Tectonic structure and geodynamics of the divide between the Atlantic and Arctic oceans

Abstract

Tectonic analysis of the divide between the Atlantic and Arctic oceans, where Greenland and Eurasia are located close to each other, is accompanied by description of the main structural units of this region, including the Lena Trough, continental Yermak Block (Plateau), Molloy and Spitsbergen fracture zones, and Molloy interfault tectonic complex. The tectonic features of these structural units allow us to combine them into a single domain of the interoceanic tectonic divide, which separates the spreading zones of the North Atlantic and the Gakkel Ridge of the Arctic Ocean. This dividing domain is compared with other interoceanic divides of the Earth, the classification of which is proposed in my previous publications. Their common feature is the development of fault systems particularly pronounced in the Australian-Antarctic and African-Antarctic oceanic domains. The morphology, crustal structure, and magmatism of the considered region show that it is currently undergoing rifting, which probably predates oceanic spreading.