Geophysical inversion of geologic structures of Oyo Metropolis, Southwestern Nigeria from airborne magnetic data

Abstract

High-resolution airborne magnetic data of Oyo Metropolis has been used to map subsurface geological features which in most cases, corresponds to the area of interest for mineral expedition. The airborne magnetic data was first reduced to the magnetic equator (RTE); this is normally done to make the data simpler to interpret. The RTE map was subjected to Fast Fourier Transform to separate the regional and residual magnetic anomalies and estimate their depths. An average depth of 2500 m and 500 m were obtained for the top of regional and residual sources respectively. 3D-Euler deconvolution and tilt derivative interpretation techniques were combined and used on the RTE map, to locate and estimate depths to geologic contacts and pegmatite intrusions attributed to lineaments. The resulting 3D-Euler depth solutions were plotted on the tilt derivative map of the study area. A very good correlation was highlighted, indicating that the methods are good interpretative techniques for mapping magnetic lineaments. The estimated depths obtained from 3D-Euler deconvolution method are in the range of 108.1–544.3 m for structural index 1.0 corresponding to intrusions (dykes), and the result of structural index 0.0 corresponding to geologic contacts are in the range of 5.9–295.2 m. The estimated depth parameters coupled with known geological information, were further used to produce the best image view of the subsurface geological features of the study area, using 2-D profile modeling technique. The result obtained from the 2-D profile model is in good agreement with the results obtained from the 3D-Euler deconvolution and tilt derivative methods, indicating locations and depths of various intrusions (dykes) and geologic contacts. The obtained results from this study will help shed more light into the structural framework of the study area and can help potential explorer target new areas for mineral exploration.