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Geophysical model for the Midland Valley of Scotland

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 November 2011

K. A. S. Davidson ,
M. Sola ,
D. W. Powell  and
J. Hall
K. A. S. Davidson
Affiliation:
Department of Geology, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, Scotland.
M. Sola
Affiliation:
Department of Geology, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, Scotland.
D. W. Powell
Affiliation:
Department of Geology, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, Scotland.
J. Hall
Affiliation:
Department of Geology, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QQ, Scotland.
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Abstract

A summary of previous gravity and magnetic field interpretations is presented along with a review of the LOWNET and LISPB models. Recently acquired seismological data are compared with the LISPB upper crustal model. The LISPB Layer 1 is found to represent an average of lower velocity (VP = 3·0–3·7 km s−1) Carboniferous and Upper Old Red Sandstone sediments, and higher velocity (VP = 4·0–5·5 km s−1) Lower Old Red Sandstone and Lower Palaeozoic sediments.

On the basis of high P-wave velocities along strike (VP = 60·6–1 km s−1), the LISPB Layer 2 S of Glasgow and Edinburgh is re-interpreted as a quartzofeldspathic crystalline layer of igneous or metamorphic origin, which is also seen to cross the surface of the Southern Uplands fault at around 2·5 km depth.

This interpretation implies that within the southern part of the Midland Valley, the Lower Palaeozoic sediments are nowhere thicker than about 3 km, as postulated under the Silurian inliers, and generally much less.

Keywords

basementgravityLISPBmagneticOld Red SandstonePalaeozoicsedimentsseismological
Type
Midland Valley
Information
Earth and Environmental Science Transactions of The Royal Society of Edinburgh , Volume 75 , Issue 2: Deep Geology of the Midland Valley of Scotland and Adjacent Regions. Bicentenary Symposium , 1984 , pp. 175 - 181
Copyright
Copyright © Royal Society of Edinburgh 1984

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