Tectonics and basin evolution of the Norwegian shelf between 62oN and 72oN

Abstract

The geological history of the Norwegian shelf between 62°N and n•N may be traced back to the Upper Palaeozoic. The area is divided into a Southern, a Middle and a Northern Province delineated by the old, long-Iived structural lineaments which have controlled the tectonic evolution. In the Middle Province (and probably in the Southern Province) the Triassic was dominated by NNE-SSW rift basins. The Triassic of the Northern Province was a period of deposition on a stable shelf. The Late Jurassic/Early Cretaceous tectonic phase was a period of extension between Greenland and Norway accompanied by minor strike-slip adjustments along old lineaments. The Late Cretaceous and Early Tertiary tectonic phases were to a large degree controlled by rotational plate movements. The Cretaceous subsidence history observed on the Norwegian shelf suggests major rifting activity in the deep areas west of the mapped area.