A new model for the Paleogene motion of Greenland relative to North America: Plate reconstructions of the Davis Strait and Nares Strait regions between Canada and Greenland

A simplified plate kinematic model for the Paleogene motion of Greenland relative to North America has been developed to provide a new framework for modeling the oceanic spreading system in Baffin Bay and the intraplate tectonic development of the Davis Strait and Nares Strait regions of the Arctic. A single Euler rotation pole was calculated for the C13N to C24N Eocene motion of the Greenland Plate relative to North America using spreading centers and fracture zones interpreted from satellite derived gravity data in Baffin Bay combined with fracture zones in Labrador Sea from published sources. A single stage pole is proposed for the C25N to C27N portion of the Paleocene and a short‐lived stage pole was found necessary to accommodate the C24N to C25N interval. This kinematic model has been used to reinterpret published shipborne magnetic profiles in central Baffin Bay to reveal a Paleocene spreading center and limits of both Eocene and Paleocene oceanic crust. Aeromagnetic data over northeastern Baffin Bay have been used to identify a new fracture zone in northern Baffin Bay. Plate reconstructions are presented incorporating constraints on plate boundaries from onshore and offshore geological and geophysical mapping. Within the Davis Strait, Paleocene oceanic crust was emplaced in an elongated rift that was subsequently inverted by approximately 300 km of Eocene transpression along the Ungava Fault Zone. In the Nares Strait Region, a “microplate” scenario is presented to explain the simultaneous formation of the Lancaster Sound Rift Basin and complex deformation within the Eurekan Orogenic Belt. Key Points New kinematic model for Greenland relative to North America Paleocene and Eocene oceanic crust in Baffin Bay New plate reconstructions for Davis Strait and Nares Strait