Gravity interpretation for delineating subsurface structures and depth of basement at El Moghra area, North Western Desert, Egypt

Abstract

El Moghra area represents a vital part of the national reclamation area at the northern part of Western Desert, Egypt. Delineating subsurface structures (faults & basins) and depth to the basement is the base of planning the area. Basins can be water aquifers or oil traps. Gravity data has been used to tackle such aims. The gravity (Bouguer) anomaly map is separated into regional components (deep sources), and residual component (shallower sources). The residual gravity map was used to delineate subsurface structural features dissecting the investigated area. Also, Euler deconvolution and Tilt Derivative methods have been used for delineating the structural elements. The gravity interpretation indicates that the most main tectonic have E-W, ENE-WSW, and N-S trends for the major structures, while the minor structures are aligned in NNE-SSW, NE-SW, NNW-SSE, and NW-SE. The results of depth estimation using 2D and 3D modelling show that the eastern and southwestern parts of the area under study exhibit a deep basement structure, reaches more than 7000 m (basin). However, the central and northwestern parts of the investigated area show shallower depth of basement rocks (4100 m).

Application of enhanced methods of gravity data analysis for mapping the subsurface structure of the bahira basin in Morocco

“…Under sedimentary basins and structural frameworks, the gravity method is ideally suited for basement mapping (Saleh et al, 2018;Frifita et al, 2020;Araffa et al, 2021;Kebede et al, 2021;Pham LT. et al, 2022;Zaghdoudi et al, 2020;Elabouyi et al, 2022;Mohamed et al, 2022a;Eldosouky et al, 2022b;Saada et al, 2021). Several field studies estimated sediment thickness and geological and stratigraphical structure.…”

“…Frifita et al (2020) analyzed a sedimentary basin (Mejerda, Tunisia) using gravity and seismic reflection to establish the foundation form. Gravity data showed subsurface structures and basement depth in El Moghra, Egypt by Araffa et al (2021). Using gravity and magnetic data, Kebede et al (2021) created a 2D/3D model for groundwater implication in the Ziway-Shala Lakes Basin in Ethiopia.…”