Abstract
The problem of age nonuniformity of the permafrost of the Russian Arctic shelf is considered in this paper. It is assumed that recent permafrost exists on the present-day shelf in addition to the cryolithozone, which was formed under subaerial conditions during shelf draining in the Late Pleistocene, was flooded during the subsequent transgression, and exists as a relic zone. It is considered whether permafrost can be formed immediately under submarine conditions. The mechanism of bottom soil freezing and ice formation, based on constant natural transformations in seabed sediments, is proposed. The proposed mechanism is confirmed by analyzing certain sections of the bottom sediments of shelf and of the Pleistocene marine plains (ancient shelves) composed of dislocated sequences with massive ice beds. On the basis of a ground massive ice genetic analysis different geological development as well as different transgressive and regressive regime of the Russian Arctic western and eastern sectors was revealed. The glacial cover limited distribution in the Russian North and its absence on the Russian Arctic and Subarctic plains to the East of the Kanin Peninsula were noted.
Highlights
Permafrost is one of the elements of the Arctic zone natural conditions, which substantially complicates shelf development
The main conclusion follows from a performed analysis: the cryolithozone with massive ice beds can be formed under shelf submarine conditions and at a rather large depth
We can assume that the submarine cryolithozone is formed on the Arctic shelf
Summary
Permafrost (cryolithozone) is one of the elements of the Arctic zone natural conditions, which substantially complicates shelf development. Most researchers assume that the cryolithozone within the shelf is relic, was formed during a deep Late Valdai (Sartan) sea regression, and was subsequently flooded during the Late Pleistocene Holocene transgression. The cryolithozone is traced in the Arctic Seas as a relic permafrost [3, 4] with a thickness of up to 500 m and more, for example, in the Laptev and East Siberian Seas [5, 6]. In the Eastern sector polygonal wedge ice is spread almost solely, while in the Western sector the massive ice bed dominates. These are essentially different formations, and it is the fact that points to the different development history of the two parts of the Arctic
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