Application of modified digital terrain models for geomorphological demarcation of large blocks of the Earth’s crust

Abstract

A method for processing of a digital terrain model using a gradient module and the Laplace operator of a Gaussian surface is described, and the results of applying it to small-scale geological-structural demarcation are presented. The studied area (52–61° N, 120–133° E) covers the southern portion of the Siberian Platform (the Aldan-Stanovoi Shield), the southeastern flank of the Early Paleozoic Selenga-Stanovoi orogenic belt, and the western portion of the Mesozoic Mongol-Okhotsk orogenic belt. It has been demonstrated that the interpretation of modified digital terrain models allows confident determinations of the sizes of and relationships between geological features and zones of different types and the identification of faults and tectonic blocks transformed to different extents.