Russian Journal of Earth Sciences
Vol. 6, No. 3, June 2004
Pripyat Trough: Tectonics, geodynamics, and evolution
R. G. Garetskii, R. E. Aizberg, and T. A. Starchik
Abstract
The Pripyat Trough is situated in the East-European Platform and is a part of the more extensive system of
the Sarmatian-Turanian lineament. It is one of the most thoroughly drilled and seismically investigated oil-bearing
basins of the paleorift type that are known in the ancient platforms. Its geological structure reflects the typical
features of ancient rift basins and can be interpreted as the tectonic type of an oil-bearing paleorift. The tectonic
style of the paleorift can be reconstructed from the structure of some markers, such as the surfaces of the basement,
of the subsalt deposits, of the intersalt rocks, of the upper salt-bearing rock sequence, and of some other rocks
residing in the upper parts of the sequence. The Pripyat Trough is characterized by the block tectonics of its subsalt
deposits, by the block-fold tectonics of its intersalt deposits, and by the essentially fold tectonics of its upper salt-
bearing and overlying deposits. The specific styles of the tectonic deformation of the subsalt, intrasalt, and suprasalt
deposits suggest three structural zones, namely, the Northern, Central, and Southern zones. Proceeding from the
results of deep seismic sounding, the Pripyat rift is interpreted as a zone of listric breaking which had enveloped not
only the Pripyat Graben but also the adjacent areas of the Ukrainian Shield and Belorussian Anteclise, forming its
shoulders.