The Niklas anomaly southwest of Cyprus: New insights from combined gravity and magnetic data

While gravity and magnetic data have been extensively collected, analyzed, and studied in the eastern Mediterranean, the combination of these two methods has never been thoroughly examined. When analyzed together, these two data sets produce interesting and important results, which are presented here for the first time. The new compilation indicates that two magnetic dipoles are in good agreement with disturbances in the gravity field. The specific gravity pattern corresponds to the Eratosthenes magnetic anomaly. The second magnetic dipole coincides with a large gravity high. The combined data suggest the presence here of a dense and magnetized body termed the Niklas massif. The gravity and magnetic pattern of Niklas is comparable to that of the ophiolite massifs of the eastern Mediterranean. Based on this similarity, we assume that Niklas has a similar composition.