Arctic Expedition CASE 19 - Pearya

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Werner von Gosen
• Subject Area: Palaeontology
• Term: from 2017 to 2019
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 388848898

The Pearya Terrane in the Canadian Arctic represents an exotic crustal fragment that collided with the northern margin of Laurentia during the Ellesmerian Orogeny in the ?Upper Devonian - Lower Carboniferous. Its origin, the kinematics of deformations, and the precise timing of collision are still unclear. During the international CASE 19 - Expedition structural studies within three different areas, followed by and combined with geochronological analyses, are based on questions with targets as follows:(1) How can the Ellesmerian deformation be characterized concerning the terrane transfer and final collision? Does additional structural evidence for the older Caledonian deformation within the terrane exist? These are prerequisites for clarifying the younger tectonic evolution in the terrane area that has led to the present plate tectonics configuration.(2) Which Eurekan deformations affected the Paleogene sedimentary successions also outside the Pearya Terrane and how can their timing be constrained? Here, the target is a reconstruction of the sedimentological and tectonic history during the Paleogene.(3) Which effects had the Eurekan deformation on the Ellesmerian structures within the terrane? How can this deformation be interpreted in context with the results of the previous studies on the Paleogene sedimentary successions also concerning its timing?The results of the studies can provide further evidence for the Early Paleozoic terrane transfer in the Arctic. Furthermore, they can contribute to the understanding of the kinematics and timing of the Eurekan deformation(s) up to the northern margin of the North American continent. Therefore, they are important for larger scale plate tectonics interpretations of the Arctic during the Early Paleozoic and Cenozoic.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• Co-Investigators: Dr. Karsten Piepjohn; Dr. Lutz Reinhardt