Cenozoic Sedimentation and Response to Greenhouse-Icehouse Transition in the Eastern Amundsen Basin, Arctic Ocean

Abstract

The Amundsen Basin preserves a relatively complete Cenozoic sedimentary record, providing insights into the Arctic paleoenvironmental changes during the greenhouse-to-icehouse climate transition. This study establishes a Cenozoic stratigraphic framework for the eastern Amundsen Basin based on 19 multichannel seismic profiles integrated with IODP Expedition 302 (ACEX) drilling data. Through quantitative analysis of sediment budget variations and depocenter migration patterns, we reconstruct the Cenozoic sedimentary evolution. Key findings include: (1) Cenozoic sediment budget exhibits an “initial high, intermediate decline, and late recovery” trend: peaking at 18.21 × 10³ km³/Myr during the warm-humid Early–Middle Eocene (56–45 Ma), declining by ∼35% to 11.92 × 10³ km³/Myr during Middle–Late Eocene cooling (45–34 Ma), reaching a minimum of 8.73 × 10³ km³/Myr under pelagic-dominated Oligocene–Early Miocene conditions (34 – 20 Ma), and recovering to 9.91 × 10³ km³/Myr since the Miocene (20–0 Ma), driven by glacial erosion, fluvial maturation, and ocean circulation reorganization. (2) Depocenter migration reflects provenance shifts: localized depocenters (∼3 000 m) developed along the Laptev shelf margin during the Early–Middle Eocene, shifted toward the Lomonosov Ridge after the Middle Eocene with basin-wide thickness homogenization (200 – 500 m) during Oligocene–Early Miocene, and returned to Laptev margin dominance since the Miocene. (3) The Middle Eocene (∼45 Ma) marks a critical turning point in Arctic sedimentary environment, evidenced by both the abrupt ∼35% decline in sediment budget and significant differences in seismic reflection characteristics above and below this interface, with synchronous responses observed across multiple Arctic regions. Combined with ACEX ice-rafted debris records, these findings demonstrate that the Middle Eocene climate transition exerted regional control on Arctic sedimentation.

Keywords

Amundsen Basin / sediment budget / climate transition (greenhouse-icehouse) / Cenozoic stratigraphy / sedimentation

References

[1] Akhmetiev M A, Zaporozhets N I, Benyamovskiy V N, et al.. The Paleogene History of the Western Siberian Seaway—A Connection of the Peri-Tethys to the Arctic Ocean. Austrian Journal of Earth Sciences, 2012, 105(1): 50-67

[2] Backman J, Moran K, McInroy D B, et al.. Proceedings of the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program, 2006. Edinburgh, Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Management International, Inc.: 302

[3] Backman J, Jakobsson M, Frank M, et al.. Age Model and Core-Seismic Integration for the Cenozoic Arctic Coring Expedition Sediments from the Lomonosov Ridge. Paleoceanography, 2008, 23(1): PA1S03.

[4] Bahr D B, Hutton E W H, Syvitski J P M, et al.. Exponential Approximations to Compacted Sediment Porosity Profiles. Computers & Geosciences, 2001, 27(6): 691-700.

[5] Boggs S. Principles of Sedimentology and Stratigraphy, 1995, 2nd Ed, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, Prentice Hall: 774

[6] Brinkhuis H, Schouten S, Collinson M E, et al.. Episodic Fresh Surface Waters in the Eocene Arctic Ocean. Nature, 2006, 441(7093): 606-609.

[7] Cai, X. X., Zhang, T., Wei, C. H., et al., 2025. Modulation of Sea Ice on the Low-Frequency Acoustic Propagation over the Gakkel Ridge, Arctic Ocean. Journal of Earth Science. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12583-025-0416-x

[8] Castro C F, Knutz P C, Hopper J R, et al.. Depositional Evolution of the Western Amundsen Basin, Arctic Ocean: Paleoceanographic and Tectonic Implications. Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology, 2018, 33(12): 1357-1382.

[9] Clift P D. Controls on the Erosion of Cenozoic Asia and the Flux of Clastic Sediment to the Ocean. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 2006, 241(3/4): 571-580.

[10] Clift P D, Sun Z. The Sedimentary and Tectonic Evolution of the Yinggehai-Song Hong Basin and the Southern Hainan Margin, South China Sea: Implications for Tibetan Uplift and Monsoon Intensification. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, 2006, 111(B6): B06405.

[11] Clinger A E, Fox M, Balco G, et al.. Detrital Thermochronometry Reveals that the Topography along the Antarctic Peninsula is not a Pleistocene Landscape. Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface, 2020, 125(6): e2019JF005447.

[12] Dick H J B, Lin J, Schouten H. An Ultraslow-Spreading Class of Ocean Ridge. Nature, 2003, 426(6965): 405-412.

[13] Drachev S S, Malyshev N A, Nikishin A M. Tectonic History and Petroleum Geology of the Russian Arctic Shelves. OTC Arctic Technology Conference, February 7–9, 2011. Houston, Texas, USA, 2011. OTC-22063-MS.

[14] Dutkiewicz A, Müller R D, Wang X, et al.. Predicting Sediment Thickness on Vanished Ocean Crust since 200 Ma. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, 2017, 18(12): 4586-4603.

[15] Engen Ø, Faleide J I, Dyreng T K. Opening of the Fram Strait Gateway: A Review of Plate Tectonic Constraints. Tectonophysics, 2008, 450(1/2/3/4): 51-69.

[16] Engen Ø, Gjengedal J A, Faleide J I, et al.. Seismic Stratigraphy and Sediment Thickness of the Nansen Basin, Arctic Ocean. Geophysical Journal International, 2009, 176(3): 805-821.

[17] Escutia C, Brinkhuis H, Klaus A, et al.. IODP Expedition 318: From Greenhouse to Icehouse at the Wilkes Land Antarctic Margin. Scientific Drilling, 2011, 12: 15-23.

[18] Faleide J I, Abdelmalak M M, Minakov A, et al.. Eurasia Basin Composite Tectono-Sedimentary Element. Geological Society, London, Memoirs, 2025, 57(1): 1041-1057.

[19] Franke D. Rifting, Lithosphere Breakup and Volcanism: Comparison of Magma-Poor and Volcanic Rifted Margins. Marine and Petroleum Geology, 2013, 43: 63-87.

[20] Funck T, Shimeld J, Salisbury M H. Magmatic and Rifting-Related Features of the Lomonosov Ridge, and Relationships to the Continent–Ocean Transition Zone in the Amundsen Basin, Arctic Ocean. Geophysical Journal International, 2022, 229(2): 1309-1337.

[21] Gaina C, Jakobsson M, Straume E O, et al.. Arctic Ocean Bathymetry and Its Connections to Tectonics, Oceanography and Climate. Nature Reviews Earth & Environment, 2025, 6(3): 211-227.

[22] Geissler W H, Jokat W, Brekke H. The Yermak Plateau in the Arctic Ocean in the Light of Reflection Seismic Data-Implication for Its Tectonic and Sedimentary Evolution: The Yermak Plateau in the Arctic Ocean. Geophysical Journal International, 2011, 187(3): 1334-1362.

[23] Gertseva M V, Borisova T P, Chibisova E D, et al.. State Geological Map of Russian Federation. Scale 1:1 000 000 (Third Generation). Verkhoyansk-Kolyma Seria, 2016. St. Petersburg, VSEGEI

[24] Glebovsky V Yu, Kaminsky V D, Minakov A N, et al.. Formation of the Eurasia Basin in the Arctic Ocean as Inferred from Geohistorical Analysis of the Anomalous Magnetic Field. Geotectonics, 2006, 40(4): 263-281.

[25] Gusev N, Vovshin Y, Kruglova A, et al.. State Geological Map of the Russian Federation, Scale 1:1 000 000 (Third Generation), 2015. St. Petersburg, VSEGEI

[26] Hapke C J, Lentz E E, Gayes P T, et al.. A Review of Sediment Budget Imbalances along Fire Island, New York: Can Nearshore Geologic Framework and Patterns of Shoreline Change Explain the Deficit?. Journal of Coastal Research, 2010, 263: 510-522.

[27] Herman F, Braun J, Deal E, et al.. The Response Time of Glacial Erosion. Journal of Geophysical Research: Earth Surface, 2018, 123(4): 801-817.

[28] Hossain A, Knorr G, Jokat W, et al.. Opening of the Fram Strait Led to the Establishment of a Modern-Like Three-Layer Stratification in the Arctic Ocean during the Miocene. Arktos, 2021, 7(1/2/3): 1-12.

[29] Hutchinson D K, Coxall H K, O’Regan M, et al.. Arctic Closure as a Trigger for Atlantic Overturning at the Eocene-Oligocene Transition. Nature Communications, 2019, 10(1): 3797.

[30] Jakobsson M, Backman J, Rudels B, et al.. The Early Miocene Onset of a Ventilated Circulation Regime in the Arctic Ocean. Nature, 2007, 447(7147): 986-990.

[31] Jakobsson M, Mohammad R, Karlsson M, et al.. The International Bathymetric Chart of the Arctic Ocean Version 5.0. Scientific Data, 2024, 11(1): 1420.

[32] Jokat W, Micksch U. Sedimentary Structure of the Nansen and Amundsen Basins, Arctic Ocean. Geophysical Research Letters, 2004, 31(2): 2003GL018352.

[33] Jokat W, Weigelt E, Kristofferseq Y, et al.. New Geophysical Results from the South-Western Eurasian Basin (Morris Jesup Rise, Gakkel Ridge, Yermak Plateau) and the Fram Strait. Geophysical Journal International, 1995, 123(2): 601-610.

[34] Lasabuda A, Geissler W H, Laberg J S, et al.. Late Cenozoic Erosion Estimates for the Northern Barents Sea: Quantifying Glacial Sediment Input to the Arctic Ocean. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, 2018, 19(12): 4876-4903.

[35] Lasabuda A P E, Johansen N S, Laberg J S, et al.. Cenozoic Uplift and Erosion of the Norwegian Barents Shelf: A Review. Earth-Science Reviews, 2021, 217: 103609.

[36] Lasabuda A P E, Hanssen A, Laberg J S, et al.. Paleobathymetric Reconstructions of the SW Barents Seaway and Their Implications for Atlantic-Arctic Ocean Circulation. Communications Earth & Environment, 2023, 4(1): 231.

[37] Lasabuda A P E, Chiarella D, Sømme T O, et al.. Impact of Paleocene–Eocene Tectonic and Climatic Forcing on Arctic Sediment Transfer Variability: SW Barents Sea, Norway. Marine Geology, 2025, 480: 107447.

[38] Li J, Leng S, Zhang L, et al.. Progress and Prospects of Submarine Scientific Investigations in the Arctic Ocean under the Framework of Global Governance. Science Foundation in China, 2024, 38(6): 934-945. (in Chinese with English Abstract).

[39] Mattingsdal R, Knies J, Andreassen K, et al.. A New 6 Myr Stratigraphic Framework for the Atlantic-Arctic Gateway. Quaternary Science Reviews, 2014, 92: 170-178.

[40] Miller K G, Browning J V, Schmelz W J, et al.. Cenozoic Sea-Level and Cryospheric Evolution from Deep-Sea Geochemical and Continental Margin Records. Science Advances, 2020, 6(20): eaaz1346.

[41] Moran K, Backman J, Brinkhuis H, et al.. The Cenozoic Palaeoenvironment of the Arctic Ocean. Nature, 2006, 441(7093): 601-605.

[42] Mudelsee M, Raymo M E. Slow Dynamics of the Northern Hemisphere Glaciation. Paleoceanography, 2005, 20(4): 2005PA001153.

[43] Müller R D, Zahirovic S, Williams S E, et al.. A Global Plate Model Including Lithospheric Deformation along Major Rifts and Orogens since the Triassic. Tectonics, 2019, 38(6): 1884-1907.

[44] Neville L A, Grasby S E, McNeil D H. Limited Freshwater Cap in the Eocene Arctic Ocean. Scientific Reports, 2019, 9: 4226.

[45] Nikishin A M, Gaina C, Petrov E I, et al.. Eurasia Basin and Gakkel Ridge, Arctic Ocean: Crustal Asymmetry, Ultra-Slow Spreading and Continental Rifting Revealed by New Seismic Data. Tectonophysics, 2018, 746: 64-82.

[46] Nikishin A M, Petrov E I, Cloetingh S, et al.. Arctic Ocean Mega Project: Paper 1—Data Collection. Earth-Science Reviews, 2021, 217: 103559.

[47] Nikishin A M, Petrov E I, Cloetingh S, et al.. Arctic Ocean Mega Project: Paper 2—Arctic Stratigraphy and Regional Tectonic Structure. Earth-Science Reviews, 2021, 217: 103581.

[48] Nikishin A M, Petrov E I, Cloetingh S, et al.. Arctic Ocean Mega Project: Paper 3—Mesozoic to Cenozoic Geological Evolution. Earth-Science Reviews, 2021, 217: 103034.

[49] Oakey G N, Stephenson R. Crustal Structure of the Innuitian Region of Arctic Canada and Greenland from Gravity Modelling: Implications for the Palaeogene Eurekan Orogen. Geophysical Journal International, 2008, 173(3): 1039-1063.

[50] O’Regan M, Moran K, Backman J, et al.. Mid-Cenozoic Tectonic and Paleoenvironmental Setting of the Central Arctic Ocean. Paleoceanography, 2008, 23: 2007PA001559.

[51] Pease V, Drachev S, Stephenson R, et al.. Arctic Lithosphere—A Review. Tectonophysics, 2014, 628: 1-25.

[52] Piskarev A L, Avetisov G P, Kireev A A, et al.. Structure of the Laptev Sea Shelf-Eurasian Basin Transition Zone (Arctic Ocean). Geotectonics, 2018, 52(6): 589-608.

[53] Poirier A, Hillaire-Marcel C. Improved Os-Isotope Stratigraphy of the Arctic Ocean: Os-Isotope Stratigraphy of the Arctic. Geophysical Research Letters, 2011, 38(14): L14607.

[54] Polyak L, Alley R B, Andrews J T, et al.. History of Sea Ice in the Arctic. Quaternary Science Reviews, 2010, 29(15/16): 1757-1778.

[55] Poselov V A, Avetisov G P, Butsenko V V, et al.. The Lomonosov Ridge as a Natural Extension of the Eurasian Continental Margin into the Arctic Basin. Russian Geology and Geophysics, 2012, 53(12): 1276-1290.

[56] Salles T, Husson L, Rey P, et al.. Hundred Million Years of Landscape Dynamics from Catchment to Global Scale. Science, 2023, 379(6635): 918-923.

[57] Sangiorgi F, Brumsack H J, Willard D A, et al.. A 26 Million Year Gap in the Central Arctic Record at the Greenhouse-Icehouse Transition: Looking for Clues. Paleoceanography, 2008, 23: 2007PA001477.

[58] Sclater J G, Christie P A F. Continental Stretching: An Explanation of the Post-Mid-Cretaceous Subsidence of the Central North Sea Basin. Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, 1980, 85(B7): 3711-3739.

[59] Serreze M C, Barry R G. Processes and Impacts of Arctic Amplification: A Research Synthesis. Global and Planetary Change, 2011, 77(1/2): 85-96.

[60] Shipilov E V, Lobkovsky L I, Shkarubo S I, et al.. Tectono-Geodynamic Settings in the Conjugation Zone of the Lomonosov Ridge, Eurasian Basin, and Eurasian Continental Margin. Geotectonics, 2021, 55(5): 655-675.

[61] Sluijs A, Schouten S, Pagani M, et al.. Subtropical Arctic Ocean Temperatures during the Palaeocene/Eocene Thermal Maximum. Nature, 2006, 441(7093): 610-613.

[62] Smith A G, Pickering K T. Oceanic Gateways as a Critical Factor to Initiate Icehouse Earth. Journal of the Geological Society, 2003, 160(3): 337-340.

[63] St. John K. Cenozoic Ice-Rafting History of the Central Arctic Ocean: Terrigenous Sands on the Lomonosov Ridge. Paleoceanography, 2008, 23: 2007PA001483.

[64] Stein R. The Late Mesozoic–Cenozoic Arctic Ocean Climate and Sea Ice History: A Challenge for Past and Future Scientific Ocean Drilling. Paleoceanography and Paleoclimatology, 2019, 34(12): 1851-1894.

[65] Stein R, Weller P, Backman J, et al.. Cenozoic Arctic Ocean Climate History: Some Highlights from the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Arctic Coring Expedition. In: Stein, R., Blackman, D. K., Inagaki, F., et al., eds., Earth and Life Processes Discovered from Subseafloor Environments. Developments in Marine Geology, 2014, 7: 237-240

[66] Stickley C E, St John K, Koç N, et al.. Evidence for Middle Eocene Arctic Sea Ice from Diatoms and Ice-Rafted Debris. Nature, 2009, 460(7253): 376-379.

[67] Straume E O, Gaina C, Medvedev S, et al.. GlobSed: Updated Total Sediment Thickness in the World’s Oceans. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, 2019, 20(4): 1756-1772.

[68] Straume E O, Gaina C, Medvedev S, et al.. Global Cenozoic Paleobathymetry with a Focus on the Northern Hemisphere Oceanic Gateways. Gondwana Research, 2020, 86: 126-143.

[69] Tan P C, Wang C Y, Wang F, et al.. Sediment Depositional History and Processes for the Eurasian Basin since 54 Ma, Arctic Ocean. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, 2025, 26(6): e2025GC012201.

[70] Tripati A K, Eagle R A, Morton A, et al.. Evidence for Glaciation in the Northern Hemisphere Back to 44 Ma from Ice-Rafted Debris in the Greenland Sea. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 2008, 265(1/2): 112-122.

[71] Wang F, Ding W W. How Did Sediments Disperse and Accumulate in the Oceanic Basin, South China Sea. Marine and Petroleum Geology, 2023, 147: 105979.

[72] Wang F, Ding W W, Wang H Q, et al.. Impacts of Tectonic-Paleogeographic Variations on Cenozoic Sedimentary Distribution in the Dangerous Grounds, South China Sea. Science China Earth Sciences, 2025, 68(11): 3523-3541.

[73] Wang H Q, Ding W W, Wang F. Evolution and Controlling Factors of Sedimentary Flux of East Asian Continental Margin since the Cenozoic. Earth Science, 2025, 50(9): 3559-3580. (in Chinese with English Abstract).

[74] Wang R J, Xiao W S, Zhang T L, et al.. Geological Drilling in Polar Regions: Progress and Perspectives. Advances in Earth Science, 2017, 32(12): 1236-1244. (in Chinese with English Abstract).

[75] Weigelt E, Jokat W, Eisermann H. Deposition History and Paleo-Current Activity on the Southeastern Lomonosov Ridge and Its Eurasian Flank Based on Seismic Data. Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, 2020, 21(11): e2020GC009133.

[76] Weller P, Stein R. Paleogene Biomarker Records from the Central Arctic Ocean (Integrated Ocean Drilling Program Expedition 302): Organic Carbon Sources, Anoxia, and Sea Surface Temperature. Paleoceanography, 2008, 23: PA1S17.

[77] Westerhold T, Marwan N, Drury A J, et al.. An Astronomically Dated Record of Earth’s Climate and Its Predictability over the Last 66 Million Years. Science, 2020, 369(6509): 1383-1387.

[78] Zachos J C, Dickens G R, Zeebe R E. An Early Cenozoic Perspective on Greenhouse Warming and Carbon-Cycle Dynamics. Nature, 2008, 451(7176): 279-283.

[79] Zhang T, Li J B, Niu X W, et al.. Highly Variable Magmatic Accretion at the Ultraslow-Spreading Gakkel Ridge. Nature, 2024, 633(8028): 109-113.

[80] Zhu, S., Li, C. F., Zhang, H., et al., 2025. Effective Elastic Thickness of North Atlantic Lithosphere Reveals Weakened Continental Margins and Mid-Ocean Ridge. Journal of Earth Science. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12583-025-0379-y

RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS

China University of Geosciences (Wuhan) and Springer-Verlag GmbH Germany, Part of Springer Nature