Geologic Framework of the Bering Sea Crust

The basic pattern of heat flow in the Bering Sea is revealed by 43 measurements obtained in the Aleutian, Kamchatka, and Bowers basins. Averages of the observed values are 55 mW m −2 in the Aleutian Basin, 120 mW m −2 in the Kamchatka Basin, and 80 mW m −2 for two measurements in the Bowers Basin near the Bowers Ridge. Correcting these averages for the effects of sedimentation gives values of 69 mW m −2 , 138 mW m −2 , and 95 mW m −2 , respectively. A useful nomogram for computing the thermal effect of an extended period of sedimentation is presented. Several methods of averaging heat flow values in marginal basins are compared using the data from the Aleutian Basin. If the Aleutian Basin was formed by the sea floor spreading process, then the heat flow suggests an age of about 44 m.y., which is considerably younger than magnetic data suggest. An alternative explanation is that the high heat flow is a residuum of thermal processes associated with the now extinct Kula Spreading Center and the Kula Plate, which underthrust the Bering Sea in the early Tertiary and thermally rejuvenated the trapped Mesozoic sea floor underlying the Aleutian Basin. The high average heat flow in the Kamchatka Basin suggests a considerably younger age for this basin, and the very high values in the southwestern part indicate either thin lithosphere or recent magmatic activity.

Heat flow

Oceanic basin

10.1029/jb085ib07p03740

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Geologic Evolution and Petroleum Geology of the Aleutian Ridge

David W. Scholl T.L. Vallier Andrew J. Stevenson

Petroleum geology

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Plate Tectonics and the Structural Evolution of the Aleutian–Bering Sea Region

Geological Society of America Special Papers (1975)

David W. Scholl Edwin C. Buffington Michael S. Marlow

The general aspects of the structural evolution of the Aleutian–Bering Sea region can be described in terms of plate tectonics. Involved in this model is the formation of the Aleutian Ridge in latest Cretaceous or earliest Tertiary time. The ridge is presumed to have formed in response to a southward relocation in the convergence zone of the Pacific oceanic plate, a shift away from the Beringian continental margin connecting Alaska and Siberia to an oceanic location at the Aleutian Trench.

Pacific Plate

Convergent boundary

Continental Margin

10.1130/spe151-p1

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Citations (120)

Geology and geochemistry of early Tertiary submarine volcanic rocks of the Aleutian Islands, and their bearing on the development of the Aleutian Island Arc

J.L. Rubenstone

Island arc

Submarine volcano

Volcanic arc

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Early evolution of the Bering Sea by collision of oceanic rises and North Pacific subduction zones

Geological Society of America Bulletin (1981)

Zvi Ben‐Avraham Alan K. Cooper

Research Article| July 01, 1981 Early evolution of the Bering Sea by collision of oceanic rises and North Pacific subduction zones ZVI BEN-AVRAHAM; ZVI BEN-AVRAHAM 1Department of Geophysics, Stanford University Stanford, California 94305 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar ALAN K. COOPER ALAN K. COOPER 2U.S. Geological Survey, 345 Middlefield Road, Menlo Park, California 94025 Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar GSA Bulletin (1981) 92 (7): 485–495. https://doi.org/10.1130/0016-7606(1981)92<485:EEOTBS>2.0.CO;2 Article history first online: 01 Jun 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share MailTo Twitter LinkedIn Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation ZVI BEN-AVRAHAM, ALAN K. COOPER; Early evolution of the Bering Sea by collision of oceanic rises and North Pacific subduction zones. GSA Bulletin 1981;; 92 (7): 485–495. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/0016-7606(1981)92<485:EEOTBS>2.0.CO;2 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGSA Bulletin Search Advanced Search Abstract Three major bathymetric features exist in the Bering Sea: Shirshov Ridge, Bowers Ridge, and Umnak Plateau. New refraction data over Umnak Plateau and previous geophysical data across Bowers Ridge indicate that a thickened welt of crustal material is present beneath both features. The crustal structure is transitional between oceanic and continental types.Various models for the origin of these features have been investigated. One that has not been proposed previously assumes that the protostructures of Bowers Ridge and Umnak Plateau could have formed outside of the present Bering Sea. According to this model, before formation of the Aleutian Ridge in late Mesozoic or earliest Tertiary time, these protostructures moved into their present Bering Sea positions.Prior to the arrival of these two structures in the Bering Sea, oceanic crust was subducted along the Bering continental margin connecting Alaska and Siberia. The collision of the Umnak Plateau protostructure with the southeastern edge of the margin may have caused subduction to terminate here and move southward. The new southerly position of subduction beneath the Aleutian Ridge was therefore controlled by late Mesozoic or early Tertiary locations of Umnak Plateau, Bowers Ridge, and possibly, the north-trending Shirshov Ridge farther to the west. This content is PDF only. Please click on the PDF icon to access. First Page Preview Close Modal You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.

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Geological survey

10.1130/0016-7606(1981)92<485:eeotbs>2.0.co;2

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Citations (45)