Bouguer gravity anomalies for terrain modeling

Abstract

Gravity anomalies have been applied in geodesy to determine the geoid, and the associated composition and crustal properties of the earth. Applications of solution of the gravity inversion problems include the study of crustal dynamics as a result of the extraction of fluids in the form of oil, gas and water from subsidence-prone sedimentary rock material and the modeling of artificial satellite trajectories. The solutions require primary gra-vity data at an average density of 1′′ x 1′′ (10 km x 10 km) square geographical block grids. In oil bearing geog-raphical Southeastern Nigeria, gravity networks of varying order have been established, and Bouguer gravity anomalies used to produce digital terrain models for analysing crustal composition in the region.