Periodic Reporting for period 1 - ArcTec (Impact of Timanian faults on Arctic Tectonics)
Berichtszeitraum: 2022-09-01 bis 2024-08-31
The main goal of the project was to test the continuation of late Neoproterozoic (ca. 650–550 Ma) Timanian thrust systems in the Barents Sea and Svalbard. These fault zones were previously thought to have been truncated by Caledonian structures and not to be present in the western Barents Sea and Svalbard. Testing that Timanian faults extend beyond previously suspected Caledonian sutures may unlock large amounts of natural resources and help us understand gas seepage and earthquake trends in Arctic regions. Specific objectives are to (1) correlate Timanian faults from northwestern Russia to the Norwegian sector of the Barents Sea and Svalbard and the Fram Strait, (2) identify events of reactivation, and (3) insert them in a detailed tectonic evolution model.
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(öffnet in neuem Fenster)).
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.
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(öffnet in neuem Fenster)).
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.
Besides demonstrating that Timanian thrust systems extend from northwestern Russia to Svalbard and the Fram Strait, the results indicate that the De Geer Zone, a major paleo transform fault between northern Greenland and Svalbard, does not exist and, thus, that our understanding of the opening of the Fram Strait (and likely our understanding of the tectonic development of various transform margins) is erroneous. The data suggest a much simpler opening with c. 200 km displacement along a NW–SE-trending axis (i.e. parallel to the Molloy and Spitsbergen transform fault zones). A strong case is being built for the Fram Strait to represent an Orogenic Bridge, i.e. a rift-oblique orogen that hindered rifting, forcing the rift to step and bypass the Svalbard–northern Greenland area because the continental crust was thicker, and the related preexisting orogenic structures are not suitable to accommodate crustal thinning.
The project leader is now further disseminating the global implications of the results as peer-reviewed manuscripts and at major international conferences and local, specialized workshops. He is also leading several international initiatives to further develop the newly proposed Orogenic Bridge Theory and associated concept of Orogenic Bridges worldwide and to develop his own research group (e.g. ERC Starting Grant, NERC Independent Research Fellowship, Royal Society University Research Fellowship, UKRI Future Leaders, Swedish Research Council Starting Grant, Research Council of Norway Researcher Project for Early Career Scientists). The project is getting increased attention from the private sector because of the ground-breaking implications for natural resources and geohazards.
The project leader is now further disseminating the global implications of the results as peer-reviewed manuscripts and at major international conferences and local, specialized workshops. He is also leading several international initiatives to further develop the newly proposed Orogenic Bridge Theory and associated concept of Orogenic Bridges worldwide and to develop his own research group (e.g. ERC Starting Grant, NERC Independent Research Fellowship, Royal Society University Research Fellowship, UKRI Future Leaders, Swedish Research Council Starting Grant, Research Council of Norway Researcher Project for Early Career Scientists). The project is getting increased attention from the private sector because of the ground-breaking implications for natural resources and geohazards.