Studies in the Russian Arctic and Northeast Russia

We have been working with Russian collaborators in NE Russia and the Russian Arctic since 1994. It's a frontier region and logistically difficult to get to. Our projects focus on the deformational history of orogenic belts and the origin and evolution of the magmatic belts of NE Russia and on the plate tectonic evolution of the Amerasia Basin of the Arctic. Our funding has come from a variety of sources, including NSF CD EAR-93-17087 and EAR0948673, American Chemical Society PRF Award 45432-AC8, CRDF, the Swedish Polar Secretariat, Exxon-Mobil, Shell International, BP. Russian scientists have visited Stanford as part of the School of Earth Science Blaustein visiting scholar program and international Fullbright Program.

Locations of work in Russia — This map shows the approximate locations of where we have worked since 1994. The publications associated with these projects listed at the end of this page are those from 2000 forward.

Publications:

Miller, E. L., V. V. Akinin, J. E. Spencer, and R. Titley. 2008. Geology of the Bering Shelf Region of Alaska-Russia: Implications for Extensional Processes in Continental Crust. Edited by J. E. Spencer and R. Titley. Ores and Orogenesis: Circum-Pacific Tectonics, Geologic Evolution and Ore Deposits . Vol. 22. Arizona Geological Society Digest. Arizona Geological Society.

Prokopiev, A. V., J. Toro, E. L. Miller, J. Wooden, V. A. Truniline, et al. 2007. “Granitoids of the Main Batholith Belt (NE Asia) New U-Pb SHRIMP Geochronological and Geochemical Data.” Proc. Leonid Parfenov Memorial Conference: Tectonics and Metallogeny of the Circum-North Pacific and Easternmost Asia, 286–88.

Miller, E. L., M. Gelman, L. Parfenof, and J. Hourigan. 2002. “Mesozoic Northern Circum-Pacific Magmatism-A Comparison between NE Russia and the North American Cordillera.” Geological Society of America Special Paper 360,

Akinin, V. V., J. K. Hourigan, J. E. Wright, E. L. Miller, and LF V. Mishin. 2006. New Data on Age of Okhotsk-Chukotka Volcanic Belt (U-Pb SHRIMP Dating). Isotopic Dating of Processes of Ore Formation, Magmatism, Sedimentation, and Metamorphism. Vol. 1. Proceedings of 3rd All Russian Conference on Isotopic Geochronology. GEOS, Moscow.

Akinin, V. V., E. L. Miller, J. Wooden, R. B. Miller, and A. W. Snoke. 2009. Petrology and Geochronology of Crustal Xenoliths from the Bering Strait Region. Edited by R. B. Miller and A. W. Snoke. Crustal Cross-Sections from the Western North America Cordillera and Elsewhere: Implications for Tectonic and Petrologic Processes. Geological Society of America Special Paper 456. Geological Society of America.

Prokopiev, A. V., J. Toro, E. L. Miller, G. E. Gehrels, and A. I. Khanchuk. 2007. “Provenance of Paleozoic to Mesozoic Siliciclastic Sequences of the Verkhoyansk Continental Margin Based on U-Pb Ages of Detrital Zircon Suites.” Proc. of the Leonid Parfenov Memorial Conference: Tectonics and Metallogeny of the Circum-North Pacific and Eastern Asia, 283–86.

Akinin, V. V., S. V. Voroshin, M. L. Gelman, V. V. Leonova, and E. L. Miller. 2003. SHRIMP-Dating of Metamorphic Xenoliths from Lamprophyre at the Degdekan Gold Deposit: Application to History of Continental Crust Modification in the Ayan-Yuryakh Anticlinorium (Yano-Kolyma Fold Belt). Geodynamics, Magmatism, and Mineralogeny of Pacific Continental Margins. . Vol. 2. Proceedings, Magadan: NEISRI FEB RAS P. NEISRI FEB RAS P.

Miller, E. L., V. Verzhbitsky, and Stone et al. 2009. Structural Studies near Pevek Russia: Implications for Formation of the East Siberian Shelf and Makarov Basin of the Arctic Ocean. Edited by Stone et al. Geology, Geophysics and Tectonics of Northeastern Russia: A Tribute to L. Parfenov. Vol. 8. Stephan Mueller Special Publication Series. European Geophysical Union.

Prokopiev, Andrei V., Jaime Toro, Elizabeth L. Miller, and George E. Gehrels. 2008. “The Paleo-Lena River - 200 M.y. of Transcontinental Zircon Transport in Siberia.” GEOLOGY 36 (9). GEOLOGICAL SOC AMER, INC: 699–702. DOI: 10.1130/G24924A.1

Prokopiev, A. V., J. Toro, A. G. Bakharev, E. L. Miller, J. Wooden, et al. 2007. “The Uvyazka Paleorift Zone (Northeast Asia): First U-Pb SHRIMP Geochronologic Data.” Otechestvennaya Geologiya.

Landing in Providenya across the Bering Strait from Alaska by charter plane. We worked out of Providenya in 1994-1996 and again in 2005.

David Stone at U of Alaska with pile of rubles

David Stone of the Geophysical Institute of University Alaska, Fairbanks, in Providenya with a pile of rubles. Your NSF tax-dollars at work, 1994.

Graduate student Jaime Toro Loading helicopter in town of Lavrentya, Chukotka,Arctic Russia, 1994.

People riding on track vehicle in Russia

Track vehicles in Arctic Russia. I call them slow helicopters-they can go anywhere, just about. Chukotka, 2003.

Track vehicle next to a tent in Chukotka

Camp 1, Chukotka, 2003. Background glaciated peaks are Cretaceous granite.

In transit across open tundra, Chukotka, 2004. Valodya (driver).

It's sunny, dinner outdoors. Soup with meat, cucumber, onion and mayo salad and bread, deet and beer necessary. Sergei Katkov, Marianna Tuchkova, Igor Podorgny and Valodya (driver).

No more cucumbers, no Dried moose meat (fantastic!), bread and hot tea for lunch. Chukotka, 2004.