Lithospheric Magnetic Anomalies of the Polar Arctic According to CHAMP Satellite Data

Abstract

The study of the deep structure and tectonics of the Arctic region is relevant not only for solving fundamental problems of modern geodynamics, but also for developing natural resources in the circumpolar regions; it is also of interest from the geopolitical view when determining the boundaries of the marginal seas shelves. To analyze the anomalous magnetic field in the Polar Arctic region, experimental CHAMP satellite data were used, obtained at the last stage of its operation, when the orbit altitude decreased to 280–260 km, which made it possible to obtain geomagnetic parameters with higher spatial resolution. For several sectors of the Polar Arctic, maps of the lithospheric magnetic anomalies field distribution for various scales and degrees of averaging over this area were constructed. The anomalies parameters were analyzed and an explanation was proposed for the geological and physical nature of the anomalies, which are images of the most significant geological–tectonic structures of the North Atlantic Igneous Province and complex of Central Arctic underwater rises. The article discusses the relationships between the discovered features of the lithospheric anomalous magnetic field distribution, and the known geological structures of Amerasia and Eurasia, and tectonic processes that occurred here in the past and still proceed now. The results obtained are of interest for further comprehensive geological and geophysical studies and construction of substantiated models of the Arctic region lithosphere evolution.