Landslide Processes in the Central Part of the Laptev Sea Continental Slope and Their Relation to Tectonics

Three horizons, composed of mass transport deposits, were distinguished on seismic cross-sections in the upper sedimentary section of Laptev Sea continental margin. The mass transport deposits are formed in canyons and are transported into the Amundsen Basin on distance up to 325 km forming a wide continental rise. Earthquakes and huge gas emission from sediments are related to tectonic activity on the margin. They are triggers that cause collapse of canyon slopes with generation of landslide flows. The formation of a canyon system on the slope eastward from Gakkel Ridge could be caused by extension of the Eurasian Basin due to countermotion of the under-lithospheric current of the upper mantle convection sell beneath the Arctic region.