New Perspectives on the Caledonides of Scandinavia and Related Areas
The Caledonides are a major orogenic belt that stretches from the Arctic, through Scandinavia, East Greenland, Britain and Ireland into the Atlantic coast of North America. Following the break-up of Rodinia, the Caledonides formed in the Palaeozoic by the drifting of various continents and their eventual aggregation in the Silurian and Devonian. The orogen subsequently fragmented during the opening of the Atlantic Ocean. This volume brings together 25 papers presenting the results of modern research that investigates the orogenic processes and the provenance of specific components of the belt. The contributions reflect different lines of research, linking traditional field studies with modern analytical techniques. In addition three overview papers summarize the main features of the belts in Scandinavia, Svalbard, East Greenland, Britain and Ireland, highlighting the advances made since the last major synthesis of the Scandinavian Caledonides 30 years ago, and discussing important open questions.
The Caledonides of Greenland, Svalbard and other Arctic areas: status of research and open questions
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Published:January 01, 2014
Abstract
The Greenland and Svalbard Caledonides make up an important part of the Palaeozoic Caledonian orogen, and preserve a complex history of Palaeoproterozoic arc accretion, Proterozoic to Palaeozoic sedimentation within various basins and extensive magmatism, metamorphism and deformation during the Caledonian orogeny. In this summary, the current understanding of the structure and lithological content of the Greenland and Svalbard Caledonides is first reviewed, and open questions are highlighted. The Greenland Caledonides are divided into three different segments, and the term terrane is abandoned for the Svalbard Caledonides. Then, other Caledonian fragments in the Arctic region are discussed, including Bjørnøya, Pearya and Cordilleran terranes and parts of the Barents Shelf. Finally, a regional synthesis covering the geological evolution of the Greenland and Svalbard Caledonides from the Palaeoproterozoic to the end of the Caledonian orogeny is presented and controversial issues and open questions are discussed.
- Arctic region
- Barents region
- Caledonian Orogeny
- Caledonides
- Cordilleran Orogeny
- deformation
- fold and thrust belts
- Greenland
- Laurentia
- magmatism
- metamorphism
- Neoproterozoic
- orogenic belts
- Paleozoic
- Precambrian
- Proterozoic
- Rodinia
- sedimentation
- Spitsbergen
- Svalbard
- tectonics
- terranes
- thrust sheets
- upper Precambrian
- Pearya Terrane
- Cordilleran Terrane
- Bjornoya Terrane
- Nordaustlandet Terrane