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Content archived on 2022-12-23

Integrated modelling of the lithosphere in east and west Europe

Exploitable results

The temperature and density distribution of the lithosphere underneath the Fennoscandian Shield has been determined using different approaches. Apart from this modelling, one of the declared and fully achieved aims of this project was to compare and interchange the tools for such interpretation. The Uppsala group has worked closely together with Apatity and Minsk. Intense discussions have been conducted with the other two groups (Moscow and Kiev). As main results can be stated:Since three out of the four models indicate a higher average mantle density underneath the Archaean than underneath younger areas, even in the same narrow range of magnitude between 10 and 20 kg/m3 difference, it seems to be justified to keep this difference as main result. A thickness of the thermal lithosphere of 190 km underneath the Kola Peninsula results from different approaches. Towards the north, this thickness seems to be reduced to c. 130 km. The Apatity model suggests that also to the south a certain thinning of the lithosphere (equivalent to a reduction in average mantle lithosphere density) is possible, since the difference between measured and calculated topography becomes smaller towards the south, too. Unfortunately, the simple to use and intuitive model of the Kiev group, basing on a linear relation between crustal Bouguer anomalies and intercept times of the Pn waves, does not seem to work reliably in the area of interest. A possible reason is that the Archaean crustal rocks may have an average density higher than the one corresponding to the discovered linear velocity-density relationship.

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