The Arctic realm hosts vast extended continental shelves bordering old land masses, one of the largest submarine Large Igneous Provinces (LIPs) -the Alpha-Mendeleev Ridge - of Mesozoic age, and the slowest mid-ocean spreading ridge (the Gakkel Ridge) on the globe. Extreme variations in the evolution of landscapes and geology reflect the tug-of-war between the formation of new oceans, like the North Atlantic, and the destruction of older oceans: the South Anyui, Angayucham and North Pacific, which were accompanied by rifting, collision, uplift and subsidence. The causal relationships between the deep-mantle and surface processes in the Circum-Arcic region remain unclear. Geoscientific information on the relationship between the onshore geology and offshore ridges and basins in combination with variations in the mantle is the key for any deeper understanding of the entire Arctic Ocean.
This session provides a forum for discussions of a variety of problems linked to the Circum-Arctic geodynamics and aims to bring together a diversity of sub-disciplines including plate tectonics, mantle tomography, seismology, geodynamic modelling, igneous and structural geology, geophysical imaging, sedimentology, and geochemistry. Particularly encouraged are papers that address lithospheric-mantle interactions in the North Atlantic, the Arctic and North Pacific regions, mantle dynamics and vertical and horizontal motion of crustal blocks and consequences for paleogeography. As geologic and tectonic models are inherently tied with changes in the oceanographic and climatic development of the Arctic, we also invite studies that focus on the interplay between these processes and across timescales. Lastly, we would like to invite contributions from studies concerning the implications of how the Arctic’s geography and geology are portrayed by modern data and issues related to jurisdiction and sovereign rights with particular focus on the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.