North Atlantic rifting and evolution of the passive continental margins of the Pearya Terrane/Ellesmere Island (NE Canada) and Svalbard - Field work and sampling

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This proposal applies for a travel grant to participating on the CASE 11 (Circum Arctic Structural Events) Expedition of the BGR to the Pearya Terrane of Ellesmere Island (NE Canada). Pearya is situated in a crucial position within the Arctic region since it defines the central locus between Svalbard/ Europe, Greenland and main Ellesmere Island/ North America before Pangea breakup, and therefore represents a key for our understanding of the opening of the North Atlantic Ocean. Field work and sampling carried out during CASE 11 will provide the basis for subsequent thermochronological and thermal methods, such as apatite fission track (FT), U/Th-He, clay mineral and vitrinite reflectance (VR) analyses, and terrestrial in situ cosmogenic nuclide (TCN) analysis. The principle aim of the subsequent research is to investigate the Phanerozoic shallow crustal dynamics and long-term landscape evolution of the Pearya Terrane, with four specific objectives: (a) pre-breakup reconstruction of the Arctic region within Pangea, (b) Eurekan tectonism on Ellesmere Island, (c) passive margin development of northern Ellesmere Island, and (d) the regional interplay between climate, tectonics and lithology, and climatic implications.