Mesozoic tectonic history and geochronology of the Kular Dome, Russia and Bendeleben Mountains, Seward Peninsula, Alaska

• Main Author: Harris, Daniel B.
• Format: Text
• Language: unknown
• Published: The Research Repository @ WVU 2011
• Subjects: Plate tectonics; Geology; Arctic; Arctic Ocean; Kolyma; Kular; Verkhoyansk; Chukotka; Seward Peninsula; Alaska
• Online Access: https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/3426; https://doi.org/10.33915/etd.3426; https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/context/etd/article/4430/viewcontent/25374_Harris_Daniel_dissertation.pdf

The tectonic history responsible for formation of the major basins of the Arctic and movement of landmasses surrounding these basins remains unclear despite multidisciplinary efforts. Most studies focus on one of four potential movement pathways of the Arctic Alaska-Chukotka microplate during the Mesozoic and the relationship between this movement and formation of the Amerasian Basin. Due to difficulty in access and harsh climate of the Arctic Ocean, most geological studies focus on landmasses surrounding the Amerasian Basin. For this reason, we have conducted research in the Kular Dome of northern Russia and the Bendeleben Mountain Range of the Seward Peninsula, Alaska in an attempt to better constrain timing of emplacement of plutons in these areas and their associated tectonic conditions. For both areas, U-Pb zircon crystallization geochronology was performed on several samples collected from plutons responsible for gneiss dome formation during the Mesozoic. Dating of these plutons in tandem with field observation and thin section analysis of deformation suggests an extensional emplacement setting for both areas during the Middle to Late Cretaceous.;In the Kular Dome, intrusion of the Kular pluton occurred from approximately 111-103 Ma along with extensional development of the nearby Yana fault, which was previously interpreted as a regional suture between deposits of the Kolyma-Omolon superterrane and passive-margin sequences of the Verkhoyansk Fold-Thrust Belt. Evidence for extensional emplacement of the Kular pluton includes top-down shear around mantled porphyroblasts plunging along gentle foliation away from the pluton and abundant low-offset normal faults in the area. The Kular Dome also falls into a north-south oriented belt of Late Cretaceous plutons interpreted to have been emplaced under regional extensional conditions based on geochemical discrimination diagrams.;Detrital zircon geochronology was also performed on seven samples collected from Triassic sandstones and Jurassic greywackes near the ...