Neogene – Quaternary evolution of the northeastern Fram gateway, European Arctic – preliminary results

An important geological event in the Cenozoic evolution of the European Arctic was the onset of the Fram Strait’s opening through the separation of Eurasia and Greenland along the Molloy Fracture Zone. This event facilitated the inclusion of the Arctic Ocean in the global ocean circulation, resulting in an influx of warm water and the subsequent transport of heat and moisture to the north. To study the Neogene – Quaternary nature of this inflow of water into the Arctic Ocean and its paleoclimatic implications, we have developed a seismic stratigraphic framework by combining all available 2D multi-channel seismic surveys with the chronostratigraphy (<5.8 Ma) from ODP sites 910, 911 and 912 located at the southern Yermak Plateau. Preliminary interpretations focus on the understanding of sedimentary processes of this period, particularly the interplay between along- and downslope processes of the northern Svalbard continental margin including the Yermak Plateau. The Yermak Plateau has been draped by contourite drifts that began depositing before ~5.8 Ma, indicating an active current system prior to the Pliocene. The flow direction into the Arctic Ocean was influenced by basement heights, primarily having a southeast to northwest orientation, resulting in a complex, southwest to northeast contourite drift migration pattern. Seismic facies analysis also permitted to the identification of at least two seismic units separated by the ~2.78 Ma seismic marker, interpreted to have been associated with offshore sediment progradation following the onset of glaciations in Svalbard.