Handbok07.Pdf

- . - - - . -. � ..;/, AGE MILL.YEAR$ ;YE basalt �- OUATERNARY votcanoes CENOZOIC \....t TERTIARY ·· basalt/// 65 CRETACEOUS -� 145 MESOZOIC JURASSIC " 210 � TRIAS SIC 245 " PERMIAN 290 CARBONIFEROUS /I/ Å 360 \....t DEVONIAN � PALEOZOIC � 410 SILURIAN 440 /I/ ranite � ORDOVICIAN T 510 z CAM BRIAN � w :::;: 570 w UPPER (J) PROTEROZOIC � c( " 1000 Ill /// PRECAMBRIAN MIDDLE AND LOWER PROTEROZOIC I /// 2500 ARCHEAN /(/folding \....tfaulting x metamorphism '- subduction POLARHÅNDBOK NO. 7 AUDUN HJELLE GEOLOGY.OF SVALBARD OSLO 1993 Photographs contributed by the following: Dallmann, Winfried: Figs. 12, 21, 24, 25, 31, 33, 35, 48 Heintz, Natascha: Figs. 15, 59 Hisdal, Vidar: Figs. 40, 42, 47, 49 Hjelle, Audun: Figs. 3, 10, 11, 18 , 23, 28, 29, 30, 32, 36, 43, 45, 46, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69, 71, 72, 75 Larsen, Geir B.: Fig. 70 Lytskjold, Bjørn: Fig. 38 Nøttvedt, Arvid: Fig. 34 Paleontologisk Museum, Oslo: Figs. 5, 9 Salvigsen, Otto: Figs. 13, 59 Skogen, Erik: Fig. 39 Store Norske Spitsbergen Kulkompani (SNSK): Fig. 26 © Norsk Polarinstitutt, Middelthuns gate 29, 0301 Oslo English translation: Richard Binns Editor of text and illustrations: Annemor Brekke Graphic design: Vidar Grimshei Omslagsfoto: Erik Skogen Graphic production: Grimshei Grafiske, Lørenskog ISBN 82-7666-057-6 Printed September 1993 CONTENTS PREFACE ............................................6 The Kongsfjorden area ....... ..........97 Smeerenburgfjorden - Magdalene- INTRODUCTION ..... .. .... ....... ........ ....6 fjorden - Liefdefjorden................ 109 Woodfjorden - Bockfjorden........ 116 THE GEOLOGICAL EXPLORATION OF SVALBARD .... ........... ....... .......... ..9 NORTHEASTERN SPITSBERGEN AND NORDAUSTLANDET ........... 123 SVALBARD, PART OF THE Ny Friesland and Olav V Land .. .123 NORTHERN POLAR REGION ...... ... 11 Nordaustlandet and the neigh- bouring islands........................... 126 WHA T TOOK PLACE IN SVALBARD - WHEN? ..... .. ... .......13 THE ISLANDS IN THE EAST .......... 135 Precambrian to Lower Silurian Barentsøya, Edgeøya, Hopen...... 135 - from algae to trilobites ...... .....14 Kong Karls Land ......................... 137 Silurian and Devonian - folding and primitive fish .......18 Carboniferous and Permian BJØRNØYA (BEAR ISLAND) ......... 139 - swamps and shallow seas .. ....22 Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous ECONOMIC GEOLOGY ................ 143 - squids and reptiles .. ...............26 Heat from frozen rock ................ 144 Tertiary Gold, iron and marble .......... ......146 - another folding episode, Is there oil on Svalbard? ............. 147 coal and sandstone ......... .... .. ... 30 Quaternary TASKS AND - ice ages and volcanoes ..........32 CHALLENGES AHEAD................... 149 SOUTHERN SPITSBERGEN .............39 TAKE CARE OF SVALBARD! ..........152 Outer Isfjorden .............................45 Longyearbyen - Sassenfjorden .. .. ..56 Bellsund ....................................... 69 BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................155 Sveagruva - Reindalen .................. 80 GEOLOGICAL MAPS PUBLISHED NORTHWESTERN SPITSBERGEN .... 85 BY THE NORWEGIAN POLAR INSTITUTE .................................... 156 Billefjorden to Ekmanfjorden ........ 87 The entrance to Isfjorden - Prins Karls Forland - Engelskbukta ........ 93 INDEX ........................................... 158 PREFACE In an area like Svalbard with sparse vegetation and little habitation, the geolo gical formations dominate the landscape. Those who travel here therefore of ten become curious and want to know more about the geology. This handbook aims to provide a simplified introduction to the geological history of Svalbard and the main aspects of the geology. Those who would like more detailed information are referred to the 1:100,000 scale geological the matic map series published by the Norwegian Polar Institute; the maps are ac companied by more detailed descriptions and comprehensive reference lists. This handbook is one of a series published by the Norwegian Polar Institute. Similar ones dealing with Svalbard flora, geography, animal life and history have already appeared. I wish to thank Arild Myhrvold for preparing the maps and my present and former colleagues Winfried K. Dallmann, Tore Gjelsvik, Hilde B. Keilen, Yoshi hide Ohta, Otto Salvigsen and Thore S. Winsnes in the geological section of the Norwegian Polar Institute for providing photographs and for valuable help and necessary corrections while the book was being prepared. Thanks are also due to Annemor Brekke for editing and preparing the ma nuscript and to the following for supplying photographs, maps, samples or use ful information: Arild Andresen, Vidar Bakken, Natascha Heintz, Vidar Hisdal, Geir B. Larssen, Bjørn Lytskjold, Arvid Nøttvedt, Erik Skogen, Store Norske Spitsbergen Kulkompani and Johannes Vik. I am indebted to Richard Binns M.Sc. who made helpful geological com ments and suggestions while translating the manuscript into English. Audun Hjelle INTRODUCTION About 60 % of the 63,000 km' large land area of Svalbard is covered by glaci ers. These are particularly extensive in the northeast, Austfonna on Nordaust landet being the !argest; its front is almost continuous for about 200 km. In the west, where the warm waters of the final branch of the Gulf Stream make their presence felt and mild air currents from the south meet land, there are almost ice-free areas. The fjords on the west coast are therefore open most of the year and there has been permanent settlement on the archipelago for nearly 100 years, even though with an annual precipitation of only 300 mm the Svalbard area is really a cold desert. The Gulf Stream is effective beyond Nordaustlandet in the north, and the Sjuøyane islands furthest north in Svalbard have no glaci ers. In the east, on the other hand, land forming the island of Kvitøya is almost completely concealed beneath the Kvitøyjøkulen glacier, only a few small tongues being visible. 6 Svalbard has been called "a paradise for geologists" and "a geological pictu re book". When we look at the geological time- scale, we can understand bet ter why this is so. Because Svalbard has been beneath sea fevei throughout the greater part of its geological history, almost unbroken deposition (sedimenta tion) of sand, grave!, clay, carbonate, etc. has taken place. This material has subsequently been transformed into stratified rocks. The almost complete strati graphical column shows that Svalbard has rocks from every division of the his tory of the planet, and many contain well-preserved fossils of animals and plants from the past. Svalbard has little soil and no woodlands or cultivated ground to conceal the geological formations. In this naked countryside, geological features are therefore unusually distinct. Not !east, the many fjords in the west and north have large numbers of fine geological sections. Even though much of the coun tryside is ice covered, there are few better places in the world to study the geo logical history of the planet. Svalbard is therefore both a natura! geological ar chive and a laboratory where past and present geological processes can be especially clearly demonstrated. When you are walking in the countryside, questions can crop up in your mind. Why are some mountains higher than others? Why do rivers and fjords run in certain directions? How is it that fossils of warmth-loving plants and ani mals are to be found in frozen Svalbard rock, or remains of marine animals on high mountaintops? The landscape may sometimes seem to be a fortuitous mixture of mountains, valleys, plateaus and lakes. However, not much basic geological knowledge is required before we can begin to look at the landscape and countryside with different eyes. He or she who realises how things hang together will discover that what may seem dead and static is really a living landscape undergoing continuous evolution. Where Svalbard now stands, sea has alternated with land, huge upheavals in the Earth's crust have created mountain chains that have subsequently been worn down and levelled off by running water and glaciers. The material resulting from this erosion was depo sited as clay, sand, grave!, and limey mud, which themselves gave rise to new mountains. This handbook briefly summarises the geological history of Svalbard and some of the geological events that have resulted in the Svalbard we see to day. lts geological construction is dealt with areawise, and fairly detailed de scriptions and maps on a scale of 1 :250,000 (Fig. 1) have been included for the most easily accessible and often visited areas. The colours on these rnaps, the 1:2 million rnap, and the geological time-scale on the cover indicate the age of the rocks. The local rnaps also have shading or syrnbols distinguishing rock types. Explanations of some words and expressions are given in separate shaded sections in the text. 7 0 SMEERENBURGFJORDEN 100 km �··. Fig. 1 Key map showing the 1 :250,000 scale coloured geological maps in the book. 8 THE GEOLOGICAL EXPLORATION OF SVALBARD Even though Svalbard was re-discovered by Willem Barents as long ago as 1596, more than 200 years passed before geologists visited the islands. Ex plorers such as Poole, Martens, Scoresby and Parry admittedly made some random notes about the geology, but like most remote parts of Europe, its ge ological exploration did not begin before the 19th century. The Norwegian geologist, Professor Baltazar Mathias Keilhau, who visited Bjørnøya (Bear Is land) and the eastern part of

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