The Map was compiled in the Institute of the Lithosphere, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, in collaboration with the Research Institute of Marine Geophysics, Murmansk, the Timan-Pechora Department of VNIGRI, Ukhta, and GEON Center, Roskomnedra, Moscow.
The Tectonic Map of the Barents Sea and the Northern Part of European Russia (scale 1:2,500,000) covers the northern part of the Russian Plate and the Urals, and the adjacent shelves of the Barents, Kara and Pechora seas. The accompanying geological profiles show the internal structure of major tectonic units of the region. The challenge to the authors has been to show the relationship between onshore structures and those of the vast Arctic shelf. The Precambrian Russian, Timan-Pechora and Svalbard continental plates as well as the Hercynian Urals foldbelt and the Cimmerian Pai-Khoi - Novaya Zemlya foldbelt along the eastern margin are shown on the map. The Explanatory Notes also contain a description of the internal structure of tectonic units. They describe the age, composition, volume, structure and geophysical characteristics of sediments. The oil and gas potential and main features in the tectonic evolution of the region are given in the concluding chapters.