Reflection seismic constraints on Paleozoic crustal structure and Moho beneath the NE German Basin

摘要

A 330-km-long, NE-SW-trending seismic transect across the NE German Basin. combined with a 75-km-long. perpendicular cross-line in the basin centre, reveals the structure of this intracontinental basin between the stable Precambrian Baltic Shield and the weaker Mid-European Variscides. The combination of high-fold vibroseis and low-fold explosive seismic profiling images both upper and lower crustal structures in detail. Distinct faults related to a rift stage are not observed below the Permian sedimentary basin, but there is evidence of lower crustal thinning. A Moho pattern less reflective below the basin centre than at the margins may be related to magmatic underplating. The rather flat-lying Moho dips slightly towards the basin margins. Structures further north suggest a southern extent of Baltica below the NE German Basin. The Caledonian accretionary wedge may be outlined by SW-dipping mid-crustal reflectors beneath the basin.