Results of electromagnetic sounding with JASC submarine cable

Abstract

We present the results of long-term deep geoelectric studies using the JASC (Japan Sea Cable) submarine communication cable in the region of the Sea of Japan. In the 2D inversion of the amplitude and phase’s apparent resistivity curves and the frequency dependences of the tipper, we invoked the geological and geophysical information about the region and on-shore electromagnetic observations to fit the model to the observations. The resulting geoelectrical cross section of the region of the Sea of Japan along the JASC cable obtained in this way agrees well with the experimental data. The upper part of the section contains a conductive block beneath the bottom of the Central basin of the Sea of Japan at a depth of 10–40 km, a fault submerging below the continent in the marginal part and a deep fault in the continental region. In the lower portions of the cross section, the high-resistivity block interrupts the continuity of the horizontal conductive layers beneath the Yamato Uplift, and the conductive bottom part of the geoelectric cross section submerges under the continent. In the continental segment of the cross section, there is a large block with reduced electric resistivity, which is located between the conductive layers at a depth interval of 200–560 km. We analyze the characteristic features of the geoelectric cross section and the deep section imaged by seismic tomography in the region of the Sea of Japan.