RECENT DYNAMICS AND GEOMORPHOGENESIS OF BLOCK STRUCTURES IN THE MIDDLE DNIEPER REGION BASED ON STRUCTURAL AND MORPHOMETRIC MAPS

The purpose of the research carried out on the territory of the Middle Dnieper Region is to determine the degree of dynamics of block structures and tectonic zoning with manifestations of structural and tectonic elements consistent with cartographic materials of geological surveys and field observations. The terrain is genetically related to the geological history of the formation of tectonic structures. The main relief elements are valley thalwegs and watershed lines, the formation of which reflects the interaction of tectonic movements with denudation and accumulation. To study the latest tectogenesis of the Middle Dnieper Region, a set of methods was used, primarily geological and geomorphological studies and structural and morphometric analysis in combination with materials from remote sensing of the Earth and analytical systems, which made it possible to confirm the genetic connection between the processes of geomorphogenesis and tectogenesis, between the forms of the earth’s surface and the structures of the earth’s surface. The use of Earth remote sensing data provided a high-quality interpretation of geological and geomorphological data and made it possible to construct a number of models and reconstruct the tectonic evolution of the Middle Dnieper Region, at the latest and present stages. The constructed high-order maps of the differences in the base surfaces allowed us to identify tectonic blocks and determine their dynamics. The lattice structure of the river network, which is confined to linearly elongated tectonic structures – fracture zones, fault zones that were active in modern times were discovered, delimiting regional block structures, against which smaller structures (microblocks) stand out. The resulting maps identified the main tectonic zones with different directions and intensities of differentiated movements at a maximum depth of 50–70 m. For the first time in the Middle Dnieper Region, the structural-morphometric method has been used to determine the peculiarities of regional and local factors of neotectogenesis, to refine the tectonic zoning, and to identify small microblock structures with heterogeneous dynamics in each of them. In the Middle Dnieper Region, according to the data obtained, areas with the greatest neotectonic activity of ascending movements and block structures were identified. For the first time on the territory of the Middle Dnieper Region, the method of structural morphometry, the features of regional and local factors of new tectogenesis were taken, tectonic zoning and small structures (microblocks) with heterogeneous dynamics in each of them were distinguished. The results show high efficiency of involvement of structural morphometry in a complex of methods of geological study and mapping of complex regions and are important for the analysis of the development of dangerous geological processes within the Middle Dnieper Region.