Arctic Margin Research Articles

Late Cenozoic intraplate volcanism as a trigger for hydrothermal venting in the Arctic southwestern Eurasia Basin

Intraplate volcanism has occurred for the last 35 million years within Northeast Atlantic and Arctic margins, including the western Barents Sea, Svalbard, and northern Greenland. Earlier studies have suggested that some of this volcanism might be sourced from nearby mid-ocean ridges. However, legacy data does not reveal correlations between the sporadic volcanism, despite comparable setting, ages, and compositions of basalts across the area. Here, we utilize a compilation of geophysical data to document late Cenozoic intraplate volcanism affecting the northeastern Yermak Plateau and southwestern Eurasia Basin located north of Svalbard. The identified seabed and subsurface features include volcanic (Mound-A) and hydrothermal vent systems (Tayrona Vent) formed approximately 10 and 2.6 million years ago, respectively. These intraplate volcanic products are coincident in age and origin with observed hydrothermal systems on Svalbard and Northeast Atlantic. We propose that these magmatic features are the result of intraplate volcanism associated with seismic and thermal anomalies in the mantle beneath northern Svalbard.

Massive Ice Outcrops and Thermokarst Along the Arctic Shelf Edge: By‐Products of Ongoing Groundwater Freezing and Thawing in the Sub‐Surface

AbstractSubstantial seafloor morphological changes are rapidly occurring along the Canadian Arctic shelf edge. Five multibeam bathymetric mapping surveys, each partially covering a 15 km2 study area between 120‐ and 200‐m water depth, were conducted over a 12‐year time period. These surveys reveal that 65 new craters have developed between 2010 and 2022, averaging 6.5 m and reaching up to 30 m deep. Remotely operated vehicle investigations revealed massive ice outcrops exposed on two newly formed crater flanks. This ice is not relict subaerially formed Pleistocene permafrost because it is hosted in sediments which were deposited in a submarine setting post‐deglaciation. Low salinity porewater and sediment core ice samples with depleted oxygen isotopic compositions indicate waters with a meteoric signature are discharging and freezing in this area. These ascending brackish groundwaters are likely derived in part from thawed relict permafrost hundreds of meters under the continental shelf. They refreeze as they approach the −1.4°C seafloor, leading to the development of widespread, near seafloor, sub‐bottom ice layers. Conditions appropriate for ice melting also exist nearby where ice is exposed to seawater or warmed by ascending groundwater. Small variations in temperature and salinity lead to shifts between freezing of ascending brackish groundwater or melting of near seafloor ice layers. These conditions have produced a dramatic submarine thermokarst morphology riddled with multi‐aged depressions. Thermokarst geohazards may exist, unmapped, on other Arctic margins with groundwater channeled toward the shelf edge by a relict permafrost cap, and sufficiently cold shelf edge bottom water temperatures.

Rodinia palaeogeography: Laurentia as the geological ‘Key’

Abstract Laurentia, core of the North American continent, is surrounded by Neoproterozoic to Cambrian rifted margins. This led to early suggestions that it was located within a Neoproterozoic supercontinent, Rodinia. Recent models of Precambrian palaeogeographical development also point to a ‘Laurentia-centric’ Rodinian supercontinent. Before plate tectonics, the geometry of continental margins, comparison of cratonic interiors and sedimentary covers, and orogenic piercing points were employed to postulate the geography of Phanerozoic Pangaea. Marine studies have subsequently demonstrated that the results were remarkably accurate. Absent in situ Precambrian oceanic crust, the same lines of evidence are employed here to reconstruct Rodinia, together with others unavailable at that time. A strong case can be made for the former juxtaposition of the Pacific margins of Laurentia and East Antarctica–Australia approximately as proposed in the 1990s, even though the precise match remains elusive. The Atlantic margin is likely to have rifted from Baltica, Amazonia and other South American cratons along the Grenvillian orogenic suture in the early Paleozoic, although the suture itself makes accurate reconstruction difficult. A piercing point and ‘tectonic tracer’ can be used to position the Kalahari craton and Coats Land crustal block of Antarctica off the present southern margin of Laurentia and contemporaneous large igneous provinces point to Siberia being located off the Arctic margin. Hence Laurentia does appear to be the ‘Key’ to Rodinian palaeogeography even though the exact geometric fit to its surrounding cratons remains to be refined.

Some Results of Direct FR Technology Applied to Study Methane Seepage Areas in the Arctic Region

The experimental study of the seepage processes' sources formation in structures of the Arctic Region was carried out using modified methods of frequency-resonance (FR) processing and decoding of satellite images and photographs with the vertical scanning of the cross-sections. The newly obtained results show that the intensity and dynamics of the methane seeps and pockmarks fields’ formation depend on active deep degassing processes in the continental margin structures. The use of direct FR-sounding technologies allows for determining the probable origin and depth of geological sources of gas migration at marginal migration centers in Greenland, and Norwegian and Barents Seas. New results confirm the crust-mantle gas fluids’ influence on the nature and degassing processes features in the scan points of polar marginal structures. These data are important arguments in favor of the “volcanic model” of various structural elements formation in this and other regions. The FR technologies data also showed a possibility of seeps use as shallow and deep hydrocarbon field indicators in gas emission areas. These independent data can be used in compiling models of the deep lithosphere structure and possible mechanisms of abiogenetic hydrocarbon formation in Arctic margin structures. The authors suppose that hydrocarbons through deep channels migrate (from 57 km deep) to the upper crustal horizons where their fields can form. During this migration, gas seeps and pockmarks are formed on the sea bottom and part of the gas can migrate into the atmosphere. Data show that basaltic volcanoes in Greenland scan points can be the real channels through which hydrogen migrates to the upper crustal horizons and further into the atmosphere. Active gas migration in Arctic seepage areas can be an important factor in the global climate change processes.

Evidence of Grenville and Valhalla Tectonic Events at the Western Margin of the Siberian Craton from Rocks of the Garevka Complex (North Yenisei Ridge)

The tectonic evolution of the Siberian cratonic margins offers important clues for global paleogeographic reconstructions, particularly with regard to the complex geological history of Central Asia. The Yenisey Ridge fold-and-thrust belt at the western margin of the Siberian Craton forms part of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB) and is a key to understand the Precambrian tectonic evolution of the Siberian Craton and crustal growth in the CAOB. Understanding the tectonic evolution of the Yenisei Ridge is crucial for solving the debate related to the role of the Siberian Craton within the Rodinia supercontinent assemblies and breakup with the opening of the Paleoasian ocean. Here we report new data on the petrogenesis, tectonic settings, thermodynamic conditions, metamorphism and protolith ages for compositionally contrasting rocks of the Garevka metamorphic complex, obtained from the results of mineralogical-petrological, geochemical, and isotope-geochronological studies. Possible models and geodynamic settings for their formation are discussed. Based on the results of U-Pb dating of zircons, two new pulses of Neoproterozoic endogenous activity at the western margin of the Siberian craton were established, associated with Grenville (930–900 Ma) and (880–845 Ma) post-Grenville Valhalla (880–845 Ma) accretion-and-collision processes. These episodes of regional crustal evolution are correlated with the synchronous successions and similar style of rocks along the Arctic margin of Rodinia and supports the spatial proximity of Siberia and North Atlantic cratons (Laurentia and Baltica), which is consistent with the proposed Neoproterozoic paleogeographic reconstructions of the Rodinia configuration.

Gas flares and modern degasation processes in the Arctic seas (on the frequency resonance results-based)

The newly obtained results of the frequency-resonance (FR) technologies application for the study of the sources and processes of seeps and pockmarks formation in the Arctic Region (Norwegian, Barents Sea) and the North Sea are considered. The experimental study of the seepage processes' source formation was carried out using modified methods of the FR-processing, and decoding of satellite images and photographs with the vertical scanning of the cross-sections. The study results of the methane seeps and pockmarks fields show that the intensity and dynamics of their formation partly depend on the inflow of gas fluids from deep sources because of active degassing processes. The use of FR-sounding technologies allows us to remotely determine the spatial regularities of zones of intense gas emission formation and the geological sources of migration probable depth. The study of seep and pockmark field results confirms the significant, but insufficiently taken into account, the influence of crust-mantle gas fluids on the nature and degassing processes features in the structures of the continental margins. New results confirm the crust-mantle gas fluids influence on the nature and degassing processes features in the scan points of Polar marginal structures. These data are important arguments in favor of the "volcanic model" of various structural elements formation in this Region. The FR- technologies data also showed a possibility of seeps and pockmarks use as shallow and deep hydrocarbon field indicators in gas emission areas. These independent data can be used in modeling the deep lithosphere structure and possible mechanisms of abiogenic hydrocarbon formation in Arctic margin structures. We suppose that hydrocarbons through deep channels migrate (from 57 km deep) to the upper crustal horizons where can form hydrocarbon fields. During this migration, gas seeps and pockmarks are formed on the sea bottom and part of the gas can migrate into the atmosphere. Modern degassing centers' studies have confirmed the presence of zones of active migration of gases into the atmosphere, which is an important influencing factor in the dynamics of global climate change processes on Earth. The experience of FR- technologies used in the fields of methane seeps and pockmarks study found in the structures of the Arctic Polar seas showed versatility and the possibility of their use in the study of large gas emissions in structures of different regions.

Provenance, Age, and Tectonic Settings of Rock Complexes (Transangarian Yenisey Ridge, East Siberia): Geochemical and Geochronological Evidence

The tectonic evolution of the Siberian Cratonic margins offers important clues for global paleogeographic reconstructions, particularly with regard to the complex geological history of Central Asia and Precambrian supercontinents Columbia/Nuna and Rodinia and its subsequent breakup with the opening of the Paleo-Asian Ocean. Here, we present an overview of geochemical, petrological, and geochronological data from a suite of various rocks to clarify the age, tectonic settings, and nature of their protolith, with an emphasis on understanding the tectonic history of the Yenisey Ridge fold-and-thrust belt at the western margin of the Siberian Craton. These pre-Grenville, Grenville, and post-Grenville episodes of regional crustal evolution are correlated with the synchronous successions and similar style of rocks along the Arctic margin of Nuna-Columbia and Rodinia and support the possible spatial proximity of Siberia and North Atlantic cratons (Laurentia and Baltica) over a long period ~1.4–0.55 Ga.

North American Glaciations and Pacific Inputs in the Nd and Sr Isotope Pleistocene Record From the Western Arctic Ocean

Enduring questions remain regarding the transition from relatively warm and stable pre- and early-Pleistocene climate to that of the high amplitude glacial-interglacial cycles later in the Quaternary. The main shift in glacial intensity and periodicity around 1 Ma is known as the Mid-Pleistocene Transition (MPT). Here we analyze detrital strontium (Sr) and neodymium (Nd) isotopes in a western Arctic sediment core P23 previously investigated using several litho/biostratigraphic proxies. Based on an improved age framework combining lithostratigraphic cyclicity and Sr isotope stratigraphy, the P23 record extends to ∼3.3 Ma, thus providing a rare insight into the Quaternary Arctic climate change. The distinct pre-MPT P23 record is dominated by Pacific-sourced sediment inputs, with little to no intra-Arctic glacial inputs, except for a sandy interval around ∼2.5 Ma. A consistent decrease of Nd isotopic values toward North American continental signatures started in both the Arctic and Bering Sea at ∼1.5 Ma and led to a major threshold shift in P23 proxies at ∼0.9 Ma. We argue that this threshold was associated with the first prolonged closure of the Bering Strait for an entire obliquity cycle. This shift marked the expansion of the North American ice sheets to the Arctic margin, with dramatic impacts on depositional and hydrographic environments in the Arctic Ocean. These impacts intensified in the subsequent glacial intervals indicating further ice-sheet growth, probably fed back by continuing prolonged Bering Strait closures.

Assessing the Potential Impact of River Chemistry on Arctic Coastal Production

The Arctic coastal margin receives a disproportionately large fraction of the global river discharge. The bio-geochemistry of the river water as it empties into the marine environment reflects inputs and processes that occur as the water travels from its headwaters. Climate-induced changes to Arctic vegetation and permafrost melt may impact river chemistry. Understanding the impact of river nutrients on coastal marine production, and how this may change in the future, are important for resource managers and community members who monitor and rely on coastal food resources. Using the Energy Exascale Earth System Model we explore the impact of timing and river nutrient concentrations on primary production in each coastal Arctic region and then assess how this influences secondary production and particle fluxes supporting the benthic food web. Our results indicate that while the concentration of Arctic river nitrogen can have a significant impact on annual average nitrogen and primary production in the coastal Arctic, with production increases of up to 20% in the river influenced interior Seas, the timing of the river nutrient inputs into the marine environment appears less important. Bloom timing and partitioning between small and large phytoplankton were minimally impacted by both river nutrient concentration and timing, suggesting that in general, coastal Arctic ecosystem dynamics will continue to be primarily driven by light availability, rather than nutrients. Under a doubling river nutrient scenario, the percentage increase in the POC flux to the benthos on river influenced Arctic coastal shelves was 2-4 times the percentage increase in primary production, suggesting changes to the river nutrient concentration has the potential to modify the Arctic food web structure and dynamics. Generally, the nutrient-induced changes to primary production were smaller than changes previously simulated in response to ice reduction and temperature increase. However, in the Laptev Sea, the production increase resulting from a doubling of river nutrients exceeded the production increase simulated with an atmospheric warming scenario. Dissolved organic carbon is presently poorly represented in the model so its impact on production is hard to simulate. Applying established relationships between modeled DOC, total DOC, and light absorption we illustrate that DOC could play a very important role in modulating production. Our findings highlight the importance of developing more realistic river nutrient and discharge forcing for Earth System Models such that their impact on the critical Arctic coastal domain can be more adequately resolved.

Late Mesozoic–Cenozoic Tectonics and Geodynamics of the East Arctic Region

Abstract Tectonic and geodynamic models of the formation of the Amerasian Basin are discussed. The Arctic margins of the Chukchi region and Northern Alaska have much in common in their Late Jurassic–Early Cretaceous tectonic evolution: (1) Both have a Neoproterozoic basement and a complexly deformed sedimentary cover, with the stage of Elsmere deformations recorded in their tectonic history; (2) the South Anyui and Angayucham ocean basins have a common geologic history from the beginning of formation in the late Paleozoic to the closure at the end of the Early Cretaceous, which allows us to consider them branches of the single Proto-Arctic Ocean, the northern margin of which was passive and the southern margin was active; (3) the dipping of the oceanic and, then, continental lithosphere took place in subduction zones southerly; (4) the collision of the passive and active margins of both basins occurred at the end of the Early Cretaceous and ended in Hauterivian–Barremian time; (5) the collision resulted in thrust–fold structures of northern vergence in the Chukchi fold belt and in the orogen of the Brooks Ridge. A subduction-convective geodynamic model of the formation of the Amerasian Basin is proposed, which is based on seismic-tomography data on the existence of a circulation of matter in the upper mantle beneath the Arctic and East Asia in a horizontally elongated convective cell with a length of several thousand kilometers. This circulation involves the subducted Pacific lithosphere, the material of which moves along the bottom of the upper mantle from the subduction zone toward the continent, forming the lower branch of the cell, and the closing upper branch of the cell forms a reverse flow of matter beneath the lithosphere toward the subduction zone, which is the driving force determining the surface kinematics of crustal blocks and the deformation of the lithosphere. The viscous dragging of the Amerasian lithosphere by the horizontal flow of the upper mantle matter toward the Pacific leads to the separation of the system of blocks of Alaska and the Chukchi region from the Canadian Arctic margin. The resulting scattered deformations can cause a different-scale thinning of the continental crust with the formation of a region of Central Arctic elevation and troughs or with a breakup of the continental crust with subsequent rifting and spreading in the Canadian Basin.

New Late Jurassic Saturnalidae (Radiolaria) of the Arctic and Pacific Margins (Russia)

New Late Jurassic Saturnalidae (Radiolaria) of the Arctic and Pacific Margins (Russia)

Radioisotope constraints of Arctic deep water export to the North Atlantic

The export of deep water from the Arctic to the Atlantic contributes to the formation of North Atlantic Deep Water, a crucial component of global ocean circulation. Records of protactinium-231 (231Pa) and thorium-230 (230Th) in Arctic sediments can provide a measure of this export, but well-constrained sedimentary budgets of these isotopes have been difficult to achieve in the Arctic Ocean. Previous studies revealed a deficit of 231Pa in central Arctic sediments, implying that some 231Pa is either transported to the margins, where it may be removed in areas of higher particle flux, or exported from the Arctic via deep water advection. Here we investigate this “missing sink” of Arctic 231Pa and find moderately increased 231Pa deposition along Arctic margins. Nonetheless, we determine that most 231Pa missing from the central basin must be lost via advection into the Nordic Seas, requiring deep water advection of 1.1 – 6.4 Sv through Fram Strait.

Investigating the Structure of the Lithosphere in High-Latitude Regions of the West Arctic Continental Margin, Using Results from the FENICS-2019 Experiment

Investigating the Structure of the Lithosphere in High-Latitude Regions of the West Arctic Continental Margin, Using Results from the FENICS-2019 Experiment

Sr Isotope Chemostratigraphy and Pb–Pb Age of the Riphean Carbonate Deposits of the Kharaulakh Uplift (Northeastern Margin of the Siberian Platform)

Abstract —The least altered limestones of the Ukta and Eselekh formations in the Precambrian section of the Kharaulakh uplift have a minimum 87Sr/86Sr ratio of 0.70673–0.70715. The lowest 87Sr/86Sr ratio of the overlying Neleger and Sietachan formations is 0.70791–0.70817. Based on these data, along with the earlier obtained positive δ13С values (up to 8‰) for the Kharaulakh section, we have estimated the age of the Ukta and Eselekh formations at 800–670 Ma and the age of the Neleger and Sietachan formations at ~640–580 Ma. The Pb–Pb isochron age of the least altered limestones of the Eselekh Formation calculated from eight samples is 720 ± 30 Ma. This age permits us to define the lower part of the Kharaulakh section of the Ukta and Eselekh formations to be the late Tonian of the International Chronostratigraphic Chart or to the Upper Riphean of the General Stratigraphic Scale of Russia. The presence of reliably dated Upper Riphean sediments in the Kharaulakh uplift indicates a more complex structure of the Precambrian sedimentary cover on the Arctic margin of the Siberian Platform than assumed earlier.

Dynamic and history of methane seepage in the SW Barents Sea: new insights from Leirdjupet Fault Complex

Methane emissions from Arctic continental margins are increasing due to the negative effect of global warming on ice sheet and permafrost stability, but dynamics and timescales of seafloor seepage still remain poorly constrained. Here, we examine sediment cores collected from an active seepage area located between 295 and 353 m water depth in the SW Barents Sea, at Leirdjupet Fault Complex. The geochemical composition of hydrocarbon gas in the sediment indicates a mixture of microbial and thermogenic gas, the latter being sourced from underlying Mesozoic formations. Sediment and carbonate geochemistry reveal a long history of methane emissions that started during Late Weichselian deglaciation after 14.5 cal ka BP. Methane-derived authigenic carbonates precipitated due to local gas hydrate destabilization, in turn triggered by an increasing influx of warm Atlantic water and isostatic rebound linked to the retreat of the Barents Sea Ice Sheet. This study has implications for a better understanding of the dynamic and future evolution of methane seeps in modern analogue systems in Western Antarctica, where the retreat of marine-based ice sheet induced by global warming may cause the release of large amounts of methane from hydrocarbon reservoirs and gas hydrates.

A detrital zircon test of large-scale terrane displacement along the Arctic margin of North America

Abstract Detrital zircon U-Pb geochronology is one of the most common methods used to constrain the provenance of ancient sedimentary systems. Yet, its efficacy for precisely constraining paleogeographic reconstructions is often complicated by geological, analytical, and statistical uncertainties. To test the utility of this technique for reconstructing complex, margin-parallel terrane displacements, we compiled new and previously published U-Pb detrital zircon data (n = 7924; 70 samples) from Neoproterozoic–Cambrian marine sandstone-bearing units across the Porcupine shear zone of northern Yukon and Alaska, which separates the North Slope subterrane of Arctic Alaska from northwestern Laurentia (Yukon block). Contrasting tectonic models for the North Slope subterrane indicate it originated either near its current position as an autochthonous continuation of the Yukon block or from a position adjacent to the northeastern Laurentian margin prior to >1000 km of Paleozoic–Mesozoic translation. Our statistical results demonstrate that zircon U-Pb age distributions from the North Slope subterrane are consistently distinct from the Yukon block, thereby supporting a model of continent-scale strike-slip displacement along the Arctic margin of North America. Further examination of this dataset highlights important pitfalls associated with common methodological approaches using small sample sizes and reveals challenges in relying solely on detrital zircon age spectra for testing models of terranes displaced along the same continental margin from which they originated. Nevertheless, large-n detrital zircon datasets interpreted within a robust geologic framework can be effective for evaluating translation across complex tectonic boundaries.

Benthic phosphorus cycling within the Eurasian marginal sea ice zone.

The Arctic Ocean region is currently undergoing dramatic changes, which will likely alter the nutrient cycles that underpin Arctic marine ecosystems. Phosphate is a key limiting nutrient for marine life but gaps in our understanding of the Arctic phosphorus (P) cycle persist. In this study, we investigate the benthic burial and recycling of phosphorus using sediments and pore waters from the Eurasian Arctic margin, including the Barents Sea slope and the Yermak Plateau. Our results highlight that P is generally lost from sediments with depth during organic matter respiration. On the Yermak Plateau, remobilization of P results in a diffusive flux of P to the seafloor of between 96 and 261 µmol m-2 yr-1. On the Barents Sea slope, diffusive fluxes of P are much larger (1736-2449 µmol m-2 yr-1), but these fluxes are into near-surface sediments rather than to the bottom waters. The difference in cycling on the Barents Sea slope is controlled by higher fluxes of fresh organic matter and active iron cycling. As changes in primary productivity, ocean circulation and glacial melt continue, benthic P cycling is likely to be altered with implications for P imported into the Arctic OceanBasin. This article is part of the theme issue 'The changing Arctic Ocean: consequences for biological communities, biogeochemical processes and ecosystem functioning'.

Late Paleozoic–Early Mesozoic Granite Magmatism on the Arctic Margin of the Siberian Craton during the Kara-Siberia Oblique Collision and Plume Events

We present new structural, petrographic, geochemical and geochronological data for the late Paleozoic–early Mesozoic granites and associated igneous rocks of the Taimyr Peninsula. It is demonstrated that large volumes of granites were formed due to the oblique collision of the Kara microcontinent and the Siberian paleocontinent. Based on U-Th-Pb isotope data for zircons, we identify syncollisional (315–282 Ma) and postcollisional (264–248 Ma) varieties, which differ not only in age but also in petrochemical and geochemical features. It is also shown that as the postcollisional magmatism was coming to an end, Siberian plume magmatism manifested in the Kara orogen and was represented by basalts and dolerites of the trap formation (251–249 Ma), but also by differentiated and individual intrusions of monzonites, quartz monzonites and syenites (Early–Middle Triassic) with a mixed crustal-mantle source. We present a geodynamic model for the formation of the Kara orogen and discuss the relationship between collisional and trap magmatism.

Age, Composition, and Geodynamic Setting of Granitoids and Dike Rocks from Cape Svyatoy Nos, Eastern Arctic

Abstract—Granitoids and dikes of Svyatoy Nos pluton of Cape Svyatoy Nos in the northwestern part of Verkhoyansk-Kolyma folded area, cutting terrigenous and volcanogenic-sedimentary rocks of Upper Jurassic–Lower Cretaceous, are considered. Obtained U‒Pb SIMS geochronological data on zircons from granitoids and dike rocks indicate, that their crystallization ages correspond to Aptian‒Albian (119–111 Ma). Petrography and geochemical affinitites of rocks allow to refer granitoids and felsic dikes to I-type granites. Similarity in chemical composition with coeval granitoids of Great Lyakhovsky Island, the most northern member of Chokhchuro‒Chokurdakhsky submeridional belt of granitoids and Aptian‒Albian granitoids of sublatitudinal belt of Anyui‒Chukotka fold belt is shown. Earlier it was established by many authors, that intrusion of Aptian-Albian granitoids and dikes (117–105 Ma) on the Arctic margin of Chukotka and in the northwestern part of Verkhoyansk‒Kolyma folded area occurred during extension. Aptian‒Albian age, post-shortening character of intrusion and similarity of Svyatoy Nos granitoids in chemical composition with mentioned above Aptian-Albian granitoids allow to refer them to a single stage of postcollisional extension.

Farming on Arctic margins: Models of agricultural development in northern regions of Russia, Europe and North America

AbstractDespite harsh natural conditions and remoteness, farming is spread worldwide on Arctic margins. Russia is the leading country by area under agricultural use of the circumpolar territories. Agricultural activities in the northern regions vary from traditional ones such as semi‐nomadic reindeer breeding to technologically smart urban agriculture. These activities are geographically unequally represented, which causes significant regional differences in productivity of agricultural land and labour. Comparative analysis of these basic variables enables us to identify specific patterns of modern agricultural development and their dynamics in northern regions of Russia, comparing them with Northern European countries and North America.