The intrusive complexof the Island of Giglio: geomagnetic characteristics of plutonic facies with low susceptibility contrast

Abstract

Two main plutonic facies characterize the intrusive complex of the Island of Giglio, and the trend of their contact at depth has been modelled using a 2D½ analysis based on a detailed geomagnetic survey in order to verify the geological hypothesis of the subsurface geometry of this contact. The magnetic anomaly connected with the discontinuity is quite low, due to the small difference between the magnetic susceptibilities of the two granitic facies. Development of this model of inversion of the magnetic field, which is in good agreement with the geological interpretation, was made possible by: 1) accurate control of the geomagnetic time variations and consequent temporal reduction, 2) a very low level of the artificial magnetic noise, 3) high density of the magnetic survey, 4) detailed knowledge of the mapped geologic contact between facies and of their petrologic characteristics, and 5) direct local measurements of the magnetic susceptibilities of the key lithologies. The model shows the trends of the geological contact, as projected in three E-W sections, that dips eastward in the range between 210 and 540, supporting the geologic hypothesis that the Pietrabona facies represents an external shell of the shallowly emplaced Giglio monzogranite intrusion.