Biotic paleothermometry constrains on Arctic plates reconstructions: Carboniferous and Permian (Zhokhov Island, De-Longa Group Islands, New Siberian Archipelago)

A discovery of Carboniferous limestone containing tropical foraminifera and calcareous algae on Zhokhov Island, New Siberian Archipelago (NSA), challenges long-held assumptions about the paleogeography of Arctic regions. This warm-water biota, previously unknown north of the 30–35°N/S forbiddance line, suggests that much of the NSA was situated within tropical or subtropical latitudes during the Moscovian stage (Middle Pennsylvanian). Analysis of fusulinid distribution and detrital zircon provenance indicates that Zhokhov Island and Wrangel Island were part of the Alaska-Chukotka composite terrane until at least the Artinskian, with close ties to Arctic Alaska. This study refines reconstructions of Arctic plate tectonics by linking the NSA and Wrangelia to the Uralo-Franklinian province rather than northern Panthalassa, providing critical constraints on the region's paleoclimatic and paleogeographic history.

Davydov, V. I. (2016). Biotic paleothermometry constrains on Arctic plates reconstructions: Carboniferous and Permian (Zhokhov Island, De-Longa Group Islands, New Siberian Archipelago). Tectonics, 35(9), 2158–2170. Portico. https://doi.org/10.1002/2016tc004249