Extensional overprints in the lower crustal architecture, insights from gravity modelling of the Romanian Shelf

Abstract

The structure of the Romanian Western Black Sea shelf has been studied for the last 50 years. This paper aims to give a new interpretation, highlight a new vision regarding the lower crust architecture by combining the known local data with new measurements. In 2005, a new set of gravimetric data was collected by the Romanian National Institute of Marine Geology and Geo-ecology (GeoEcoMar), in the project Marine Geohazard, financed by the EU, which summed up to thousands of gravimetric profiles on the Romanian and Bulgarian offshore. By combining the new data with the known geological setting, a new vision emerged regarding the understanding of the complex structural dynamics of the deep shelf area and the geomorphology of the deep geological structure. For this investigation, a set of 3 profiles have been constructed as a starting point for the geological structure. In the process of inserting data, we had to take into consideration all the implicit information available from the local wells that are considered a secure source of upperstructure information. Once the model obtained, the image showed different areas where the Western Black Sea back-arc opening of the basin showed its
marks, by presenting an unexpectedly complex architecture, considering all the constraints and local limitations.