The Wegener Fault, Nares Strait: Myth or Reality?

板块构造的论点，主要是基于来自地球的磁异常运动，要求格陵兰岛在古新世（6500万至5400万年前）期间相对于北美向东北移动了约250公里，这是一次大陆转换，将北冰洋的开放与巴芬湾的开放联系起来。 一些科学家认为这种转变是一个神话，事实上，地球物理数据表明，所谓的韦格纳断层并不位于内尔斯海峡本身。 PI加入了由德国联邦地球科学与自然资源研究所（BGR）领导的一个由海军支持的探险队，以寻找与海峡相邻的加拿大东南埃尔斯米尔岛（SE Ellesmere Island）的陆上断层证据。 研究区与已知的古新世时代的左侧走滑断层向北，这可能连接起来，形成韦格纳断层。确定韦格纳断层解决了一个长期存在的构造问题，并巩固了我们对拉布拉多海扩张和北冰洋开放的关键时期的理解。 结果还提供了一个重要的案例研究地质关系的复杂性沿着大陆转换边界，可以比较类似的边界，如圣安德烈亚斯断层的过程。研究结果将与加拿大地质调查局分享，并将通过地质文献传播。除了该项目的地质目标外，该项目还为爱荷华州大学的研究基础设施提供支持，并为公共宣传工作提供支持，包括为居住在实地附近的原住民提供支持。

Plate tectonic arguments, primarily based on motion derived from Earth's magnetic anomalies, require that Greenland has moved about 250 kilometers northeast with respect to North America during the Paleocene (65 to 54 million years ago) on a continental transform that links the opening of the Arctic Ocean with the opening of Baffin Bay. Some scientists view the proposed transform as a myth, and indeed geophysical data show that the so-called Wegener Fault is not located in Nares Strait itself. The PI joins a helicopter-supported expedition led by the German Federal Institute for Geosciences and Natural Resources (BGR) to look for evidence of faulting onshore remote SE Ellesmere Island, Canada adjacent to the strait. The study area is on strike with known left-lateral strike-slip faults of Paleocene age to the north, which could link up to form the Wegener fault. Identifying the Wegener fault settles a long-standing tectonic problem and solidifies our understanding of the critical period of spreading in the Labrador Sea and opening of the Arctic Ocean. The results also provide an important case study of the complexity of geologic relationships along continental transform boundaries, which can be compared to processes at similar boundaries such as the San Andreas Fault. Research results will be shared with the Geological Survey of Canada, and will be disseminated through the geologic literature. In addition to the geologic goals of the project, the project is providing support for research infrastructure at the University of Iowa, as well as public outreach efforts, including those aimed at First Nations people who live near the field area.