One of the core competences of the research group of the Basin Modelling Section at GFZ
Potsdam lies in the development of seismic and gravity constrained, lithospheric-scale 3D structural
geological models (see, e.g., Rodriguez Piceda et al., 2021; Anikiev et al., 2019) which are used for
interdisciplinary process simulations (heat transport, coupled fluid and heat transport, coupled thermohydraulic-mechanical modelling, rheological modelling etc.). To better understand the controlling
factors of crustal deformation in a region of interest it is necessary to investigate the spatially and
temporally variable thermal and stress fields (see, e.g., Ahlers et al., 2021).
Seismic tomography models provide insights into the physical properties – S-wave velocity
distribution in the crust and mantle. There are different methods to convert such a velocity distribution
into corresponding mantle temperatures, thermal and density configuration of a region. With the
improvements in seismological data acquisition and computational capacity over the last decade, there
are increasing number of available tomographic models imaging the crust and upper mantle on the
global and regional scale (e.g., Fichtner et al., 2018; Lu et al., 2018; Zhu et al., 2015). But comparing
the spatial configuration of positive and negative velocity anomalies in these models reveals striking
differences not only in spatial resolution but in magnitudes of the seismic velocities.
One essential step to find the most suitable tomography model for integration in the 3D
geological modelling would be improving our understanding of the reasons of such a big variability of
seismic velocities in the available models. Revision of the models from a methodological point of view,
e.g. with respect to the model generation procedures, related quality, uncertainties, etc., is an important
task and requires specific expertise and knowledge. This task lies in the competence of a research
group from St. Petersburg Sate University. Considering the expertise in surface wave tomography
(Ponomarenko et al., 2020), as well as experience in seismic inversion (Dell et al., 2019; Ponomarenko
et al., 2017), a joint project will contribute to the ongoing research and help to understand the
differences in the tomography models