Gravity method of Geophysical exploration

Physical Basis of the Gravity Method

The gravitational constant, G, has a value of 6.67 × 10−11 Nm2kg−2. Gravity fields are
equivalent to accelerations, for which the SI unit is the m s−2 (alternatively written as the Nkg−1).
This is inconveniently large for geophysical work and the gravity unit (g.u. or μm s−2) is generally
used. The cgs unit, the milligal, equal to 10 g.u., is still also very popular.

Fundamentals
Differences in rock density produce small changes in the Earth’s gravity field that can be measured
using portable instruments known as gravity meters or gravimeters.
The gravity method involves measuring the acceleration due to the earth’s gravitational field.
These measurements are normally made on the earth’s surface. A gravity meter or gravimeter is
used to measure variations in the earth’s true gravitational field at a given location. These
variations in gravity depend upon lateral changes in the density of the subsurface in the vicinity of
the measuring point. Because density variations are very small and uniform, the instruments used
are very sensitive. The acceleration due to the earth’s gravity is approximately 980,000 milligal
(the unit of measurement commonly used in gravity surveys). Many gravity meters have a
sensitivity of 0.01 milligal. This allows the detection of a change of one part in 100 million of the
earth’s gravitational field. The gravity method is useful in delineating buried valleys, bedrock
topography, geologic structure and voids.
Advantages
An advantage of using the gravity method for site assessment is that gravity measurements are not
as susceptible to cultural noise and hence data can be acquired in heavily populated areas. The
main source of interference or noise that may effect gravity data are vibrations, which may be
caused by vehicular traffic, heavy equipment, low flying aircraft and wind. Nevertheless, gravity
readings can be taken in virtually any location, even indoors.
Limitations
A disadvantage of the gravity method is that each station has to be precisely surveyed for
elevation and latitude control. This could be costly and time consuming, especially in surveys
covering large areas. The accuracy of vertical and horizontal positioning is directly related to the
resolution capabilities of the gravity method.
Many computations are involved in the reduction and interpretation of gravity data. The
use of personal computers or programmable calculators is a practical necessity when dealing with
many readings. Also, there are two unknowns that must be determined for the interpretation: 1)
the density contrasts between the underlying material, and 2) the depths of the contacts between
areas of density contrasts.
Instrumentation
Gravity meters are extremely sensitive mechanical balances in which a mass is supported
by a spring. Another spring counter-balances the mass to null the instrument. Small changes in
gravity move the weight against the restoring force of the spring. Recent developments in gravity
meter technology have greatly increased instrument versatility. Some new designs enable
instruments to be automatically leveled, read, and to electronically store the data.
Most land gravity meters have a precision as great as 0.01 milligal (1 milligal = 0.001
cm/sec2). All readings of gravity meters are in arbitrary scale divisions, and calibration is
necessary to express these scale divisions in milligal. The manufacturer usually does the
calibrating of the gravity meter. Gravity meter springs are not perfectly elastic but are subject to a
slow creep over long periods. Uncompensated temperature also effects the gravity meter. Spring
creep, temperature compensation and earth tides cause variation of gravity readings with time.
These temporal variations, known as drift must be compensated for prior to interpretation.
Survey Design, Procedure and Quality Assurance
Gravity survey design depends on specific site conditions and survey objectives. Gravity data
can be collected in a grid configuration or along a traverse. In some instances, the grid data may
not be Data should be collected beyond the area of interest to determine the regional gravity
field. It is preferable to collect gravity data along a traverse if a quantitative interpretation of
bedrock topography is the objective. Smaller station intervals and greater topographic surveying
accuracy can improve the resolution of the interpretation. For an error of +0.1 foot in elevation
and +40 feet in latitude the error in gravity is approximately +0.01 milligal.
Measurements at a gravity base station near the survey area should be repeated at intervals
of two hours or less for regional surveys and one hour or less for detailed microgravity surveys to
correct for instrument drift and tidal effects. The base station should be established by repeated
loops from the nearest know gravity base station.
A gravity meter, capable of being read to the nearest 0.001 milligal, should be used to
minimize measurement error. Gravity station elevation and latitude should be surveyed to an
accuracy of ±0.1 foot and ±40 feet, respectively. It is recommended that the gravity stations be
surveyed for elevation and latitude control as soon as gravity measurements are taken so the data
can be immediately reduced and modification can be made to the survey design, if necessary.
Accuracy of gravity readings should be maintained by taking consecutive observations at each
station until satisfactory duplication is obtained.
Data Reduction and Interpretation
Gravity observations have to be reduced to simple Bouguer gravity anomalies. Dobrin
(1976) and Telford and others (1976) give the formulas used to perform these calculations.
Reduction of gravity data involves the correction for tidal effects, instrumental drift, latitude,
elevation and terrain. The gravity readings at each station are converted to “observed gravity” by
first correcting for tidal and instrumental drift. The theoretical gravity at sea level at each station
is determined using the International Gravity Formula of 1930 (Dobrin, 1976) or the International
Association of Geodesy Formula of 1967 (Telford and others, 1976). These formulas are used for
latitude corrections.
Latitude correction is applied where there is any appreciable north-south excursions of the
stations.The effect of the elevation of the station above sea level (or a reference datum) is
determined by calculating the “free-air” and “Bouguer” corrections. The free-air correction
compensates for the normal vertical gradient of gravity by applying a correction factor to the
difference in elevation between the station and a reference datum. The free-air correction is added
to the field reading when the station is above the datum and subtracted when below it. The Bouguer
(pronounced ‘boogay’) or mass correction accounts for the gravity acceleration due to a mass of
material between datum and station elevation. The Bouguer correction is subtracted from the
gravity reading when the station is above the datum.
Terrain corrections are calculations that correct the gravity data to account for the deviation
of topography from a horizontal surface. These corrections are required when the ground surface
is very irregular in the vicinity of the gravity station - that is, hills rising above the gravity station
and valleys lying below it. There are several graphical methods for calculating terrain corrections.
The most commonly used are the Hammer (1939) template and tables. The terrain correction is
added to the gravity reading. When the topography in the vicinity of the study area is gentle, terrain
corrections are not required.
When all the corrections are made the resulting gravity value is called the “Simple Bouguer
Gravity Anomaly.” Gravity data can be analyzed using techniques that remove the regional gravity
from the simple Bouguer gravity anomalies to obtain a residual gravity, which is more useful for
gravity interpretation. There are various techniques to remove this regional gravity. Some
techniques are graphical and others are analytical. Commonly used analytical techniques include
surface fitting (polynomial or Fourier series), frequency filtering, and downward continuation.
Residualization (removal of the regional gravity) is one of the most important aspects in gravity
interpretation and depends, to a large degree, on the experience of the interpreter. The residual
gravity data is then used in the interpretation. For example, a trend of negative gravity anomalies
may be due to a buried valley. Modeling gravity data in profile form is useful in the calculation of
the depth of various features and can be done by either forward or inverse algorithms. Software to
model 2-dimensional gravity data is available from various sources, such as Ballantyne and others
(1981). Talwani and others (1959) have developed the algorithm, which is most widely used.The
interpretation of gravity data is non-unique because there are many possible models that would
result in the same gravity anomaly. Constraints, such as depths to rock obtained from well
information, rock densities, or other geophysical interpretations, are required during the modeling
process to remove the ambiguity.

Presentation of Results
The final report should state the type of gravity meter, together with its accuracy and
calibration requirements, used in the investigation. The accuracy of the topographic (elevation and
location) surveying used should also be stated in the report. An explanation of the data reduction,
modeling and interpretation programs or calculations used should also be presented.
The report should also include gravity profiles with the interpreted model, a Bouguer
gravity anomaly map and a residual gravity map showing locations of various interpreted features.
The profiles should show orientations and locations of gravity stations on a location map. A table
of the gravity data should also be included. This table must contain station number, latitude, or
north south distance from base, longitude, elevation, observed gravity and simple Bouguer gravity
anomaly of each station.