkandal, Ivar, Dolezych, Martina, Hjálmarsdóttir, Hanna Rósa
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Springer 2019
Subjects:
VDP::Mathematics and natural science: 400::Geosciences: 450
VDP::Matematikk og Naturvitenskap: 400::Geofag: 450
Adventdalen
Basilika
Grumantbyen
Helvetiafjellet
Svalbard
Van Mijenfjorden
Arctic
Grumantby*
Isfjord*
Isfjorden
Spitsbergen
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10037/16848
https://doi.org/10.1007/s41063-019-00072-w
Description
Summary:A hitherto unrecognized Paleogene outcrop has been discovered at Sylfjellet, a mountain located at the northern side of Isfjorden, Svalbard. The strata, which cover an area of 0.8 km2, have until now been assigned to the Lower Cretaceous succession of the Adventdalen Group. In this study, the Sylfjellet site was studied in detail to provide an updated structural and sedimentological description of strata and lithostratigraphy. The age and burial history of the investigated succession were constrained by absolute (U/PB) and relative dating methods in addition to vitrinite reflectance analyses of coal seams. The results show a Paleogene age of the deposits, which is supported by the occurrence of an angiosperm pollen grain, plant macrofossils, and a tephra layer of early Selandian age (61.53 Ma). The 250 m-thick succession of Sylfjellet is assigned to the Firkanten, Basilika and Grumantbyen formations. This succession unconformably overlies the Lower Cretaceous Helvetiafjellet Formation. Sylfjellet is incorporated into the West Spitsbergen Fold-and-Thrust Belt and interpreted to be a fourth structural outlier of the Van Mijenfjorden Group. Vitrinite reflectance data indicate that at least 2000 m overburden has been eroded above the Sylfjellet coal seams, and that maximum burial of the strata predates folding and thrusting in the area.

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