�A (�,\ ge�� d'.t-POLAR\tol.�'\' SKRIFTER NR. 167 The geological development of Svalbard during the Precambrian, Lower Palaeozoic, and Devonian Symposium on Svalbard's geology Oslo, 2-5 June, 1975 NORSK POLARINSTITUTT OSLO 1979 DET KONGELIGE DEPARTEMENT FOR INDUSTRI OG HANDVERK NOR SK POLARI N STITUTT Rolfstangveien 12, Snarøya, 1330 OsloLufthavn, Norway SALG AV BØKER SALE OF BOOKS Bøkene selges gjennom bokhandlere, eller The books are sold through bookshops, or bestilles direkte fra: may be ordered directlyfrom: UNIVE RSI TET SFORLAGET Postboks 307 Global Book Resources Limited P.O. Box 142 Blindern, Oslo 3 37 Queen Street Boston, Mass. 02113 Norway Henley-On- Thames USA Oxon RG91AJ England Publikasjonsliste, som også omfatter land­ List of publications, including maps and og sjøkart, kan sendes på anmodning. charts, will be sent on request. SKRIFTER NR. 167 The geological development of Svalbard during the Precambrian, Lower Palaeozoic, and Devonian Symposium on Svalbard's geology Oslo, 2-5 June, 1975 NORS K POLAR INS TIT UTT OSLO 1979 Redaktør: TH ORE S. WINSNES Redaksjonssekretær: ANNEMOR BREKKE Trykt mars, 1979 ISBN 82-90307-03-9 A symposium on The geological development of Svalbard during the Pre­ cambrian, Lower Palaeozoic, and Devonian, took place 2-5 June 1975 at the Norwegian Academy of Sciences, Drammensveien 7B, Oslo, Norway. The permission to use these premises is greatly acknowledged. Twenty-six scientists doing geological work in Svalbard and other Arctic regions took part in the Symposium, which also included a number of in­ terested guests. The papers presented should be of interest to a much wider audience than the few scientists present; they are therefore published in this Norsk Polarinstitutt Skrifter Nr. 167. Although these papers appear at a very late date, their contents is still of great value, ad ding significantly to the existing knowledge of Svalbard. I want to express my gratitude to the authors having waited patiently for a very long time to have their papers printed. Thanks are also extended to everybody having assisted with the arrangement of the Symposium and the preparatory work for this publication. Rolfstangen, January 1979 THORE S. WINSNES Chairman of the Symposium Contents J ntroductory ad dress by the Director of Norsk Polarinstitutt, TORE GJELSVIK, at the opening of the Symposium . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 7 RAVICH, M. G.: Is there an early Precambrian granite-gneiss complex in northwestern Spitsbergen? ............ ...................... 9 ABAKUMOV, S. A.: Peculiar features of regional metamorphism of north- western Spitsbergen ................... ................. ... 29 HJELLE, AUDUN: Aspects of the geology of northwest Spitsbergen . ... 37 GJELSVIK, TORE : The Hecla Hoek ridge of the Devonian Graben between Liefdefjorden and Holtedahlfonna, Spitsbergen ................. 63 KRASIL'SCIKOV, A. A.: Stratigraphy and tectonics of the Precambrian of Svalbard . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 73 KRASIL'SCIKOV, A. A. and G. A. KOVALEVA: Precambrian rock-stratigraphic units of the west coast of Spitsbergen . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 81 HAR LAND, W. B. and N.J. R. WRIGHT: Alternative hypothesis for the pre- Carboniferous evolution of Svalbard .......................... 89 HARLAND, W. B., W. T. HORSFIELD, G. M. MANBY, and A. P. MORRIS : An outline pre-Carboniferous stratigraphy of central western Spits- bergen ................................................... 119 HJELLE, AUDUN, YOSHIHIDE OHTA, and THORE S. WINSNES : Hecla Hoek rocks of Oscar Il Land and Prins Karls Forland, Svalbard ...... 145 OHTA, YOSHIHIDE : Blue schists from Motalafjella, Western Spitsbergen . .. 17 1 MILSTEIN, V. E. and N. P. GOLOVANOV: Upper Precambrian microphyto- lites and stromatolites from Svalbard . .. .. .. .. .. .. ... 219 BOCKELIE, TOVE G. and ELLIS L. YOCHELSON: Variation in a species of "worm" from the Ordovician of Spitsbergen.................... 225 BUROV, Yu, P. and D. V. SEMEVSKIJ: The tectonic structure of the Devonian Graben (Spitsbergen) ........ ........ .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 239 MURASCOV, L. G. and Ju. I. MOKIN : Stratigraphic subdivision of the Devonian deposits of Spitsbergen .........•................... 249 CHRISTIE, R. L.: The Franklinian Geosyncline in the Canadian Arctic and its relationship to Svalbard.................................. , 263 KRASIL'SCIKOV, A. A. and V. N. SOKOLOV : The Upper Proterozoic of Timan and the Kanin Peninsula ............................. 315 DAWES, PETER R.: Precambrian and Palaeozoic development of northern Greenland (Abstract only) ............. ......•.............. 321 Introductory address by the director of Norsk Polarinstitutt, TORE GJELSVIK, at the opening of the Symposium: On behalf of Norsk Polarinstitutt I wish you all a most cordial welcome to this Sympmium. In particular I should like to greet our foreign guests from the Greenland Geological Survey, the Geological Survey of Canada, SEV­ MOR GEO including tbe Arctic Geological Institute of the Soviet Union, and the U.S. Geological Survey. I thank you for your willingness to submit papers on the specific topics we have suggested. My gratitude is als o extended to Dr. Anna Siedlecka from the Geological Survey of Norway, for her readiness to introduce us to the geology of the Varanger Peninsula, thus closing the geo­ logical Arctic Circle. This meeting has two objectives. First, to enable geologists working in Svalbard in fields related to the chosen subject, to report on, discuss and try to solve problems of common interest. Secondly, to stimulate and strengthen the geological cooperation between the Arctic circumpolar nations. I would also like to thank you for coming on such short notice. Invitations could not be sent out until our geologists were safely back from their Antarctic expedition in mid-February, and until we could be sure of a good Soviet­ russian participation. The s1".ort notice prevented participation by some of those we had hoped to see. I would like to particularly mention Mr. W. B. Harland of Cambridge University who, together with his students and scien­ tific collcagues, has given such important contributions to the geological re­ search in Svalbard. Finally, welcome to all those of you having come without a special invitation. Although the symposium is especially called for geologists having worked in Svalbard, we realize tl,at �cience knows no national and institutional borders. We are happy, therefore, that you have wanted to join us. For tl:c reawns mentioned and because of economic limitations, it would be impossible for us to arr ange a symposium for a big crowd; it could not be officially or widely advertised. I do think, however, that this symposium will prove that wc are a group of just the right size to have a good working session. Is there an early Precambrian granite-gneiss complex In northwestern Spitsbergen? By M. G. RAVICH Contents Abstract .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 9 Introduction . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 9 Petrography ... ........................... 12 Country rocks .......................... 12 Granitoids . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 13 Contact-metamorphic rocks ....... ... ... 16 Chemical composition . .. .. .. .. .. .. 20 Physical properties of the rock .............. 22 Conclusions ............ ... ...... ........ 26 References . .. .. .. .. .. .. .. .. ... 28 Abstract Rocks of near-contact zones of granitoid intrusions in northwestern Spitsbergen which by previous investigators of this region have been assigned to the gneiss-magmatic complexes of regional metamorphism of the earl)' Precambrian, are described. In connection with a detailed study of these rocks it has come out that they are represented mainly by biotitic hornfelses and hornfelsified schists (with cordierite and sillimanite), having formed in the proeess of contact metamorphism from phyllites of the lower part of the Hecla Hoek Group. In this connection their affiliation to the granite-gneissose complex of early Precambrian age is made an object of doubt in the paper. The assumption is put forth that the rocks described are contactmeta­ morphic, having form ed in connection with an intrusion of Caledonian granitoids. Introduction KRASIL'SCIKOV (1973) states: " ... the pre-Riphean basement of the Cale­ donides outcrops in the northeast part of the archipelago, in western Ny Friesland, in southwestern (Hornsund) and in northwestern Spitsbergen. Early pre-Riphean formations are unknown in Svalbard. The oldest rock-type in the archipelago is probably granite-gneiss (of the deeply eroded outerop of the basement) forrned by the pre-Riphean ultrametamorphism of biotite and garnet-biotite paragneisses, relics of which are preserved as skialiths in granite bodies. " (p. 84). - 10 - KRASIL'SCIKOV concluded this on the basis of traverses (scale l :100,000) in the Krossfjorden area which had been carried out by ABAKUMOV in 1969 (ABAKUMOV 1976). He traversed the area bounded by 78°57' and 79°20' N, and Il°40' and 12°20' E, including exposures on the flanks of the Kollerbreen, Fjortende Julibreen, Conwaybreen, and Kronebreen, and on the shores of Krossfjorden and Kongsfjorden in north-western Spitsbergen. ABAKUMOV described and mapped three formations at a scale of l: 100,000. The Signehamna and Generalfjella Formations, first described by GEE and BJELLE (1966), are of Riphean age (lower part of the Beda Boek). They consist of greenschist facies metamorphics with a total thickness of 8000 m and are common in Spitsbergen. The third formation, the Kollerbreen Formation, is at least 3500 m thick,