The Kovdor-2015 experiment: study of the parameters of a conductive layer of dilatancy–diffusion nature (DD Layer) in the Archaean crystalline basement of the Baltic Shield

Abstract

This paper addresses the Kovdor-2015 Experiment involving frequency electromagnetic soundings of the Archaean basement of the Earth’s crust in the southwestern part of the Kola Peninsula. Eleven soundings were carried out using two transmitting arrangements, 85 km apart. Each arrangement consisted of two mutually orthogonal grounded electric dipoles of 1.5 km long. The distances between the source and the receiver were 25 and 50 km. Interpretation of the results took into account the influence of displacement currents and static distortions. It is found that there is an intermediate conductive layer of the dilatancy–diffusion nature (DD layer) with a longitudinal conductivity of about one siemens at depths ranging from 1.5–2 to 5–7 km. The results are interpreted in the terms of geodynamics.