Distributed, right-lateral strike-slip in Prins Karls Forland, western Svalbard

Abstract

The ‘Scotiadalen Fault’ appears on many maps but has not been identified as a single fault in the field. In addition, the sense of motion on the fault has been an open question. Here I show that this structure is a zone of distributed dextral strike-slip that is probably the result of Tertiary plate motion as the North Atlantic opened. As such it is one of the very few fault zones documented to show direct evidence of dextral, presumably Tertiary, strike-slip.