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Tectonic fabric and lithospheric strength of northern Eurasia based on gravity data
Author(s) -
Kogan Mikhail G.,
Fairhead J. Derek,
Balmino Georges,
Makedonskii Efim L.
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/94gl02550
Subject(s) - lithosphere , geology , bouguer anomaly , tectonics , craton , gravity anomaly , gravimetry , seismology , geodesy , geophysics , paleontology , oil field , geotechnical engineering , reservoir modeling
The isostatic gravity anomalies over the whole former USSR (FSU) from land gravimetry are presented here for the first time at a spatial resolution adequate to study the tectonic fabric and the lithospheric rigidity. The short wavelength gravity anomalies improve the delineation of the regional tectonic units of the FSU, originally identified from the geological and aeromagnetic data. A study of the coherence between the Bouguer gravity anomaly and topography of East European and Siberian Cratons allowed us to estimate the elastic plate thickness T e of 78 to 109 km. Relying on the current knowledge of the thermal state of Archean lithosphere, we inferred from T e the thermal plate thickness T p of 200–250 km.