Triassic Sequence Geological Development of the Arctic with focus on Svalbard and the Barents Shelf

摘要

Triassic rocks are of great interest for exploration in Arctic areas as they have proved to include both good hydrocarbon source rocks and potential hydrogen reservoir rocks. In this thesis, the stratigraphy and sedimentology of the Arctic Triassic successions are studied within a sequence stratigraphical framework. Inter-regional comparisons throughout the Arctic are based on comparisons of transgressive-regressive sequences. Improved dating of the studied sequences, and the recognition and correlation of sequence boundaries of second and third order, facilitate interpretation of facies distribution and the geological development both within and between the studied areas. Main emphasis is given to the Triassic succession of Svalbard and the Barents Shelf, which through this study is integrated within a circum-Arctic sequence stratigraphical framework. Good correspondence of the Triassic sequence boundaries between the different Arctic areas indicate that they are mainly controlled by eustacy, while decreasing correspondence of the sequence boundaries in the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods indicate that local and large scale tectonism becomes progressively more dominant in the circum-Arctic Realm through the Mesozoic Era. These hypotheses are further discussed. 701 refs., 110 figs., 12 tabs.