Chapter 09 - pp. 304-305

In Ebbadalen on Svalbard there are folded yellow and red sandstones, alternating with white evaporites and grey limestones from the Carboniferous and Permian. (Photo: A. Nøttvedt)

Chapter 09 - p. 308

Map illustrating the major structural elements on the Barents shelf during the Carboniferous and Permian. Elevated highs are shown in green. Subsidence was active in the Nordkapp Basin, which is shown in yellow. Other stippled areas indicate structures that developed later during the Jurassic and Cretaceous.

Chapter 09 - p. 309a

Reconstruction of Early Carboniferous and Early Permian climate zones. In the Early Carboniferous (upper map), Norway was located in the humid tropical zone, while in the Early Permian (lower map), the climate was hot and arid. (Figures modified from C. Scotese)

Chapter 09 - p. 309b

Diagram showing the continental drift of Svalbard Since the Carboniferous, Svalbard has drifted progressively northwards over a distance equivalent to about 90 degrees of latitude, or a quarter of the Earth's circumference. (Figure modified from R.J. Steel & D.Worsley)

Chapter 09 - p. 310a

In the Early Carboniferous, the climate wad humid and characterised by large swamp forests, containing ferns, club mosses and Lepidodendron trees. (Illustration: B. Bocianowski)

Chapter 09 - p. 310b

In the Late Carboniferous and Permian northern Europe was hot and dry, and reptiles ruled the scorched landmasses. (Illustration: B. Bocianowski)

Chapter 09 - p. 311a

Stratigraphic dolumns showing Caroniferous and Permian successions on the Barents shelf and in Svalbard. In the Early Carboniferous, we find coal-bearing sandstones and mudstones, while the Late Carboniferous and Permian are dominated by limestines and evaporites. These successions reflect a progressive change from humid to arid climatic regimes.

Chapter 09 - p. 311b

Diagram showing basin evolution in Central Spitsbergen during the Carboniferous and Permian. The map shows the position of the geological profile and the locations wherethe Carboniferous and Permian rocks crop out.Spitsbergen's evolution is typical of large parts of the Barents shelf. In the Early Carboniferous, sand and mud were deposited in broad basins, while in the Mid-Carboniferous, crustal movements resulted in the formation of narrow and more isolated rift basins. In the Late Carboniferous and Permian, the Barents Sea are developed into a gradualle subsiding, stable platform. BFZ = Billefjorden Fault Zone, LAFZ = Lomfjord–Agardhbukt Fault Zone. (Figure modified from A. Andresen)

Chapter 09 - p. 311c

Diagram showing basin evolution in Central Spitsbergen during the Carboniferous and Permian. The map shows the position of the geological profile and the locations wherethe Carboniferous and Permian rocks crop out.Spitsbergen's evolution is typical of large parts of the Barents shelf. In the Early Carboniferous, sand and mud were deposited in broad basins, while in the Mid-Carboniferous, crustal movements resulted in the formation of narrow and more isolated rift basins. In the Late Carboniferous and Permian, the Barents Sea are developed into a gradualle subsiding, stable platform. BFZ = Billefjorden Fault Zone, LAFZ = Lomfjord–Agardhbukt Fault Zone. (Figure modified from A. Andresen)

Chapter 09 - p. 312a

Diagram showing the paleogeography and most important sediment types in the northern areas during the Early Carboniferous. Elongated basins with alluvial plains were developed between Norway and Greenland, while a shallow sea occupied the present Barents shelf area. The locations of Norway, svalbard and Greenland are shown in relation to the Carboniferous plate reconstruction. (Figure modified from H. Brekke)

Chapter 09 - p. 312b

Paleogeography and depositional environments in Svalbard in the Early Carboniferous. (Figure modified from R.J. Steel and D.Worsley)

Chapter 09 - p. 313a

From Billefjorden in Svalbard. The photograph shows Lower Carboniferous coal-bearing mudstones and sandstones of  the Hørbyebreen Formation. The yellow sandstone beds were deposited in and along the banks of river channels, while the geyish-black mudstone were deposited on flood plains between the channels. (Photo: A. Nøttvedt)

Chapter 09 - p. 313b

Fossil stem of the club moss Stigmaria, from Billefjorden in Svalbard. (Photo: E.P. Johannessen)

Chapter 09 - p. 314a 

Geological map of Billefjorden on Spitsbergen, showing Carboniferous and Permian successions unconformably overlying Devonian strata. (Figure from NPI, W. Dallmann)

Chapter 09 - p. 314b

Drill core from the Soldogg Formation in well 7128/4-1 on the Finnmark Platform, showing alluvial plain deposits - pale grey sandstones and dark grey mudstones, separated by a coal seam. (Photo: G.B. Larssen et al.)

Chapter 09 - p. 314c

Diagram of a seismic profile from the Finnmark Platform. Billefjorden Group sequences exhibit a wedge-shaped geometry and were deposited in half-graben basins during the Early Carboniferous. The Gipsdalen Group also varies somewhat in thickness over large areas. These were deposited after crustal movements in the Barents Sea area had abated. (Figure from G.B. Larssen et al.)

Chapter 09 - p. 315

The remains of the mine railway on Bjørnøya. The wreckage is not the result of the passage of time, but of a shelling attack by the British Navy in 1940! (Archive photo)

Chapter 09 - p. 316

Paleogeography and the most important sediment types in the northern areas during the Mid-Carboniferous. Shallow marine environments in the Barents Sea area had now expanded to include an elongated gulf extending southwards across Sweden and Finland. The locations of Norway, Svalbard and Greenland are shown in relation to the Carboniferous plate reconstruction. (Figure modified from H. Brekke)

Chapter 09 - p. 317a

The mountain Pyramiden in Billefjorden on Spitsbergen, with the Russian mining town Pyramiden in the foreground. The pipe-lines on the left lie approximately along the Billefjorden Fault Zone. Dark red Devonian rocks outcrop to the left of the fault. On the  right, and closest to the fault, are the greyish-black, coalbearing Lower Carboniferous deposits of the Hørbyebreen Formatin, and these are overlain by alternating red and yellowish-grey Mid-Carboniferous beds of the Ebbadalen Formation. The grey beds at the top of the mountain belong to the Wordiekammen Formation of Late Carboniferous age. (Foto. A. Strøm)

Chapter 09 - p. 317b

Mid-Carboniferous palaeogeography and depositional environments in Svalbard. (Figure modified from R.J. Steel og D.Worsley)

Chapter 09 - p. 317c

Detail of Mid-Caroniferous beds from the Odellfjellet Member of the Ebbadalen Formation at Pyramiden. 
A) Laminated, gravel-bearing sandstone deposited as part of a flood-dominated delta fan. (Photo: E.P. Johannessen) 
B) A sequence comprising bedded red sandstones deposited as flood-dominated delta fans and eolian dunes, overlain by white sandstones deposited in coastal settings, and shallow water dolomites. The sequence marks the gradual flooding of the basin in response to subsidence. (Photo: A. Nøttvedt)

Chapter 09 - p. 318a

The mountain Trikolorfjellet at the mout of Austfjorden in Svalbard. The photograph shows interbedded red and yellow sandstones, white evaporites, and greyish-black dolomits from the Trikolorfjel Member, Ebbadalen Formationen. (Photo: A. Strøm)

Chapter 09 - p. 318b

Schematic section through the Billefjorden Trough on Spitsbergen. Note the marked wedge-shaped geometry of the Ebbadalen Formation deposits. These beds are termed "sync-rift" deposits because they were laid down while subsidence of the trough was ongoing. (Figure from E.P. Johannessen)

Chapter 09 - p. 318c

Diagram of seismic profile from the Loppa High, extended northwards towards the Bjarmeland Platform. The Gipsdalen Group exhibits a wedge-like geometry and was deposited in half-grabens, as in Svalbard. Note that the faults do not penetrate the Bjarmeland and Tempelfjorden Group units, which were deposited after crustal movements in the Barents shelf area had abated. (Figure from G. B. Larssen et al.)

Chapter 09 - p. 319a

White gypsum and anhydrite from the Minkinfjellet Formation in Billefjorden on Spitsbergen. The gypsum is formed mainly at the surface by the hydration of anhydrite. (Photo: A.Nøttvedt)

Chapter 09 - p. 319b

Chicken-wire anhydrite formed on vast sabkhas during the Late Carboniferous. Picture is 15 centimetres wide. (Photo: A.Nøttvedt)

Chapter 09 - p. 320

Palaeogeography and the most important sediment types in the northern areas during the Early Permian. (Figure modified from H. Brekke)

Chapter 09 - p. 321a

From the area between Austfjorden and Billefjorden in Svalbard. Yellowish-grey limestones of the Upper Carboniferous Wordiekammen Formation directly overlie greyish-black basement rocks of the Hecla Hoek Group. Inset: Geologists examine fine-grained limestones within the Wordiekammen Formation. (Photos: A. Nøttvedt)

Chapter 09 - p. 321b

Thin section from the Ørn Formation in well 7128/6-1. The photograph shows a coarse-grained, bioclastic limestone containing the remains of planktonic foraminifera. (Photo: G. B. Larssen et al.)

Chapter 09 - p. 322

Fossils from the Late Carboniferous and Early Permian in Svalbard and Bjørnøya.
A. The bryozoan Fenestella,Wordiekammen Formation – Tyrrellfjellet Member, Grøndalen, Spitsbergen.The photographs's actual size is four centimetres across..
B. The bryozoan Ascoporella,Wordiekammen Formation – Tyrrellfjellet Member, Gipsvika, Spitsbergen. The bryozoans are seven milimetres thick. 
C. Fusulinids, Wordiekammen Formation – Tyrrellfjellet, Billefjorden, Spitsbergen.
D. The brachiopod Neospirifer, Wordiekammen Formation – Tyrrellfjellet, Billefjorden, Spitsbergen. The brachiopod is five centimetres across. 
E. The colonial coral Kleopatrina, Kapp Kåre Formation, Bjørnøya. The photographs's actual size is ten centimetres across.
F. Corals, Kapp Kåre Formation, Bjørnøya. Each coral is 2 cenimetres thick. (All photos: H.A. Nakrem)

Chapter 09 - p. 323a

Life on the sea floor in the Early Permian. A rich benthic faune inhabited the warm seas, including corals, bryozoans (moss animals), crinoids (sea-lilies), and sponges. From the exhibition ”Life through the ages”, University of Michigan. (Photo: www.palaeos.com/Timescale)

Chapter 09 - p. 323b

Fossil reef structures from the Wordiekammen Formation near Skansen on Spitsbergen. Inset: The reefs were formed by a single organism, Palaeoaplysina - a plate-like animal resembling the sponges. (Photos: A. Nøttvedt)

Chapter 09 - p. 324a

The mountain Skansen in Billefjorden on Spitsbergen. The lowermost slope is made up of beds of white and grey gypsum, anhydrite and dolomite of the Gipshuken Formation. The steep uppermost  liffs comprise chert beds of the Kapp Starostin Formation. (Photo: A. Nøttvedt)

Chapter 09 - p. 324b

Seismic relief display from the Loppa High showing polygonal carbonate reef patterns in the Permian sequence. (Figure from D. Hunt)

Chapter 09 - p. 324c

Seismic line from the Loppa High showing well-defined reef structures within dipping Permian sequences. (Figure from D. Hunt)

Chapter 09 - p. 325a

Thin section showing Late Permian bryozoans and fusulinids from shallow borehole 7129/10-U-2 on the Finnmark Platform. (Photo: H.A. Nakrem)

Chapter 09 - p. 325b

Diagram of seismic profile from the Nordkapp Basin showing Late Carboniferous salt penetrating overlying Mesozoic and Cenozoic sequences and reaching the sea floor. During it ascent the salt has carried with it a large block of Permo-Carboniferous limestone. The Mesozoic sequences have been forced upwards and, at the present day, Triassic sandstone beds that have been truncated by the salt diapir form traps for oil and gas. Well 7228/7- 1A is shown penetrating the "Dumbo" prospect. (Figure from K. Sollid)

Chapter 09 - p. 325c

Von Buch's drawing of Spirifer keilhavii. The permian brachiopod Spirifer keilhavii was described by Professor Keilhau when he visited Bjørnøya in 1827.

Chapter 09 - p. 326

Palaeogeography and the most important sediment types in northern areas during the Late Permian. Shallow marine conditions persisted in the Barent Sea area, but mud now became the dominant sediment type in preference to carbonate. The locations of Norway, Svalbard and Greenland are shown in relation to the Permian plate reconstruction. (Figure modified from H. Brekke)

Chapter 09 - p. 327a

Akseløya in Bellsund on Spitsbergen. Akseløya is composed of vertically-bedded cherts of the Kapp Starostin Formation, and forms a prominent ridge almost blockin the entrance to van Mijenfjorden. The chert beds are very hard, and because of this the glaciers that carved out van Mijenfjorden failed to erode these strata to the same degree as the surrounding rocks. (Photo: A. Nøttvedt)

Chapter 09 - p. 327b

Drill core from well 7128/6-1 on the Finnmark Platform, showing the transition from greyish-blue limestones of the Isbjørn Formation to greyish-black, silica-bearing mudstones of the Røye Formation. (Photo: G.B. Larsen et al.)

Chapter 09 - p. 327c

Thin section showing a spiculite unit from the Kapp Starostin Formation. The photograph shows sponge spicules mixed with clay. (Photo: T. Hellem)

Chapter 09 - p. 328a

Thin section from well 7128/4-1 on Finnmark Platform, showing a spiculite unit from the Røye Formation. The blue colour is an epoxy resin that is used to highlight zones of high porosity within the rock. (Photo: G. B. Larssen et al.)

Chapter 09 - p. 328b

Late Permian fossils from Spitsbergen, Bjørnøya and the Barents Sea.
A. Meekopora magnusi, Svalbard. The photograph's actual size is two centimetres across.
B. The brachiopod Neospirifer, Miseryfjellet Formation, Gravodden Bjørnøya. The brachiopod is five centimetres across. 
C. Crionid stems, Miseryfjellet Formation, Gravodden, Bjørnøya. The stems are one centimetre in diameter.
D. The bryozoan Ramipora,Kapp Stavrostin Formation, Festningen, Spitsbergen. The photograph's actual size is eight centimetres across. 
E. The bryozoan Fenestella, Late Permian, shallow borehole 7129/10-U-1, Finnmark Platform. The drill core is five centimeters in diameter.
F. The bryozoan Tabulipora, Kapp Starostin Formation, Trygghamna, Spitsbergen. The bryozoan is two centimetres across.
(Photo A-C and E-F: H.A. Nakrem. Photo D: A. Nøttvedt)

Chapter 09 - p. 329

Modelled average annual temperature of the Earth's surface during the Late Permian mass extinction. The calculations assume an average annual sea surface temperature of 30-35 degrees at the equator, and 5-10 degrees near the Poles. The model i based on a simulation conductet at the National Center for Climatic Research, Boulder. (Figure from J. Kiehl, www.ucar.edu/news/releases/2005/permian)