GRAVITY METHODS IN GEOPHYSICAL PROSPECTING

Introduction
- Gravity is the force attracting bodies on earth’s surface towards the centre of the earth.
- Gravity is a natural vertical force field with a vectorial character.
- It increases towards the earth’s centre and decreases away from it.
- The force of gravity is proportional to the density of the earth material.
- Dense materials like ore deposits have a higher gravitational attraction and will distort the main
gravity field positively.
- Less dense minerals within more dense host rocks will have a lower gravitational attraction and
will distort the main gravity field negatively.
- The gravity method in geophysical prospecting interprets the ‘distortions’ as possible ore bodies.
Applications
Petroleum Exploration
- To determine the depth of the natural gas/oil bearing sedimentary basin.
- To assess the denser bedrock below sedimentary basins.
- To locate natural gas/oil bearing trap rocks and structures in sedimentary basins.
Coal Exploration
- To determine the depth of the coal seam in a continental sedimentary basin.
- To locate natural gas/oil bearing trap rocks and structures in sedimentary basins.
Base Metal Exploration
- Dense base metal deposits within less dense host rocks can be demarcated vertically and laterally.
- Dense chromite, magnetite, galena, pyrolusite, etc. Can be located.
- Buried stream and river channels with placer gold, PGE, dense gemstones can be located with
limitations.
Structural studies
- Faults and lineaments can be located by gravity surveys.
Limitations
- Gravity surveys are costly and expensive.
- Used along with other geophysical methods for detailed follow up.
- Density estimation of ore body or industrial mineral is approximate.
- Interpretation of gravity data is indirect using models for ‘best fit’ approximation.
- Knowledge of rock and mineral densities is essential in interpretation.
Newton’s Law of Gravitation
- F = - [G m1m2] / d2 Newtons
- F is the gravitational force;
- G is the gravitational constant (6.677×10-11 m3kg-1sec-2); m1 is the mass of the earth; m2 is the mass
of the smaller body on earth’s surface;
-‘d’ is the interval distance between m1 and m2.
- The negative sign implies that the gravitational force is attractive between m1 and m2.
Acceleration due to gravity ‘g’
- The acceleration (change in speed) of a body falling freely under the influence of earth’s gravity is
defined as acceleration due to gravity ‘g’.
- g = - [Gm/d2] m/sec2
- g = 9.80 m/sec2 at mean sea level.
- g values increase proportionally with density of earth material.
- The local variation in ‘g’ is used in gravity prospecting method.
Gravity field of the Earth
- The earth is not a perfect sphere hence the value of ‘g’ will not be constant over earth’s surface.
- The shape of the earth is an oblate spheroid bulging at the equator and flattened at the poles.
- This shape is responsible for the variation in ‘g’ when moving from the pole to equator and vice
versa.
- The difference in earth’s radius in the equator and poles is also another reason for variation in ‘g’.
- The shape of the earth when all the oceans are removed resembles a ‘pear’ like shape.
- The oceanic crust is denser with higher gravitational attraction and continental crust is less dense
with lesser gravitational attraction.
- The surface topography of earth is undulating with hills and basins with respect to mean sea level
or msl.
- The earth’s rotation about its axis also induces changes in ‘g’.
Spheroidal & Geoidal surfaces
- A spheroidal surface assumes that the earth is a perfect sphere with uniform gravity on any part of
its surface.
- The spheroidal model assumes that there are no topographic undulations on the surface.
- The spheroidal surface has no use in gravity prospecting method.
- A geoidal surface assumes that the earth is imperfect in shape with variations in gravity over its
surface.
- The geoidal surface follows the topography and is warped upwards within continents and
downwards in ocean basins.
- The geoidal model is an equipotential surface (like a contour in a geological map) which
approximates the mean sea level or ‘msl’.
- Any topographic feature above msl has an altitude and any topographic feature below msl has a
depth.
- The msl is the datum surface for gravity readings and corrections.
Gravity measurements
Gravity units
- The variations in ‘g’ are minute but significant in gravity exploration.
- The variation is seen after the fifth numeral from the decimal – 9.8788675884 or 0.0000075884,
where ‘9.87886’ is the regional value of ‘g’.
- The unit used is either ‘gal’ or ‘gravity unit’.
- 1 gal = 1cm/sec2 and 1 gal = 1000 milligals
- 1 milligal = 0.001 gal and 1 gravity unit = 0.0001 milligals.