Sedimentary Basins of the East Siberian Sea and the Chukchi Sea and the Adjacent Area of the Amerasia Basin: Seismic Stratigraphy and Stages of Geological History

Abstract

The seismic stratigraphy scheme for the shelf basins of the East Siberian Sea and the Chukchi Sea region and the adjacent deepwater area of the Amerasia basin has been developed, and mega-sequences (or tectonostratigraphic units) with the conventional ages of 125‒100, 100‒80, 80‒66, 66‒56, 46‒45, 45‒34, 34‒20, 20‒0 Ma are distinguished. Zhokhov foredeep basin of the Late Jurassic‒Neocomian age is distinguished between the New Siberia and the De Long islands. Three main phases of rifting are identified on the shelves in the region with ages of 125–100, 66–56, and 45–37 Ma. The main phase of continental rifting occurred in the Podvodnikov and Toll basins at 125‒100 Ma. The typical clinoform accumulation of sediments occurred at the edge of the shelf at 66–20 Ma. We identified three syntectonic epochs of the formation of clinoform sequences with the ages of 66–45, 45–34, and 34–20 Ma. The phase of uplifting and compression in the region of Wrangel Island happened at ≈66 Ma. The relatively monotonous tectonic setting with approximately the same thicknesses of the sedimentary cover began at 20 Ma.