Depth estimate for gravity anomalies via Euler’s homogenous equation

Authors

Institute of Geophysics, University of Tehran, P.O. Box 14155-6466, Tehran, Iran

Abstract

In this paper, the applicability of Euler’s homogenous equation method in detecting gravity anomalies from gravity or microgravity data is addressed. The stability of Euler solutions with respect to the window size, window position and choice of the structural index value (defining the anomaly attenuation rate) is analyzed and demonstrated using synthetic microgravity data created for different anomaly models. The analysis reveals that the optimum window size required to obtain the best solutions is a function of the source depth. The horizontal location parameters can be determined correctly if the window is located in the region of high derivatives regardless the assigned structural index v. Meanwhile, depth solution is linearly dependent on the structural index and incorrect choice of structural index leads to significant error in the estimated depth.

Keywords