Paleozoic Tectonics and Geodynamics of the De Long Islands and Adjacent Structures of the Verkhoyansk-Chukotka Fold Belt

This work presents finalized results of our paleomagnetic study of Paleozoic rocks of Henrietta, Jeannette and Bennett islands and their implications for tectonic reconstructions. We discuss possible relationships of the Cambrian section of the De Long sedimentary basin with the Verkhoyansk margin of Siberia, the terranes of the Kolyma-Omolon group, the Chukotka-Alaska microcontinent, as well as with the structures of the submerged Mendeleev Ridge. We propose a new tectonic model, in which the De Long structures feature as the frontalmost part of a large transform system that existed on the periphery of the Siberian paleocontinent.