Analysis of the Devonian Andrée Land Basin

Provenance Analysis of the Devonian Andrée Land Basin, Svalbard

Presenter: Devin Levang

Presenter Status: Undergraduate student

Department: Geology

Funding Source/Sponsor: Koret Scholars Program

Screenshot URL: https://drive.google.com/uc?id=14FCokYeabK3SK21nFiAiIk6CZlUynJ-d

Abstract:
The paleogeographic location of the Svalbard archipelago during the Devonian period represents an important component in understanding the tectonic and magmatic evolution of the modern Arctic during Late Paleozoic time. Here we present new provenance data, including detrital zircon U-Pb ages, collected from the Mimerdalen Section near Pyramiden, Spitsbergen. The Mimerdalen section exposes strata Andrée Land Group, consisting of the Wood Bay Formation (Early Devonian) and Mimerdalen subgroup (Middle to Late Devonian). Previous studies provide constraints on structural and depositional context of the Old Red Sandstone (ORS) within the south-easternmost part of the Andrée Land Basin and offer a unique opportunity to assess the provenance of these sedimentary deposits. Age spectra of previously analyzed late Paleozoic strata from the circum Arctic provides a framework to compare the results from Svalbard and help with constraints on its paleogeographic position in the Late Paleozoic.