A least‐squares derivatives analysis of gravity anomalies due to faulted thin slabs

Abstract

This paper presents two different least‐squares approaches for determining the depth and amplitude coefficient (related to the density contrast and the thickness of a buried faulted thin slab from numerical first‐, second‐, third‐, and fourth‐horizontal derivative anomalies obtained from 2D gravity data using filters of successive graticule spacings. The problem of depth determination has been transformed into the problem of finding a solution to a nonlinear equation of the form f(z) = 0. Knowing the depth and applying the least‐squares method, the amplitude coefficient is determined using a simple linear equation. In this way, the depth and amplitude coefficient are determined individually from all observed gravity data. The depths and the amplitude coefficients obtained from the first‐, second‐, third‐, and fourth‐ derivative anomaly values can be used to determine simultaneously the actual depth and amplitude coefficient of the buried fault structure and the optimum order of the regional gravity field along the profile. The method can be applied not only to residuals but also to the Bouguer anomaly profile consisting of the combined effect of a residual component due to a purely local fault structure (shallow or deep) and a regional component represented by a polynomial of any order. The method is applied to theoretical data with and without random errors and is tested on a field example from Egypt.