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Summary Sm–Nd isotope ratios of 1.9–1.8 Ga granitoids delineate the Archaean–Proterozoic boundary in northern Sweden, an important feature in the Fennoscandian Shield. The boundary strikes approximately WNW–ESE and is defined as a c. 20 km wide zone with juvenile Palaeoproterozoic rocks to the SSW and Archaean and Proterozoic rocks, derived to a large extent from Archaean sources, to the NNE. It therefore constitutes the strongly reworked margin of the old Archaean craton. Extrapolation of the boundary offshore into the Bothnian Bay and correlation with the marine reflection seismic BABEL Lines 2 and 3/4 indicates that the boundary dips to the south‐southwest, consistent with interpretation of the Sm–Nd data. In order to tie the BABEL results with onshore surface geology and obtain detailed images of the uppermost crust a short (30 km of subsurface coverage) pilot profile was acquired in the Luleå area of northern Sweden during August 1999. The profile consisted of a high‐resolution shallow component (1 kg shots) and a lower‐resolution deep component (12 kg shots). Both components image most of the reflective crust, with the deep component providing a better image below 10 s. Comparison of signal penetration curves with data acquired over the Trans‐Scandinavian Igneous Belt (a large batholith) indicate the transparent nature of the crust there to be caused by geological factors, not acquisition parameters. Lower crustal reflectivity patterns on the Luleå test profile are similar to those observed on the BABEL lines, suggesting the same lower crust onshore as offshore. Interpreted Archaean reflective upper crust in the NE extends below more transparent Proterozoic crust in the SW. This transparent crust contains a number of high‐amplitude reflectors that may represent shear zones and/or mafic rock within granite intrusions. A marked boundary in the magnetic field in the SW has been interpreted as being the result of a gently west‐dipping contact zone between meta‐sediments and felsic volcanic rocks, however, the seismic data indicate a near‐vertical structure in this area. By correlating the onshore and offshore seismic data we have better defined the location of the Archaean–Proterozoic boundary on the BABEL profiles. Our new interpretation of the crustal structure along the northern part of the BABEL Line 2 shows a more bi‐vergent geometry than previous interpretations. Comparison of the re‐interpreted crustal structure in northern Sweden with that found in the Middle Urals shows several similarities, in particular the accretion of a series of arcs to a stable craton. Based on this similarity and geological data, we deduce that a continental arc accreted to the southwestern margin of the Archaean craton at c. 1.87 Ga. Shortly thereafter, the Skellefte island arc underthrust the continental arc owing to a collision further to the southwest resulting in the bi‐vergent crustal structure observed today.

New methods have been suggested to spatially extend in situ thermal response test (TRT) assessments based on geostatistical analysis. These methods can be used to determine a stochastic distribution of the subsurface thermal conductivity beyond the test borehole on larger scales by interpolating the data with geostatistics, including sequential Gaussian simulations (SGS) used in the present study. This paper presents a simulated thermal conductivity map for Greater Stockholm in Sweden, based on the SGS method with input data from in situ measurements (TRT and DTRT). The geology of Stockholm is used as a background raster in the simulations, based on bedrock maps from the Geological Survey of Sweden (SGU). The resulting maps are compared with a point map of punctual ground thermal conductivity of Greater Stockholm earlier derived by SGU, compiled from laboratory data that were obtained by thermal conductivity scanning and modal analysis of surface rock specimens of the area.

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The Bälinge conglomerate has played a key role in the lithostratigraphy of northern Sweden. The conglomerate, with pebbles dominated by granodiorites and tonalites in a generally biotite‐rich matrix, borders volcanic rocks with unclear relative age relationships. In nearby areas these volcanites have been intruded by plutonic rocks (c. 1.9 Ga) which are similar to the pebble material. On these grounds, the conglomerate has been regarded as younger than the volcanic rocks and an important marker in the geological evolution of the region. In this preliminary study, it is suggested that the features displayed by the Balinge conglomerate are not compatible with an epiclastic origin. On the contrary, they indicate that this rock represents a hydraulic breccia where the roundness of the granitoid ‘pebbles’ has resulted from erosion in a fluidised, heterogeneous and magmatic environment. In the actual area the ‘conglomerate’ must thus be dismissed as a stratigraphic marker horizon. It belongs to the early Svecofennian evolution.