Geodynamic evolution and morphostructural analysis of the Western sector of the Russian Arctic shelf

Abstract

The paper considers issues of the Barents Sea shelf geodynamic evolution and influence of basement geologic structural processes on seabed morphology in their interaction. The obtained data have made possible to assume that the Norwegian-Mezenskaya rift system, Voronin graben, St. Anne and Victoria grabens were formed at the expense of the lithosphere stretching processes, but the Vostochno-Barentsevomorskaya basin and Medvezinsko-Edzinskaya area of depressions developed on the initial stage of lithosphere plate evolution due to collision of several island arcs and now all of them are outliers of the ancient oceanic crust. The technique of morphostructural analysis developed by the authors has allowed solve the inverse problem, and under morphological approach split all largest depressions on two main genetic types that confirm received geodynamic conclusion