ResearchPast ProjectsThe tectonic evolution of NW Svalbard
Carl Henrik Pettersson (PhD student)
Svalbard’s Caledonian and older bedrock consists of three main exotic terranes separated by north-south trending strike-slip faults and graben filled with Late Silurian and Devonian siliciclastics. The traditional view is that these exotic terranes were transported long distances along sinistral transcurrent faults. Two of these terranes, the Southern and Eastern terranes, are believed to represent transported fragments of northernmost Ellesmere Island and distal east Greenland, while the original location for the Northwestern terrane is more problematic. This study aims to determine i) the age and chemistry of the crystalline basement, ii) the age and provenance of the sedimentary rocks overlying the basement, and iii) use this information to determine the paleogeographic origin of the Northwestern terrane. This research is part of a larger program aimed at understanding circum-Arctic allochthonous terrane distribution and sediment provenance (CASP).
Figure caption: Caledonian migmatization Precambrian basement, NW Svalbard.