Gravity Method

Bahan Kuliah Program Pasca Sarjana

T.Perminyakan – Usakti

Oleh: Untung Sumotarto

Exploration geophysics is the applied branch of geophysics which uses 
surface methods to measure the physical properties of the subsurface 
Earth, in order to detect or infer the presence and position of ore mine‐
rals, hydrocarbons, geothermal reservoirs, groundwater reservoirs, 
and other geological structures. 

Exploration geophysics is the practical application of physical methods
(such as seismic, gravitational, magnetic, electrical and electromagnetic) 
to measure the physical properties of rocks, and in particular, to detect 
the measurable physical differences between rocks that contain ore de‐
posits or hydrocarbons and those without. 

Exploration geophysics can be used to directly detect the target style of 
mineralisation, via measuring its physical properties directly. For exam‐
ple one may measure the density contrasts between iron ore and silicate 
wall rocks, or may measure the electrical conductivity contrast between 
conductive sulfide minerals and barren silicate minerals. 
 PROC EDURA L ST A GES

F
C
A

E
D
B
Geophysical Methods

ANALYSIS
DETECTION OF

PREDICTION OF
UNCONFORMITIES
In Petroleum Industry

PALEOGEOGRAPHY
RECONSTRUCTION OF

STRATIGRAPHIC TRAP
TYPE AND STRUCTURE
DEVELOPMENT OF TIME -
DETERMINATION OF BASIN

ENVIRONMENTAL - FACIES
STRATIGRAPHIC FRAMEWORK

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Mapping, meas uring, and des c ribing s ec tions GEOLOGIC
Sy s tematic c ollec tions of s amples FIELD

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and detailed f ac ies des c ription STUDY

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A ERIA L PHOTOGRA PHY C A NA LY SIS

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General c orrelation and interpretation SEISMIC

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Detail c orrelation and interpretation SURV EY S

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GRA V ITY SURV EY S

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MA GNETIC SURV EY S

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X REMOTE - SENSING SURV EY S
General us es in c orrelation and ELECTRIC

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gros s -f ac ies determination A ND

Detailed analy s es of c urv e s hapes OTHER W ELL

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and f ac ies boundaries SURV EY S

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General roc k-ty pe determination SA MPLE CUTTINGS

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X Detailed-f ac ies analy s is A ND CORES

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General regional s tratigraphy and s truc ture GEOLOGIC

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X
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Detail c orrelation CROSS SECTIONS

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PETROGRA PHIC A NA LY SIS

EXPLORATION TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES

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X

GEOCHEMICA L A NA LY SIS
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PA LEONTOLOGY - A GE
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X

PA LEONTOLOGIC - ENV IRONMENT

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X

DETERMINA TION OF ENV IRONMENTA L FA CIES

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X

ISOPA CH MA PS
FA CIES-DISTRIBUTION MA PS
X
X
X

( e.g., is olith, three-c omponent, ratio, etc )

SPECIA L-PURPOSE MA PS
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X
X

(e.g., number of s ands > 20' thic k )

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X

PA LEOGEOGRA PHIC MA PS
GRAVITY METHOD
Prinsip Kerja
 MAIN FIELD EQUIPMENTS
Gravimeter : 1 unit La Coste and Romberg.
Positioning  : 2 set GPS‐Receivers LEICA
Elevation : 3 set Paulin Altimeter
Communication : 2 unit SSB radios ( 1 unit at field,  
1 unit at head office), 4 unit Handy 
talky, 2 vehicles 
Data Processing : Laptop PC, printer, softwares,
diskettes, calculator
Crew            : Geophysicist, Geodetist, 2 operator,
6 lokal labor 
 Peralatan

Worden Gravitymeter LaCoste & Romberg Gravitymeter

Peralatan

Setting Peralatan
 Peralatan

Bagian-Bagian Peralatan
 Peralatan

Bagian-Bagian Peralatan
 Peralatan

Pengukuran Lapangan
 DATA ACQUISITION PLAN
1. Calibration
Calibration of the gravimeter is carried out several 
times: before and after a trip and every two weeks.

2. Base Station
The  gravity  base  station  in  every  location  is  established 
by  tying  the  base  station  to  the  nearest  standard  base 
station to the location. 

3. Data Acquisition Methods
 DESIGN OF REMOTE DATA COMMUNICATION SYSTEM
PC PIV-1 Gh

PC PIV-1 Gh
Telephone Net

Field Data Station

Modem Modem
Office Data Station
56.6 kbps 56.6 kbps

Field Data Station filter

Field Data Transceiver Protoc ol Modem

Field Data
in Spread Sheet by Zmodem or Kermit 56.6 kbps
in ASCII Format
Format Software Software

Office Data Station

Data Processing,
Modem Transceiver Protoc ol Data Media storage Implementation,
56.6 kbps by Zmodem or Kermit Hardisk 40 Gb. and Desktop Publishing
Software

Hidarrtan
 DATA PROCESSING
The  data  obtained  from  the  sites  are  sent  directly 
to the base camp and processed.

1.  DATA REDUCTION
2.  GRAVITY PROFILES
3. GRAVITY MAP
4. MODELING
 1.  DATA REDUCTION

The gravity data reduction consists of two types of 
correction which are internal and external 
correction. 
The internal corrections are drift and tidal 
corrections.
The external corrections are ellipsoid gravity value, 
free air, bouguer, and terrain corrections. 
DRIFT CORRECTION is applied to eliminate the effect 
of  spring  fatigue  of  the  La  Coste instrument.  This 
correction  is  derived  by  double  check  the  starting 
base station at appropriate time interval.

TIDAL CORRECTION is applied to eliminate gravity of 
the sun and moon which are time function due to 
relative motion among earth, moon and sun. The 
tidal correction had been calculated in advance using 
computer by applying the Longman’s formula.
 DATA ACQUISITION
* Gravity Measurement
* GPS Positioning

DRIFT and TIDAL

CORRECTION

GRAVITY
DATA
* FREE AIR CORRECTION
* BOUGUER CORRECTION

TERRAIN CORRECTION
PROCESSING
FLOW
* Inner (Field Processing)
* Outer (Head Office Processing)

* Bouguer Anomaly
CHART
* Complete Bouguer Anomaly

GRAVITY PROFILES
* Station Coordinate
* Station Elevation
* Gravity Value
ELLIPSOID EARTH GRAVITY reference has to be applied 
to produce an earth gravity value at the mean sea level 
as a function of location latitude. 
This reference implies an homogenous mass distribution 
of the ellipsoid earth model. 
The ellipsoid model in the IUGG 1979 formula is : 

gθ = 978.03185 (1 + 0.005278895 sin2 θ + 
0.000023462 sin4 θ) , mgal
where
gθ = theoretical gravity as function of θ
θ = latitude of the observation point.
FREE‐AIR CORRECTION (FAC) is applied to estimate 
the earth gravity at certain altitude of an 
observation above mean sea level. 
The free air correction formula is calculated for 
average earth radius at elevation h in meters.
FAC = ‐ 0.3086 h, mgal
BOUGUER  CORRECTION (BC) BC is  applied  to  estimate  the  earth 
gravity  at  elevation  h  above  sea  level  with  earth  mass  of 
density ρ (gr./cm3) fill up the space of thickness h. 
This theoretical Bouguer correction can be written as:
BC  =  2h ρ Gh =  0.04187 ρ h, mgal
where :
G =  6.67 x 10‐9 Cgs unit
ρ =  the chosen density in gr./cm3
H =  altitude of observation point in meters.

BOUGUER  ANOMALY (BA) BA is  the  difference  between  the 

observation gravity value (gobs) and the expected earth normal 
gravity at an observation point. 
BA =  gobs ‐ (gθ ‐ FAC + BC)
where the magnitude in the bracket is the expected earth normal gravity.
 TERRAIN CORRECTION
Pengukuran gaya berat sering dilakukan pada daerah
dengan topografi yang cukup bervariasi. 
Koreksi terrain harus dihitung untuk menghilangkan
efek relief permukaan bumi terhadap nilai anomali
Bouguer yang dihitung.
Koreksi ini dihitung sebagai efek gaya berat yang 
ditimbulkan oleh suatu badan massa tiga dimensional 
yaitu adanya bukit dan lembah di sekitar stasion
pengukuran gaya berat. 
INNER ZONE CORRECTION
To apply this correction, a simple topographic survey 
has to be performed at every gravity station along a 
radius of ± 35 and ± 68 meters which may be done 
before or after gravity reading. 
Such survey should include the nature of local 
morphology and the distance to the gravity station 
which affects the observation. 
The correction was directly calculated at the field by 
using a certain gravity terrain inner correction chart.
OUTER ZONE CORRECTION
This  correction  was  done  by  using  the  Hammer  Chart, 
usually  based  on  a  topographic  map  of        1  :  250.000 
scale. 
Applying  the  terrain  correction,  the  Bouguer Anomaly 
(BA) can be refined to be a Complete Bouguer Anomaly 
(CBA) following this formula :

CBA = gobs ‐ (gθ ‐ FAC + BC ‐ TC)

or
CBA = BA + TC
Hidartan
 METODA PERHITUNGAN KOREKSI TERRAIN
Metoda konvensional untuk menghitung koreksi
terrain adalah dengan menggunakan Hammer Chart
dan peta topografi berskala tertentu.

Sekarang ini perhitungan koreksi terrain  dilakukan

dengan bantuan komputer,  salah satunya adalah
Metoda Integrasi Numerik.
TERRAIN CORRECTION CALCULATION FLOW CHART
Topographic
Gravity
Map
Observation

Station Digitizing,
Position X, Y, Z Gridding and
Merging

N Projection
System Similar to
the Map

Transformation
of the Coordinate

Terrain Correction
 DATA REDUCTION TABLE
Date Time Station Reading G-obs Latitude Longitude Elevation G-normal Comb. Corr Terrain Corr. BA CBA
(mgal) (mgal) (degree) (degree) (m) (mgal) (mgal) Inner Outer (mgal) (mgal)
 2.  GRAVITY PROFILES
Gravity profile will be produced for each line using its 
reduced  data  to  present  the  trend  of  gravity  values 
along the line.

3. GRAVITY MAP
Consists of CBA/BA anomaly map, regional gravity 
map, residual gravity map. 
 Density of Common Geologic Material ( Telford et al. 1990 )

Density range Approximate average

3
No. Material Type ( Mg / m ) density ( Mg / m3 )

Unconsolidated Sediment
1. Alluvium 1.96 - 2.00 1.98
2. Clay 1.63 - 2.60 2.21
3. Gravel 1.70 - 2.40 2.00
4. Loess 1.40 - 1.93 1.64
5. Silt 1.80 - 2.20 1.93
6. Soil 1.20 - 2.40 1.92

Sedimentary Rocks
7. Sand 1.70 - 2.30 2.00
8. Sandstone 1.61 - 2.76 2.35
9. Shale 1.77 - 3.20 2.40
10. Limestone 1.93 - 2.90 2.55
11. Dolomite 2.28 - 2.90 2.70
12. Chalk 1.53 - 2.60 2.01
13. Halite 2.10 - 2.60 2.22
14. Glacier Ice 0.88 - 0.92 0.90

Igneous Rocks
15. Rhyolite 2.35 - 2.70 2.52
16. Granite 2.50 - 2.81 2.64
17. Andesite 2.40 - 2.80 2.61
18. Syenite 2.60 - 2.95 2.77
19. Basalt 2.70 - 3.30 2.99
20. Gabbro 2.70 - 3.50 3.03

Metamorphic Rocks
21. Schist 2.39 - 2.90 2.64
22. Gneiss 2.59 - 3.00 2.80
23. Phylite 2.68 - 2.80 2.74
24. Slate 2.70 - 2.90 2.79
25. Granulite 2.52 - 2.73 2.65
26. Amphibolite 2.90 - 3.04 2.96
27. Eclogite 3.20 - 3.54 3.37

( from John M. Reynolds, An Introduction to Applied and Environmental Geophysics, 1997 )

 Densities of Minerals and Miscellaneous Materials ( Telford et al, 1990 )

Density Range Approximate average density

No. Material Type ( Mg/m 3)
( Mg / m3 )

Metallic minerals
1. Oxides, Carbonates
A. Manganite 4.2 - 4.4 4.32
B. Chromite 4.2 - 4.6 4.36
C. Magnetite 4.9 - 5.2 5.12
D. Haematite 4.9 - 5.3 5.18
E. Cuprite 5.7 - 6.15 5.92
F. Cassiterite 6.8 - 7.1 6.92
G. Woframite 7.1 - 7.5 7.32
H. Uraninite 8.0 - 9.97 9.17
2. Copper n.d 8.7
3. Silver n.d 10.5
4. Gold 15.6 - 19.4 17.0
5. Sulphides
A. Malachite 3.9 - 4.03 4.0
B. Stannite 4.3 - 4.52 4.4
C. Pyrrhotite 4.5 - 4.8 4.65
D. Molybdenite 4.4 - 4.8 4.7
E. Pyrite 4.9 - 5.2 5.0
F. Cobaltite 5.8 - 6.3 6.1
G. Galena 7.4 - 7.6 7.5
H. Cinnabar 8.0 - 8.2 8.1

Non-metallic minerals
6. Gypsum 2.2 - 2.6 2.35
7. Bauxite 2.3 - 2.55 2.45
8. Kaolinite 2.2 - 2.63 2.53
9. Baryte 4.3 - 4.7 4.47

Miscellaneous materials
10. Snow 0.05 - 0.88 n.d
11. Petroleum 0.6 - 0.9 n.d
12. Lignite 1.1 - 1.25 1.19
13. Anthracite 1.34 - 1.8 1.50
148

146

LHD-3

144 GRAVITASI
ANOMALI SISA
LHD-2
142 U
LHD-1 LHD-5 LHD-7

140

LHD-4,8,9,10 LHD-6

138
2 km

136

134

132
696 698 700 702 704 706 708 710 712
 10.0

GRAVITASI
ANOMALI SISA (MGAL)

data
5.0
PROFIL
perhitungan
ANOMALI
SISA
DAN
0.0
MODEL
2-DIMENSI
-5.0
132 136 140 144 148

SELATAN UTARA

LHD-4 LHD-5 LHD-2 LHD-3

1.0
andesit basaltik terubah (2.5 gr/cc)

tuffa, ignimbrite (2.0 gr/cc)

0.0

andesit (2.6 gr/cc)

ELEVASI (KM)

-1.0 sedimen (2.2 gr/cc)

andesit (2.67 gr/cc)

-2.0
intrusi diorit (2.9 gr/cc)

-3.0
 10.0

GRAVITASI
ANOMALI SISA (MGAL)

data
5.0
PROFIL
perhitungan
ANOMALI
SISA
DAN
0.0
MODEL
2-DIMENSI
-5.0
696 700 704 708 712

BARAT TIMUR

LHD-5 LHD-7
1.0 LHD-1
andesit basaltik terubah (2.5 gr/cc)

tuffa, ignimbrite (2.0 gr/cc)

0.0

andesit (2.6 gr/cc)

ELEVASI (KM)

-1.0 andesit (2.67 gr/cc)

intrusi diorit (2.9 gr/cc)

-2.0

-3.0
Bouguer Anomaly
Map of New Jersey
State, USA
 1

1
2
Result Attribute Gamp 10_55 HZ line J53K to Prove Intrusion

DIORITE INTRUSIVE
Back-up Slides