Geodynamics of the Riphean stage in the evolution of the northern passive margin of the East European Craton

The nearly parallel northwest-trending Onega-Kandalaksha, Kerets-Leshukonsky, and Barents paleorift zones located in the northeastern part of the East European Platform are interpreted as a common structural assemblage that was formed in the Middle-Late Riphean as a result of horizontal extension of the continental margin. Therefore, it is reasonable to combine these paleorift structural features into the common White Sea Rift System instead of subdividing them into two or more systems as done previously. The White Sea Rift System originated owing to the breakup of the ancient Paleopangea supercontinent 1300–1240 Ma ago. The latter event occurred as a result of the divergence of the Baltia and Laurentia continental plates that most probably was caused by mantle spreading within the hot equatorial belt of the Earth. The diffuse rifting of that time occurred in the form of near-parallel rifts developing progressively from the inner part of the continental plate toward its margin. A pericratonic sedimentary basin eventually formed at the passive margin of Baltia as a system of roughly parallel rift zones. The geologic and geophysical data show that the passive margin of the East European Platform formed in the Riphean, a phenomenon that corresponds with a model of large-scale extension of the lithosphere after the stage of early ocean-floor spreading. In the course of this process, the brittle upper crust was detached from the ductile lower crust. The geodynamic regime of the Riphean passive margin of the East European Platform probably was similar to the regime of the present-day Atlantic-type passive margins. The White Sea Rift System differs from the transverse Mid-Russian Paleorift System both in origin and age. The Mid-Russian Paleorift System is considered to have formed in the Late Riphean as a result of transtension along a mobile zone in the ancient basement. The lithosphere of northeastern Fennoscandia has experienced horizontal extension since the Middle Riphean, a phenomenon that is closely related to the evolution of the White Sea Rift System, i.e., to the formation of the passive margin of the Baltia continent.