ZONES OF RECENT ACTIVATION AND SCHEME OF THE EARTH CRUST PERMEABILITY OF UKRAINE

Abstract

An attempt is considered to supplement the criteria for identifying zones of recent activation in the territory of Ukraine with another one — data on the results of studies of helium concentration in ground-water. The previous analysis of information showed that as regional criteria, information can be applied on anomalies in heat flow, increased electrical conductivity of Earth’s crustal and the upper mantle rocks, distribution of mantle gravitational anomalies, and surface uplifts over the past millions of years. They were chosen among others precisely because of the dissemination of relevant information throughout the country. This requirement is also met by the permeability Scheme of the earth’s crust of Ukraine, which is a fragment of the permeability Scheme of the earth’s crust of the European part of the USSR based on the results of helium studies. The principal applicability of such information for solving the problem is shown. Areas of maximum helium concentrations in near-surface waters are indicated, primarily those associated with disjunctive dislocation. Theу are concentrated in the south-west of Ukraine and in Moldova. The disadvantages of the Scheme are noted, due to poor study and significant variations in background gas concentrations, directly caused not by recent activation, but by the peculiarities of helium generation by rocks of the upper part of the earth’s crust. There are inconsistencies between the previously obtained ideas about the activated zones and the data of the Scheme. They are especially large in the Carpathian, Crimean and Donetsk regions, and are noticeable in others. Therefore, it seems necessary, first, to continue research, thicken the network of observations and develop a methodology for analyzing their results.

Keywords

• zones of recent activation
• permeability of the earth’s crust
• criteria
• helium
• groundwater