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The geochemical analysis of Yukon-Koyukuk Basin clasts and their tectonic origin
Cecilia Nilsson (BSc student)

View of the Yukon-Koyukuk Basin.

This project investigates the tectonic source of mafic conglomerate clasts using whole rock geochemistry. In the southern Koyukuk River, clasts from the basal conglomerate are solely derived from an ocean island arc (OIA) of unknown age. Unlike outcrops to the north, there is a complete absence of NMORB-type clasts representing the Angayucham ophiolite, suggesting that this source was either buried or fully eroded by the time the later part of the Koyukuk Basin was filled in.