Low Temperature Magnetism of Rock Bottom Material from the Mendeleev Rise, Arctic Ocean

It goes without saying that nowadays the Arctic Ocean is a region of rapidly rising both scientific and geopolitical interest. Despite the increasing number of studies on the area, some questions related to the nature and evolution of structural elements within the Arctic Basin remains fairly under discussion. From the other side, rock magnetic analyses of the seabed material carried out throughout the circumpolar region can shed the light on these issues from fundamental magnetic and mineralogical prospects. In 2012, the comprehensive geological and geophysical study, including seabed sampling using dredges, telegrabbers, and a subsea drilling machine was carried out at 10 sites across the Mendeleev Rise. Also large angular blocks were collected by a research submarine at the base of bedrock scarps (Morozov et al., 2013). Specimens obtained from this geological survey were subjected to a series of magnetic analyses from 2 K to 300 K, including saturation isothermal remanent magnetisation (SIRM), cooling in a zero and a strong magnetic filed (ZFC vs. FC) etc. The measurements were performed at the Center for Geo-Environmental Research and Modeling (GEOMODEL) and Center for Diagnostics of Functional Materials for Medicine, Pharmacology and Nanoelectronics of the Research Park, St. Petersburg State University. Results have revealed not only comparable trends of titanium magnetite constituents for specimens from different sampling sites but also an abrupt absence of magnetite for several other ones not predicted by magnetic susceptibility temperature charactrestics. Morozov, A.F., Petrov, O.V., Shokalsky, S.P., Kashubin, S.N., Kremenetsky, A.A., Shkatov, M.Y., Kaminsky, V.D., Gusev, E.A., Grikurov, G.E., Rekant, P.V. and Shevchenko, S.S., 2012. New geological data are confirming continental origin of the central Arctic rises. expedition, 2012(10).