In this paper the application of an edge detection technique to gravity data is described. The technique is based on the tilt angle map (TAM) obtained from the first vertical gradient of a gravity anomaly. The zero contours of the tilt angle correspond to the boundaries of geologic discontinuities and are used to detect the linear features in gravity data. I also present that the distance between zero and AEp=4 pairs obtained from the TAM corresponds to the depth to the top of the vertical contact model. Alternatively, the half distance between Àp=4 and þp=4 radians is equal to the depth to the same model. I illustrate the applicability of the present method by gravity data due to buried vertical prisms, imaging the positions of the edges of the prisms. The results obtained from the theoretical data, with and without random noise, have been discussed. The analysis of the TAM has been demonstrated on a field example from the Kozaklı-Central Anatolian region, Turkey, and the location and depth of the edges of the structural uplifts of the Kozaklı graben are imaged. The results indicated that depth values from these sources have ranged between 0.2 and 0.6 km. I have also compared the Euler deconvolution technique with the TAM images obtained from the first vertical gradient of residual gravity anomaly. Both techniques have agreed closely in detecting the horizontal location and depth of the uplift edges in the subsurface with good precision.
The tilt derivatives (or angles) are determined using the gravity gradient tensors (GGT) from two horizontal components (Gx, Gy) and vertical component (Gz), and the magnitude of the horizontal components (MHC). We show that the tilt derivatives from GGT and MHC are highly suitable for mapping linear geological structures or edges of target geology. The results obtained from theoretical data, with and without random noise, have been analyzed in this study. The tilt derivatives from GGT and MHC allow imaging the horizontal boundaries of gravity sources with a high resolution and show an improvement performance as edge detectors since they are ultra sensitive for detecting source boundaries.The tilt derivatives from GGT and MHC over the northeast of the Biga Peninsula in northwestern, Turkey are interpreted to image the edges of geological structures. Tilt derivatives provide a quick method which works well to obtain a detailed structural image of the complex area, with the most precision. The results indicate that the most predominant structural trends are in a NE-SW direction. Therefore, a good correspondence is recognized between structures well known by surface geology and many other lineaments which are unknown or only partially known.
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