Geology and Geophysics Program Summary for FY 90

Abstract

The high-latitude northern Norwegian-Greenland Sea and the adjacent part of the Arctic Ocean north of Spitsbergen comprise an unequaled natural laboratory for the study of several important processes involving the generation and/or modification of sea-floor topography, subbottom structure, and material properties. These processes, active now or in the geologically recent past, include (1) tectonism (faulting), volcanism, magma intrusion into rift valley seafloor sediments;(2) erosion and redeposition of sediment by bottom currents; (3) slumping and other downslope processes on glaciated margins; (4) sedimentation from sea ice/icebergs/ice sheets, at water depths less than 100- 500 m, (5) erosion and redeposition by icebergs and grounded ice shelves/sheets. SeaMarc II is the ideal tool for investigating the results of these processes, e.g. the present bathymetric and back-scatter characteristics of the seafloor. The investigation area is probably unique in terms of diversity of processes which can be examined in a relatively small region

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Mar 01, 1991
Accession Number
ADA266601

Entities

Organizations

  • Lamont–Doherty Earth Observatory

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Acoustic Measurement
  • Arctic Ocean
  • Boundaries
  • Continental Shelves
  • Deep Water
  • Flow
  • Glaciers
  • Greenland Sea
  • High Latitudes
  • Ice
  • Oceans
  • Ridges
  • Rift Valleys
  • Seabed
  • Terrain
  • Topography
  • Water

Fields of Study

  • Geology

Readers

  • Geotechnical Engineering.
  • Oceanography.
  • Polar and Arctic Studies