Parts of Alaska’s mountainous Brooks Range were likely transported from Greenland and a stretch of the Canadian Arctic much farther to the east, according to a series of Dartmouth-led studies detailing over 300 million years of Arctic geologic history.
The finding updates the geological evolution of the Arctic Ocean and could help revise predictions about the Arctic’s oil, gas and mineral wealth.
By explaining the formation of the Arctic Ocean in the Western Hemisphere – known as the Amerasian Basin – the research provides more clues into the geological history of the rapidly changing region.
“This is arguably the most important place for the United States from the perspective of Arctic economic development,” said Justin Strauss, an assistant professor of earth science at Dartmouth. “The geology of this region, which is directly connected to its ancient history, will help revise our knowledge about natural resources in the Arctic.”
Read more at Dartmouth College
Image Credit: Paxson Woelber