A least‐squares minimization approach to depth determination from moving average residual gravity anomalies

Abstract

We have developed a least‐squares minimization method to estimate the depth of a buried structure from moving average residual gravity anomalies. The method involves fitting simple models convolved with the same moving average filter as applied to the observed gravity data. As a result, our method can be applied not only to residuals but also to the Bouguer gravity data of a short profile length. The method is applied to synthetic data with and without random errors. The validity of the method is tested in detail on two field examples from the United States and Senegal.