The Northern and Southern Scandes - structural differences revealed by an analysis of gravity anomalies, the geoid and regional isostasy

Regional, flexural isostatic calculations yield a flexural rigidity of D = 1023 Nm for the lithosphere of the Southern Scandes and the isostatic gravity and geoid residuals point to additional isostatic support by low-density rocks below the Moho. On the other side, for the lithosphere in the Northern Scandes no significant flexural rigidity can be resolved. Here, the Bouguer anomaly is best modelled with a small flexural rigidity, indicating nearly Airy isostatic behaviour. Local subsurface loading and horizontal tectonic forces overprint the isostatic compensations and increase the tectonic complexity of the Northern Scandes. These distinctive features of the Scandes cannot be explained by currently existing models of the present and Neogene uplift and the isostatic mechanism of the Scandes.