Neotectonics of the Kharaulakh sector of the Laptev Shelf

Abstract

Seismotectonic deformation and crustal stress pattern have been studied comprehensively in major seismogenic structures of the Kharaulakh sector of the Verkhoyansk fold system and adjacent parts of the Chersky seismotectonic zone. The study focuses on neotectonic structures, deep structure, and systems of active faults, as well as tectonic stress fields inferred by tectonophysical analysis of Late Cenozoic faults and folds. The results, along with geological and geophysical data, reveal main strain directions and structural patterns of crustal stress and strain in the Arctic segment of the Eurasia-North America plate boundary. The area is a junction of mid-ocean and continental structures evolving in a mixed setting of extension, compression, and their various combinations. The rotation pole of the two plates is presumably located near Buor-Khaya Bay. In this case, extension is expected to act currently upon the neotectonic structures north of the bay and compression to control those in the south and southeast. This inference is consistent with the identified zoning of stress and strain in the Kharaulakh sector.