Paleogeographic reconstructions and basins development of the Arctic Jan Golonka a, * , Natalia Y. Bocharova b , David Ford c , Mary E. Edrich d , Jolanta Bednarczyk e , James Wildharber f a Institute of Geological Sciences, Jagiellonian University, Oleandry Str. 2a, 30-063 Krako ´w, Poland b Department of Computer Sciences, University of Arlington, Arlington, TX, USA c 709 Foxmoor Drive, Highland Village, TX 75077-7031, USA d 1927 Foreland Drive, Houston, TX 77077, USA e 12810 Midway Road # 2044, Dallas, TX 75244, USA f 105 Dan Moody Trail, Georgetown, TX 78628, USA Received 1 June 2002; received in revised form 1 October 2002; accepted 1 October 2002 Abstract Paleogeographic maps were constructed to depict the Phanerozoic plate tectonic configuration, paleoenvironment and lithofacies. These maps illustrate the geodynamic evolution of the circum-Arctic region. The relationship of the continental configuration, lithofacies, tectonics and climate from the disassembly of Rodinia to the assembly and breakup of Pangea is clearly depicted on this series of reconstructions. The distribution of lithofacies shows climatic change associated with continental assembly and disassembly as well as with the steady northward drift of the continents. From a regional perspective the facies in basins along the circum-Arctic margin reflect various stages of geotectonic development. The assembly of continents contributed to the formation of foreland basins. The breakup of continents, especially of the Pangean supercontinent, generated basins related to rifting and passive margin development. The subduction zones are related to the back-arc basins. The inversion caused by ridge pushing played an important role in the basin evolution. q 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Phanerozoic; Plate tectonics; Paleogeography; Arctic; Sea-level; Paleoclimate; Lithofacies 1. Introduction 1.1. Mapping methodology This paper was prepared as a contribution to the 31st International Geological Congress, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 2000. Its objective is to review the paleogeography, paleoenvironment and lithofacies of the circum-Arctic margins during the Phanerozoic time. Data for the maps were derived from geologic reports, maps and stratigraphic columns and other paleogeographic interpretations regard- ing tectonics, basin formation, and deposition. Thirty-one maps were constructed which depict the plate tectonic configuration, paleogeography and lithofacies for Phanerozoic time intervals from the Early Cambrian through the Neogene. Generally, the individual maps illustrate the conditions present during the maximum marine transgressions of higher frequency cyclicity within the Sauk, Tippecanoe, Kaskaskia, Absaroka, Zuni, and Tejas megasequences of Sloss (Golonka, 2000; Golonka & Kiessling, 2002). These maps in full colors are available on the Elsevier homepage. The maps were constructed using a plate tectonic model, which describes the relative motions between approxi- mately 300 Plate and terranes. This model was constructed using PLATE and PALEOMAP software (Golonka, 2000; Golonka, Ross, & Scotese, 1994; Lawver & Scotese, 1987; Scotese & McKerrow, 1990; Ziegler, Hulver, & Rowley, 1997) which integrate computer graphics and data manage- ment technology with a highly structured and quantitative description of tectonic relationships. The heart of this program is the rotation file, which is constantly updated, as new paleomagnetic data become available. Hot-spot volcanics serve as reference points for the calculation of paleolongitudes (Golonka & Bocharova, 2000; Morgan, 0264-8172/03/$ - see front matter q 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/S0264-8172(03)00043-6 Marine and Petroleum Geology 20 (2003) 211–248 www.elsevier.com/locate/marpetgeo * Corresponding author. Fax: þ 48-12-633-2270. E-mail address: golonka@geos.ing.uj.edu.pl (J. Golonka).