The deep structure of the Scythian Plate basement

Abstract

Over the last decade, the Scythian Plate and the adjacent territory in the north have been covered by high-precision aeromagnetic (1 : 50000) and aerogravimetric (1 : 100000) surveys. An interpretation of the results allows us to reveal the Riphean-Early Paleozoic basement beneath the fold basement of the Scythian Plate. The ophiolitic complex, three volcanic-terrigenous sequences, basic intrusions and Early Paleozoic granitoids, as well as large folds have been identified within the basement. The large sheet of the Early Paleozoic basement thrust over the pre-Riphean basement of Baltica is traced along the entire Scythian Plate from the Azov Sea to the Caspian Sea. A presumably Early Kimmerian fold complex that underlies the Middle-Upper Jurassic platform cover has been recognized in the West Kuban Trough and Timashevsky Step. This complex is thrust in the northeastern direction over the Early Paleozoic fold complex. The above data make it possible to revise the geological history of the southern framework of the East European Platform and to prove the consecutive accretion of heterogeneous terranes differing in age from the south.