Grigorios Tsokas

Gravity data inversion for Moho depth modeling in the Hellenic area

The main objective of this study is the determination of the Moho discontinuity in the Hellenic area based on gravity data inversion. High-resolution (2 arcmin) and accuracy (±2 to ±3 mGal) gravity data were used in the computations following the Parker–Oldenburg iterative method, and a low-pass filter was applied to gravity information towards the convergence of the final solution. To determine the cut-off wavenumber of the filter, we tested different mean depths and density contrasts of the crust and the mantle (Mohorovičić discontinuity). The selected density contrast and mean depth of the Mohorovičić discontinuity are those which agree with the Moho depth interpreted from deep seismic imaging data. By comparing the Moho depth estimated, covering both land and marine areas and including the Ionian and Aegean Sea, with those interpreted from previous studies, it is shown that our solution is consistent with the available seismic data interpretation. Moreover, the resolution of the gravity data and the appropriate filtering used in this study contributed to the representation of local features of the Moho discontinuity. Finally, area-dependent discrepancies detected between the Moho depths of the current solution and those derived from previous studies are extensively discussed.