Arctic Ocean Mega Project: Paper 3 - Mesozoic to Cenozoic geological evolution

• Main Authors: Nikishin, Anatoly M., Petrov, Eugene I., Cloetingh, Sierd, Freiman, Sergey I., Malyshev, Nikolay A., Morozov, Andrey F., Posamentier, Henry W., Verzhbitsky, Vladimir E., Zhukov, Nikolay N., Startseva, Ksenia
• Other Authors: Tectonics
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 2021
• Subjects: Arctic; Lomonosov Ridge; Amundsen Basin; Nansen Basin; Podvodnikov Basin; North Chukchi Basin; Mendeleev Ridge; Laptev Sea Basin; East Siberian Sea Basin; Gakkel Ridge; Climate change; Earth and Planetary Sciences(all); Arctic Ocean; Canada; Chukchi Sea; East Siberian Sea; Eurasia Basin; Kara Sea; Laptev Sea; Verkhoyansk; amundsen basin; canada basin; Chukchi; Chukotka; laptev; Nansen
• Online Access: https://dspace.library.uu.nl/handle/1874/407813

We present an atlas of paleogeographic and paleotectonic maps which documents major events in the Arctic for 0–157 Ma. We demonstrate that the Mendeleev Ridge has a continental basement. The following chronology of events in the history of the Arctic Ocean is proposed: (1) Jurassic: continental rifting in the area of the Sverdrup-Banks basins and in the area of the present-day Canada Basin; a system of continental-margin volcanic belts formed in the region of Chukotka and the Verkhoyansk-Omolon; (2) Berriasian-Barremian: formation of the continental-margin Verkhoyansk-Chukotka Orogen; fast opening of Canada Basin (~133–125 Ma); (3) Aptian-Albian: formation of continental igneous provinces, rifting and magmatism in the area of the Alpha-Mendeleev ridges; rifting in the Ust’-Lena, Anisin, North-Chukchi, Podvodnikov and Toll basins; (4) Cenomanian-Campanian: intraplate magmatism in the area of the Alpha-Mendeleev ridges; (5) Campanian-Maastrichtian: a likely start of compressional deformations in the area of the Chukchi Sea; (6) Paleocene: formation of the continental-margin orogen; continental rifting along the present-day Eurasia Basin and the Ust’-Lena Basin; (7) Early-Middle Eocene: onset of opening of the Eurasia Basin started; (8) Middle-Late Eocene: a major restructuring of paleogeography of the Arctic took place at ca. 45 Ma with subaerial emergence of the Barents and Kara Sea shelves and onset of ultra-slow spreading of the Gakkel Ridge, and start of the epoch of formation of normal and strike-slip faults on the Lomonosov and Alpha-Mendeleev ridges and on the shelves of the Chukchi and East Siberian seas. Paleoclimate is discussed in connection with changes in the paleogeography.