Geophysical constraints for terrane boundaries in southern Mongolia

The Central Asian Orogenic Belt (CAOB) is a typical accretionary orogen divided into numerous lithostratigraphic terranes. In theory, these terranes should be characterized by contrasting magnetic and gravity signatures owing to their dissimilar petrophysical properties. To test this hypothesis, the extent of tectonostratigraphic terranes in southern Mongolia was compared with the potential field data. The analysis reveals that the terrane boundaries are not systematically defined by strong gravity and magnetic gradients. The correlation of the magnetic signal with the geology reveals that the magnetic highs coincide with Late Carboniferous to Early Permian volcanic‐plutonic belts. The matched filtering shows a good continuity of signal along the boundaries of these high magnetic anomalies toward the deeper crustal levels which may indicate the presence of deeply rooted tectonomagmatic zones. The axes of high‐density bodies in the western and central parts of the study area are characterized by periodic alternations of NW‐SE trending gravity anomalies corresponding to up to 20 km wide cleavage fronts of Permo‐Triassic age. The matched filtering analysis shows good continuity of signal to the depth of these gravity highs which may indicate presence of deeply rooted high‐strain zones. The magnetic signal is interpreted to be as the result of a giant Permo‐Triassic magmatic event associated with lithosphere‐scale deformation, whereas the gravity pattern is related to the postaccretionary shortening of the CAOB between the North China and Siberia cratons.