TRANSGRESSIVE-REGRESSIVE CYCLES IN EVOLUTION OF THE ARCTIC OCEAN DURING THE LATE CENOZOIC

Abstract

Three main stages related to major transgressive-regressive cycles of the development are recognized in the Late Cenozoic history of the Arctic Ocean: the Miocene-early Pliocene (regressive), late Pliocene-Eopleistocene (transgressive), and Pleistocene-Holocene (regressive). Transgressions and regressions were mainly induced by tectonics and related to global oscillatory movements, which included rhythms of the lesser order. They controlled the degree of the Arctic Ocean isolation from adjacent oceanic basins and changes in the ecological system particularly pronounced in the shelf area. The transgressions were accompanied by a wide migration of marine fauna, whereas the regressive stages expanded areas of cryogenic sedimentation.