A THERMAL TOMOGRAPHY MODEL OF THE PODVODNIKOV BASINS, NORTHERN ARCTIC

Abstract

In our works of 2000–2004, we demonstrated the correlation of temperature anomalies with petroleum potential of the Earth’s interior in the Pechora Basin (Barents Sea), South Kara basin, and southern Laptev Sea. We went on to suggest that a thermal dome could serve as a visual manifestation of this correlation: hydrocarbon fields often coincide with thermal domes (zones of high isotherms). In addition, thermal tomography models allowed us to make accurate estimates of the background heat flux under rare sets of observations and calculate temperatures in the lithosphere, which is very important in the analysis of the degree of its tectonomagmatic activity.