GRAVITY MAGNETIC METHODS

▷ Course outlines
Gravity method
•Basic principles of gravity method
•Gravitational field of the earth (Geoid and spheroid)
•Relative and absolute gravity
•Instruments (Gravity meters or Gravimeters)
•Survey procedures
•Reduction of the observed gravity values
•Density determination
•Processing of gravity data
•Interpretation of gravity anomaly
•Anomalies due to simple shape bodies
Magnetic method
• Basic principles of the magnetic method
• Earth's Magnetic Field,
• Basics of Rock Magnetism
• Acquisition and Reduction of Magnetic Data
• Processing of magnetic data
• Interpretation of Magnetic Anomalies
• Magnetic Anomalies from Simple Bodies
• Modern Magnetic Source Interpretation Methods: Euler, Tilt-Depth, Curie Temp.
• Methods of Magnetic Interpretation
Text Books
• Telford, W.M., Geldart, L.P, and Sheri, R.E. Applied Geophysics, Second Edition.
Cambridge University Press, 1990.
• Kearey and Brooks, Introduction to Geophysical Exploration, Blackwells.
• Whole Earth Geophysics by Robert Lillie, 1999 (Prentice Hall Inc.).
Basic Principles of gravity method

Basic Principles
Basic Principles of gravity method:
Basic Principles of gravity method:
Gravitational potential is the work done by the attractive force of m1 on m2
as it moves to o from infinity.
Assuming two masses, one of unit magnitude (m2) and the other of
magnitude (m1) are initially an infinite distance apart; the unit mass is
moved until it reaches point O a distance R from m1, which has remained at
P.
Let r, the separation of the two masses at any point along the path taken by
the unit mass between its initial position at infinity and its final position O.
The force per unit mass, or acceleration, at a distance r from P, is -Gm1 /r2,
and the work necessary to move the unit mass a distance ds having a
component
dr in the direction of P is -Gm1 dr/r2. The work (V) done in moving the mass
from infinity to O in the gravitational field of m1 is
Gravitational potential (U)
The gravitational potential (U) due to a point mass m at a distance r from
itself is:
U =Gm/r
With this definition, the acceleration (m s- 2) of any point mass towards m,
namely Gm/r2, is given by du/dr, while du/dr = - Gm/r2
represent the acceleration in the direction r.
The gravitational potential of an arbitrarily shaped body at a point P,
whether inside or outside the body is:

where ρdu is the mass of an infinitesimal volume element du situated at

the point Q of the body, ρ is the density at Q, r is the distance PQ and the
integral is taken over the entire volume of the body.
The acceleration of a point mass in the vicinity of the body will be grad u .
FIGURE 12-1:
Gravitational potential is the work done by the attractive
force of
m1 on m2 as it moves to 0 from infinity.
∆gz = ∆gr cosΘ
International gravity formula
On account of the centrifugal acceleration, which varies with latitude,
the value of gravity varies systematically with the latitude ø. The
variation of g on the reference ellipsoid is defined by the following
formula adopted by the International Union of Geodesy and
Geophysics in 1967 after a critical evaluation of the available absolute
g values on the earth.

This formula reproduces the actual values on the earth at sea level
within 1υms -2.
Acquisition and reduction of gravity data
 Measurement of gravity
Absolute gravity: The measurement of an absolute gravity value is difficult and
requires complex apparatus and a lengthy period of observation.
Absolute gravity values at survey stations may be obtained by reference to the
International Gravity Standardization Network (IGSN).
Methods of measuring absolute gravity
1- compound pendulum 2- recording the time of a free falling body. Z= 0.5gt2
3- up thrown of a body and recording its time at two levels during its up &down paths
t1, t2 & t3, t4.

g= 8(Z2-Z1)/ [(t4-t1)2 – (t3-t2)2 ] .

Relative gravity: The measurement of relative values of gravity, that is, the
differences of gravity between locations, is simpler and is the standard procedure in
gravity surveying.
By using a relative reading instrument to determine the difference in gravity
between an IGSN station and a field location, the absolute value of gravity at that
location can be determined.
 Measurement of acceleration due to gravity (g) by a compound
pendulum
Apparatus: (i) A bar pendulum, (ii) a knife–edge with a platform, (iii) a sprit level, (iv) a
stop watch and (v) a meter scale .

where I is the moment of inertia of the pendulum about a pivot,

d is the distance between the point of suspension and the center
of the mass of the bar (i.e. the center of the bar), and m is the
mass of the bar, L is the length of an equivalent simple pendulum
The sensitivity of the compound pendulum is found by
differentiating Eq. (2.60). This gives

To obtain a sensitivity of about 1 mgal it is necessary to

determine the period with an accuracy of about 0.5s. This can be
achieved easily today with precise atomic clocks.
Measurement of acceleration due to gravity (g) by a compound
pendulum
 Pendulums

For small angles,

sinQ = Q
Q
L Simple Harmonic
Motion
Period = 2p L/g

Measure period of T
oscillation and mg sinQ
length of pendulum,
x Q
determine g!
mg
Gravimeters:
Modern instruments capable of rapid gravity measurements are
known as gravity meters or gravimeters.
Gravimeters are basically spring balances carrying a constant mass.
Variations in the weight of the mass caused by variations in gravity
cause the length of the spring to vary and give a measure of the
change in gravity. In Fig. 6.1 a spring of initial length s0 has been
stretched by an amount δs as a result of an increase in gravity δg
increasing the weight of the suspended mass m. The extension of
the spring is proportional to the extending force (Hooke’s Law), then
F= mg = - k(s-s0) ………… (1)
s = stretched length of the spring, thus
………… (2)
where k is the elastic spring constant.
δs must be measured to a precision of 1 : 108 in instruments
suitable for gravity surveying on land.
Some form of optical, mechanical or electronic amplification
of the extension is required in practice.
Fig. 6.1 Principle of stable gravimeter operation
Stable gravimeter is based directly on Hooke’s law. It has been
replaced by more sensitive unstable types, which are constructed so
that an additional force acts in the same direction as gravity and
opposes the restoring force of the spring. The instrument is then in a
state of unstable equilibrium. This condition is realized through the
design of the spring. If the natural length s0 can be made as small as
possible, ideally zero, Eq. (1) shows that the restoring force is then
proportional to the physical length of the spring instead of its
extension. The zero-length spring, first introduced in the
LaCoste–Romberg gravimeter.
 LaCoste–Romberg gravimeter.
The spring is usually of the helical type. When a helical spring is
stretched, the fiber of the spring is twisted; the total twist along
the length of the fiber equals the extension of the spring as a
whole. During manufacture of a zero-length spring the helical
spring is given an extra twist, so that its tendency is to uncoil. An
increase in gravity stretches the spring against its restoring
force, and the extension is augmented by the built-in pre-tension.
The operation of a gravimeter is illustrated in Fig. 2.35. A mass is
supported by a horizontal rod to which a mirror is attached. The
position of the rod is observed with a light-beam reflected into a
microscope. If gravity changes, the zero-length spring is extended
or shortened and the position of the rod is altered, which deflects
the
light-beam. The null-deflection principle is utilized. An adjusting
screw changes the position of the upper attachment of the
spring, which alters its tension and restores the rod to its original
horizontal position as detected by the light-beam and
microscope. The turns of the adjusting screw are calibrated in
The gravity survey
The following factors must be considered in designing a survey:
1. If it is desired to tie the survey to others, the network must include at
least
one station where absolute g is known.
2. The station spacing must fit the anomaly scale.
3. The heights of all stations must be known or measured to 10 cm.
4. Latitudes must be known to 20 m.
5. Topography affects the measurements, thus it is best to locate the
stations where there is little topography.
6. Access is important, which often means keeping stations to existing roads
or waterways if there are no roads.
7. In the design of the gravity survey, station spacing and accuracy are most
important. It is important to realize that no amount of computer
processing can compensate for poor experiment design.
Method
The following field procedure is usually adopted:
1. Measure a base station,
2. measure more stations,
3. re-measure the base station approximately every two hours.
Reduction of Gravity data
 Methods—Bouguer Correction
• Bouguer anomaly value calculations were made using the
gravity readings from the gravimeter, the terrain corrections,
the elevation/lat/long data downloaded from the Trimble,
and the following formulas:
– Free Air Correction = 0.3086 * elevation
– Bouguer Correction = 0.0419*density (used 2.67) * elevation
– Theoretical Gravity = 978.03185* (1 + (0.0053024 * sin2
(latitude)) – (0.0000058 * sin2 (2 * latitude))
– Bouguer Anomaly = (Observed Gravity ± Free Air Correction ±
Bouguer Correction) – Theoretical Gravity
 Determination of rock density
1- Direct measurement
The specific gravity of a sample may be found directly by weighing it first in air and then in
water, and applying Archimedes’ principle. This gives its density ρr relative to that of water:

2- Using a borehole gravimeter

2- Using a borehole gravimeter

The value g2 will be larger than g1 for two reasons. First, because the lower measurement level is
closer to the Earth’s center, g2 will be greater than g1 by the amount of the combined elevation
correction, namely (0.3086 - (0.0419 ρ *10-3))∆h mgal, where ∆h = h1 - h2.
Second, at the lower level h2 the gravimeter experiences an upward Bouguer attraction due to the
material between the two measurement levels. This reduces the measured gravity at h2 and
requires a compensating increase to g2 of amount (0.0419 ρ *10-3))∆h mgal.
The difference ∆g between the corrected values of g1 and g2 after reduction to the level h2 is then
3- Nettleton’s method for near-surface density

Fig. 2.43 Determination of the density of near-surface rocks by Nettleton’s method. (a) Gravity
measurements are made on a profile across a small hill. (b) The data are corrected for elevation
with various test values of the density. The optimum density gives minimum correlation between
the gravity anomaly (∆gB) and the topography.
Density determination
4- Gamma–gamma logging

Fig. 2.41 (a) The design of a gamma–gamma logging device for determining density in
a borehole (after Telford et al., 1990), and (b) a schematic gamma–gamma log
calibrated in terms of the rock density.
5- Density from seismic velocities