Development of 3-D Gravity-Magnetic Models of the Earth’s Crust of Azerbaijan and Adjacent Areas: an Overview

Azerbaijan is located in the Alpine Himalayan collisional zone and is characterized by its complex and variable geological structure. To study Azerbaijan’s deep structure, twelve main regional interpreting profiles were selected for comprehensive 3D combined gravity-magnetic modeling. The development of the initial physical-geological models (PGMs) was based on known surface geology, drilling data, previous seismic, magnetotelluric and thermal data analysis, examination of the richest petrophysical data, as well as quantitative and qualitative gravity/magnetic data examination. The PGMs thus reflect the key structural-formational specifics of Azerbaijan’s geological structure, beginning from the subsurface (hundreds of meters) up to the Moho discontinuity (40 - 60 km). The PGMs revealed common factors controlling ore- and hydrocarbon bearing formations, primarily the boundaries of tectonic blocks, masked faults, and buried uplifts of magmatic rocks. Many of these factors can be used to investigate long-term geodynamic activity at a depth. The article summarizes many years of investigation by exemplifying the most typical PGMs for the Greater and Lesser Caucasus, the Kura depression, and central and northern Azerbaijan.