The geology of Svalbard encompasses the geological description of rock types found in Svalbard, and the associated tectonics and sedimentological history of soils and rocks. The geological exploration of Svalbard is an ongoing activity, and recent understandings may differ from earlier interpretations.
Geological basement dated from Precambrian, Cambrian, Ordovician and Silurian, originally termed Hecla Hoek, [1] is found in three different provinces. The southwestern terrain comprises Prins Karls Forland, Oscar II Land, Nordenskiöld Land west of Grønfjorden and Wedel Jarlsberg Land . The northwestern terrain includes Haakon VII Land and Albert I Land. The northeastern terrain comprises Nordaustlandet and the northeastern parts of Spitsbergen. [2]
Devonian age sediments are exposed in Andrée Land, James I Land and Dickson Land. Orogeny took place in late Devon. [3]
During Carboniferous and Permian, rift basins were formed. Carboniferous strata are found along Billefjorden, and Permian formations dominate Billefjorden, Tempelfjorden and Lomfjorden.
Triassic rocks are found at the southern part of Spitsbergen, at Edgeøya, Barentsøya and Kong Karls Land. It is particularly visible at Edgeøya, Barentsøya and in eastern part of Olav V Land. [4] [5] Triassic outcrops are exposed in a long and narrow belt between pre-Triassic sediments along the west coast and the post-Triassic sediments of the central basin.
The Triassic rock units are divided into the Sassendalen Group, dating from Early Triassic to Late Middle Triassic, and the succeeding Kapp Toscana Group. [6]
Jurassic, Cretaceous and Cenozoic rocks are exposed in the middle southern part of Spitsbergen.
Coal deposits from Paleogene are exploited in Longyearbyen (including Svea) and Barentsburg. [7]
The post-glacial rebound is estimated to be up to three kilometers in central Spitsbergen, while only a few hundred meters at Kong Karls Land. [8]
Svalbard is an archipelago in the Arctic Ocean roughly centered on 78° north latitude and 20° east longitude. The archipelago is the northernmost part of the Kingdom of Norway. The three main islands in the group consist of Spitsbergen, Nordaustlandet and Edgeøya. There are also a number of smaller islands, such as Barents Island (Barentsøya), Kvitøya, Prins Karls Forland, Kongsøya, Bear Island, Svenskøya, Wilhelm Island and other smaller islands or skerries.
Edgeøya, occasionally anglicised as Edge Island, is a Norwegian island located in southeast of the Svalbard archipelago; with an area of 5,073 square kilometres (1,960 sq mi), it is the third-largest island in this archipelago. An Arctic island, it forms part of the Søraust-Svalbard Nature Reserve, home to polar bears and reindeer. An ice field covers its eastern side. The island takes its name from Thomas Edge, an English merchant and whaler. It is seldom visited today.
The Sydney Basin is an interim Australian bioregion and is both a structural entity and a depositional area, now preserved on the east coast of New South Wales, Australia and with some of its eastern side now subsided beneath the Tasman Sea. The basin is named for the city of Sydney, on which it is centred.
The Hunter-Bowen Orogeny was a significant arc accretion event in the Permian and Triassic periods affecting approximately 2,500 km of the Australian continental margin.
Kong Karls Land or King Charles Land is an island group in the Svalbard archipelago, in the Arctic Ocean. The island group covers an area of 342 km2 (132 sq mi) and is made up of the islands of Kongsøya, Svenskøya, Abel Island, Helgoland Island, and Tirpitzøya.
The geology of Norway encompasses the history of earth that can be interpreted by rock types found in Norway, and the associated sedimentological history of soils and rock types.
The geology of the Iberian Peninsula consists of the study of the rock formations on the Iberian Peninsula, which includes Spain, Portugal, Andorra, and Gibraltar. The peninsula contains rocks from every geological period from the Ediacaran to the Quaternary, and many types of rock are represented. World-class mineral deposits are also found there.
The Cheshire Basin is a late Palaeozoic and Mesozoic sedimentary basin extending under most of the county of Cheshire in northwest England. It extends northwards into the Manchester area and south into Shropshire. The basin possesses something of the character of a half-graben as its deepest extent is along its eastern and southeastern margins, where it is well defined by a series of sub-parallel faults, most important of which is the Red Rock Fault. These faults divide the basin from the older Carboniferous rocks of the Peak District and the North Staffordshire Coalfield.
The geology of Queensland can be subdivided into several regions with different histories. Along the east coast is a complex of Palaezoic to Cainozoic rocks while much of the rest of the state is covered by Cretaceous and Cainozoic rocks. A Precambrian basement is found in the north west and Cape York regions. The Thomson Orogen occurs in the central and southern parts of Queensland, but is mostly covered by younger basins.
Paleontology in Rhode Island refers to paleontological research occurring within or conducted by people from the U.S. state of Rhode Island. Rhode Island has a relatively sparse fossil record. Among its more common fossils are plant remains that are frequently associated with the state's coal beds. During the early Paleozoic, Rhode Island was at least partially submerged under a sea inhabited by trilobites. During the Carboniferous period the state became a swampy environment where lush vegetation included trees more than 50 feet high. Local animal life included arachnids and insects like cockroaches. Rift basins formed locally during the Permian. The ensuing Triassic and Jurassic periods are absent from the state's rock record. Little is known about the state's Cretaceous history. The Paleogene and Neogene periods are also missing from Rhode Island's rock record. During the Pleistocene the state was subjected to glacial activity. Notable local fossil finds have included previously unknown kinds of insect and abundant ancient amphibian trackways.
The main points that are discussed in the geology of Iran include the study of the geological and structural units or zones; stratigraphy; magmatism and igneous rocks; ophiolite series and ultramafic rocks; and orogenic events in Iran.
The North Sea basin is located in northern Europe and lies between the United Kingdom, and Norway just north of The Netherlands and can be divided into many sub-basins. The Southern North Sea basin is the largest gas producing basin in the UK continental shelf, with production coming from the lower Permian sandstones which are sealed by the upper Zechstein salt. The evolution of the North Sea basin occurred through multiple stages throughout the geologic timeline. First the creation of the Sub-Cambrian peneplain, followed by the Caledonian Orogeny in the late Silurian and early Devonian. Rift phases occurred in the late Paleozoic and early Mesozoic which allowed the opening of the northeastern Atlantic. Differential uplift occurred in the late Paleogene and Neogene. The geology of the Southern North Sea basin has a complex history of basinal subsidence that had occurred in the Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic. Uplift events occurred which were then followed by crustal extension which allowed rocks to become folded and faulted late in the Paleozoic. Tectonic movements allowed for halokinesis to occur with more uplift in the Mesozoic followed by a major phase of inversion occurred in the Cenozoic affecting many basins in northwestern Europe. The overall saucer-shaped geometry of the southern North Sea Basin indicates that the major faults have not been actively controlling sediment distribution.
The North German Basin is a passive-active rift basin located in central and west Europe, lying within the southeastern most portions of the North Sea and the southwestern Baltic Sea and across terrestrial portions of northern Germany, Netherlands, and Poland. The North German Basin is a sub-basin of the Southern Permian Basin, that accounts for a composite of intra-continental basins composed of Permian to Cenozoic sediments, which have accumulated to thicknesses around 10–12 kilometres (6–7.5 mi). The complex evolution of the basin takes place from the Permian to the Cenozoic, and is largely influenced by multiple stages of rifting, subsidence, and salt tectonic events. The North German Basin also accounts for a significant amount of Western Europe's natural gas resources, including one of the world's largest natural gas reservoir, the Groningen gas field.
The Kapp Toscana Group is a geologic group in Svalbard and Jan Mayen in the Barents Sea, Norway.
The Tschermakfjellet Formation is a geological formation in Svalbard, Norway, a subunit of the Kapp Toscana Group. The formation dates to the Late Triassic. It is named after the mountain of Tschermakfjellet in Dickson Land at Spitsbergen, while its type section is found at Botneheia in Nordenskiöld Land. The formation has provided fossils of invertebrates and of an indeterminate pistosaurid.
The geology of Germany is heavily influenced by several phases of orogeny in the Paleozoic and the Cenozoic, by sedimentation in shelf seas and epicontinental seas and on plains in the Permian and Mesozoic as well as by the Quaternary glaciations.
The geology of Laos includes poorly defined oldest rocks. Marine conditions persisted for much of the Paleozoic and parts of the Mesozoic, followed by periods of uplift and erosion. The country has extensive salt, gypsum and potash, but very little hydrocarbons and limited base metals.
The geology of Afghanistan includes nearly one billion year old rocks from the Precambrian. The region experienced widespread marine transgressions and deposition during the Paleozoic and Mesozoic, that continued into the Cenozoic with the uplift of the Hindu Kush mountains.
The geology of Slovakia is structurally complex, with a highly varied array of mountain ranges and belts largely formed during the Paleozoic, Mesozoic and Cenozoic eras.
Junggar Basin is one of the largest sedimentary basins in Northwest China. It is located in Xinjiang, and enclosed by the Tarbagata mountains of Kazakhstan on the northwest side, the Altai mountains of Mongolia in the northeast, and the Heavenly mountains in the South.
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