Removing Regional Trends in Microgravity in Complex Environments: Testing on 3D Model and Field Investigations in the Eastern Dead Sea Coast (Jordan) (original) (raw)
Related papers
International Journal of Geophysics
Microgravity investigations are now recognized as a powerful tool for subsurface imaging, and especially for the localization of underground karsts. However numerous natural (geological), technical and environmental factors interfere with microgravity survey processing and interpretation. One of natural factors that causes the most disturbance in complex geological environments is the influence of regional trends. In the Dead Sea coastal areas the influence of regional trends can exceed residual gravity effects by some tenfold. Many widely applied methods are unable to remove regional trends with sufficient accuracy. We tested number of transformation methods (including computing gravity field derivatives, self-adjusting and adaptive filtering, Fourier series, wavelet and other procedures) on a 3D model (complicated by randomly distributed noise), and field investigations carried out in Ghor Al-Haditha (the eastern side of the Dead Sea in Jordan). We show that the most effective met...
Microgravity investigations are now recognized as a powerful tool for subsurface imaging and especially for the localization of underground karsts. However numerous natural (geological), technical, and environmental factors interfere with microgravity survey processing and interpretation. One of natural factors that causes the most disturbance in complex geological environments is the influence of regional trends. In the Dead Sea coastal areas the influence of regional trends can exceed residual gravity effects by some tenfold. Many widely applied methods are unable to remove regional trends with sufficient accuracy. We tested number of transformation methods (including computing gravity field derivatives, self-adjusting and adaptive filtering, Fourier series, wavelet, and other procedures) on a 3D model (complicated by randomly distributed noise), and field investigations were carried out in Ghor Al-Haditha (the eastern side of the Dead Sea in Jordan). We show that the most effective methods for regional trend removal (at least for the theoretical and field cases here) are the bilinear saddle and local polynomial regressions. Application of these methods made it possible to detect the anomalous gravity effect from buried targets in the theoretical model and to extract the local gravity anomaly at the Ghor Al-Haditha site. The local anomaly was utilized for 3D gravity modeling to construct a physical-geological model (PGM).
Geochemistry Geophysics Geosystems, 2006
[1] A detailed three-dimensional (3-D) gravity model of upper crustal structures was created for the Dead Sea Transform in the Araba/Arava Valley, located some 80 km south of the Dead Sea Basin. The density model covers an area of 30A^30kmandincorporatesresultsfromseveralrecentgeophysicalexperimentsperformedinthisregion.Themodelpresentedisalocaldensitymodelthatfocusesontheuppermostcrustallayerstoadepthof30 Â 30 km and incorporates results from several recent geophysical experiments performed in this region. The model presented is a local density model that focuses on the uppermost crustal layers to a depth of 30A^30kmandincorporatesresultsfromseveralrecentgeophysicalexperimentsperformedinthisregion.Themodelpresentedisalocaldensitymodelthatfocusesontheuppermostcrustallayerstoadepthof5 km. Therefore, in order to separate the effect of regional structures (such as the crust-mantle boundary) from that of local structures within the crust, a residual anomaly was computed from a newly compiled Bouguer gravity anomaly database. In contrast to the Bouguer anomaly, which is negative across the entire study area, the residual gravity field contains both positive and negative values. The 3-D structural image of the upper crust reveals that the basement east and west of the Dead Sea Transform is vertically offset by 1.5 to 2.8 km. Considering the 105 km of sinistral displacement of the Dead Sea Transform, this result confirms the findings of other geophysical measurements that show an abrupt change in the physical parameters and geometry of the two lithological blocks that are juxtaposed along the Dead Sea Transform. Additionally, analysis of the calculated gravity gradients suggests that the Dead Sea Transform and the neighboring Zofar fault could be offset at depth with respect to the present-day traces at the surface.
Geophysical Journal International, 2018
This study provides interpretation and modelling of gravity survey data to map the subsurface basement relief and controlling structures of a coastal area in the southwestern part of Saudi Arabia as an aid to groundwater potential assessment. The gravity survey data were filtered and analysed using different edge detection and depth estimation techniques and concluded by 2-D modelling conducted along representative profiles to obtain the topography and depth variations of the basement surface in the area. The basement rocks are exposed in the eastern part of the area but dip westward beneath a sedimentary cover to depths of up to 2200 m in the west, while showing repeated topographic expressions related to a tilted fault-block structure that is dominant in the Red Sea rift zone. Two fault systems were recognized in the area. The first is a normal fault system trending in the NNW-SSE direction that is related to the Red Sea rift, and the second is a cross-cutting oblique fault system trending in the NE-SW direction. The interaction between these two fault systems resulted in the formation of a set of closed basins elongated in the NNW-SSE direction and terminated by the NE-SW fault system. The geomorphology and sedimentary sequences of these basins qualify them as potential regions of groundwater accumulation.
2017
A combination of relative microgravity measurements at ground surface, and depth to water and water table measurements from adjacent wells were used to estimate geospatial variation of groundwater. A highly accurate portable Grav-Map gravimeter was used for gravimetric measurements at locations nearby a 42 well water table monitoring program. To efficiently correlate the two data sets, wells were clustered into five groups by geological unit and water saturation. Microgravity data was processed, interpreted, and correlated with both the depths to groundwater and the water table levels. Regression analyses revealed a strong negative correlation for micro-gravity and depth to groundwater in all five clusters; correlation coefficients varied between 0.70 and 0.97, and measured 0.78 over the entire study area. Microgravity values increased as groundwater depth decreased, likely because rising groundwater fills voids and fractures within soil and rocks, increasing rock density and therefore relative gravity. To validate the correlation, we superimposed a map of depths to water on the first derivative of microgravity measurements. The shallowest groundwater depths were positively related to the zero first derivatives, having intersection areas within a 75 % significance interval. Negative first derivatives covered the rest of the study area, with relative gravity decreasing with increasing groundwater depth. This technique can precisely and efficiently determine changes in subsurface geology and geospatial changes in depths to the groundwater table. Distances between microgravity stations should be small, to better detect small changes in gravity values, reflecting density contrasts underground.
Proceedings of SAGEEP, USA, 2009
Gravity survey is comparatively rarely applied for searching for hidden ancient targets. It is caused mainly by the small geometric size of the desired archaeological objects and various noises complicating the observed helpful signal. At the same time, developing a modern generation of field gravimetric equipment allows the register microGal (10^{-8}m/s^2) anomalies that offer a new challenge in this direction. Correspondingly, the accuracy of gravity variometers (gradientometers) is also sharply increased. Archaeological targets in Israel have been classified by their density/geometrical characteristics in several groups. It is supposed to apply in archaeological microgravity original methods for terrain relief computing developed earlier to examine ore deposits under mountainous conditions. 3-D modeling and advanced analysis of gravity anomalies have been applied to estimate the desirable gravity anomalies intensity and projected gravimetric grid. The second and third derivatives of gravity potential have been computed to estimate the resolution of derivative graphs from different models. It is underlined that the physical measurement of vertical gravity derivatives in archaeological studies is important and cannot be replaced by any transformation methods. The performed computations indicate that at least microgravity investigations might be successfully applied in 20-25% of archaeological sites in Israel.
Thousands of sinkholes have appeared in the Dead Sea (DS) coastal area in Israel and Jordan during two last decades. The sinkhole development is recently associated with the buried evaporation karst at the depth of 25-50 m from earth's surface caused by the drop of the DS level at the rate of 0.8-1.0 m/yr. Drop in the Dead Sea level has changed hydrogeological conditions in the subsurface and caused surface to collapse. The pre-existing cavern was detected using microgravity mapping in the Nahal Hever South site where seven sinkholes of 1-2 m diameter had been opened. About 5000 gravity stations were observed in the area of 200×200 m 2 by the use of Scintrex CG-3M AutoGrav gravimeter. Besides the conventional set of corrections applied in microgravity investigations, a correction for a strong gravity horizontal gradient (DS Transform Zone negative gravity anomaly influence) was inserted. As a result, residual gravity anomaly of -(0.08÷0.14) mGal was revealed. The gravity field analysis was supported by resistivity measurements. We applied the Emigma 7.8 gravity software to create the 3-D physical-geological models of the sinkholes development area. The modeling was confirmed by application of the GSFC program developed especially for 3-D combined gravity-magnetic modeling in complicated environments. Computed numerous gravity models verified an effective applicability of the microgravity technology for detection of karst cavities and estimation of their physical-geological parameters. A volume of the karst was Correspondence to: L. V. Eppelbaum (levap@post.tau.ac.il) approximately estimated as 35 000 m 3 . The visual analysis of large sinkhole clusters have been forming at the microgravity anomaly site, confirmed the results of microgravity mapping and 3-D modeling.
Geophysical Journal International, 2011
We investigate 3-D basin structures and site resonance frequencies in the İzmit Bay area of Turkey by new geophysical surveys based on 239 single station microtremor and 405-point gravity measurements. A fundamental resonance frequency map of the İzmit Bay was produced from the main peak in the horizontal-to-vertical component spectral ratio (HVSR) of microtremors. The HVSR analysis of the microtremor data reveals single, double, broad peaked or no peak type HVSR curves varying in accordance with the surface geology and spatial extent of the three basins present in the İzmit Bay area. In the deepest sections of the İzmit, Gölcük and Derince basins of the İzmit Bay, the fundamental resonance frequencies are dominantly 0.24-0.30 Hz. These resonance frequencies should be taken into consideration along with higher mode frequencies to construct earthquake resistant structures in the İzmit Bay area. The 3-D gravimetric bedrock depth map of the İzmit basin shows that the basin has an asymmetric shape with its deepest section coinciding with the surface trace of the North Anatolian Fault. The northern shoulder of the basin has a gentle dip on the Kocaeli Peneplain side and the southern shoulder is much steeper, and it is bounded by the Samanlı Mountains. We derive a power-law relationship that correlates the fundamental site resonance frequencies with the sedimentary cover thickness obtained from the gravity and shear wave velocity data in the İzmit Bay. We use this relationship to estimate bedrock depths beneath Gölcük and Derince basins. Our estimation of maximum basin depths is 1400 m for the İzmit and is 800 m for the Gölcük and Derince basins. Finally, we have analysed a converted Sp phase from a local earthquake recording made at site CMP to calculate and verify the sediment thickness estimations obtained from our gravimetric and microtremor analyses. This calculation shows close agreement with that of the gravimetric and microtremor results. Our results show that the basins in the İzmit Bay area have a very thick sedimentary cover with very low shear velocities underlined by hard bedrock, forming a sharp impedance contrast. We anticipate that these results will be a key contribution to the quantitative assessment of seismic hazard for the İzmit Bay area before the occurrence of strong earthquakes in the Marmara region.
International Journal of Geophysics, 2011
Microgravity investigations are widely applied at present for solving various environmental and geological problems. Unfortunately, microgravity survey is comparatively rarely used for searching for hidden ancient targets. It is caused mainly by small geometric size of the desired archaeological objects and various types of noise complicating the observed useful signal. At the same time, development of modern generation of field gravimetric equipment allows to register promptly and digitally microGal (10 −8 m/s 2) anomalies that offer a new challenge in this direction. An advanced methodology of gravity anomalies analysis and modern 3D modeling, intended for ancient targets delineation, is briefly presented. It is supposed to apply in archaeological microgravity the developed original methods for the surrounding terrain relief computing. Calculating second and third derivatives of gravity potential are useful for revealing some closed peculiarities of the different Physical-Archaeological Models (PAMs). It is underlined that physical measurement of vertical gravity derivatives in archaeological studying has a significant importance and cannot be replaced by any transformation methods. Archaeological targets in Israel have been ranged by their density/geometrical characteristics in several groups. The performed model computations indicate that microgravity investigations might be successfully applied at least in 20-25% of archaeological sites in Israel.