Reconstruction of geologic bodies in depth associated with a sedimentary basin using gravity and magnetic data

Abstract

ABSTRACTWe present a comprehensive review of the most common gravity and magnetic interpretation methods to in depth retrieval of the geometry of geologic bodies associated with a sedimentary basin. We identify three types of bodies: 1) the sedimentary basement relief, 2) salt bodies and 3) mafic intrusions in a sedimentary section. In reconstructing basement topography through gravity and/or magnetic data we identify three groups of methods: the automatic, the spectral and the nonspectral methods. The reconstruction of salt bodies from gravity data usually uses interactive forward modelling but recently gravity inversion methods have been developed to interpret this kind of geologic environment. Finally, the problem of reconstructing intrusive bodies using magnetic and/or gravity data employs three strategies to interpret mafic or ultramafic intrusions in a sedimentary section: the automatic methods, interactive forward modelling and the inversion methods.