Neotectonics and geodynamics of the Scythian Plate

Based on the results of structural-geomorphological analysis and tectonophysical modeling we identified an active geodynamic area in the basement of the Scythian Plate, which includes the Rostov salient, the northern part of the Stavropol uplift, Kuma-Tyulenev swell, and the eastern part of the Karpinskii swell and Astrakhan salient. This area is also characterized by maximal lineament densities, high heat flow, seismicity and the occurrence of hydrocarbon accumulations. It has been shown that the orientation of deformations within the Scythian Plate and Greater Caucasus orogen exhibits good correlation with those documented in the modern structural geometry of the Schythian Plate.