Physiographic Provinces of the Arctic Ocean Seafloor
Abstract
The International Bathymetric Chart of the Arctic Ocean (IBCAO) grid model has been used to define the first-order physiographic provinces of the Arctic Ocean, which in this study is taken to consist of the oceanic deep Arctic Ocean Basin; the broad continental shelves of the Barents, Kara, Laptev, East Siberian, and Chukchi Seas; the White Sea; and the narrow continental shelves of the Beaufort Sea and the Arctic continental margins of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago and northern Greenland. The first step in this classification is an evaluation of seafloor gradients contained in a slope model that was derived from the IBCAO grid. The evaluation of this slope model, which emphasizes certain process-related seafloor features that are reflected in the bathymetric information, is subsequently used along with the bathymetry to classify the first-order physiographic provinces. The areas of the provinces so classified are individually calculated, and their morphologies are subsequently discussed in the context of the geologic evolution of the Arctic Ocean Basin as described in the published literature. In summary, this study provides a physiographic classification of the Arctic Ocean seaflooraccording to the most up-to-date bathymetric model, addresses the geologic origin of the prominent features, and provides area computations of the defined first-order physiographic provinces and of the most prominent second- order features.
Department
Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping
Publication Date
2003
Volume
115, Number 12
Journal Title
Geological Society of America Bulletin (GSAB)
Pages
1443-1455
Publisher
Geological Society of America
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
10.1130/B25216.1
Document Type
Journal Article
Recommended Citation
M. Jakobsson, A. Grantz, Y. Kristoffersen, and R. Macnab, "Physiographic provinces of the arctic ocean seafloor," Geological Society of America Bulletin, vol. 115, no. 12, p. 1443, 2003.