Late Palaeozoic architecture and evolution of the southwestern Barents Sea: insights from a new generation of aeromagnetic data

A new generation of aeromagnetic surveys highlights the Caledonian basement grain and pre-Permian basin architecture of the southwestern Barents Sea. This configuration involved several Caledonian thrust sheets that reactivated and controlled the post-Caledonian rift development of the southwestern Barents Sea during Late Palaeozoic time. Contrary to previous geological models, we consider that the sub-Permian basins and underlying basement grain have a dominantly NNW-SSE orientation in most of the southwestern Barents Sea. Moreover, we do not see magnetic evidence that could support a major NE-SW or NNE-SSW regional axis that has commonly been proposed for the Late Palaeozoic rift system and inherited Caledonian structural grain in the Barents Sea.