Objectives

The specific objectives are:

1. Constructing a regional geological database: the database consists of all available data in the project from the outcrop/field work information to maps generated from subsurface data. The database is built using geographic information systems (GIS) that can be used by industry and academia;

2. Defining a sequence stratigraphic framework supported by revised biostratigraphy for building a “correlative” on- and off- shore sequence and seismic stratigraphic framework over the Greater Barents Sea region (Norwegian and Russian sectors) by integrating facies distribution, stacking patterns from field and well data,
and seismic stratigraphy from Svalbard and the subsurface of the Barents Sea;

3. Improving a quantitative plate tectonic model that provides insights on the mechanisms of deformation along the western and northern margins of the Barents Sea, possible sources of sedimentation, and relation to other Arctic basins during the Lower Cretaceous;

4. Conducting provenance studies on- and off- shore to facilitate better understanding of the sources of sedimentation and support plate tectonic models, paleogeography, and reservoir characterization;

5. Constructing detailed paleogeography that integrates all available data in order to provide insights to the distribution of coarse-grained sedimentation that can serve as a basis for exploration.