SIMULATION OF GEOELECTRIC STRUCTURE OF NORTHERN VIETNAM BY 3D INVERSION OF MAGNETOVARIATIONAL TIPPERS

Abstract

This paper presents the results of constructing a model of the geoelectric structure of Northern Vietnam obtained by 3D inversion of magnetovariational tippers calculated for 13 values of variation periods in a range of 40–10047 s at 12 points where geomagnetic variations are recorded. Inversion is performed using the ModEM software, which makes it possible to construct a model in a 400 × 400 × 200-km spatial region with the center at the Hanoi Observatory (PHU). The resulting model of the geoelectric structure contains two regional blocks separated by the Red River fault region. A conductive block is located in the southwest of the fault region, and a high-resistivity block is located in the northeast. The boundary of the blocks, inclined to the northeast at an angle of about 45°, is visible to a depth of 150 km. The conductive block occupies the region between the Red River and Song Ma faults. Its western boundary could not be localized due to insufficient data in this region. Highly conductive local blocks stand out against the background of the regional conductive block. They usually gravitate toward the faults and are located in a depth range of 10–20 km with a slight inclination to the west on latitudinal profiles and to the south on meridional ones. In a depth range of 12–14 km, they merge into one highly conductive band extending in the northwest and marking the Red River fault system connected to the Gulf of Tonkin waters. Also, there are more massive highly conductive blocks in depth intervals of 20–50 km, which are often associated with upper crustal ones. There is a highly conductive block observed on the latitudinal profile, passing through the central region of the Hanoi Basin, and steeply dipping to the east (75°) to depths of more than 100 km. The deep geoelectric features of the Red River fault system are compared with the geoelectric section under their continuation in Southern Tibet in the adjacent territory in China.