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Determining the depth and location of potential field sources without specifying the structural index

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Abstract

There are many semiautomatic interpretation methods for potential field data. Some only work for a specific model, such as a contact or dyke, while others can be applied to any structure which has a known structural index (S.I.) (which gives the rate of decrease with distance of the amplitude of the anomaly). Various strategies exist for the automatic determination of the S.I., some of which involve inversion, or the use of data from different altitudes. A simple new method of determining the depth, location, and S.I. of potential field sources is introduced here and demonstrated on potential field data from South Africa.

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Acknowledgements

The National Research Foundation (Pretoria) is thanked for funding this project. The Council for Geoscience is thanked for providing the aeromagnetic data shown in Fig. 4, and Gordon Chunnett of Anglo Platinum is thanked for providing the data shown in Fig. 5.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Geosciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa

    G. R. J. Cooper

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  1. G. R. J. Cooper
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Correspondence to G. R. J. Cooper.

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Cooper, G.R.J. Determining the depth and location of potential field sources without specifying the structural index. Arab J Geosci 10, 438 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-017-3229-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-017-3229-0

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