Analysis and interpretation of high resolution aeromagnetic data over Kabo town and its adjoining areas, in Northwestern Nigeria

Abstract

High resolution digital airborne data of sheet number 80, and the geology of the study area were acquired from the Nigerian Geological Survey Agency (NGSA). The data were analyzed using upward continuation, tilt derivative and first vertical filters. The residual field of interest was obtained using the polynomial fitting technique and reduced to the magnetic equator to align the peaks of the anomalies with the centers of the source bodies. Application of the upward continuation filter to a vertical height of 2 km removed most of the very short wavelength anomalies emanating from very near-surface magnetized bodies and geologic noise, thereby enhancing the deeper bodies. The application of the tilt derivative highlighted areas of possible mineralization while the first vertical derivative filter shows lineaments along NE-SW, NW – SE and E – W major trends and NNE – SSW, WNW – ESE and ENE – WSW minor trends. The trends of the inferred lineaments are generally consistent with those of the magnetic anomalies in the study area.

Key words: Upward continuation, Reduction to equator, Tilt Derivative, First Vertical Derivative Basement Complex.