GPR survey to reveal a possible tectonic tilt of the Brežice Sava River Terrace in the Krško Basin

Abstract

It has been supposed that the Brežice Sava River Terrace (BSRT) is tectonically disturbed near the town of Brežice and tilted to the north. To confirm this tectonically induced tilt in a quantitative sense, low-frequency Ground Penetration Radar (GPR) was applied. A total of eight GPR profiles were recorded across the BSRT providing information of the lower boundary of the terrace, which consists of loose to poorly cemented Quaternary gravel, while its Tertiary basement consists of poorly cemented carbonaceous silt (marl). The premise of the study was the assumption that this lithological boundary could be detected by the GPR method. In addition to the upper surface of the BSRT being tilted to the north by 0.18°, GPR profiles also showed a 0.04° difference in the tilt between the upper surface of the terrace and its lower boundary with the basement, which we assigned to the sin-sedimentary tilt. Upon this information, a cumulative tectonically induced dip of the BSRT lower boundary was defined at 0.22