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Determining crustal structure and density in the eastern Black Sea and Pontide Mountains using 3D gravity model calculations

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Abstract

This study was designed to determine the crustal structure and the Moho depth in the Eastern Black Sea and Pontide Mountains using three-dimensional gravity inversion model calculations. Due to the lack of seismic data, 3D models were constructed for three profiles of three bodies, i.e., The Black Sea water, the sediment, and the crust. Ensuring that the densities were kept within acceptable limits and repeating the inversion calculations with body boundaries taken at different depths, the most probable boundary depths were determined. This study found that the water density of the Black Sea, the sediment density, and the crustal density are 1,040, 2,419, and 2,846 kg/m3, respectively. These values are within the acceptable limits. As shown, the Moho depths under the three profiles in the Black Sea in the north–south direction from west to east are −16.2 km under the first profile with −14.8 km on the seaside, −14.9 km under the middle profile with −13.6 km on the seaside, and −13.2 km under the third profile with −12.5 km on the seaside. Under Inner Anatolia, the Moho depths reach to −32.4 and −42.2 km.

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Acknowledgments

I thank my former advisor, Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Jacoby for his suggestions, encouragement and efforts with helping me formulate this work in English.

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  1. Karadeniz Teknik Üniversitesi Jeofizik Mühendisliği Bölümü, 61080, Trabzon, Turkey

    Hasan Çavşak & Ali Elmas

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  1. Hasan Çavşak
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  2. Ali Elmas
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Correspondence to Hasan Çavşak.

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Çavşak, H., Elmas, A. Determining crustal structure and density in the eastern Black Sea and Pontide Mountains using 3D gravity model calculations. Carbonates Evaporites 28, 475–484 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13146-013-0161-6

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