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The origin and age of the Alpha-Mendeleev and Lomonosov ridges in the Amerasia Basin

  • Marine Geology
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Oceanology Aims and scope

Abstract

The results of the bathymetry simulation indicate the emplacement of the Mesozoic Arctic plume into the lithosphere of the Alpha-Mendeleev and Lomonosov ridges. The study also presents a model of the thermal subsidence to the asthenosphere. The calculated coefficients are compared with those obtained for the Greenland-Iceland and Iceland-Faeroe ridges, which were formed in response to hotspot activity. It was shown that the coefficients of the thermal subsidence in the central part of the Alpha-Mendeleev and Lomonosov Ridges are similar to those calculated for the Greenland-Iceland and Iceland-Faeroe ridges. This indicates the thermal regime of the subsidence of the Alpha-Mendeleev and Lomonosov ridges since the Early Miocene and the increased influence of the Arctic plume on the ridge genesis. The ridges are interpreted to have formed over a broad geological timeframe, from the late Cretaceous to the Cenozoic. A geothermal method, which is highly informative in terms of the age of the lithosphere, provides better constraints on the timing of ridge formation. The age estimates for the Alpha-Mendeleev (97–79 Ma) and Lomonosov ridges (69–57 Ma) derived from the geothermal data allowed us to draw a convincing conclusion about the genesis of these ridges.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Shirshov Institute of Oceanology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia

    E. V. Verzhbitskii, L. I. Lobkovskii, A. F. Byakov & M. V. Kononov

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  1. E. V. Verzhbitskii
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  2. L. I. Lobkovskii
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  3. A. F. Byakov
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  4. M. V. Kononov
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Correspondence to M. V. Kononov.

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Original Russian Text © E.V. Verzhbitskii, L.I. Lobkovskii, A.F. Byakov, M.V. Kononov, 2013, published in Okeanologiya, 2013, Vol. 53, No. 1, pp. 98–108.

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Verzhbitskii, E.V., Lobkovskii, L.I., Byakov, A.F. et al. The origin and age of the Alpha-Mendeleev and Lomonosov ridges in the Amerasia Basin. Oceanology 53, 89–98 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0001437013010141

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