Marine geophysical research in the first Ukrainian Antarctic expeditions: historical outline and some results

Abstract

The article is devoted of the 25th anniversary of the First Ukrainian Marine Antarctic Expedition (1997). The short history of development the marine geophysical study of the deep structures of the World Ocean and Antarctica in the S. I. Subbotin Institute of Geophysics (National Academy of sciences of Ukraine) is presented. Main focus is on the results obtained during the implementation of the «State research programs in Antarctica». The main patterns of geophysical anomalies and their spatiotemporal distributions in West Antarctica were investigated. The lithosphere deep structured geophysical models well corresponds with the evolution processes of the continental margin of the West Antarctica. The built-depth sections record the large-scale processes of the formation of the Drake Passage and the western part of the Scotia Sea as a result of the primary crust fragments’ transformation and the geodynamic evolution of the region located between South America and West Antarctica. Some results for the assessment of mineral resources and hydrocarbon potential of the continental margin structures of the NW area of the Antarctic Peninsula are presented.