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On the effectiveness of directional derivative based filters on gravity anomalies for source

edge approximation: synthetic simulations and a case study from the Aegean graben system

(western Anatolia, Turkey)

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2013 J. Geophys. Eng. 10 035005

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IOP PUBLISHING JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICS AND ENGINEERING
J. Geophys. Eng. 10 (2013) 059601 (1pp) doi:10.1088/1742-2132/10/5/059601

Erratum: On the effectiveness of

directional derivative based filters on
gravity anomalies for source edge
approximation: synthetic simulations and
a case study from the Aegean graben
system (western Anatolia, Turkey)
2013 J. Geophys. Eng. 10 035005
Yunus Levent Ekinci 1,4 , Can Ertekin 2 and Erdinç Yiğitbaş 3
1
Department of Geophysical Engineering, Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University, TR-17020, Çanakkale,
Turkey
2
Aegean Regional Directorate of Mineral Research and Exploration, TR-35040, İzmir, Turkey
3
Department of Geological Engineering, Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University, TR-17020, Çanakkale,
Turkey
E-mail: ylekinci@comu.edu.tr

Received 25 June 2013

Accepted for publication 25 June 2013
Published 27 September 2013
Online at stacks.iop.org/JGE/10/059601
In table 2, the labels for the first two rows were conflated and a
data point is missing from the final column of the row marked
‘marl’. The correct table is given below.

Rock types BMGa,b KMGa,b GDGa,b GBa,b SBa,b

Qa Alluvium + + + + +
Sedimentary rocks (Ng)a Claystone +
Conglomerate + + + + +
Marl +
Mudstone + + + + +
Sandstone + + + + +
Shale + +
Siltstone +
Limestone + + + +
Volcanic rocks (Ng)a Andesite +
Basalt +
Dacite +
Rhyolite +
Tuff + +
Basement Rocks (Pre-Ng)a Gneiss + + + +
(Metamorphic and Ophiolitic) Marble + + + +
Ophiolitic Mélange + +
Schist + + + + +

4 Author to whom any correspondence should be addressed.

1742-2132/13/059601+01$33.00 © 2013 Sinopec Geophysical Research Institute Printed in the UK 1

IOP PUBLISHING JOURNAL OF GEOPHYSICS AND ENGINEERING
J. Geophys. Eng. 10 (2013) 035005 (15pp) doi:10.1088/1742-2132/10/3/035005

On the effectiveness of directional

derivative based filters on gravity
anomalies for source edge approximation:
synthetic simulations and a case study
from the Aegean graben system (western
Anatolia, Turkey)
Yunus Levent Ekinci 1,4 , Can Ertekin 2 and Erdinç Yiğitbaş 3
1
Department of Geophysical Engineering, Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University, TR-17020, Çanakkale,
Turkey
2
Aegean Regional Directorate of Mineral Research and Exploration, TR-35040, İzmir, Turkey
3
Department of Geological Engineering, Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University, TR-17020, Çanakkale,
Turkey
E-mail: ylekinci@comu.edu.tr

Received 31 October 2012

Accepted for publication 27 March 2013
Published 5 June 2013
Online at stacks.iop.org/JGE/10/035005

Abstract
Approximating the locations and lateral boundaries of anomalous bodies (i.e. geological
structures or contacts) is an important task in the interpretation of gravity field data.
Edge-approximating algorithms based on the computation of directional derivatives are widely
used for enhancing the gravity anomalies of the source bodies. These algorithms effectively
aid geological mapping and interpretation by locating abrupt lateral changes in density, and
may also bring out subtle details in the data without specifying any prior information about the
nature and type of the sources. Therefore, some model parameters of source bodies may be
estimated in this way, which may guide the inverse modelling procedure. In this paper we aim
to review the effectiveness of the commonly used edge-approximating algorithms such as
vertical derivative, total horizontal derivative, analytic signal, profile curvature, tilt angle and
theta map in terms of their accuracy on the determination of locations and lateral boundaries of
source bodies. These detections were performed on both noise-free and noisy synthetic gravity
data. Additionally, a real gravity data set from a well-known geological setting, the Aegean
graben system (western Turkey), was considered and the derived anomaly maps were
compared with known mapped geology.
Keywords: gravity anomalies, edge approximation, directional derivatives, geological
contacts, Aegean graben system
(Some figures may appear in colour only in the online journal)

4 Author to whom any correspondence should be addressed.

1742-2132/13/035005+15$33.00 © 2013 Sinopec Geophysical Research Institute Printed in the UK 1

J. Geophys. Eng. 10 (2013) 035005
1. Introduction
Subsurface geology can be investigated by means of gravity
surveys based on measuring the variations in the Earth’s
gravitational field arising from density differences between
subsurface rocks. Gravity surveys can be performed in the
investigations of both large- and medium-scale geological
structures (Paterson and Reeves 1985). This method has been
used extensively for oil and gas exploration, particularly in
the early 20th century (Reynolds 1997). Additionally, many
other applications of the use of the gravity method have been
reported so far, such as regional geological studies, subsurface
modelling studies, isostatic compensation determination,
geodesic and seismological studies, exploration for mineral
deposits, basin researches, detection of subsurface cavities
and archaeo-geophysical studies (particularly microgravity),
determination of glacier thickness, hydrogeological and
environmental studies, and engineering applications (e.g. see
references in Reynolds (1997) and in Kearey et al (2002)).
The most important task in the interpretation of gravity
field data is to determine the model parameters of source bodies
such as location, size, extension, thickness, depth and density.
If the data quality permits, many analysing procedures can
be carried out that help to build a general understanding of
these details. For this purpose, numerous inverse modelling
algorithms are widely used for the determination of the
model parameters mentioned above. Unfortunately, the non-
uniqueness nature of the problem is more pronounced in the
inverse modelling of potential field data (Ekinci 2008a, 2008b).
Namely, according to Gauss theorem, if the potential field is
known only on a bounding surface, there are infinitely many
equivalent source distributions inside the boundary that can
produce the same field (Li and Oldenburg 1996). However,
a common way of overcoming this problem is to add prior
information to constrain the solution. Gravity and magnetic
field data sets can be transformed into some special functions
that improve peaks and ridges over isolated source bodies
(Phillips et al 2007). To this end, many techniques based on
the use of the directional (horizontal and vertical) derivatives
of the potential field have been developed and proposed in
order to estimate model parameters such as edges of the
source bodies (i.e. lateral boundaries). Edge-approximating
techniques not only describe lateral variations in lithology, but
also yield information on structural systems and deformation
styles (Zhang et al 2011). Thus, these algorithms are used
routinely in the visual interpretation of potential field anomaly
maps to delineate the main geological bodies, geological
contacts, subtle geological features, geological structures and
alignments, as well as textural information about geological
domains (Boschetti 2005).
Edge-approximating techniques are generally based on
the position of extreme or zero points using vertical or
horizontal derivatives, analytical signal amplitude, or their
various combinations (Wanyin et al 2009). The information
and findings obtained by the use of these techniques may be
used as prior information which may guide inverse modelling
procedure (Boschetti et al 2001, Poulet et al 2001, Sailhac
and Gilbert 2003). As faster computers, effective commercial
2
Y L Ekinci et al
software packages and open source codes have become widely
available due to technological developments in computational
procedures during the last decade, thus edge-approximating
techniques are being used more extensively (Kaya et al
2007, Salem et al 2008, Ateş et al 2012, Balkaya et al
2012). Moreover, the most important advantage is that the
computation procedures do not require an assumption about
the type of source body and the nature of the source.
In this study, the effectiveness of commonly used edge-
approximating techniques such as vertical derivative (VD),
total horizontal derivative (THD), analytic signal (AS), profile
curvature (PCR), tilt angle (TA) and theta map (TM), which
are based on the use of horizontal and vertical derivatives
or their various combinations, were compared in terms
of their accuracy on the determination of locations and
lateral boundaries of source bodies. Since the derivative-
based filters tend to be dominated by the effects of noise,
numerical simulations were performed on both noise-free and
noisy synthetic gravity data generated by three-dimensional
prismatic model bodies. In order to obtain optimum results,
a case study was also performed with a real gravity data set
obtained from a well-known geological setting, the Aegean
graben system (western Turkey).
2. Edge-approximating algorithms
This section describes the mathematical background of the
edge-approximating algorithms. A MATLAB-based toolkit
(Ekinci 2010, Ekinci and Yiğitbaş 2012) was used for the
application of these algorithms and for the computation of
synthetic gravity data caused by three-dimensional, vertical-
sided prismatic bodies. The computations of the first VDs
of gridded data, used in VD, AS, TA and TM operators,
were performed in a wavenumber domain using a fast Fourier
transform based on the method given by Blakely (1995). As
is well known, the transformation inherently assumes that a
grid is periodic, in effect repeating itself infinitely many times
in all horizontal directions, which tends to cause undesirable
edge effects if the edges of the data grid do not meet smoothly
with their repetitive neighbours (Blakely 1995). Thus, in this
study, to eliminate the discontinuities at the edges, the size
of data grid was augmented to the next higher power of 2
by adding artificial data bands to the east and north edges
of the data grid prior to the fast Fourier transform. The
extra data bands were removed at the end of the operation.
Horizontal derivatives and second-order horizontal derivatives
used in the computation of edge-approximating operators
were estimated using some equations based on simple finite-
difference methods (Blakely 1995, Carnahan et al 1969). The
source codes of the edge-approximating algorithms and three-
dimensional forward calculations are available from the first
author on request.
2.1. VD operator
VD image maps help to resolve and emphasize the shallow
source bodies. In VD anomaly maps the contour values close
to zero may indicate the lateral edges of the source bodies
J. Geophys. Eng. 10 (2013) 035005 Y L Ekinci et al

(Xu et al 2011). The computation procedure is performed in grid plane. Generally, VDs are computed in the wavenumber
a wavenumber domain using a fast Fourier transform. The domain using fast Fourier transforms as given previously in
procedure is framed as a three step filtering procedure. First, a equation (2), and the horizontal derivatives can be computed
fast Fourier transform of the potential field data is performed. in both the space domain using differences (equations (5)–
At the second stage, transformed data are multiplied by the (6)) and the wavenumber domain using fast Fourier transform
VD filter. The final step involves performing the inverse fast techniques (Blakely 1995). The equation for the AS amplitude
Fourier transform of the product. is given by Roest et al (1992) as follows:
The definition of the VD operator is given by Blakely  2  2  2 1/2
∂g ∂g ∂g
(1995) as follows: AS (x, y) = + + (7)
∂x ∂y ∂z
 
∂g F (g) − F (g) e− |k| z where g is the gravity field.
F = lim
∂z z→0 z
− |k| z
1−e 2.4. PCR operator
= lim F (g) (1)
z→0 z Curvature analysis techniques have been applied to some
where g is the gravity field, e is the exponential function and geophysical data sets in the last decade (e.g. Blumentritt et al
F (g) is the Fourier transformed grid data. Thus the first-order 2006, Phillips et al 2007, Cooper 2009, Lee et al 2012).
VD is equal to the Fourier transform of the potential times |k|, Curvature analysis techniques have generally been applied to
as given below (Blakely 1995): the seismic reflection profile and three-dimensional seismic
∂g(x, y) data volume in seismic data interpretation, and to topographic
VD(x, y) = = F −1 {|k|F (g)} (2) surfaces for drainage basin analysis (see the references in Lee
∂z
et al (2012)). However, the technique has rarely been applied
where F −1 is the inverse Fourier transform and |k| is the radial to potential field data. Thus we reviewed the response of the
wavenumber at grid intersections throughout the kx and ky technique on the gridded potential field data.
plane. |k| is defined by following equation (Blakely 1995): The curvature analysis can be defined in different forms

|k| = kx2 + ky2 (3) for gridded data sets, and in this study the definition of
Mitasova and Hofierka (1993) was used for the procedure.
The PCR operator is defined by the following equation:
2.2. THD operator    
∂ 2 g ∂g 2 ∂ 2 g ∂g ∂g ∂ 2 g ∂g 2
+2 +
The THD amplitudes (the most commonly used source edge ∂x2 ∂x ∂x∂y ∂x ∂y ∂y2 ∂y
PCR(x, y) =  2  2   2  2 3/2
detection algorithm) of the gravity anomalies tend to produce ∂g ∂g ∂g ∂g
maxima located almost over the lateral edges of the source + 1+ +
∂x ∂y ∂x ∂y
bodies (Cordell and Grauch 1985, Blakely and Simpson 1986, (8)
Blakely 1995). The extreme values of the THD amplitudes on
the grid plane are used to locate the lateral boundaries of the where g is the gravity field. The horizontal derivatives can
source bodies. For a gridded data set, the definition of THD be computed by using equations (5) and (6). The second-order
amplitude is given as follows: horizontal derivatives in equation (8) can be defined as follows
 2  2 1/2 (Carnahan et al 1969):
∂g ∂g
THD (x, y) = + (4) ∂ 2 g(x, y) gi−1, j − 2gi, j + gi+1, j
∂x ∂y ≈ (9)
∂x2 (x)2
where g is the gravity field. Horizontal derivatives in
equation (4) can be easily estimated using a simple finite- ∂ 2 g(x, y) gi, j−1 − 2gi, j + gi, j+1
difference method and discrete measurements of g(x, y), as ≈ (10)
∂y2 (y)2
follows (Blakely 1995):
At each point in the field data, the PCR operator measures
∂g(x, y) gi+1, j − gi−1, j
≈ (5) the rate of change of the slope in the direction of the steepest
∂x 2x gradient (Cooper 2009). The operator produces a zero contour
value at the source edge and either a local maxima or minima
∂g(x, y) gi, j+1 − gi, j−1
≈ (6) over the source (Lee et al 2012). Thus PCR amplitudes can be
∂y 2y used to locate the lateral edges of gravity source bodies.
where i and j represent the discrete measurements of g(x, y)on
the observation plane at uniform sample intervals x and y. 2.5. TA operator
The TA operator can be briefly explained as an amplitude
2.3. AS operator
normalized VD. Due to the nature of the arctan trigonometric
The AS amplitude, a complex quantity, is formed through function, the output values of the procedure are limited to
a combination of the horizontal and VDs of the potential values between –π /2 and π /2. The TA operator uses the
field data. The maxima locations in the AS anomaly map zero-point location to approximate the lateral edge location
are used to locate the lateral edges of source bodies on the of causative geological bodies on the grid plane (Wanyin

3
J. Geophys. Eng. 10 (2013) 035005 Y L Ekinci et al

(a) (b)

Figure 1. Synthetically generated gravity data set, consisting of the anomalies caused by three-dimensional prismatic source bodies (a);
general plan view of the three-dimensional source bodies (b).

et al 2009). Because the TA operator is based on the ratio edge-approximating algorithms mentioned above. As is well
of derivatives, it enhances both large and small amplitude known, in order to approximate a volume of mass, considering
anomalies well (Cooper and Cowan 2008). The computation a rectangular prism is one of the most simple ways. The
procedure of the TA operator can be expressed as the following gravitational attraction of a single rectangular prism can be
equation (Miller and Singh 1994), where g is the gravity field: computed by integration over the limits of the prism (Blakely,
1995) and the following derived equation can be used for the
∂g procedure (Plouff 1976):
TA(x, y) = tan −1 ∂z 
 2  2  1
(11) 2  2  2
xi y j
∂g ∂g 2 g = γρ μi jk zk arctan − xi log(Ri jk + y j )
+ zk Ri jk
∂x ∂y i=1 j=1 k=1

The VD and horizontal derivatives in equation (11) can be −y j log(Ri jk + xi ) (13)
computed by using equations (2), (5) and (6), respectively.
where ρ is the density contrast and γ is the gravitational
2.6. TM operator constant. The other terms are given by:

The TM operator is pronounced as an effective processing Ri jk = xi2 + y2j + z2k (14)
tool for delineating subsurface geological contacts, and the
operator uses the AS amplitude to normalize the THD. The μi jk = (−1)i (−1) j (−1)k (15)
operator enhances the edges of the source bodies of all
azimuths on the grid plane using a trigonometric function like
3.2. Noise-free synthetic data example
the TA operator. Although the technique restricts the range of
angles between 0 and π /2, it may produce well-defined images By using equation (13), the gravity response of two vertical-
(Wijns et al 2005). The normalization process introduces sided prisms was generated for the test studies. We used
effective gain control and the definition of the procedure is a 0.1 km × 0.1 km grid for three-dimensional forward
given as follows (Wijns et al 2005): modelling. Model parameters of the source bodies are given in
 2  2  1 table 1. Figures 1(a) and (b) show the synthetically generated
∂g ∂g 2
+ noise-free gravity anomaly map and the plan view of three-
∂x ∂y
TM(x, y) = cos−1 (12) dimensional prismatic model bodies, respectively. Note that
 2  2  2  1
∂g ∂g ∂g 2 model 2 produced a low-amplitude anomaly in comparison to
+ + model 1, due to its depth and thickness.
∂x ∂y ∂z
where g is the gravity field. Equations (2), (5) and (6) can Figure 2 demonstrates the obtained image maps from
be used for the computation of the amplitudes of vertical and the application of edge-approximation operators. Figure 2(a)
horizontal derivatives. shows that VD amplitudes passed through zero directly over
the edges of the source bodies. However, amplitude variations
did not show a sharp transition from the edges towards the
3. Test studies centres of the model bodies. Additionally the response of a
deeper source body showed a less dramatic result than the
3.1. Synthetic data
shallower one (figure 2(a)). Figure 2(b) shows the anomaly
A synthetic data set was generated by considering two map produced by the THD operator. Although the amplitude
vertical-sided prisms to test the effectiveness of the proposed response of model 2 is slightly blurred due to the model’s depth

4
J. Geophys. Eng. 10 (2013) 035005 Y L Ekinci et al

(a) (b)

(c) (d )

(e) (f )

Figure 2. The results of edge-approximating algorithms applied to the synthetic data set shown in figure 1(a). VD image map of the
synthetic data (a); THD image map of the synthetic data (b); AS image map of the synthetic data (c); PCR image map of the synthetic data
(d); TA image map of the synthetic data (e); and TM image of the synthetic data ( f ).

Table 1. Model parameters of two prismatic bodies used for a synthetic data example.
Model parameters
Model number x1 (km) x2 (km) y1 (km) y2 (km) h1 (km) h2 (km) ρ (g cm–3)

1 14 19 13 18 0.1 0.6 0.05

2 7 12 3 8 0.2 0.6 0.05

and thickness, extreme amplitude values clearly displayed
the lateral edge locations of two model bodies where sharp
transitions were observed from the edges towards the centres
of the model bodies. Thus it can be stated that the THD
operator produced better resolution at the edges than did the
VD operator. Figure 2(c) demonstrates the responses of the
model bodies using the AS operator. Amplitude responses of
the model bodies are quite similar to the result of THD, but
the image of the deeper body is less impressive than the image
produced by the THD operator. Additionally, the decrease in
AS amplitudes is less sharp than in THD amplitudes between
the inner edges and the centres of the source bodies. The
result of applying the PCR operator to the synthetic data set
is illustrated in figure 2(d). Lateral edges of the prismatic
bodies were successfully delineated by zero value between
maxima and minima, but it needs to be noted that the response

5
J. Geophys. Eng. 10 (2013) 035005
(a)
Figure 3. Image map of the high-level noisy gravity data set (a); and image map of the upward continued high-level noisy gravity data set (b).
of the deeper body displayed a lower amplitude pattern in
comparison to the shallower one. The image map (figure 2(e))
shows that although the zero values indicated the position of
lateral edges, sharpened responses at the inner edges of the
prismatic model bodies could not be observed by using the TA
operator. Thus it may be stated that TA is not primarily an edge-
approximation technique based on the obtained results from
a noise-free synthetic example. Figure 2( f ) indicates that the
edges of the model bodies were uniformly enhanced by the
use of the TM operator; even the model bodies do not have
the same amplitude values in the original image map shown
in figure 1(a) due to their depths and thicknesses. Moreover, a
sharp amplitude transition was clearly observed from the edges
towards the centres of the model bodies. Based on the results
of the noise-free synthetic data example, it can be concluded
that THD, AS, PCR and TM operators dramatically improved
the lateral edges of the shallower model body while the TM
operator clearly produced better resolution on the lateral edges
of the deeper model body than the other ones did.
3.3. Noisy synthetic data examples
In order to review the responses of the edge detectors on
noisy data, we performed two simulations: one in which the
synthetic data (generated by the model parameters given in
table 1) were contaminated by high-level noise, and another
in which the noise level was reduced somewhat by an upward
continuation process. We used normally distributed pseudo-
random numbers, with a mean value of 0.2 mGal and with
a standard deviation of 0.04 mGal, to generate the artificial
noise. A 0.2 km upward continuation process was performed
on the contaminated grid data to attenuate the effect of the
shortest wavelengths and to emphasize real-source anomalies
by using the following equation (Blakely 1995):
U p(x, y) = F −1 {(e−z |k| )F (g)} (16)
where z is the upward continuation level and e is the
exponential function. The other terms were given previously.
6
Y L Ekinci et al
(b)
The effect of the high-level noise is clearly recognized
from figure 3(a). Figure 3(b) shows that the effects of the
shortest wavelengths caused by the noise were attenuated
somewhat, whereas the high-amplitude anomalies of the
source bodies still remain. The responses of the edge detection
algorithms to high-level noisy data are demonstrated in
figures 4(a)–( f ). The existence of a high-level noise THD
operator produced greatly improved details on the edges of
anomalous bodies, which can be clearly seen from figure 4(b).
On the other hand, the PCR image map (figure 4(d)) shows that
the response of the edges of the shallower body is dominated
by very low resolution, and the edges of the deeper body
were not resolved. The TM operator produced poorly resolved
edges (figure 4( f )), but they seemed relatively sharper than
the ones produced by the PCR operator. It can be clearly
seen that sharpened responses at the inner and outer edges
of the prismatic bodies could not be produced by VD and
TA operators (figures 4(a) and (e)). Lastly the image map
(figure 4(c)) shows that the AS operator could not produce any
trace from either of the source bodies.
As a final synthetic example, figures 5(a)–( f ) show the
result of applying edge-approximating algorithms to upward
continued noisy data. Again, VD (figure 5(a)) and TA operators
(figure 5(e)) could not produce sharper edges, and they
enhanced the amplitude of the pseudo-random noise. On the
other hand, the TM operator improved the edges of both source
bodies well (figure 5( f )) but it notably amplified the pseudo-
random noise in the area like the TA operator. Thus it can
be mentioned that the use of a cosine function enhanced the
edges of features of all azimuths, but it also enhanced the
low-amplitude noise levels, which might make accurate edge
mapping more difficult in the areas where source bodies do not
produce high-amplitude anomalies. The image map obtained
from the use of the AS operator (figure 5(c)) shows that the
edges of the source bodies were not enhanced adequately.
It is seen from figures 5(b) and (d) that the THD and PCR
operators were much more successful in improving the edges
J. Geophys. Eng. 10 (2013) 035005 Y L Ekinci et al

(a) (b)

(c) (d )

(e) (f )

Figure 4. The results of edge-approximating algorithms applied to the noisy data set shown in figure 3(a). VD image map of the noisy
synthetic data (a); THD image map of the noisy synthetic data (b); AS image map of the noisy synthetic data (c); PCR image map of the
noisy synthetic data (d); TA image map of the noisy synthetic data (e); and TM image of the noisy synthetic data ( f ).

than the others. More interestingly, although the PCR operator
uses the second-order horizontal derivatives of the potential
field data, the image map (figure 5(d)) shows that the noise
level was not amplified. Consequently, this synthetic example
showed that the PCR operator was found to be less susceptible
to noise than the others when the noise level is not very high.
3.4. Real data example
The test area considered for the real data example is located
at the western part of the West Anatolia Extensional Province
(WAEP; longitude 26◦ –29◦ and latitude 37◦ –39◦ ) and covers
an area of about 39 873 km2. Sharp topography in the area is
reflected from young horst-graben geomorphology (figure 6).
As is well known, WAEP is one of the most rapidly deforming
continental regions in the world and is a part of the Aegean
Extensional Province that extends from Bulgaria in the north to
the Aegean arc in the south (Bozkurt 2003). Its relief is shaped
by the late formation of core complexes and a horst-graben
system. In western Anatolia, the most evident neotectonic
features are E–W trending horsts known as Bozdağ horst
(BH) and Aydın horst (AH), sediment filled grabens (Gediz
graben (GDG), Küçük Menderes graben (KMG), Büyük
Menderes graben (BMG)) and their basin-bounding active
faults (figure 7). The less evident ones are NE–SW trending
basins (Gördes basin (GB) and Selendi basin (SB) in figure 7)
and their interposing horsts (Bozkurt 2001).
The cause of the extension has been curiously debated for
a long time and four views have been proposed so far: (i) a
tectonic escape model: westward extrusion of the Anatolian
Block since 12 Ma (late Serravalian) (Dewey and Şengör

7
J. Geophys. Eng. 10 (2013) 035005 Y L Ekinci et al

(a) (b)

(c) (d )

(e) (f )

Figure 5. The results of edge-approximating algorithms applied to the upward continued noisy data set shown in figure 3(b). VD image map
of the upward continued noisy synthetic data (a); THD image map of the upward continued noisy synthetic data (b); AS image map of the
upward continued noisy synthetic data (c); PCR image map of the upward continued noisy synthetic data (d); TA image map of the upward
continued noisy synthetic data (e); and TM image of the upward continued noisy synthetic data ( f ).

1979, Şengör et al 1985, Görür et al 1995), (ii) a back-
arc spreading model: back-arc extension by approximately
southward movement of the Aegean Arc with the disputable
onset age of 60.5 Ma (McKenzie 1978, Kissel and Laj 1988,
Meulenkamp et al 1988, 1994, Thomson et al 1998), (iii) an
orogenic collapse model: local extension by spreading and
thinning of over thickened crust following the latest Paleocene
collision across Neotethys during the latest Oligocene–Early
Miocene (Dewey 1988, Seyitoğlu and Scott 1991, McClusky
et al 2000), (iv) a two-stage graben model: Miocene–Early
Pliocene (orogenic collapse) and Plio-Quaternary (westward
migration of the Anatolian Block) of the N–S extension
(Koçyiğit et al 1999, Bozkurt 2003, 2004).
E–W and NE–SW trending basins are seismically active
regions and are bounded by active faults as mentioned below,
but GDG and BMG form a major set among them. Since they
reveal the most pronounced and uninterrupted topographic
escarpments that seem to be a footwall of steeply dipping active
normal faults (figure 7), these grabens reflect the stress field of
the N–S extension and its activity via numerous earthquakes
(Şengör et al 1985, Yılmaz et al 2000). This crustal scale fault
system trends over low-angle normal faults (detachment faults
in figure 7) that dip northwardly along the southern edge of
GDG and southwardly along the northern margin of BMG.
At the southernmost edge of the area, a curve-shaped shear
zone transects the Menderes Massif with south dipping as
well (figure 7).

8
J. Geophys. Eng. 10 (2013) 035005 Y L Ekinci et al

Figure 6. Simplified tectonic map and relief of the region and the study area (compiled with Yiğitbas et al (2004) and CGIAR-CSI
GeoPortal (2012)). Abbreviations: SBT, Southern Black Sea Thrust; NAFZ, North Anatolian Fault Zone; NEAFZ, Northeast Anatolian Fault
Zone; WAEP, West Anatolia Extensional Province; EAFZ, East Anatolain Fault Zone; DSFZ, Dead Sea Fault Zone; BH, Bozdağ Horst; AH,
Aydın Horst; GDG, Gediz Graben; KMG, Küçük Menderes Graben; BMG, Büyük Menderes Graben; GB, Gördes Basin; SB, Selendi Basin.

Through the GDG, the footwall of the detachment faults
consists of different lithologies belonging to metamorphic
rocks of the Menderes Massif, described as Pre-Neogene
basement in the text (figure 7). The hanging wall of the
detachment fault is represented by a Miocene to Pliocene
sedimentary sequence of clastics labelled as Neogene rocks
and by Quaternary alluvium (figures 7 and 8, table 2). The
total thickness of sedimentary fill of the GDG reaches up
to roughly 2500 m (Çiftçi and Bozkurt 2009). The BMG
is confined by well-developed normal faults throughout its
length (figure 7). Outcropped rocks in the surrounding area
of the graben are two groups (figure 8, table 2): (i) the Pre-
Neogene basement that includes an extensional metamorphic
core complex or rocks of the Menderes Massif in WAEP, (ii)
Early Miocene to Late Pliocene–Pleistocene rocks labelled as
Neogene rocks and Quaternary alluvium comprising clastic
and lacustrine sedimentary package up to about 2500 m
thick (Gürer et al 2009, Çifçi et al 2011). The KMG
is bounded by BH in the north and AH in the south
(figure 7). It was developed over the Pre-Neogene basement of
metamorphic rocks of the Menderes Massif (figure 8, table 2).
The stratigraphy starts with Middle Miocene Andesite. The
Neogene-aged sedimentary sequence, Middle Miocene to
Pliocene–Pleistocene, lays over andesitic rocks and consists
of clastic and lacustrine sediments about 320 m thick (Sözbilir
and Emre 1990, Bozkurt 2000, Emre and Sözbilir 2007,
Seyitoğlu and Işık 2009). Inside the massif, the shear zone
(SÇSZ) transects at the southernmost of the area (figure 7)
and segregates gneisses in the footwall from metamorphosed
schists and marbles in the hanging wall (Lips et al 2001).
GB and SB, as NE–SW trending secondary grabens in the
north of GDG, are the components of WAEP (figure 7). Both
GB and SB comprise Neogene rocks, which were developed
through Miocene, and Quaternary (figure 8). The GB is marked

9
J. Geophys. Eng. 10 (2013) 035005 Y L Ekinci et al

Figure 7. Simplified geological map of the study area (adopted from the MTA (General Directorate of Mineral Research and Exploration of
Turkey) (2002) and Sözbilir et al (2011)). Abbreviations: BH, Bozdağ Horst; AH, Aydın Horst; GDG, Gediz Graben; KMG, Küçük
Menderes Graben; BMG, Büyük Menderes Graben; GB, Gördes Basin; SB, Selendi Basin; SÇSZ, South Çine Shear Zone.

Figure 8. Stratigraphic columns for Gediz graben (GDG; after Çiftçi and Bozkurt 2009); Büyük Menderes graben (BMG; after Çifçi et al
2011); Küçük Menderes graben (KMG; after Emre and Sözbilir 2007); Selendi basin (SB; after Seyitoğlu 1997, Purvis and Robertson
2005); and Gördes basin (GB; after Seyitoğlu and Scott 1994, Seyitoğlu et al 1994). Left and right sides of each column show formation,
group and volcanic rock names. Abbreviations: Pre-Ng, Pre Neogene; Mio, Miocene; Pli, Pliocene; Ple; Pleistocene; Q, Quaternary; Vol.,
Volcanics. In SB and GB quaternary sediments and volcanics are not represented in figure 7 due to not extending over a wide area. Note that
columns are not to scale.

with Quaternary Alluvium and Neogene (Early Miocene) Menderes Massif and ophiolitic mélange (figure 8, table 2).
aged basin fills (about 1000 m thick) consisting of clastic, Each of them is cut by intrusive bodies (Purvis and Robertson
lacustrine and tuffaceous rocks which unconformably overlie 2005). The SB, developed over the metamorphic basement
Pre-Neogene basement including metamorphic rocks of the of the Menderes Massif and ophiolitic mélange (Seyitoğlu

10
J. Geophys. Eng. 10 (2013) 035005 Y L Ekinci et al

Table 2. Rock types of stratigraphic columns for each graben and basin in the study area.
Rock types BMGa,b KMGa,b GDGa,b GBa,b SBa,b
Sedimentary rocks (Ng)a Qa Alluvium + + + + +
Claystone +
Conglomerate + + + + +
Marl
Mudstone + + + + +
Sandstone + + + + +
Shale + +
Siltstone +
Limestone + + + +
Volcanic rocks (Ng)a Andesite +
Basalt +
Dacite +
Rhyolite +
Tuff + +
Basement Rocks (Pre-Ng)a Gneiss + + + +
(Metamorphic and Ophiolitic) Marble + + + +
Ophiolitic mélange + +
Schist + + + + +
a
Abbreviations: Q, Quaternary; Ng, Neogene; Pre-Ng, Pre Neogene; BMG, Büyük Menderes Graben;
KMG, Küçük Menderes Graben; GDG, Gediz Graben; GB, Gördes Basin; SB, Selendi Basin.
b
See figure 8 for stratigraphic orders of rock types of BMG (Çifçi et al 2011), KMG (Emre and
Sözbilir 2007), GDG (Çiftçi and Bozkurt 2009), GB (Seyitoğlu and Scott 1994, Seyitoğlu et al 1994,
Ersoy et al 2011) and SB (Seyitoğlu 1997, Purvis and Robertson 2005, Ersoy et al 2010). Plus
marks (+) point out outcropped rocks for each graben and basin.

1997, Purvis and Robertson 2005), starts with Early Miocene
alluvial fan and fluvio-lacustrine sediments and follows with
unconformably Early-Middle Miocene continental clastics to
lacustrine sediments fill (figure 8, table 2). Volcanic rocks
cut the Early Miocene strata. Sedimentary package overlain
Early Miocene strata are coeval and intercalated with volcanic
rocks (Seyitoğlu 1997). The youngest one in the succession is
unconformable Pliocene-Quaternary sediment and Quaternary
Volcanics (Purvis and Robertson 2005). The total thickness of
the basin fill is estimated at about 1800 m (Seyitoğlu 1997).
Slip faults with normal component are basin-bounding faults of
NE–SW trending basins and exhibit an almost straight outcrop
pattern. They occur as single or fault segments and juxtapose
basement with basin fill (Bozkurt 2003).
The regional Bouguer gravity data of all of Turkey
were collected at about 2–5 km intervals between 1973 and
1988 by MTA (General Directorate of Mineral Research
and Exploration of Turkey), and a regional Bouguer gravity
anomaly map was published with a grid spacing of 2 km
(MTA 2006). Figure 9(a) shows the regional Bouguer gravity
anomaly map of the studied area which covers an area of
276 km × 200 km, including the sea region. The amplitude
of gravity anomalies shows an increasing trend towards the
Aegean Sea (E to W), but negative gravity anomalies are
more dominant in the middle and eastern part of the area
(figure 9(a)). As is well known, in general gravity anomalies
over the continents are characterized by negative gravity values
due to the thick crust and positive gravity anomalies are found
over oceanic regions where the crust is very thin (Lowrie
2007).
As is clearly seen from the regional Bouguer gravity
image map (figure 9(a)), BMG and GDG are characterized
by negative anomaly values, and it can be mentioned that the
thick sedimentary deposits of the grabens (BMG and GDG)
give rise to the lowering of gravity values, as also suggested
by Sarı and Şalk (2006). In contrast to BMG and GDG, KMG
does not produce a lower-amplitude anomaly pattern, which is
most likely caused by the existence of very thin sedimentary
cover on the massif metamorphic rocks. Inverse modelling
of gravity data has also indicated the thin sedimentary cover
in this area (Sarı and Şalk 2002, Göktürkler et al 2003). On
the other hand, the horsts of BH and AH are characterized
by relatively higher gravity values due to the existence of
metamorphic rocks of the Menderes massif. The GB and SB
bounded by NE–SW trending normal faults produce negative
gravity values. SB shows a lower anomaly pattern than GB in
figure 9(a), and this case can be explained by the existence
of relatively thicker sedimentary fills over SB in comparison
to GB. Before the application of the edge-approximating
algorithms on the real gravity data, a first-order polynomial
surface was computed and then subtracted from the regional
gravity data to remove the planar horizontal trend and regional
background. Consider that the decreasing linear trend in the
amplitude of gravity anomalies from the Aegean Sea towards
an inland, first-order polynomial surface was deemed to be
sufficient for removing the horizontal planar trend and the
regional background. Figure 9(b) shows the trend-removed
residual gravity anomaly map, and it is clearly seen that in this
case this procedure provided a good compromise between the
trend-removed residual gravity anomaly map and the surface
geology map shown in figure 7. Thus it can be stated that
removing the first-order polynomial surface from the regional
Bouguer gravity anomalies enhanced the anomalies of the
shallower geological sources in the Aegean graben system.
In order to improve the resolution of shallower geological

11
J. Geophys. Eng. 10 (2013) 035005
(a)
Figure 9. Regional Bouguer gravity anomaly map of the study area (a); residual gravity anomaly map computed by removing a first-order
polynomial surface from the map shown in the left panel (b). The black lines on the anomaly maps show coastline.
sources, a trend-removed residual gravity anomaly map was
used for the application of edge-approximating algorithms.
Image maps in figures 10(a)–( f ) show the performance of
edge-approximating algorithms on a residual gravity anomaly
map. The anomaly map produced by the VD operator
(figure 10(a)) is somewhat similar to the residual gravity
anomaly map of the area. As can be clearly seen, BMG and
GDG were highlighted by negative anomaly values. Although
GB and SB, bounded by NE–SW trending normal faults
which are located at the NE part of the study area, did
not produce significant gravity anomalies (figure 9(b)), these
subtle details were enhanced moderately in the VD image map.
Additionally, the VD operator clearly improved the gravity
anomaly signature of a curve-shaped shear zone (SÇSZ in
figure 7) developed inside the Menderes Massif, which is
not noticeably observed from the gravity anomaly maps in
figures 9(a) and (b). Figure 10(b) shows the THD image
map, which is dominated by high-amplitude responses over
the normal faults through GDG and BMG as expected. When
comparing VD and THD maps, it is clear that THD produced
a more conspicuous anomaly pattern which is relevant to these
normal faults. The traces of GB and SB, bounded by normal
faults, were also improved somewhat and characterized by
a high-amplitude gravity signature. Moreover, THD enhanced
low-amplitude anomalies to show clear traces, highlighting the
shear zone developed inside the Menderes Massif. However,
it is worth pointing out that some elongated spurious high-
amplitude anomalies were detected, particularly near the GB
and SB. The anomaly map of the AS operator, a combination
of THD and VD operators, is shown in figure 10(c). High-
amplitude responses are dominant in the AS map over abrupt
lateral changes in density as expected. The traces of GDG
and BMG were resolved well. However, the subtle details
such as the NE–SW trending normal fault systems bounding
the GB and SB and the ductile detachment fault through
the edges of the Menderes Massif and shear zone inside it
12
Y L Ekinci et al
(b)
(SÇSZ in figure 7) were not enhanced sufficiently. Figure 10(d)
shows the response of the PCR operator. The image map
indicated much more detail than did the previous images and
tends to be the most coherent. High-amplitude responses are
dominant in the image map. It can be stated that the PCR
map enhanced the GDG and BMG with greater clarity than
did the previous operators. Additionally, the PCR operator
dramatically improved the resolution of the details even in the
areas where the field does not show strong anomaly patterns
(negative or positive) in the residual gravity anomaly map
(figure 9(b)) such as normal fault systems bounding the GB and
SB, and also the shear zone (SÇSZ) located in the Menderes
Massif. Thus it is noteworthy to mention that the edges of the
geological structures, faults and lineaments were well resolved
by using the PCR operator. The image map of the TA operator
is demonstrated in figure 10(e). Even though the TA map
showed considerably more detail than did the residual gravity
anomaly map, high-amplitude responses were not observed
from the locations of normal faults through GDG and BMG.
However, the TA operator improved the resolution of the curve-
shaped shear zone developed inside the Menderes Massif and
the normal faults bounding the GB and SB. It can be stated
that the TA operator produced an anomaly characteristic that
is similar to the VD operator, but in a weaker form. The image
map produced by the TM operator is shown in figure 10( f ).
Even though satisfactory results were achieved using the TM
operator from the synthetic examples (figure 2( f )), the image
map obtained from the real data set is more diffuse than the
THD and PCR images. Due to the existence of many spurious
high-amplitude anomalies, the real anomaly zones seemed to
be masked. Thus the TM operator is found to be less effective
than the THD and PCR operators, depending on the results
obtained from the real data example. Finally, the presented
case study showed that the PCR solutions of real gravity data
tend to be the most coherent, displaying a gain of resolution
of geological contacts and faults.
J. Geophys. Eng. 10 (2013) 035005 Y L Ekinci et al

(a) (b)

(c) (d )

(e) (f )

Figure 10. The results of edge-approximating algorithms applied to the data set shown in figure 9(b). VD image map of the residual gravity
data (a); THD image map of the residual gravity data (b); AS image map of the residual gravity data (c); PCR image map of the residual
gravity data (d); TA image map of the residual gravity data (e); and TM image of the residual gravity data ( f ). The black lines on the maps
show coastline.

4. Conclusions performed on noise-free and noisy synthetic gravity data and

Numerous techniques have been suggested to track the
geological contacts and to bring out subtle details which
are not clearly identified in potential field anomaly maps.
Edge-approximating techniques, generally based on the use
of a linear combination of the horizontal and vertical field
derivatives, are all affected by the model parameters (depth,
size, density, etc) of the source bodies. Additionally, the
resolution of the data grid and the noise level in the data
play a major role in the success of the edge-approximating
algorithms. Each technique has its own advantages as well
as shortcomings, depending on the nature of the potential
field data. Therefore, we tried to review the effectiveness of
the commonly used edge-approximating techniques in this
study. In order to obtain optimum results, test studies were
also a real gravity data set from the Aegean graben system,
western Turkey.
A noise-free synthetic example clearly showed the
effectiveness of the THD, AS, PCR and TM operators. Even
though they produced a similar anomaly pattern for the
shallower body, the best result for the edges of the deeper
body was achieved by using the TM operator. Noisy data
examples indicated that all operators are very sensitive to the
degree of noise level in the data. In the case of a high-level
noise scenario, the edges of anomalous bodies were relatively
enhanced by using the THD operator, while the others were
not found to be effective. Because the THD operator only
requires computation of horizontal derivatives, it was found to
be less sensitive to high-level noise than the others. When the
noise level was moderately reduced by an upward continuation

13
J. Geophys. Eng. 10 (2013) 035005
process for the second scenario, the superiority of the THD and
PCR operators over the other detectors was clearly determined.
More importantly, although the PCR operator uses highest-
order derivatives, it enhanced the edges and appeared to have
been affected least by the low-level noise. On the other hand,
the TM and TA operators clearly amplified the noise and were
found more sensitive to noise than the others.
Based on the real data example, the PCR operator, which
has rarely been applied to potential field data sets so far,
produced the more detailed anomaly signatures over the abrupt
lateral changes in density and appeared to be the most effective
one. Thus it is concluded that the use of the PCR operator
proved useful in delineating and discriminating the subtle
details in gravity data dealing with geological contacts, faults
or lineaments. Additionally, it must be noted that in the areas
where the level of noise is high, a smoothing operation such as
upward continuation would be a good strategy before applying
the PCR operator for reducing the effects of noise in the data
sets and increasing the coherency of the solutions.
Acknowledgments
Thanks are due to Rezzan Ekinci for her help in preparing
high quality images. Dr Alper Demirci is also thanked for
his suggestions throughout this study. Three-dimensional
forward modelling of gravity data and the data processing
procedures of both synthetic and real data sets were carried
out at the Earthquake Monitoring and Data Processing
Laboratory (DEIVIL) in the Department of Geophysical
Engineering at Çanakkale Onsekiz Mart University, Turkey.
Three anonymous reviewers provided many helpful comments
that improved our paper.
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