This thesis utilizes several geophysical methods to study the Siljan Ring impact structure, focusing on the western part of the structure. This thesis, and the three papers upon which it is based, reports on attempts to delineate the Paleozoic rocks at depth within the annular ring graben and characterize their structure. In addition, the nature of the basement, which underlies these sedimentary rocks is investigated. Papers I and III focus on analysis of the down-hole logging and borehole core data. As well as the acquisition, processing and interpretation of 2D high-resolution reflection seismic data from the Mora area. The borehole log responses were compared with the core lithology from the Mora 001 borehole and information from two other cores (Mora VM 2 and Mora MV 3) in order to interpret the logs. The logs reveal significant changes in the lithology between boreholes, indicating a very high level of structural complexity, which is attributed to impact tectonics. In addition, the log data revealed a high sonic velocity contrast between the Silurian and Ordovician successions and a higher apparent temperature gradient than in the northern part of the structure. The interpretation of the high-resolution 2D seismic data suggest that the Mora area has been significantly affected by the impact. Several potential faults were identified in the area and interpreted to be post depositional and related to the impact. In paper II, a 2D seismic profile from the Orsa area (12 km) located in the northwestern part of the Siljan Ring was re-processed. To compliment this seismic line, first break traveltime tomography results, vintage seismic OPAB profiles, new and pre-existing gravity data, aeromagnetic data and the bedrock geological map were used to present a geological model along the Orsa profile. Reprocessing of the seismic data resulted in improved stacked and migrated sections and better imaging of the top of the crystalline basement than the original processing. Integrated interpretation of the seismic profiles suggests that the area has been significantly affected by faulting and that the depth to the basement varies greatly along the different profiles.

The Siljan Ring in Dalarna, Sweden is the site of the largest meteor impact crater in Europe and has long been a topic of discussion regarding methane production. However, the source of this methane and the timing of production in relation to the impact remain unclear. An outcrop of red Ordovician limestone preserved on the edge of a downfaulted zone encircling the crater’s central plateau is crosscut by fractures surrounded by pale-coloured reduction haloes within which precipitates can be observed. These haloes suggest interaction with a reducing agent mobilised within a fluid flow, of which methane would be a prime candidate. A field study was subsequently undertaken to establish the reaction whereby these haloes were formed, as well as the timing of their formation relative to the Siljan impact based upon petrological, geochemical, and structural data obtained in the field. Results from this study show that a methane-bearing hydrothermal fluid mobilised within the fractures has preserved the original mineralogy of the limestone within the reaction haloes whilst the country rock beyond was being oxidised. Pyrite is shown to be preserved within the pale reaction haloes, whilst its oxidation within the country rock is shown to be the source of the limestone’s distinct red colouring. Fracture and bedding orientation at the study site suggest the hydrothermal event to have been simultaneous with the meteor impact, with the fractures forming part of a wider complex network of impact features. Whilst mobilisation associated with the meteor impact is a likely cause of methane release, the exact source of the methane active at the study site is unclear.