Kane Basin 1999: mapping, stratigraphic studies and economic assessment of Precambrian and Lower Palaeozoic provinces in north-western Greenland

Abstract

NOTE: This article was published in a former series of GEUS Bulletin. Please use the original series name when citing this article, for example:
 Dawes, P. R., Frisch, T., Garde, A. A., Iannelli, T. R., Ineson, J. R., Jensen, S. M., Pirajno, F., Sønderholm, M., Stemmerik, L., Stouge, S., Thomassen, B., & van Gool, J. A. (2000). Kane Basin 1999: mapping, stratigraphic studies and economic assessment of Precambrian and Lower Palaeozoic provinces in north-western Greenland. Geology of Greenland Survey Bulletin, 186, 11-28. https://doi.org/10.34194/ggub.v186.5211
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 The geological map coverage of Greenland at scale 1:500 000 is nearing completion, with the Kane Basin sheet of north-western Greenland the last to be compiled (sheet 6 between 78°–81°N; Fig. 1). Sporadic work by the Survey since the 1970s identified the main geological provinces and structure of the region but the lithologies of the Precambrian shield were not sufficiently mapped inland to warrant final compilation. Project Kane Basin 1999 was designed to provide this knowledge; the optimal use of logistics enabled a range of geological activities to be undertaken, as well as other scientific disciplines.

Quantifying Provenance and Transport Pathways of Holocene Sediments From the Northwestern Greenland Margin

“…Other Proterozoic sedimentary rocks are also outcropping in the northwestern part of Greenland and southern part of Ellesmere Island (surrounding Smith Sound) and form the Thule Supergroup (e.g., Dawes, ). At the end of the Cretaceous and early Tertiary, Greenland and North America were separated by the formation of rifts, which disconnected the Precambrian cratons (e.g., Dawes, ; Dawes et al, ; MacLean et al, ). The development of large grabens and basaltic lava flows (Palaeogene) along the Canadian and Greenlandic margins (basaltic and picritic eruptions into a low‐lying coastal environment), in the region of Disko and Ummannaq Bays, was associated to this rifting (Figure b; Escher & Pulvertaft, ; Larsen & Pedersen, ).…”

Imaging the plate boundary between Greenland and North America within the Kane Basin by means of geophysical data

“…High‐resolution sediment echosounder data suggest that small kinks observed in the MCS data are caused by extensional normal faulting of the high‐velocity unit (see inset in Figure ), possibly a result of postglacial rebound. The transparent seismic appearance and v p between 4800 and 6000 m s −1 allow an interpretation as gneissic, marble, or granitic material that occurs in the Inglefield marble belt in the southern prolongation of the Kane Basin (Figure ) [ Dawes et al , ; Harrison et al , ]. v p of gneiss, granite, and marble start with 4500 to 5100 ms −1 , ~5700 ms −1 , and ~5100 ms −1 , respectively, at 10 bars.…”

“…As the material is exposed at the seafloor, the v p is probably slightly lower because of weathering. Thus, the high‐velocity unit could represent the offshore prolongation of the Paleoproterozoic crust of the Greenland Inglefield Mobile Belt [ Dawes et al , ; Harrison et al , ]. Toward the northwestern part of Line BGR10‐316 a sedimentary basin with NW tilted and eroded sedimentary strata is imaged.…”

“…The westernmost part is deduced from seismic data from the Dobbin Bay [ Jackson et al , ]. The easternmost part is derived from the Inglefield Land stratigraphy from Dawes et al []. The yellow colored part of the central map shows the extent of the Cretaceous‐Cenozoic Franklin Pierce Basin (FPB) after Harrison et al [].…”

“…The dashed dark line shows the proposed seafloor spreading axes between Greenland and Baffin Island after Harrison []. The red box marks the limits of the inset map with a superimposed geologic map [after Dawes et al , ; Jackson et al , ]. The colors are bright for onshore geology and shaded for offshore geology.…”