Geodynamics of the Russian Arctic Shelf and Relief-Forming Processes in the Central Kara Basin

The article deals with the issues of the geodynamic evolution of the Kara–Barents Sea shelf and influence of structure-forming processes on the nature of relief formation. The aggregate data obtained allows us to assume that the relief of the western part of the Russian Arctic formed as a result of polycyclic processes of closing of the Proto-Atlantic, Paleoural, and Iapetus oceans. A systematic analysis of paleogeodynamic reconstructions of the evolution of the continental crust of the Arctic region makes it possible to identify with a high degree of reliability the spatiotemporal patterns of relief formation, predict areas of localization of hazardous phenomena on the seafloor, and substantiate geomorphological criteria for searching for hydrocarbon deposits in shallow bedding.