GEOPHYSICS, VOL. 73, NO. 3 共MAY-JUNE 2008兲; P. H1–H4, 3 FIGS.

10.1190/1.2837309
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Edge enhancement of potential-field data using normalized statistics

Gordon R. J. Cooper1 and Duncan R. Cowan2

冢 冑冉 冊 冉 冊 冣
⳵f
ABSTRACT
⳵z
T ⳱ tanⳮ1 . 共2兲
Edge enhancement in potential-field data helps geologic ⳵f 2
⳵f 2
interpretation. There are many methods for enhancing edges, Ⳮ
most of which are high-pass filters based on the horizontal or ⳵x ⳵y
vertical derivatives of the field. Normalized standard devia-
tion 共NSTD兲, a new edge-detection filter, is based on ratios of Because the tilt angle is based on a ratio of derivatives, it enhances
the windowed standard deviation of derivatives of the field. large- and small-amplitude anomalies well. Figure 1c shows the tilt
NSTD is demonstrated using aeromagnetic data from Austra- angle of the data in Figure 1a. The tilt angle is effective in balancing
lia and gravity data from South Africa. Compared with other the amplitudes of the different anomalies, but it is not primarily an
filters, the NSTD filter produces more detailed results. edge-detection filter.
Verduzco et al. 共2004兲 suggest using the total horizontal deriva-
tive of the tilt angle as an edge detector 共THDR兲:

INTRODUCTION

Many filters are available to enhance subtle detail in potential-

THDR ⳱ 冑冉 冊 冉 冊⳵T
⳵x
2
Ⳮ
⳵T
⳵y
2
. 共3兲
field data, such as downward continuation, horizontal and vertical
derivatives, and other forms of high-pass filters. A commonly used
edge-detection filter is the total horizontal derivative 共TDX兲, Figure 1d shows the THDR of the data in Figure 1a. The THDR suc-
cessfully delineates the edges of the largest amplitude anomaly, but

冑冉 冊 冉 冊
its results for the deeper bodies are less impressive. Because the
⳵f 2
⳵f 2
THDR uses derivatives of a derivative-based filter, i.e., the tilt angle,
TDX ⳱ Ⳮ , 共1兲
⳵x ⳵y it also can enhance noise in the data.
The theta map 共Wijns et al. 2005兲 uses the analytic signal ampli-
where f is the magnetic or gravity field. Figure 1a shows the gravity tude to normalize the total horizontal derivative. It is given by
response from a simple model consisting of three identical square
bodies at depths of 0.1, 0.5, and 1.1 km, with a small amount of ran-
dom noise added. Figure 1b shows the total horizontal derivative of
the data in Figure 1a. The edges of the bodies have been enhanced,
but the result is dominated by the response from the shallower 共and
冑冉 冊 冉 冊 ⳵f
⳵x
2
Ⳮ
⳵f
⳵y
2

冑冉 冊 冉 冊 冉 冊
cos ␪ ⳱ . 共4兲
hence larger-amplitude anomaly兲 body. ⳵f 2
⳵f 2
⳵f 2

Miller and Singh 共1994兲 introduce the tilt angle, an amplitude- Ⳮ Ⳮ

⳵x ⳵y ⳵z
normalized vertical derivative:

Peer-reviewed code related to this article can be found at http://software.seg.org/2008/0001.

Manuscript received by the Editor 14 March 2007; revised manuscript received 20 July 2007; published online 28 March 2008.
1
University of the Witwatersrand, School of Geosciences, Johannesburg, South Africa. E-mail: gordon.cooper@geosciences.wits.ac.za.
2
Cowan Geodata Services, Dalkeith, Australia. E-mail: cowangeo@bigpond.net.au.
© 2008 Society of Exploration Geophysicists. All rights reserved.

H1
 H2 Cooper and Cowan

冉 冊
Figure 1e shows the theta map of the data in Figure 1a. The ampli-
tude of the response from the three source bodies is similar, although ⳵f
␴
the response from the deeper bodies is rather diffuse. ⳵z

冉 冊 冉 冊 冉 冊
NSTD ⳱ . 共5兲
⳵f ⳵f ⳵f
␴ Ⳮ␴ Ⳮ␴
EDGE ENHANCEMENT USING ⳵x ⳵y ⳵z
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THE STANDARD DEVIATION

The standard deviations ␴ in equation 5 are computed using a mov-
The windowed computation of the standard deviation of an image
ing square window of data points. The standard deviation can be
is a simple measure of the local variability. It has relatively small val-
computed in a given direction 共to preferentially enhance edges nor-
ues when the data are smooth and relatively large values when they
mal to that direction兲. If that is desired, it is relatively simple to mod-
are rough, e.g., over edges. If it is used as an edge detector, the re-
ify the source code supplied with this article. Larger windows are
sponse over large-amplitude gradients will dominate the result, sim-
less sensitive to noise than are smaller ones but smear out edges
ilarly to other filters, e.g., the total horizontal derivative. We suggest
smaller than the window size. The source code allows the user to se-
using a filter based on the ratio of related normalized standard devia-
lect the window size as desired. Using a moving window to compute
tions 共NSTD兲 to make large- and small-amplitude edges visible si-
the standard deviation yields a border loss of approximately one-half
multaneously:
of the window size around the image edges.

a) b) Figure 1. 共a兲 Synthetic gravity data set, consisting

of the anomalies from three identical cubic bodies
with depths of 0.1, 0.5, and 1.1 km. Random noise
with amplitude equal to 0.01% of the maximum
data amplitude was added to the data set. 共b兲 Total
horizontal derivative of the data in 共a兲, computed
using equation 1. 共c兲 Tilt angle of the data in 共a兲,
computed using equation 2. 共d兲 THDR of the data
in 共a兲, computed using equation 3. 共e兲 Theta map of
the data in 共a兲, computed using equation 4. 共f兲 Nor-
malized standard deviation 共NSTD兲 of the data in
共a兲, computed using equation 5.

c) d)

e) f)
 Edge enhancement
If measured horizontal and vertical derivatives of the field are
available, the NSTD can be calculated for ungridded data sets, al-
though the code supplied is designed for gridded data. Figure 1f
shows the NSTD of the data in Figure 1a; the NSTD clearly gives
better resolution of the edges of the deeper sources than does either
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the THDR or the theta map.
APPLICATION TO REAL MAGNETIC
AND GRAVITY DATA
Figure 2a shows semiregional aeromagnetic data from the
Nackara Arc, part of the Adelaidean Fold-Thrust Belt in South Aus-
tralia. The Neoproterozoic Adelaidean Supersequence consists pre-
dominantly of continental sediments and has subdued magnetic sig-
natures, except for some iron-rich sandstone horizons. The iron for-
a) b)
c) d)
e) f)
H3
mations dominate the image, with a subdued response from the fold
belt. Figure 2b is the total horizontal derivative of the data in Figure
2a, whereas Figure 2c-f shows the tilt angle, THDR, theta map, and
NSTD, respectively. The superiority of the NSTD over the other fil-
ters is most apparent in the regions where the data are smooth. Filter-
ing has enhanced these low-amplitude anomalies to show clear trac-
es of stratigraphic markers, highlighting the fold and fault pattern. A
complex pattern of double plunging folds and faults is clear, with a
dominant northeast structural trend.
As a final example, Figure 3a shows the gravity data from a por-
tion of the Witwatersrand Basin, South Africa. Figure 3b is the total
horizontal derivative of the data in Figure 3a; Figure 3c-f shows the
tilt angle, THDR, theta map, and NSTD, respectively. Again, the in-
creased detail of the NSTD compared to the other filters is most
clearly visible in the smoother regions of the data.
Figure 2. 共a兲 Aeromagnetic data from the Nackara
Arc, South Australia. The grid interval is 0.1 km.
共b兲 Total horizontal derivative of the data in 共a兲,
computed using equation 1. 共c兲 Tilt angle of the
data in 共a兲, computed using equation 2. 共d兲 THDR
of the data in 共a兲, computed using equation 3. 共e兲
Theta map of the data in 共a兲, computed using equa-
tion 4. 共f兲 NSTD of the data in 共a兲, computed using
equation 5.
 H4 Cooper and Cowan
a) b)
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c) d)
e) f)
CONCLUSIONS
A new edge-enhancement filter — NSTD — is based on the win-
dowed standard deviation of the derivatives of a potential field data
set. The filter has been compared with other similar filters; it gives
superior results for the data sets used, in that the NSTD shows more
detail when the data are relatively smooth.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Thank you to the Council for Geoscience, Pretoria, for permission
to use the gravity data in Figure 3. Thank you to four anonymous re-
viewers for their constructive comments on the manuscript.
APPENDIX A
SOURCE CODE AND SAMPLE DATA FILE
Source code in Matlab format 共version 2006b兲 is provided with
this paper for readers to use with their own data. A sample data file
共ASCII format兲 also is provided, whose instructions for loading into
Matlab are in the “readme” file that accompanies the program.
Figure 3. 共a兲 Gravity data over a portion of the Wit-
watersrand Basin, South Africa. The grid interval is
1.0 km. 共b兲 Total horizontal derivative of the data
in 共a兲, computed using equation 1. 共c兲 Tilt angle of
the data in 共a兲, computed using equation 2. 共d兲
THDR of the data in 共a兲, computed using equation
3. 共e兲 Theta map of the data in 共a兲, computed using
equation 4. 共f兲 NSTD of the data in 共a兲, computed
using equation 5.
The program itself is very simple. It calculates the horizontal gra-
dients of the data using Matlab’s gradient function. The vertical gra-
dient is calculated in the frequency domain using the “vertical” sub-
routine, which forms part of the program listing. Two “for” loops
move a window through the gradient data, after which the Matlab
function “std” performs the actual calculation of the standard devia-
tion. Because Matlab allows entire arrays of data to be operated on
simultaneously, the calculation of the NSTD is only one line. Finally,
the results are plotted in a figure onscreen 共using Matlab’s graphic
functions兲. The values of the NSTD are returned to the Matlab envi-
ronment, where they can be saved to disk in various formats or ma-
nipulated further.
REFERENCES
Miller, H. G., and V. Singh, 1994, Potential field tilt — A new concept for lo-
cation of potential field sources: Journal of Applied Geophysics, 32,
213–217.
Verduzco, B., J. D. Fairhead, C. M. Green, and C. MacKenzie, 2004, The
meter reader — New insights into magnetic derivatives for structural map-
ping: The Leading Edge, 23, 116–119.
Wijns, C., C. Perez, and P. Kowalczyk, 2005, Theta map: Edge detection in
magnetic data: Geophysics, 70, no. 4, L39–L43.