Black sea basin satellite gravity data and major tectonic features: Tectonic implications

The Black Sea is a marginal sea represented by the Caucasus to the east, by the Balkanides-Pontides to the south and southwest, the Crimean Mountains to the north, and young platforms (Moesian and Scythian) to the west and northwest.The Black Sea basin is divided into two parts, Western and Eastern, separated by the Mid Black Sea ridge.The origin of the eastern Black Sea basin and Pontides orogenic belt is still controversial due to lack of systematical geological, geophysical and geochemical data. It is widely accepted that the eastern Pontides orogenic belt was shaped by northward subduction of Neotethys or Paleotethys oceanic lithosphere during the late Mesozoic and the Black Sea basin opened as a back-arc basin behind the eastern Pontides magmatic arc. In this study, the tectonic elements of the Black Sea basin are investigated by using satellite gravity data.The time of formation of Black Sea basin occurred from Paleozoic to Mesozoic, showing the Black Sea is a remnant of the Paleotethys Ocean.The numerical studies give the indication of southward subduction model for the origin of the Pontides during late Mesozoic-Cenozoic and compressional tectonic regime is still active in the Eastern Black Sea region.