Cretaceous (post-Valanginian) sedimentation and rift events in NE Greenland (71–77°N)

Abstract

A tectono-sedimentary model is proposed for the Cretaceous (post-Valanginian) succession of NE Greenland which provides insights into the evolution of adjacent margins. Subsequent to a major reorganization of fault blocks during rifting in the Volgian–Valanginian a seafloor topography controlled by block faulting was created and was maintained by faulting until the end of rifting in the Middle Albian. This topography was infilled after the Middle Albian and a shelf break margin was created and maintained until at least the Campanian. After this time there is no onshore sedimentary record in NE Greenland to constrain interpretations. Post-Valanginian sedimentation was dominated by the accumulation of fine sediments. However, significant thicknesses of coarse clastics are recorded at several stratigraphic levels in East Greenland. The primary controls on sandstone occurrence are steps in the basin bounding fault. The greatest accumulation of sandstones is associated with the largest of these steps. Sandstone supply to basinal areas was controlled by periods of lowstand. These have been identified in the Barremian, Late Aptian and Coniacian. Sandstone deposition occurred in fiuvio–deltaic, tidally influenced shallow marine and deep marine environments. The degradation of sandy footwall slopes did not lead to the formation of sandy sequences in the adjacent hanging wall successions.

An overview of the Upper Palaeozoic–Mesozoic stratigraphy of the NE Atlantic region

“…The post-Valanginian Cretaceous succession exposed from Traill Ø to Store Koldewey is up to a few kilometres thick and is dominated by mudstone, although several coarse-grained units can be identified, including the Barremian -Aptian Steensby Bjerg Formation at Hold with Hope (Whitham et al 1999;Larsen et al 2001), as well as the Albian Rold Bjerge Formation, the Turonian Månedal Formation and the Coniacian Vega Sund Formation at Traill Ø (Surlyk & Noe-Nygaard 2001), all of which are included within the Hold with Hope Group (Fig. 7).…”

“…This style of sedimentation and basin development was locally and sporadically interrupted by minor fault episodes that generated coarsegrained siliciclastic deposits (Whitham et al 1999;Larsen et al 2001;Surlyk & Noe-Nygaard 2001). Towards the end of the Cretaceous many of the onshore basins were uplifted and eroded, whereas the offshore Danmarkshavn and Thetis basins continued to subside and accumulate sediments (Hamann et al 2005).…”

Evolution of provenance in the NE Atlantic rift: The Early–Middle Jurassic succession in the Heidrun Field, Halten Terrace, offshore Mid-Norway

“…Intense Late Jurassic-Early Cretaceous rifting is well documented across the rift in East Greenland (Surlyk, 1990) and MidNorway (Swiecicki et al, 1998;Doré et al, 1999). A number of Cretaceous rift events have been identified in East Greenland during the Barremian, Aptian and Albian (Whitham et al, 1999). These events are less well documented in offshore Mid-Norway, where Late Cretaceous (Turonian onwards) rifting took place (Brekke et al, 1999).…”

Detrital zircon ages: a key to understanding the deposition of deep marine sandstones in the Norwegian Sea

“…The Cretaceous succession of North-East Greenland is more than 2 km thick, and consists of siliciclastic, mainly marine sediments deposited following a major rifting phase in the latest Jurassic -earliest Cretaceous (Surlyk, 1978). After the Jurassic onshore rift topography was filled, in the middle Albian -Turonian times, the East Greenland landmass started to contribute to the sediments across the Greenland shelf (Whitham et al, 1999).…”

“…The East Greenland landmass started contributing to the sediments across the Greenland shelf in the middle Albian -Turonian times after the Jurassic onshore rift topography was filled (Whitham et al, 1999), and a large volume of coarse clastic sediments was transported during Late Cretaceous into the Vør-ing Basin from the East Greenland continent. Morton and Grant (1998) suggested that the Turonian -Campanian sediments deposited in the Vøring Basin (K2 sands, well 6607/5-2), which show a wide zircon age spectra with a significant Archaean component, were derived from a North-East Greenland sediment source.…”