Deep lithospheric structure beneath the Polish part of the East European Craton as a result of magnetotelluric surveys

Abstract

A fundamental tectonic boundary between the Precambrian East European Craton (EEC) and the younger Phanerozoic mountain belts of Europe runs through Poland. Whereas the transition zone between both tectonical units was intensely investigated by means of electromagnetic methods in the past, the image of electric conductivity of the EEC itself has not been detailed so far. In the present study the lithospheric structure beneath the northeast of Poland is investigated by means of three parallel magnetotelluric profiles. As a result the Polish part of the craton does not appear as homogeneously highresistive as repeatedly reported. Beneath a shallow (from 2 to 4 km) sedimentary layer a less resistive structure (several hundred Ωm) under all three profiles in mid-crustal to upper mantle depth becomes apparent in the high-resistive background. It spatially coincides with a magmatic body of the Upper Proterozoic age called ?niardwy lake gabbro intrusion.