Status of the Geological Research in Svalbard and the Barents Sea

STATUS OF THE GEOLOGICAL RESEARCH IN SVALBARD AND THE BARENTS SEA

TORE GJELSVIK; ANDERS ELVERH0I; AUDUN HJELLE; 0RNULF LAURITZEN and OTTO SALVIGSEN

GJELSVIK, TORE; ELVERH0I, ANDERS; HJELLE, AUDUN; LAURITZEN, 0RNULF and SALVIGSEN, OTTO, 1986: Status of the geological research in Sval- bard and the Barents Sea. Bull Geol. Soc. Finland 58, Part 1, 131 — 147. For more than one hundred years the archipelago of Svalbard has been visited by numerous geologists particularly interested in the stratigraphy and palaeontol- ogy of the nearly continuous series of late Palaeozoic, Mesozoic and Cenozoic sedimentary successions. After the second world war more detailed and process-oriented studies have greatly increased our knowledge of the stratigraphical, structural and petrological development of the crystalline basement, as well as of the palaeogeog- raphy, structure and depositional regime of the sedimentary basins. Dating of raised beaches and studies of erratics, striation and geomorphology have revealed more of the glacial history during the late Pleistocene and the Holocene. Marine geophysical and geological research during the last 10—15 years has proved the existence of a thick sedimentary sequence covering the whole western Barents Sea shelf. Models of the stratigraphical and structural evolution have been developed but are still waiting for geological well control. The thickness, composition, and glacial history of the bottom sediments have been regionally explored. Key words: Svalbard archipelago, western Barents Sea, geological history, stratigraphy, structural geology, glacial history, Precambrian-Holocene.

Tore Gjelsvik; Anders Elverhoi; Audun Hjetle; 0rnulf Lauritzen and Otto Salvigsen: Norsk Polarinstitutt, Rolfstangveien 12, 1330 Oslo Lufthavn, Norway.

Introduction eminent paper: «Outline of the geological history of Spitsbergen», one of the first geological The archipelago of Svalbard is a unique area studies to be based to a large extent upon remote for research in historical geology since it consists sensing. of an almost continuous series of units, with an In the 1960s a renewed interest for the geol- abundance of fossils, spanning in time from the ogy of Svalbard was triggered by the search Precambrian to the Cenozoic. Consequently, for for petroleum by international oil companies, the past hundred years or more geologists from and by Svalbard's special location with relation many nations have studied the area. to plate tectonic models, it being a link between Review and references of the pre World War the North American and Eurasian plates. Since II studies were given by Orvin (1940) in the Svalbard is an elevated part of the submerged 132 Tore Gjelsvik, Anders Elver hoi, Audun Hjelle, 0rnulf Lauritzen and Otto Salvigsen continental shelf of the Barents Sea, the The type locality at Heclahuken has given northward advance of the offshore activity in the name to this Hecla Hoek sequence as well as to last few years has caused a new influx of geolo- metamorphic «basement rocks» elsewhere in gists. The result has been a great increase in the Svalbard. As the depositional facies along the number of geoscientific expeditions to Svalbard west coast of Spitsbergen often differ from those and its surrounding seas. in NE Spitsbergen, and are frequently interrupted The geological information presented here has by unconformities, some geologists prefer to use been collected from a great number of foreign the name Hecla Hoek only for NE Spitsbergen and Norwegian papers published during the last supracrustal rocks. These have been divided into 20—30 years. In this short paper we can list only three supergroups. a few of the main works, which, on the other The lower, the Stubendorff-breen Supergroup hand, contain references to the most important (11000 m +), consists in its lower part to a great data sources. extent of basic igneous rocks and feldspathic The Norwegian Polar Research Institute schists. The upper part contains mainly pelitic (Norsk Polarinstitutt) is a state agency respon- rocks with occasional acid meta-pyroclastics. The sible for mapping and scientific research, in- Lomfjorden Supergroup (c. 6000 m), in the cluding geology, in the Norwegian Arctic and middle, is mainly detrital in the lower and car- Antarctic territories. For more details on the bonaceous in the upper part. The upper Hin- general geology of the Svalbard archipelago the Iopenstretet Supergroup (c. 2000 m), consists of reader is referred to the recently concluded series Vendian tillite at the base, followed by limestone of geological maps of Svalbard in the scale of and shale containing a Cambrian and Ordovician 1 : 500,000 (Norsk Polarinstitutt Skrifter No. 154 fauna deposited under shallow marine and plat- A—D). form conditions. Recent palaeontological investigations have demonstrated an inter-provincial mixing of species of both American and Euro- Pre-Devonian rocks pean aspects. Middle and Upper Cambrian fossils are not recorded. This may indicate either a The main deformations in Svalbard are pre- depositional break or deposition of non- Devonian. Intensive folding, thrusting and meta- fossiliferous strata. morphism occurred. The latest main orogeny is Coarse-grained porphyritic granite with K/Ar of Caledonian age. Granitic intrusions accom- dates from c. 405 to c. 420 Ma. intrudes the rocks panied the orogeny and postdate the tectogenesis. mentioned above (Gayer et al. 1966). The pre-Devonian rocks of Svalbard are located Geological investigations in Nordaustlandet in three main areas (Fig. 1): began as early as in the first part of the 19th cen- 1. Northeast Spitsbergen, tury, and other expeditions added new informa- 2. Central and northern Nordaustlandet, tion in this century. Since 1965, Norsk Polar- 3. Prins Karls Forland and a narrow zone institutt has extended the detailed investigations along the west coast of Spitsbergen. from NW Nordaustlandet (Kulling 1934) into the central and northern parts (Flood et al. 1969; Northeast Spitsbergen and Nordaustlandet Ohta 1982; Lauritzen and Ohta 1984). The pre-Devonian metamorphic complex in The supracrustal rocks of NW Nordaustlandet Svalbard is most completely developed in NE show similarities to NE Spitsbergen rocks. Al- Spitsbergen, where a nearly continuous sequence though the strata are thinning eastwards, fossil of 19 km from Upper Riphean to Lower Ordo- evidence and lithology correspond closely to that vician is exposed (Harland 1959). of the Hinlopenstretet Supergroup of NE Spits- Status of the geological research in Svalbard and the Barents Sea 133

Fig. 1. Geological map of Svalbard. bergen. No Middle or Upper Cambrian fossils are chisonfjorden Supergroup, below the Vendian recorded. A Rb/Sr age of c. 520 Ma. from this tillite of NW Nordaustlandet corresponds roughly area indicates a metamorphic episode which to the Lomfjorden Supergroup of NE Spits- might explain the stratigraphic hiatus. The Mur- bergen. 134 Tore Gjelsvik, Anders Elver hoi, Audun Hjelle, 0rnulf Lauritzen and Otto Salvigsen

In the lower part of the sequence the contact is tentatively correlated to the tillites of NE Spits- to igneous and metamorphic rocks is problem- bergen (Major and Winsnes 1955; Birkenmajer atic, and metamorphic supracrustals occurring in 1960). The lower part of the succession contains the latter are tentatively correlated to the lower an amphibolite complex with small-scale grani- part of the successions known. Extrusive and tization phenomena. It has been suggested that sheet-like intrusive metadiabases and rhyolites the major part of the amphibolites are Precam- occupy larger areas than previously thought. A brian basalt flows, which later in part underwent Soviet Rb/Sr age of 766 Ma. is reported from Caledonian granitization. quartz porphyry. Relatively much work has been done in the Caledonian granites cut the supracrustal rocks area from Bellsund to Kongsfjorden in later on the north coast. Coarse, weakly foliated gran- years (Winsnes ed. 1979). The many pieces of ites, in part of Rapakivi type occurring together information obtained indicate that the various with migmatitic rocks, are possibly rejuvenated provinces of Precambrian/early Palaeozoic su- basement rocks. K/Ar datings of both types of pracrustal rocks along the coast, although dis- granite gave ages from c. 380 to c. 420 Ma. torted by Tertiary folding and faulting and sub- From aerial photographs, Sandford (1956) ject to lateral variations, are closely related. postulated a major N-S fault zone at the north- Thus, there is general agreement on the upper ern coast of Nordaustlandet dividing this area part of the succession, which contains prominent into a western Hecla Hoek domain and an eastern key horizons like the Vendian tillite and under- area of mainly gneissic rocks belonging to the lying characteristic carbonate deposits. metamorphic complex of the Barents shield. In the Bellsund area the most prominent unit Later investigations have not confirmed his as- is the tillite at the mouth of the fjord. The clasts sumptions. are mainly of calcareous and quartzitic composition, and the sedimentary structures indicate a partly fluvial origin. An assumed drop-tillite West Spitsbergen occurs south of the mouth of Isfjorden. Pre- A relatively narrow zone of metamorphic pre- Vendian iron-bearing calcareous strata occur Devonian rocks is found along the west coast of both immediately south and north of Bellsund, Spitsbergen. The major fold structures are of and have been correlated to similar deposits at Caledonian origin, but the meridional distribu- Prins Karls Forland. tion of the rocks are obviously a result of the N-S In a small area on the west coast north of Is- trending Tertiary diastrophism connected with fjorden, Upper Ordovician strata overlies glau- plate movements during the opening of the cophane schists and eclogitic rocks unconform- Greenland Sea. ably. The relatively high pressure indicated by the Characteristic of the area from Hornsund to composition of the these rocks is in contrast with Kongsfjorden are thick flyschoid and conglom- the intermediate pressure conditions of other eratic sequences with volcanic horizons below, metamorphic rocks in Svalbard. This could imply within and above the tillite horizons. The rocks an orogenic event at the earlier stage of the geo- are intersected by younger faults which occasion- synclinal development. Radiometric dating is ally have preserved wedges of younger platform planned to trace an eventual older orogeny in this sediments. high-pressure area. Eclogite rocks are also found In the area around and to the south of Horn- in NW Spitsbergen, east of Raudfjorden. sund the upper part of the succession contains The supracrustal rocks around Kongsfjorden fossiliferous Lower Cambrian and Lower Ordo- and northwards from Kongsfjorden have on vician beds overlying a phyllitic sequence which lithological evidence been correlated to the Status of the geological research in Svalbard and the Barents Sea 135

Stubendorff-breen Supergroup of NE Spits- rocks has been postulated from this area. How- bergen. The rocks continue northwards into ever, undisputable basement outcrops have not migmatite as zones of relics and as xenoliths. This yet been found. A granitic tillite boulder from is the only major area of gneissic and migmatitic Vendian tillite in Nordaustlandet, gave a Rb/Sr rocks in Spitsbergen (Hjelle and Ohta 1974). isochrone age of 1275 Ma. This indicates a pre A major question is the cause of the lithologic Upper Riphean igneous event. and depositional differences between the pre- At present the available radiometric datings of Devonian rocks of NE Spitsbergen and those pre-Devonian rocks in Svalbard are too few and along the west coast of Spitsbergen. The stratig- geographically too scattered to sort out pre- raphy is in many respects similar to that of NE Caledonian orogenic/plutonic events. One of the Spitsbergen and Nordaustlandet. Significant main future tasks must therefore be to carry out characteristics of the west coast rocks are the systematic and reliable dating of the metamor- presence of late Riphean volcanics and the fre- phic rocks. quent breaks of the succession indicated by conglomerates, some of which evidently related to orogenic movements. Two main hypotheses have Late Palaeozoic, Mesozoic and Tertiary been proposed: successions a) Both areas are part of a wide geosynclinal belt. Differences may have developed due to dif- Late Palaeozoic ferent positions in a main geosyncline or by separation into sub-zones by geanticlines. The late Silurian and Devonian succession (Old b) The different provinces were widely separated Red Sandstone) of conglomerates, sandstone and in pre-Devonian time, and brought together shales, has a total composite thickness of 8000 in late Devonian by major transcurrent faults m. These sedimentary rocks which contain fish with lateral movements up to 1000 km, so as and plant fossils and were deposited in fresh or to relate the eastern pre-Devonian sequence to brackish water, accumulated after the main Cale- that of central east Greenland, and the post- donian folding and metamorphism. Manifesta- Devonian to that of the Canadian Arctic. One tions of effusive rocks in the lower part of this of the suggested transcurrent faults went succession have been reported recently (Murasov through the Billefjorden Fault Zone of cen- et al. 1983). The deposits were subjected to fold- tral Spitsbergen (Harland et al. 1974). Recent ing and faulting in an early phase, presumably investigations indicate that only minor lateral late Silurian (Gee and Moody-Stuart 1966), and movements have taken place along the Bille- a late Devonian phase, the Svalbardian (Vogt fjorden Fault Zone. 1928). These rocks are mainly preserved in a Another major problem relates to the question graben in central parts of northern Spitsbergen of a lower Precambrian basement. Based on as- (Fig. 1). A stratigraphical scheme based on major sumed sedimentation rates, the age of the oldest studies is presented by Hjelle and Lauritzen metasupracrustal rocks in NE Spitsbergen is esti- (1982). mated to c. 1000 Ma. and a basement must be The late Palaeozoic and Mesozoic successions older. Intense and extensive metamorphism occur in an asymmetric basin in the southern which is reflected in K/Ar ages ranging from 450 parts of Spitsbergen, and the eastern islands (Fig. to 360 Ma. seems to have overprinted earlier crys- 1). Lying unconformably on the «Old Red Sand- tallization events. Based on metamorphic discon- stones» or on the Hecla Hoek basement, the post- tinuities in the migmatite area north of Kongs- Caledonian strata are found, a succession well fjorden, the presence of Pre-Riphean basement described by Steel and Worsley (1984) (see Fig. 136 Tore Gjelsvik, Anders Elver hoi, Audun Hjelle, 0rnulf Lauritzen and Otto Salvigsen

MIN./ through the early periods of the Permian, until \ LITHO AGE MAX GROUP FACIES 2\LOGY TH. (M) again in the late Permian a large-scale transgres- 03 -h- TE RTI/StR Y DEFOFIMATIO N sion took place. The sharp contrast between the carbonate dominated Gipsdalen Group with TJ Eocene^ VAN DELTAIC/RESTRICTED 1500« Palaeocene MIJENFJORDEN MARINE CLASTICS evaporites locally developed in its upper parts,

§ and the overlying cherty strata of the Tempel- fjorden Group, is found throughout Svalbard, Alb./Aptlan MARINE CLASTICS. 550/ and represents one of the best stratigraphical n ADVENTDALEN MAJOR PROGRADATION 1700 • IN L. CRET. Callovian marker horizons. The stratigraphy is well docu-

Bathonlan DELTAIC/SHALLOW mented by Cutbill and Challinor (1965), and Har- fihaeUan 70/510» KAPP TOSCANA S MARINE CLASTICS land et al. (1974) calculated the thickness of the o Ladlnlan Lad. _ , Griesb. 60/870 SASSENDALEN FG MARINE CLASTICS Carboniferous and Permian beds along the Bille- -late P.» SILICIFIED MARINE 5/460 TEMPELFJORDEN fjorden Fault Zone to 2300 m. CLASTICS/LSTS ^Artlnsh.

Artinsklan LSTS/DMS/EVAPORITES. 270/ LOCAL CLASTICS GIPSDALEN ALONG FAULTED s 1800 Mesozoic BLOCK MARGINS X?Bashklr .

?Namur. FLUVIAL/ALLUVIAL 0/1250 BILLEFJORDEN A generally stable platform environment is CLASTICS Famenn. characteristic for the Mesozoic development of ORMATION ^SVAI -BAF DIAN DEF Svalbard. There is little evidence of active fault- Fig. 2. A schematical stratigraphical scheme showing the ing during this period, except in the late Jurassic general development of the post-Devonian groups of central — early Cretaceous, when volcanic activity is Spitsbergen (from Steel and Worsley 1984). manifested by basaltic intrusions and flows, the latter only in the eastern parts of the archipelago. 2). A thick succession of non-marine, coal-bearing strata is found in the lowermost part, earlier The lowermost group of the Triassic, the Sas- referred to as the «Kulm» (Culm), now called the sendalen Group, consists of marine shales with Billefjorden Group. This succession is best some siltstones and sandstones. There are varia- known from the area around Billefjorden, where tions in thickness, reflecting reactivation of numerous Cambridge University expeditions have earlier lineaments; a maximum thickness of 700 worked (see Harland et al. 1976). The Middle m is found in the St. Jonsfjorden trough. The Carboniferous units give evidence of transition overlying Kapp Toscana Group represents two to semi-arid climates and a general rise in sea- broadly regressive sequences, with sedimenta- level. Rapid subsidence and faulting along major tional patterns reflecting important changes in tectonic lineaments occurred, and deposition of depositional regimes. red alluvial fan sequences with laterally equiva- The Adventdalen Group of Jurassic and lower lent fan delta deposits, evaporites and carbon- Cretaceous comprises three superimposed forma- ates took place. These and other possible palaeo- tional units with a total thickness of 1800 m. climatic indicators within the Devonian and Open marine shales form the lowermost 800 m post-Caledonian successions are shown in Fig. 3 of the group, overlain by a 150 m thick deltaic as interpreted by Steel and Worsley (1984). sandstone unit and a 850 m thick mixed marine Troughs were filled in, and finally, in the late sequence. After the deposition of these sedi- Carboniferous, a carbonate platform sequence ments, a period of uplift, erosion and non- developed, also directly upon Devonian or Hecla deposition took place, and particularly in the Hoek units in previously positive areas. This car- northern areas, erosion cut deep into the under- bonate unit subsequently shows a regressive trend lying strata. Status of the geological research in Svalbard and the Barents Sea 137

SPITSBERGEN'S CHANGING PALAEOLATITUDES & PALAEOCLIMATIC INDICATORS

GREY MARINE TO DELTAIC CLASTICS a) 60 WITH COALS (ESPECIALLY IN O 3 50 PALAEOCENE) pt- < 40" NON-EVAP. CARBS. & CLASTICS O UJ 30 CARBONATES. EVAPORITES & < RED CLASTICS < 20 GREY FLUVIAL CLASTICS & 7ICE RAFTED TERRESTRIAL HIGH ORG. SIO2 COAL CLASTS REPTILES PROON. SABKHA OLD V • RED

1 'Vi'lV ' >> O > V V" X O 'Mi M> •> V/1 K O m m v,. * 11 »•t WW,f i i TERT. CRET. JURA TR. PERM. CARBON. DEVON.

Tertiary along the contact to the western crystalline basement was formed when Svalbard slid south-east- The Tertiary basin of Svalbard, stretching in wards along the Spitsbergen Fracture Zone from a SE direction in central south Spitsbergen, de- a, place north of Greenland during a transten- veloped during considerable tectonic upheaval, sional phase of the plate tectonic movements, and therefore stands in great contrast to the rela- which led to the opening of the Greenland Sea. tively quiet Mesozoic conditions. The succession Basaltic volcanism occurred at about the same in Svalbard, comprising sandstones and shales time on the north coast of Spitsbergen in response with coal beds near the base, is generally accepted to the opening of the Eurasian Arctic Basin. as being of Palaeocene — Eocene age. The thickness of the Tertiary sequence in the Central Basin are about 1500 m in the northeast and 2500 m Quaternary in the southwest, reflecting a mainly Palaeocene basin asymmetry towards the sheared margin. The Quaternary history in Svalbard is mainly According to vitrinite reflectance data, the origi- a glacial history, and much of the research has nal thickness of the Palaeogene strata was about focused on the extension and time of the last 1500 m thicker than today (Manum and Thrond- glaciation there. The different opinions on this sen 1978). area have probably been more diverging than on A narrow, intensely folded and faulted zone any other comparable region; extensive investi- 138 140 Tore Gjelsvik, Anders Elver hoi, Audun Hjelle, 0rnulf Lauritzen and Otto Salvigsen gations during the last decade, however, have The Holocene emergence for most parts of the revealed much new information about the uncon- archipelago is therefore now fairly well known solidated sediments in Svalbard and cleared up (Fig. 4). Large quantities of pumice have drifted many questions (Boulton 1979; Troitsky et al. ashore several times during the Holocene; the 1979; Salvigsen 1981; Salvigsen and Österholm about 6500 years old main pumice level has 1982; Miller 1982; Elverhoi and Solheim 1983). especially made it possible to draw isobases for raised beaches of this age. The maximum Holocene emergence, of more than 100 m, is found in Kong Karls Land in the Raised beaches eastern part of Svalbard (Salvigsen 1981). On the The Holocene emergence pattern has been an other hand, Bjorn0ya and the northwest corner important aid for the reconstruction of the last of Spitsbergen had no Holocene emergence at all. glaciation in Svalbard, and hundreds of radio- The emergence pattern logically leads to a hy- carbon dates on driftwood, whale bones, and pothesis suggesting a Late Weichselian glaciation shells from raised beaches have been presented. centred over the eastern part of the archipelago

m a.s.l. 80 -i

70 - ;14C AGE 12o NUMBER OF PUMICE

60 - PIECES W : WHALEBONE .PROBABLY MOVED 50- ' DOWNWARDS

40-

30 -

20-

10-

PRESENT DRIFTWOOD LIMIT i i i i i i i r 10 9876 5432 1000 YEARS B.P

Fig. 4. Shoreline displacement curve for Svartknausflya, southern Nordaustlandet, mainly based on driftwood dates. Status of the geological research in Svalbard and the Barents Sea 139 and the adjacent Barents Sea. This is also com- possible, and all chronologies for sediments patible with the distribution of unconsolidated older than the Late Weichselian in Svalbard are sediments in the western Barents Sea (see page floating. 144 this paper). Studies in the western and northern parts of Environmental geology Svalbard show at least one older generation of raised beaches above the series of Holocene Studies of processes in the active layer and beaches. The Late Weichselian glaciation here other permafrost studies are also important in a was limited and local, and large areas have been high arctic area like Svalbard. Permafrost related ice free for more than 40,000 years. This part of research has been carried out at the Polish scien- Svalbard has usually a series of raised beaches tific station in Hornsund, a Norwegian micro- up to about 11,000 years old, followed by beaches climatic station is established in the Svea Mine, of more than 40,000 years (Salvigsen and Öster- and an American permafrost project is under way holm 1982). Mapping and absolute dating of in the Kongsfjorden area. these old beaches will be an important task in the future. But further studies of the Holocene No special maps of the Quaternary geology of beaches and more knowledge about Holocene Svalbard have been published by the Norwegian marine limits and transgressions, especially in the Polar Research Institute. However, the geologi- southern part of Spitsbergen, are also required. cal maps in scale 1 : 100,000 include some Quat- ernary information. Maps of geomorphology and Quaternary geology in larger scales have been published by foreign universities, for example Glacial history parts of southern Spitsbergen by Polish scientists. Cooperation projects on Quaternary map- Studies of glacial erratics and geomorphology ping and research in central Spitsbergen have show that the whole area of Svalbard was com- recently been initiated by university groups in pletely covered by an extensive ice sheet at least Oslo and Bergen and the Norwegian Polar Re- once during the Pleistocene. As stated above no search Institute. such glaciation took place in the Late Weichse- lian. The exact extension of the Late Weichse- Investigations of the surficial geology are of lian glaciation is still unknown in many areas, but importance for various ecological studies. The it was smaller than a previous glaciation. Due to arctic fauna is in many cases dependent on vege- insufficient dating methods it is still unknown tation which is highly influenced by geomorpho- whether the most extensive glaciation took place Iogical processes. For instance a too intensive in the Early Weichselian or the Saalian. However, winter grazing of reindeer in Svalbard may de- new dating techniques used on the many finds stroy the vegetation and lead to serious soil of pre Late Weichselian sediments have extended erosion. This problem is now being studied under our knowledge about the Quaternary in Svalbard a multi-disciplinary project near Longyearbyen. considerably. Investigations by Th/U and amino Petroleum exploration in the Barents Sea leads acid analyses, and thermoluminiscence of sec- to an increasing demand for environmental data tions exposing several glacial episodes separated from the shore zone in Svalbard. Classification by marine sedimentation, have yielded many age and mapping of shore types have therefore determinations of several hundred thousand started based on air photo studies followed by years, some even up to one million years (Miller field control. For this purpose the shores of 1982). Calibration of the analytical methods, western Spitsbergen were recorded on video tape especially the amino acid one, has not yet been from a helicopter in 1984. 140 Tore Gjelsvik, Anders Elver hoi, Audun Hjelle, 0rnulf Lauritzen and Otto Salvigsen

Subsurface geology of the western Barents Sea oriented basinal province from Norway up to and the continental margin Bjornoya, containing a thick sedimentary sequence; (2) the Svalbard Platform in the north- History of exploration west with a thinner sequence; and (3) a narrow wedge of clastic sediments along the continental Scientific exploration of the western Barents margin. Based on geomagnetic and unspecified Sea and its continental margin by modern geo- seismic data, Soviet scientists (Krasil'scikov physical methods was initiated by the Lamont et al. 1978) subdivided the crystalline basement Doherty Geological Observatory in 1969, and fol- of the western Barents Sea into two Baikalian lowed by Norwegian, German and French ex- orogenic zones trending NW-SE, separated by a peditions in the early 1970s. At the same time, Caledonian belt striking NE-SW. The platform the Norwegian Geological Survey carried out a cover was subdivided in two complexes, a lower systematic aeromagnetic investigation of the comprising late Riphean to Devonian rocks, and southern part, and, since 1975, the Norwegian an upper consisting of three stages from Car- Petroleum Directorate has undertaken a region- boniferous to Cenozoic time. Geologists of the al geophysical grid survey of multichannel reflec- Norwegian Petroleum Directorate have described tion seismies and gravimetry. Also French and the stratigraphy and structural development of German institutes have made geophysical sur- the western Barents Sea in a series of papers since veying of high quality in the Barents Sea and over 1979 (Ronnevik and Jacobsen 1984). Because of the margin. In this way, the southern part of the inferior data, the northern part could not be con- area has been covered by a rather dense grid; the sidered in detail. In the southern part, however, northern part has not been covered that well, and a number of regional reflectors were distin- some seismic profiles are of poor quality. guished and used for stratigraphic correlations. From 1975 to 1979, the Seismological Ob- They also identified a NE-SW trending system servatory of the University of Bergen conducted of basins and ridges, faults and diapiric prov- a systematic seismic survey of the margin all the inces. A French-Norwegian group, utilizing their way from Norway to the northern coast of Spits- own new geophysical data as well as other avail- bergen. Investigation of the margin has also been able information, recently published a detailed done by a number of geophysical vessels studying treatise on the evolution of the sediment sequence the sea floor spreading in the Norwegian and of the western Barents Sea (Faleide et al. 1984). Greenland seas. Most of the following summary is extracted from Exploration drilling for commercial purposes this paper. has recently started in the offshore area of Troms The basinal province in the south shows dif- in the south-west corner of the Barents Sea and ferent development on either side of a line off the Murmansk coast. between Nordkapp and Bjornoya (Fig. 5). The western part, with a late Palaeozoic to Cenozoic Sediment distribution and structural sequence which has been tilted to the west and subjected to rifting, consists of ridges and basins development trending NNE-SSW. Salt diapirs are mainly As early as in 1977 Eldholm and Talwani found in the Tromso Basin. On the east side is (1977) demonstrated that the whole region north an epeirogenetic, intracratonic basin, elongated of a narrow strip of crystalline basement along NE-SW, containing large diapirs in the central the Norwegian coast was underlain by a thick Nordkapp Basin. The salt has pierced more than sedimentary sequence which could be divided in 8 km of sediments, originally deposited perhaps three areas of different structure: (1) a wide, E-W in late Devonian. The Svalbard Platform is cov- Status of the geological research in Svalbard and the Barents Sea 141

lation to the Svalbard Platform. This subsidence continued in late Cretaceous and early Palaeo- zoic when parts of Svalbard and the Svalbard Platform remained elevated. According to Eldholm et al. (1984) the western margin of the Barents Sea may be divided in three parts: from 70° to 73°N it consists of a rifted zone of basins and ridges belonging to the basinal province. The observed strata thicken to the west, reflecting a continuous subsidence of the margin from lower Cretaceous to Oligocene. The margin from 73° to 76°N, west of the Svalbard Platform, consists of a N-S striking ridge segment presumably of crystalline basement, and a prograding wedge of Palaeogene—Neogene sediments, thinner than south of 73°N. The margin off Spitsbergen is separated in two elements by a marked fault system: the Hornsund Fault Zone, paralleling the coast line, and the Graben structures of the west coast of Spitsbergen. The sequence of the landward side is not well known due to a scarcity of reflectors, but the geophysical signature is reported to be similar to that of —•—BASEMENT OUTCROP — SHELF EDGE the Svalbard Platform. On the west side of the Fig. 5. Regional structural map of the western Barents Sea. fault zone a sedimentary basin, up to 7 km thick Modified after Faleide et al. 1984, Fig. 9. and prograding westward in the upper part, stretches to the Knipowich Ridge. It has been suggested that the whole sequence was deposited in ered by thick, relatively flatlying late Palaeozoic front of the Hornsund Fault Zone in mid-Oli- and Triassic sediments. It is characterized by gocene in responce to the elevation of Spitsbergen shallow depths to stratigraphic levels and possibly in late Tertiary. basement, and the sequences have relatively high The northern, often ice covered margin of acoustic velocities. A system of highs and basins Spitsbergen has a limited data coverage, and only is found also on the platform, but has not yet very tentative interpretations have been offered been fully delineated. The central part consists (Sundvor and Eldholm 1979). The eastern part of two highs and an intervening basin. It appears is underlain by 2 km thick low velocity layers, that the tectonical regime was rather uniform all presumably of Tertiary age. The western part, over Svalbard and the western Barents Sea dur- including the 800 m deep Yermak Plateau, has ing late Palaeozoic, early and mid Mesozoic time. a thinner cover of low velocity sediments over a SW-NE trending faults formed during mid Ju- smooth opaque acoustic basement. In analogy rassic to early Cretaceous appear both on the with the Voring Plateau off the Lofoten islands platform and the basinal province, but have been this acoustic basement has been suggested to con- most active in the latter giving rise to its present sist of Tertiary basalts. A hotspot under the structural elements. In late Jurassic — early Yermak Plateau has also been proposed. Cretaceous the basinal province subsided in re- It should be noted that the interpretation of 142 Tore Gjelsvik, Anders Elver hoi, Audun Hjelle, 0rnulf Lauritzen and Otto Salvigsen the stratigraphy of the western Barents shelf and Research Institute. The maps include data on sur- its margin is based on geophysical data with very face sediment distribution, sediment thickness, limited geological control. Differences of opinion bathymetry, gravity and bed rock geology. This exist among various authors on the timing of map series, also including information on sea ice some of the main reflectors. Collection of geo- distribution and ocean currents, will be com- logical well data alone can settle this dispute. pleted in the near future.

Surface sediments and bedrock geology Shallow geophysical and geological studies In the first Norwegian survey shallow sampling in the western Barents Sea and shallow geophysical recordings were carried out on Spitsbergenbanken, in the northwestern Background part of the Barents Sea (Fig. 6). The data were The Barents Sea is an epicontinental sea at the studied by various groups in Norway, focusing northwestern part of the Eurasian continental on the relationship between the surface sediments shelf, with an average depth of 230 m. Its shal- and the underlying bedrock. Dating and miner- lowest and deepest parts are found at the western alogical/geochemical investigations showed well margin, with 20 m and 500 m depths, respectively. defined stratigraphical and lithological provinces The Barents Sea has most likely been glaciated in the surface sediments, which due to the thin several times during the Quaternary, and today (< 5 m) sediment cover strongly indicated a close its northern parts are supplied with sediments relationship between sediments and bedrock. The from grounded, calving glaciers. The area is use of surface sediments to identify the under- therefore a unique laboratory for studies of Quat- lying bedrock has also been applied to the north- ernary stratigraphy in polar regions and of gla- ern Barents Sea, where shallow seismic records ciomarine sedimentation. For the northern and indicate < 10 m sediments. According to the sur- central parts, only a thin (5—10 m) veneer of face sediments, gradually older rocks are found sediments overlies the Mesozoic bedrock, leading from Sentralbanken and northwards to Kvitoya to a close cooperation of Quaternary geology (Fig. 7). studies and investigations of the bedrock. The difficulties of relating surface sediments Norwegian investigations in the Barents Sea are to the bedrock are partly due to the glacioma- limited to the last fifteen years. Soviet's research rine origin of the sediments. Only limited inves- in the area has a longer history. Klenova (1960) tigations on this type of sediments have so far published the comprehensive volume «The Ge- been carried out with respect to source or prove- ology of the Barents Sea», based on studies of nance. Ongoing research of glaciomarine sedi- more than 2000 shallow sediment samples. mentation in front of glaciers calving into the sea During the Norwegian surveys more than 600 around Svalbard, has shown that the major part shallow (< 3 m) surface sediment samples and of the sediment supply is deposited within a dis- 30,000 km of shallow seismic profiles have been tance of less than 10—15 km from the ice front. collected. The Norwegian Polar Research Insti- Thus the rapid deposition of the glaciomarine tute and the Petroleum Directorate have carried sediments show that also these deposits, like till, out the major part of the surveys, and the data can be applied to outline the main trend of the have formed the base for more than 40 publica- underlying bedrock. To some extent the bedrock tions. All available data are now to be compiled geology has been tested by shallow drilling (< 5 in a thematical map series: The Physical Envi- m) showing similar lithologies in the bedrock as ronment, western Barents Sea, in the scale of those found in pebbles and gravels in the surface 1 : 1,500,000, published by the Norwegian Polar sediments. Status of the geological research in Svalbard and the Barents Sea 143

Sediment distribution and glaciation history commonly less than 10 m, and no hiatuses have The extension of a Barents Sea ice sheet rep- so far been observed. Datable material from the resents an outstanding problem in the reconstruc- glacigenic sediments has not yet been obtained, tion of former glaciations on the northern hemi- but the apparently continuous sequence of till sphere. Up to 1980 the discussion was hampered and glaciomarine sediments grading into Holo- by limited and also inadequate data. Surveys in cene postglacial sediments, strongly suggests a recent years have provided a much better data- Late Weichselian ice cover in northern and cen- base for interpretation of the Quaternary his- tral parts of the Barents Sea. Such an interpre- tory (Elverhoi and Solheim 1983; Solheim and tation is also in accordance with the datings of Kristof fersen 1984). raised beaches in Svalbard, which clearly indicate In water depths shallower than 300 m, the a Late Weichselian ice cover over at least the Quaternary sediments consist of a sequence of northern Barents Sea (Salvigsen 1981). A prob- till overlain by glaciomarine deposits, and cov- able outline of the Late Weichselian maximum ered by Holocene mud. The total thickness is extension has been drawn from till ridges and

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ITSBERGEN

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Fig. 6. Bathymetric map showing features related to former ice margins in the western and northern Barents Sea. 144 Tore Gjelsvik, Anders Elver hoi, Audun Hjelle, 0rnulf Lauritzen and Otto Salvigsen

10° 150 20° 25° 30° 35° 40° a 1 o —

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Local accumulations of glacigene deposits/till Thick/extensive glaciomarine deposits. Probable extension of ice sheets covering the western and northern Barents Sea. NORGE

Fig. 7. Map showing stratigraphical provinces for the Quaternary sediments, which are suggested to reflect the underlying bedrock. Onland geology in adjacent areas is indicated in squares. Status of the geological research in Svalbard and the Barents Sea 145 thick glaciomarine sediments at a water depth of as an evidence against a glacial origin of the about 300 m (Fig. 7). At this water depth there clastic sediments. Carbonates are in general is also an increase in sediment thickness, espe- related to warm-water deposition. However, the cially in the glaciomarine sediments, from 2—3 deposits on Spitsbergenbanken demonstrate that m to 20 m. carbonates may form in polar regions under suit- Towards the margins the sediment thickness able conditions. On Spitsbergenbanken the for- increases gradually, from 50 m in central parts mation is related to the glacioeustatic sea level of Bjornoyrenna to > 400 m above bedrock at rise leaving the area starved of clastic supply, the shelf edge (Solheim and Kristoffersen 1984). combined with upwelling of Atlantic water rich In these sediments four major unconformities are in nutrients (Bjorlykke et al. 1978). identified, and interpreted to reflect at least four So far the investigations in the Barents Sea major glacial expansions to the shelf edge. No have been general research with a main empha- datings are available, but relative sedimentation sis on studies of the Quaternary geology. Future rates suggest that the youngest major expansion work will, however, be strongly influenced by the occurred more than 100,000 years BP, probably hydrocarbon exploration, which gradually moves in Early Weichselian. A full-scale expansion of northwards. The geological knowledge of the ice to the shelf edge in the western Barents Sea area is still limited, and practical questions asked probably reflects a coalescence of the Svalbard by both government and industry, can mostly be and Scandinavian ice masses, while a minor ex- answered through more basic research. pansion as suggested for the Late Weichselian would have left Bjorneyrenna as an open calving bay. Economic geology

Aspects of modern sedimentation Coal mining has been going on for 70 years in Spitsbergen. Extensive coal measures oc- The modern Barents Sea spans a range of sedi- cur in several horizons from Devonian to Ter- mentary environments, from glaciomarine in the tiary, but are mostly either too thin or too im- north to year-round ice-free conditions in the pure for economic use. Most mines (Longyear- south. For central and southern parts, the sedi- byen, Barentsburg, Svea) are extracting gas-rich ments are reworked on shallower parts and re- coal of Tertiary age. The Pyramiden mine is pro- deposited in deeper basins at a rate of 3—5 cm/ ducing Carboniferous coal. Total production 1000 year. In the northern parts sediments are amounts to one million tons a year. partly supplied from glaciers and also from sea A dozen wells drilled for petroleum explora- ice. The depositional rate is of a similar magni- tion since 1960 have yielded no oil and only small tude as that found in non-glaciated areas. On the quantities of gas. The western Barents Sea was shallow (20—40 m) Spitsbergenbanken strong opened for commercial exploration a few years currents prevail, and the sea floor sediments are ago in the south-western corner, off the coast of dominated by coarser material which mainly con- Troms, Northern Norway. Gas in quite large sists of molluscs and barnacles. amounts has been found in several wells, some- The carbonate deposits are of Holocene age, times with traces of oil, but the first oil strike directly overlying the Late Weichselian glaci- took place only in the autumn of 1984. genic deposits. Similar sequences of glacigenic Industrial minerals of different kinds (i.e. lime- and carbonate sediments are also common in stone, marble, anhydrite/gypsum) are found in ancient deposits, especially late Precambrian sedi- large amounts in some places, but are located too ments, where this facies association has been used far away from consumers. In the sedimentary

II 146 Tore Gjelsvik, Anders Elver hoi, Audun Hjelle, 0rnulf Lauritzen and Otto Salvigsen succession of Svalbard, beds of phosphorite, iron deposits in Svalbard is in an initial stage only, and uranium have been found, but so far in too due to high costs of investigation and even higher small quantities for commercial exploration. The for production and transportation. same can be said for showings of lead, zink, Acknowledgement. We are indebted to Mrs. A. Brekke for copper, iron and asbestos minerals in metamor- correcting the English language and for assistance in preparing phic rocks. However, the exploration for mineral the manuscript for publication.

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bergen. With geological map 1 : 1,000,000 (Second edi- raphy and outline of the glacial history. Nor. Polarinst. tion). Skr. om Svalbard og Ishavet 78. 60 p. Skr. 179B. 26 p. Rennevik, H. & Jacobsen, H.-P., 1984. Structural highs and Steel, R. J. & Worsley, D., 1984. Svalbard's post-Caledonian basins in the western Barents Sea. In Spencer, A. M. et strata — an atlas of sedimentological patterns and palaeo- al. (eds.)-. Petroleum geology of the north European mar- geographic evolution. Pp. 109—135 in Spencer, A. M. gin, 19—32. Norwegian Petroleum Society. et al. (eds.)\ Petroleum Geology of the North European Salvigsen, O., 1981. Radiocarbon dated raised beaches in Margin. Norwegian Petroleum Society. Kong Karls Land, Svalbard, and their consequences for Sundvor, E. & Eldholm, O., 1979. The western and northern the glacial history of the Barents Sea area. Geogr. Ann. margin of Svalbard. Tectonophysics 59, 239—250. 63A, 283—291. Elsevier Scientific Publishing Co. — & Österholm, H., 1982. Radiocarbon dated raised beaches Troitsky, L. S.; Punning, J.-M. K.; Hütt, G. & Rajama, R., and glacial history of the northern coast of Spitsbergen, 1979. Pleistocene glaciation chronology of Spitsbergen. Svalbad. Polar Research No. 1, 97—115. Boreas 8, 401—407. Sandford, K. S., 1956. The stratigraphy and structure to a Vogt, Th., 1928. Den norske fjellkjedes revolusjonshistorie. subjacent metamorphic complex in North-East Land Norsk Geol. Tidsskr. 10 (1—2), 97—116. Oslo 1929. (Spitsbergen). Q. Journ. Geol. Soc. Lond. 112, 339—362. Winsnes, T. S. (Ed.), 1979. The geological development of Solheim, A. & Kristoffersen, Y., 1984. Physical environment Svalbard during the Precambrian, Lower Palaeozoic and Western Barents Sea, 1 : 1,500,000. Sediments above the Devonian. (Symposium on Svalbard's geology, Oslo 2—5 upper regional unconformity: thickness, seismic stratig- June 1975. Nor. Polarinst. Skr. 167. 324 p.