Geology of northern Alaska: Examining the Arctic Alaska-Chukotka microplate

The tectonic evolution of the Arctic remains a subject of considerable uncertainty. The unknown Paleozoic and Mesozoic movements of a large block of continental crust, the Arctic Alaska-Chukotka microplate, contribute significantly to that uncertainty. Edited by Julie A. Dumoulin and Allison Till of the U.S. Geological Survey, this eight-chapter volume addresses that uncertainty and demonstrates the power of modern research tools to penetrate the effects of orogenesis and to reconstruct pre-deformational tectonic and paleogeographic histories.

The integrated geologic, geochronologic, geochemical, isotopic, and paleontologic results presented in this well-illustrated volume were obtained from a penetratively deformed and metamorphosed blueschist terrane. Dumoulin and Till remark that the work presented here is fundamental to understanding the origin, character, and movements of the Artic Alaska-Chukotka microplate from the Late Proterozoic to the Devonian. It also includes the first compelling evidence for a rift event that may have detached the microplate from the Timanide margin of Baltica.

Individual copies of the volume may be purchased through The Geological Society of America online store, http://rock.geosociety.org/store/, or by contacting GSA Sales and Service, gsaservice@geosociety.org.

Provided by Geological Society of America