Paleogeothermal and paleotectonic reconstructions based on vitrinite thermometry data (on the example of the upper paleozoic deposits of the Dnieper-Donets depression and adjacent areas of Donbass)

Abstract

The article is devoted to paleogeothermal and paleotectonic reconstructions based on the results of processing the vitrinite reflectance data array of coal organic matter of the Upper Paleozoic sediments from the Don-Dnieper Downwarp (within the Dnieper-Donets Depression and adjacent areas of Donbass). It was found that paleogeothermal parameters changed under the influence of geotectonic, magmatic and lithofacies formation conditions of the Upper Paleozoic deposits. Analysis of changes and regularities distribution of paleogeothermal characteristics made it possible to assess the evolution of the thermal field, changes in the tectonic movements character, to identify the role of volcanism, deep faults geodynamics, lithosphere thickness in the thermal history of the region under study. It is shown that with the help of paleostructural analysis, based on data on the thermal maturity degree of coal organic matter, it is possible to judge the activity changes of tectonic structures in time, the formation sequence, to establish the amplitudes of their mutual displacement and rank according to oil and gas potential. Based on the results of the work, maps of the paleogeothermal gradients distribution and the amplitudes of rock masses vertical displacements were constructed. The presented maps should be considered as a universal information material that can be used to determine the features of the regional distribution of the above parameters, as well as become an important tool in the study of tectonic and thermal history, identification changes trends and distribution patterns of paleo­geothermal characteristics.