Faults in Quaternary cover as a relfection of basement tectonics: Kolguev island, barents sea

Abstract

The paper is concerned with the results of the detailed study of dislocations in the Pliocene-Quaternary loose sediments exposed as cliffs extending for ∼30 km along the rectilinear shore of Kolguev Island. According to seismic data, this lineament is related to the Coastal Fault in the lower part of the sedimentary cover. A system of faults longitudinal, diagonal, and transverse relative to the shoreline is established from observations at the cliffs. Their arrangement in plan view corresponds to the geometry of the right-lateral shear zone, the axis of which almost coincides with the shoreline. This has allowed us to identify the faults as secondary disturbances in the region of dynamic effect of the Coastal Fault in the basement. The kinematics of the secondary faults and their dip azimuth are consistent with echeloned geometry in plan view. The low-angle dip of the reverse-strike-slip faults observed at the outcrops is caused by their near-surface flattening toward the subsided block. The shallow-seated dislocations are related to ductile lateral shear in the vertical plane. The lower layers of the sedimentary cover mimic the horizontal movements in the basement more closely than the upper layers. The data obtained indicate high neotectonic activity of the Barents Sea shelf and specify the geodynamic setting of the region in the Pliocene and Quaternary.