Mass Anomaly Depth Estimation from Full Tensor Gradient Gravity Data

Abstract

Full Tensor Gradient (FTG) gravity data measures the derivatives of the Earth's gravitational field. Such variations in the gravitational field may be due to the presence of bodies of higher or lower density relative to the surrounding rock. Recent technological advances have made airborne measurement of FTG data possible, resulting in the rapid collection of vast quantites of data particularly for mineral, oil and gas exploration purposes. We introduce an algorithm that uses an accumulation method over a volume to determine the potential locations of mass anomalies. Lines are cast through the volume according to physical properties of the FTG tensor, and votes accumulated from all such lines. Local maxima of the volume coincide with mass anomalies. We evaluate our algorithm on synthetic FTG data where the depths of mass anomalies are known. A multi-scale approach is demonstrated to effectively locate the depths of mass anomalies in the presence of noise.