STRUCTURE OF THE LITHOSPHERE OF THE MONGOLIAN-SIBERIAN MOUNTAINOUS PROVINCE

Abstract

The Mongolian-Siberian mountainous province distinguished by Florensov (1978) includes the Sayan-Baikal, the Altai-Sayan regions and East Mongolian high ranges, and those of Mongolian Altai, Goby Altai and Khangai. In the Late Cenozoic all this province was involved in an intensive orogeny, the latter occurring both in the area under extension and in that under compression (the Sayan-Baikal domal uplift and the Altai uplift system, respectively). The study of the deep structure of the mountainous province and of relatively stable adjacent regions must contribute to a more complete understanding of the causes of intracontinental orogeny. The main subject of this study was to map the Moho depth and the thickness of the lithosphere as a whole, based on the interpretation of geophysical data covering the Mongolian-Siberian mountainous province, the Southern Siberian platform and the East Mongolian high plains.