All Topics  
Gakkel Ridge

 

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

Gakkel Ridge
 
 
  Topics Gakkel Ridge Topic Home

The Gakkel Ridge (formerly known as the Nansen Cordillera and Arctic Mid-Ocean Ridge) is a mid-oceanic ridge, a divergent tectonic
Tectonics

Tectonics is a field of study within geology concerned generally with the structures within the lithosphere of the Earth and particularly with the forces and movements that have operated in a region to create these structures....
 plate boundary between the North American Plate
North American Plate

The North American Plate is a tectonic plate covering most of North America, Greenland and part of Siberia. It extends eastward to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and westward to the Chersky Range in eastern Siberia....
 and the Eurasian Plate
Eurasian Plate

The Eurasian Plate is a tectonic plate which includes most of the continent of Eurasia , with the notable exceptions of the Indian subcontinent, the Arabian subcontinent, and the area east of the Chersky Range in East Siberia....
. It is located in the Arctic Ocean
Arctic Ocean

The Arctic Ocean, located in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Arctic North Pole region, is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major oceanic divisions....
 between Greenland
Greenland

Greenland is a member country of the Kingdom of Denmark located between the Arctic Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago....
 and Siberia
Siberia

Siberia , is the name given to the vast region constituting almost all of North Asia and for the most part currently serving as the massive central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, having served in the same capacity previously for the Soviet Union from its beginning, and the Russian Empire beginning in the 16th century....
 with a length of about 1,800 kilometers. Geologically, it connects the northern end of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge
Mid-Atlantic Ridge

The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is a mid-ocean ridge, a divergent tectonics plate boundary located along the floor of the Atlantic Ocean, and the longest mountain range in the world....
 with the Laptev Sea Rift
Laptev Sea Rift

The Laptev Sea Rift is a divergent tectonic plate boundary between the North American Plate and the Eurasian Plate located on the Arctic Ocean coast of northeastern Siberia in Russia....
.

The existence and approximate location of the Gakkel Ridge was predicted by Soviet
Soviet Union

The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a Constitution of the Soviet Union socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991.The name is a translation of the , romanization of Russian Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated ????, SSSR....
 polar explorer Yakov Yakovlevich Gakkel and discovered by Soviet Arctic Expeditions in the mid 20th century.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'Gakkel Ridge'
Start a new discussion about 'Gakkel Ridge'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


The Gakkel Ridge (formerly known as the Nansen Cordillera and Arctic Mid-Ocean Ridge) is a mid-oceanic ridge, a divergent tectonic
Tectonics

Tectonics is a field of study within geology concerned generally with the structures within the lithosphere of the Earth and particularly with the forces and movements that have operated in a region to create these structures....
 plate boundary between the North American Plate
North American Plate

The North American Plate is a tectonic plate covering most of North America, Greenland and part of Siberia. It extends eastward to the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and westward to the Chersky Range in eastern Siberia....
 and the Eurasian Plate
Eurasian Plate

The Eurasian Plate is a tectonic plate which includes most of the continent of Eurasia , with the notable exceptions of the Indian subcontinent, the Arabian subcontinent, and the area east of the Chersky Range in East Siberia....
. It is located in the Arctic Ocean
Arctic Ocean

The Arctic Ocean, located in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Arctic North Pole region, is the smallest and shallowest of the world's five major oceanic divisions....
 between Greenland
Greenland

Greenland is a member country of the Kingdom of Denmark located between the Arctic Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago....
 and Siberia
Siberia

Siberia , is the name given to the vast region constituting almost all of North Asia and for the most part currently serving as the massive central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, having served in the same capacity previously for the Soviet Union from its beginning, and the Russian Empire beginning in the 16th century....
 with a length of about 1,800 kilometers. Geologically, it connects the northern end of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge
Mid-Atlantic Ridge

The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is a mid-ocean ridge, a divergent tectonics plate boundary located along the floor of the Atlantic Ocean, and the longest mountain range in the world....
 with the Laptev Sea Rift
Laptev Sea Rift

The Laptev Sea Rift is a divergent tectonic plate boundary between the North American Plate and the Eurasian Plate located on the Arctic Ocean coast of northeastern Siberia in Russia....
.

The existence and approximate location of the Gakkel Ridge was predicted by Soviet
Soviet Union

The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics was a Constitution of the Soviet Union socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991.The name is a translation of the , romanization of Russian Soyuz Sovetskikh Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik, abbreviated ????, SSSR....
 polar explorer Yakov Yakovlevich Gakkel and discovered by Soviet Arctic Expeditions in the mid 20th century. The Ridge is named after him. The name was approved in April 1987 by the Sub-Committee on Geographical Names and Nomenclature of Ocean Bottom Features (SCGN, now SCUFN).

The Gakkel Ridge is the slowest spreading ridge on earth with a rate of less than one centimeter per year. Until 1999, when scientists operating from a nuclear submarine discovered active volcano
Volcano

A volcano is an opening, or rupture, in a planet's surface or Crust , which allows hot, molten rock, ash, and gases to escape from below the surface....
s along this ridge, the Gakkel Ridge was believed to be non-volcanic. In 2001 two research icebreakers, the German Polarstern and the US Healy, with several groups of scientists, were sent to the Gakkel Ridge to explore the ridge and to collect petrological samples. Among other discoveries, evidence for hydrothermal vent
Hydrothermal vent

A hydrothermal vent is a fissure vent in a planet's surface from which Geothermal heated water issues. Hydrothermal vents are commonly found near volcano active places, areas where tectonic plates are moving apart, ocean basins, and hotspot ....
s was found during this expedition. In 2007 the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution is a private, nonprofit research and higher education facility dedicated to the study of all aspects of marine science and engineering and to the education of marine researchers....
 is mounting an exploratory expedition called the "Arctic Gakkel Vents Expedition".

Further reading


External links