The project leader had a couple of research stays connected to the project in the UK (geochronological analysis to identify Timanian faults in Svalbard and potential episodes of reactivation) and USA (fieldwork to study the San Andreas fault as an analog to Timanian fault systems in the Barents Sea and Svalbard).
The data analyzed (seismic reflection, structural field, wellbore, magnetic, gravimetric, bathymetric, geochemical, and geochronological data) confirm the presence of Timanian thrust systems throughout the Barents Sea, Svalbard, and the Fram Strait. In the west, these structures are intensely reworked by Caledonian contraction and post-Caledonian faults and are more difficult to interpret. Some of them can, nevertheless, be easily traced from northwestern Russia to western Svalbard and the Fram Strait (i.e. c. 2000 km).
The project’s results were presented to various companies and institutes at invited presentations and at both international and specialized conferences (e.g. International Conference on Arctic Margins, Tectonic Studies Group) and published as 10 peer-reviewed articles (plus 5 submitted) exclusively in Gold and Diamond Open Access Journals (Solid Earth, Open Research Europe, Norwegian Journal of Geology, Geologica Acta) and as two popular-science articles and one high-impact TED-Ed video (
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SbIpWHQI-tE&t=17s(opens in new window)).
A ground-breaking outcome of the project is that it is now possible to map the internal geometry of major (tens of km thick, hundreds to thousands km long) thrust systems on seismic reflection data. This specific outcome has huge potential on a global scale and for cross-sector work (applied industry work and fundamental research). For example, it may allow us to determine the nature of the crust at depth (continental vs oceanic), thus having ground-breaking implications for plate tectonics and exploration for natural resources such as white and orange hydrogen, hydrocarbons, geothermal energy, and offshore minerals, but also for geohazards (e.g. earthquake risk). More specifically, it may help us define the extent of the continental shelf in the frame of the Law of the Sea.
The project’s main goals and specific objectives are completed. Thus, the project leader is now further developing the main outcomes into a global theory, Orogenic Bridge Theory (already submitted to Open Research Europe for peer review). In the short term (next 2–3 years), the new theory will significantly alter our understanding and vision of plate tectonics. In the long term (next 5–10 years), it will help to predict future tectonic developments (e.g. future rift opening and related earthquakes, formation of major transform faults) and potentially understand other planets’ tectonic history.
Both private companies and national authorities have given the project leader access to large databases of seismic reflection data worldwide, including but not limited to Jan Mayen, Greenland, Iceland, the Faroe Islands, the North Sea, Iberia, Canada, Australia, and Antarctica. Preliminary results of this work have already demonstrated that large offshore areas such as the Greenland–Iceland–Faroe Ridge are cored by continental crust.
