New insights into the basement structure of the West Siberian basin from forward and inverse modelling of GRACE satellite gravity data

The oil- and gas-rich West Siberian Basin is underlain by a layer of flood basalts of late Permian-Triassic age that are coeval with the Siberian traps. The extent and thickness of the basalts are unknown, but knowing their thickness is important for discussions on the end-Permian mass extinction because basalt volume constrains estimates of emitted volatiles. We have used GRACE satellite and terrestrial gravity data to study the structure of the crust and basalt distribution. Published seismic sections are used to constrain the sediment isopachs and to estimate a depth-density function. We use published models of crustal thickness and basement depth to reduce the observed gravity field to the basement level. The resulting three-dimensional density model gives information on density anomalies in the lower crust and upper mantle and on the basalt thickness. We identify several rift-graben structures that are presumably filled with basalt. The lower crust below the West Siberian Basin shows considerable density variations, and these variations allow the region to be divided into four major blocks. The eastern part of the basin, toward the Siberian platform, shows an arch-shaped density increase in the lower crust that is accompanied by a linear high-density anomaly at shallower depths. Our work demonstrates the way in which the GRACE-gravity field can be applied to map geological structures like buried rifts and large basins. The same techniques can be used for other large, remote basins such as those in cratonic South America.