The general equation for gravity anomaly is: where:  is the gravitational constant  is the density contrast r is the distance to the observation point.

Presentation on theme: "The general equation for gravity anomaly is: where:  is the gravitational constant  is the density contrast r is the distance to the observation point."— Presentation transcript:

The general equation for gravity anomaly is: where:  is the gravitational constant  is the density contrast r is the distance to the observation point  is the angle from vertical V is the volume Gravity anomaly due to a simple-shape buried body Example: a sphere

Gravity anomaly due to a simple-shape buried body A horizontal wire of infinite length   is mass per length R is the distance to the wire r is the distance to an element dl

Gravity anomaly due to a simple-shape buried body An infinitely long horizontal cylinder cylindersphere To obtain an expression for a horizontal cylinder of a radius a and density , we replace with  a 2  to get: It is interesting to compare the solution for cylinder with that of a sphere.

Gravity anomaly due to a simple-shape buried body A horizontal thin sheet of finite width Remarkably, the gravitational effect of a thin sheet is independent of its depth.

Gravity anomaly due to a simple-shape buried body A thick horizontal sheet of finite width surface station Station of two Dimensional structure z  Actually, you have seen this expression before

Gravity anomaly due to a simple-shape buried body A thick horizontal sheet of infinite width To compute the gravitational effect of an infinite plate we need to replace  with  :

Geoid anomaly Geoid is the observed equipotential surface that defines the sea level. Reference geoid is a mathematical formula describing a theoretical equipotential surface of a rotating (i.e., centrifugal effect is accounted for) symmetric spheroidal earth model having realistic radial density distribution.

The international gravity formula gives the gravitational acceleration, g, on the reference geoid: Geoid anomaly

The geoid height anomaly is the difference in elevation between the measured geoid and the reference geoid. Note that the geoid height anomaly is measured in meters.

Geoid anomaly Map of geoid height anomaly: Note that the differences between observed geoid and reference geoid are as large as 100 meters. Figure from: www.colorado.edu/geography Question: what gives rise to geoid anomaly?

Geoid anomaly Differences between geoid and reference geoid are due to: Topography Density anomalies at depth Figure from Fowler

Geoid anomaly Figure from McKenzie et al., 1980 Two competing effects: 1.Upwelling brings hotter and less dense material, the effect of which is to reduce gravity. 2.Upwelling causes topographic bulge, the effect of which is to increase gravity. What is the effect of mantle convection on the geoid anomaly? Flow Temp. upwellingdownwelling

Geoid anomaly SEASAT provides water topography Note that the largest features are associated with the trenches. This is because 10km deep and filled with water rather than rock.

Geoid anomaly and corrections Geoid anomaly contains information regarding the 3-D mass distribution. But first, a few corrections should be applied: Free-air Bouguer Terrain

Geoid anomaly and corrections Free-air correction,  g FA : This correction accounts for the fact that the point of measurement is at elevation H, rather than at the sea level on the reference spheroid.

Geoid anomaly and corrections Since: where: is the latitude h is the topographic height g( ) is gravity at sea level R( ) is the radius of the reference spheroid at The free-air correction is thus: This correction amounts to 3.1x10 -6 ms -2 per meter elevation. Question: should this correction be added or subtracted?

Geoid anomaly and corrections The free-air anomaly is the geoid anomaly, with the free-air correction applied:

Bouguer correction,  g B : This correction accounts for the gravitational attraction of the rocks between the point of measurement and the sea level. Geoid anomaly and corrections

The Bouguer correction is: where:  is the universal gravitational constant  is the rock density h is the topographic height For rock density of 2.7x10 3 kgm -3, this correction amounts to 1.1x10 -6 ms -2 per meter elevation. Question: should this correction be added or subtracted?

Geoid anomaly and corrections The Bouguer anomaly is the geoid anomaly, with the free-air and Bouguer corrections applied:

Geoid anomaly and corrections Terrain correction,  g T : This correction accounts for the deviation of the surface from an infinite horizontal plane. The terrain correction is small, and except for area of mountainous terrain, can often be ignored.

Geoid anomaly and corrections The Bouguer anomaly including terrain correction is: Bouguer anomaly for offshore gravity survey: Replace water with rock Apply terrain correction for seabed topography After correcting for these effects, the ''corrected'' signal contains information regarding the 3-D distribution of mass in the earth interior.

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