Tectonic deformation and paleostress field evolution of the western Pearya terrane, Arctic Canada

• Applicant: Dr. Christian Brandes
• Subject Area: Palaeontology
• Term: from 2017 to 2021
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 388373716

Several plate tectonic models were developed that reconstruct the assemblage and break-up of the supercontinent Pangea. Due to the sparse data and the complexity of the Arctic geology, different models exist and these models have uncertainties. To reduce these uncertainties and to develop a holistic model for the geological formation of the Arctic region, the spatial and temporal evolution of the circum-Arctic fold-and-thrust belts has to be analysed. In this context, the proposed project is anchored. Field area is the exotic and composite Pearya terrane, which dominates the northernmost part of Ellesmere Island, in the Canadian High Arctic. This terrane was accreted to the margin of Laurentia in Late Silurian times or in the earliest Carboniferous and is a key element for understanding the geodynamic evolution of the Arctic region, but the knowledge about the structural style of this area is still limited and has only been analysed in very few studies. The study area was effected by at least three deformation phases, the Caledonian in the Ordovician the Ellesmerian in the Late Paleozoic and the Eurekan in the Paleogene. The aim of this project is to analyse the deformation style of the western Pearya terrane and to delineate the different deformation phases based on a paleostress field analysis. The results will help to better understand the structure of the Arctic region prior to the break-up of Pangea and the opening of the Arctic Ocean with the formation of the circum-Arctic sedimentary basins. The logistics of the expedition will be carried out by the Bundesanstalt für Geowissenschaften und Rohstoffe (BGR) in the frame of the CASE (Circum Arctic Structural Events) program.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants