Summary of Gravity Types

We have now described the host of corrections that must be applied to our observations of gravitational acceleration to isolate the effects caused by geologic structure. The wide variety of corrections applied can be a bit intimidating at first and has led to a wide variety of names used in conjunction with gravity observations corrected to various degrees. Let's recap all of the corrections commonly applied to gravity observations collected for exploration geophysical surveys, specify the order in which they are applied, and list the names by which the resulting gravity values go.

• Observed Gravity (gobs) - Gravity readings observed at each gravity station after corrections have been applied for instrument drift and tides.
• Latitude Correction (gn) - Correction subtracted from gobs that accounts for the earth's elliptical shape and rotation. The gravity value that would be observed if the earth were a perfect (no geologic or topographic complexities), rotating ellipsoid is referred to as the normal gravity.
• Free Air Corrected Gravity (gfa) - The Free-Air correction accounts for gravity variations caused by elevation differences in the observation locations. The form of the Free-Air gravity anomaly, gfa, is given by;

  gfa = gobs - gn + 0.3086h (mgal)

  where h is the elevation at which the gravity station is above the elevation datum chosen for the survey (this is usually sea level).

• Bouguer Slab Corrected Gravity (gb) - The Bouguer correction is a first-order correction to account for the excess mass underlying observation points located at elevations higher than the elevation datum. Conversely, it accounts for a mass deficiency at observations points located below the elevation datum. The form of the Bouguer gravity anomaly, gb, is given by;

  gb = gobs - gn + 0.3086h - 0.04193h (mgal)

  where is the average density of the rocks underlying the survey area.

• Terrain Corrected Bouguer Gravity (gt) - The Terrain correction accounts for variations in the observed gravitational acceleration caused by variations in topography near each observation point. The terrain correction is positive regardless of whether the local topography consists of a mountain or a valley. The form of the Terrain corrected, Bouguer gravity anomaly, gt, is given by;

  gt = gobs - gn + 0.3086h - 0.04193h + TC (mgal)

  where TC is the value of the computed Terrain correction.

Assuming these corrections have accurately accounted for the variations in gravitational acceleration they were intended to account for, any remaining variations in the gravitational acceleration associated with the Terrain Corrected Bouguer Gravity, gt, can now be assumed to be caused by geologic structure.

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