THREE-DIMENSIONAL DENSITY MODEL OF THE UPPER CRUST AT THE JUNCTION OF THE LOSEVSKY AND DONSKOY TERRANES (VORONEZH CRYSTALLINE MASSIF)

Abstract

The results of detailed three-dimensional density modeling of the upper crust of the area located in the southeastern part of the Voronezh crystalline massif at the junction of the Losevsky and Donskoy terranes and, partially, the Vorontsovsky terrane are presented. The resulting model was built based on the inversion of local anomalies of the gravity field into anomalous density values, taking into account all available geological and geophysical information. The field inversion was implemented within the framework of the starting model developed on the basis of the regional density model and corresponding gravitational field of the East European platform lithosphere, generalized information on the density of rocks of the sedimentary cover and crystalline basement, the thickness of the «gravitational» layer obtained by statistical analysis of the anomalous field, and geological data and topography. The resulting model shows density distribution of the crystalline basement rocks to a depth of 16 km, and provides thus fundamentally new information about the geological structure of the upper crust of the area. The model makes it possible to trace geological objects, which are most expressive in terms of density, at deep levels, and allows interpreting the relationship between the Losevsky and Donskoy terranes in the upper-middle crust. The consistency of the model and observed gravitational fields indicates the reliability of the obtained results.