STRONTIUM ISOTOPE DATING OF SPICULITIC PERMIAN STRATA FROM SPITSBERGEN OUTCROPS AND BARENTS SEA WELL-CORES

S.N. Ehrenberg¹, J.M. McArthur² and M.F. Thirlwall³

¹ Statoil, Stavanger, Norway.

Present address, Oil and Gas Research Center, Sultan Qaboos University, P.O. Box 89, P.C. 123, Al-Khoud, Muscat, Sultanate of Oman.

Corresponding author, email:  sne@squ.edu.om

² University College London, WC1E 6BT London, UK.

³ Royal Holloway University of London, Surrey TW20 0EX, UK.

Eight samples of brachiopod shell material have been analyzed for their strontium isotope composition in order to more accurately date Lower to Upper Permian siliceous biogenic strata of Spitsbergen (Kapp Starostin Formation) and the southern Barents Sea (Røye Formation). The results are interpreted as showing a mid-Artinskian age for the basal Vøringen Member of the Kapp Starostin Formation and a range of late Artinskian to Roadian for the overlying part of this unit.  The upper part of the Røye Formation yields ages in the range Roadian to Wuchiapingian. These results are consistent with available biostratigraphic data and confirm the potential of strontium isotope stratigraphy for developing a more accurate chronology of the widespread spiculite deposits that characterize the northern margin of Pangea in late-Early Permian to Late Permian time and which constitute a potential target for petroleum exploration.

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