UTIG Project Archives

Principle Investigator: Lawrence Lawver

Funded by: NSF - Award #9531249

Abstract
The Canada Basin of the Arctic Ocean remains one of the least known regions of the earth, yet understanding it's evolution is important to understanding the history of ocean circulation, climate generation, as well as the fact that the Alaska margin of the Canada Basin contains one of the world's giant hydrocarbon fields. In order to complete the aerogeophysical coverage of the Canada Basin between the Alpha and Mendeleyev ridges and the Arctic Alaska/Canada and Far Eastern Siberia margins, two seasons of aerogeophysics are proposed. The three most important aspects of the proposed work are: 1) Collect reconnaissance aerogeophysical data that will allow specific hypotheses to be formulated about the tectonic evolution of the Canada Basin of the Arctic. 2) Combine the aerogeophysical data collected offshore with a high-resolution aeromagnetics survey of Arctic Alaska's continental shelf. Work with these two datasets should definitely answer the question of the nature of the Ocean-Continent Boundary along Arctic Alaska. 3) Survey in detail gravity over the Chukchi Plateau and onto the continental margin of what should be the buried North Chukchi Basin to allow insight into the evolution of this margin. Present data does not allow reasonable interpretation of the evolution of this margin.