PRESENTATION

ON

Processing and Interpretation of Gravity Data.

Group: 04
1. Md. Sohag Shikder 17 GLM 033
2. Sabbir Hossain 17 GLM 055
3. Tanjim Jahan 17 GLM 048
4. Md. Mizanur Rahman 17 GLM 043
5. Md. Sajib 17 GLM 009
6. Apurba Baidya 17 GLM 056
7. Md Alamin Haque 17 GLM 058
Content:
1. INTRODUCTION
2. GRAVITY VARIATION
3. EXTRANEOUS GRAVITY VARIATIONS
4. TEMPORAL VARIATIONS
5. ATMOSPHERIC VARIATIONS
6. DATUMS
6.1 GEOGRAPHIC AND VERTICAL DATUMS
7. GRAVITY METHOD
8. DATA PROCESSING
8.1 STAGES OF DATA PROCESSING
9. DATA ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION
9.1 DENSITY
9.2 MODELING
10. COSTS FOR A GRAVITY SURVEY
11. CONCLUSION
 Introduction
Raw or field gravity measurements require processing to prepare the
data for interpretation of subsurface variations in density. The low
amplitude of subsurface gravity signals necessitates removal of
predictable or measurable unwanted gravity variations, both temporal
and spatial, from the raw data. The theoretical value is calculated
assuming a conceptual planetary and a geological model that describes
the gravity sources at the observation site. A variety of anomaly types
are used in gravity interpretation depending on its intended use. Each
type is produced from a specific model incorporating a different set of
extraneous gravity effects.
Gravity Variation
Gravity measurements define anomalous density within the Earth;
in most cases, ground-based gravimeters are used to precisely
measure variations in the gravity field at different points. Gravity
anomalies are computed by subtracting a regional field from the
measured field, which result in gravitational anomalies that
correlate with source body density variations. Positive gravity
anomalies are associated with shallow high density bodies,
whereas gravity lows are associated with shallow low density
bodies. Thus, deposits of high-density chromite, hematite, and
barite yield gravity highs, whereas deposits of low-density halite,
weathered kimberlite, and diatomaceous earth yield gravity lows.
Extraneous gravity variations
This process is commonly referred to as the correction or reduction
of gravity data. Correction does not suggest that the observed data
are in error, nor does reduction imply that the data of multiple
observations are reduced or continued to a common vertical datum.

Raw or field gravity measurements are influenced by a wide variety

of terrain, surface, geological, instrumental, and planetary
sources. These sources have different amplitudes, periods in the
case of temporal variations, and wavelengths in spatial variations
that generally mask or at a minimum distort anomalies that are the
objective of the gravity study.
8 Temporal variations

Observations of the gravitational field as a function of time at a station show that there are temporal
variations or drift in the measurements with a wide range of periods. These changes, which vary
depending on:

►Inherent instrumental drift

►Atmospheric pressure

►Tidal effects
9 Temporal variations Cont.
Inherent instrumental drift

Fig: Graph showing the drift of a gravimeter as established by reoccupation of a base station. The base stations,
indicated by the circles, are connected together by linear interpolation. The gravimeter drift correction for a
survey station, indicated by the cross, is shown at the time of the measurement at this station.
10 Atmospheric variations

Local atmospheric pressure variations enter into gravimeter observations in several ways. They
may cause a change in the buoyancy of the gravimeter sensor, and, in addition, atmospheric
pressure changes will affect the gravitational attraction of the atmosphere that opposes the pull of
the solid Earth, as well as causing related deformation of the Earth’s surface. The effect of
atmospheric pressure variations upon the mass of the atmosphere and the resulting effect on
gravity measurements are normally incorporated into corrections for inherent instrumental drift.
.
11 Earth Tides

A primary source of temporal variations in gravity observations is the tidal effect caused by gravitational
forces of the Moon and Sun, which result in variations of up to several tenths of a milligal over time
periods measured in hours.

FIGURE 6.4 Schematic illustration of the tidal effect of the Moon upon the Earth (wide solid vectors) due to the
varying gravitational effect (g) of the Moon (solid line vectors) upon the constant centrifugal acceleration (CF)
caused by the orbital motion of the Earth and Moon around a common center of gravity (dashed vectors).
Datums
All gravity surveys are tied to geographic, vertical, and gravity datums even if
they default to arbitrary, local, datums, which is the case for many surveys
conducted for limited objectives over small areas. However, it is advantageous in
gravity surveying to relate all position, height, and gravity values of stations to
established datums.

 Geographic and vertical datums:

Globally, use of local geographic datums, based on different Earth ellipsoids,
may lead to errors in position of up to 1 km.
The vertical datum used in gravity surveying is the geoid or sea level, the same
datum used in essentially all surface elevations.
Gravity Method
 Gravity method is a non-ruinous geophysical procedure that measures contrasts in the gravitational field
of the earth at many various areas.
 It has much beneficial utilization in
• Hydrocarbon exploration
• Mineral prospecting
• Archeological investigations
• Environmental applications and
• Crustal imaging.
 The main objective of the gravity interpretation is evaluating the model parameters
 Depth
 Amplitude coefficient
 Origin location and
 Shape parameter (spheres, cylinders).
Gravity Method Cont.
The interpretation of the gravity data is attempted here using Four methods:
1. Bouguer Anomaly
2. The Gradient method
3. The particle swarm optimization and
4. Werner deconvolution method.
Analysis of the gravity anomalies can allow obtaining more detailed information
on the geological structures that partially outcrops or covered totally in depth.
Data Processing

 The observed gravity readings obtained from the gravity survey reflect
the gravitational field.
 Several corrections have to be applied to the field gravity readings.
 To interpret gravity data, one must remove all known gravitational
effects not related to the subsurface density changes.
 Each reading has to be corrected for elevation, the influence of tides,
latitude and, if significant local topography exists, a topographic
correction.
Stages of data processing:
1.Input – The raw data after collection needs to be
fed in the cycle for processing. This is considered
the first step and called input.
2.Processing – Once the input is provided the raw
data is processed by a suitable or selected
processing method. This is the most important
step as it provides the processed data in the form
of output which will be used further.
3.Output – This is the outcome and the raw data
provided in the first stage is now “processed” and
the data is useful and provides information and
no longer called data. Output is also understood
as meaningful information or useful information.
Some of the considerations dealt with during our processing
include:
Gravity Data Reduction: Modeling Techniques:
Gridding Methods: • Equivalent mass
• Latitude correction
• • Kriging
Free air correction • Model thickness
• Bouguer correction • Minimum curvature
• Terrain correction • Horizontal & vertical
(inner & outer) • Inverse distance
derivatives
• Bouguer water correction • Triangulation
• Bathymetry correction • Inverse modeling

Filtering Methods: Density Considerations:

• Median filter • Constant density Bouguer and
• High & low pass filter terrain corrections
• Polynomial regression • Variable density Bouguer and
terrain corrections.
DATA PROCESSING
The observed gravity readings obtained from the gravity survey reflect the gravitational field due to all
masses in the earth and the effect of the earth’s rotation. To interpret gravity data, one must remove all
known gravitational effects not related to the subsurface density changes.
These include latitudinal variations, elevation elevation changes, topographic changes, building effects
and earth tides

Figure: Bouguer gravity data before and after being corrected for building effects. (Adapted from
Debeglia and Dupont, 2002).
Data analysis and interpretation
 The object of the gravity method is to determine information about the
earth’s subsurface.
 One can just carry out a qualitative examination of the grid of gravity
values, contour maps or the gravity profiles to determine the lateral
location of any gravity variations or one can perform a more detailed
analysis in order to quantify the nature (depth, geometry, density) of the
subsurface feature causing the gravity variations.
 To determine the later, it is usually necessary to separate the anomaly of
interest (residual) from the remaining background anomaly (regional).
 Then the residual gravity anomaly is modelled to determine the depth,
density and geometry of the anomaly’s source.
Gravity data interpretation is useful in exploring regions that have different geological
structures, which contain minerals, ores and oil deposits. There are different numerical
methods for the model parameters
• Depth
• Origin location
• Shape parameter and
• Amplitude coefficient
Evaluation of a covered structure such as-
 Gradient method
 particle swarm optimization technique and
 Werner deconvolution method.
In this study, application of these methods is utilized to appraise the model parametric
quantity of the covered structures.
The application of these methods was demonstrated by different engineered data without and with
various range of noise (5%, 10%) and applied for a real example. The result values of each
method were compared together and with those published and drilling information.
Density

 s

Table: Density range of common sediments and sedimentary rocks.

Modeling

Gravity modeling is usually the final step in gravity

interpretation and involves trying to determine the density,
depth and geometry of one or more subsurface bodies. The
modeling procedure commonly involves using a residual
gravity anomaly. When modeling a residual gravity anomaly,
the interpreter must use a density contrast between the body of
interest and the surrounding material, while modeling Bouguer
gravity anomalies, the density of the body is used.
Modeling

There are many different techniques available to perform the modeling

procedure and they can be broken down into three main categories:
1) Analytical solutions due to simple geometries
2) Forward modeling using 2-(two-dimensional), 2.5- (two and one-
half dimensional) and 3-D (three-dimensional) irregularly shaped
bodies, and
3) Inverse modeling using 2-, 2.5- and 3-D irregularly shaped bodies.
Figure 7. Two dimensional gravity model (adapted from Burger, 1992). The solid line is the
calculated gravity values due to the model (b) and the stars are the observed data.
COSTS FOR A GRAVITY SURVEY

The typical costs for a gravity survey depends on if the client wants to perform the survey themselves,
contract out the survey to a consulting company, the amount of interpretation and data processing, the
number of stations, and the object of interest.
Estimates on these costs are shown in Table 2.
Conclusion
Gravity observations include the combined effects of instrumental, surface, terrain, and
planetary sources in addition to the subsurface mass variations that are the objective of an
exploration gravity survey. The observed gravity readings obtained from the gravity survey
reflect the gravitational field due to all masses in the earth and the effect of the earth’s
rotation. To interpret gravity data, one must remove all known gravitational effects. Gravity
data interpretation is useful in exploring regions that have different geological structures,
which contain minerals, ores and oil deposits. Some are considered universally, but others
only in specific geological, surface, and observational conditions. Unwanted effects are
removed by calculating the gravity anomaly, which is the arithmetic difference between the
observed vertical acceleration of gravity and the predicted or theoretical acceleration at the
observation site. Theoretical gravity is based on a conceptual model of the sources of gravity
variations