The Lomonosov Ridge as a natural extension of the Eurasian continental margin into the Arctic Basin

Abstract

The inregrated geological and geophysical studies carried out in recent years in the Lomonosov Ridge and at its junction with the Eurasian shelf revealed evidence for thinned (reduced) crust in the ridge (20–25 km) and its relationship with shelf structures. We compared the parameters of deep seismic cross-sections of the shelf and Lomonosov Ridge, thus proving the existence of continental crust in the latter. Also, we analyzed the deep structure of the junction between the Lomonosov Ridge and the shelf and established a genetic geologic relationship, with no evidence that the Lomonosov Ridge moved as a terrane with respect to the shelf. In addition, seismological studies independently confirm the relationship between the Lomonosov Ridge and the adjacent shelf.The Lomonosov Ridge is a continental-crust block of a craton. The craton was reworked during the Caledonian tectonomagmatic activity with the formation of a Precambrian–Caledonian seismically unsegmented basement (upper crust) and an epi-Caledonian platform cover. Afterward, the block subsided to bathyal depths in the Late Alpine. This block and the adjacent areas of the Eastern Arctic shelf developed in the platform regime till the Late Mesozoic.