Journal cover Journal topic
Stephan Mueller Special Publication Series An open-access serial publication for refereed proceedings and special publications
Journal topic
Articles | Volume 4
Stephan Mueller Spec. Publ. Ser., 4, 177–200, 2009
https://doi.org/10.5194/smsps-4-177-2009
Stephan Mueller Spec. Publ. Ser., 4, 177–200, 2009
https://doi.org/10.5194/smsps-4-177-2009

  17 Sep 2009

17 Sep 2009

Provenance analysis and tectonic setting of the Triassic clastic deposits in Western Chukotka, Northeast Russia

M. I. Tuchkova, S. Sokolov, and I. R. Kravchenko-Berezhnoy M. I. Tuchkova et al.
  • Geological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia

Abstract. The study area is part of the Anyui subterrane of the Chukotka microplate, a key element in the evolution of the Amerasia Basin, located in Western Chukotka, Northeast Russia. The subterrane contains variably deformed, folded and cleaved rhythmic Triassic terrigenous deposits which represent the youngest stage of widespread marine deposition which form three different complexes: Lower-Middle Triassic, Upper Triassic (Carnian) and Upper Triassic (Norian). All of the complexes are represented by rhythmic interbeds of sandstone, siltstone and mudstone. Macrofaunas are not numerous, and in some cases deposits are dated by analogy to, or by their relationship with, other units dated with macrofaunas. The deposits are composed of pelagic sediments, low-density flows, high-density flows, and shelf facies associations suggesting that sedimentation was controlled by deltaic progradation on a continental shelf and subsequent submarine fan sedimentation at the base of the continental slope. Petrographic study of the mineral composition indicates that the sandstones are lithic arenites. Although the Triassic sandstones appear similar in outcrop and by classification, the constituent rock fragments are of diverse lithologies, and change in composition from lower grade metamorphic rocks in the Lower-Middle Triassic to higher grade metamorphic rocks in the Upper Triassic. This change suggests that the Triassic deposits represent an unroofing sequence as the source of the clastic material came from more deeply buried rocks with time.

Publications Copernicus
Download
Citation