GUI based inversion code for automatic quantification of strike limited listric fault sources and regional gravity background from observed Bouguer gravity anomalies

Abstract

A method coupled with a GUI based code in JAVA is developed in the space domain to simultaneously estimate the structures of strike limited listric fault sources and regional gravity background from a set of observed Bouguer gravity anomalies. The density contrast within the hanging wall of the structure is assumed to be varying continuously with depth based on a parabolic equation. The limiting surface of the fault plane is described with an exponential function. This method is automatic in the sense that it initializes both parameters of a strike limited listric fault source and regional gravity background from a set of observed Bouguer gravity anomalies and improves them iteratively until the modeled gravity anomalies fit the observed anomalies within the specified convergence criteria. The advantage of the code is that besides generating output in both ASCII and graphical forms it displays the animated versions of (i) the changes in model geometry, (ii) variation of each model parameter and misfit with iteration number, (iii) improvements in modeled gravity anomalies, and (iv) variation of density contrast with depth. The applicability of the code is demonstrated on both synthetic and real field gravity anomalies. In case of synthetic example pseudorandom noise is added to the residual gravity anomalies of the structure prior to inversion. The noisy anomalies are then inverted for the unknown parameters presuming (i) an ideal listric fault structure bounded by an exponential limiting surface with perfect flat top and bottom surfaces, (ii) non-ideal structure with uneven top and bottom surfaces with imperfect exponential limiting surface. Further, the robustness of the algorithm is exemplified by adding both regional gravity background and pseudorandom noise to the anomalies of the structure before inversion. In all cases, the interpreted parameters of the structure closely mimic the assumed parameters. The interpretation of gravity anomalies across the master fault of the Chintalpudi sub-basin in India has yielded information that is consistent with both DSS results and drilling information. The highlight of the code is that it can be used to interpret the gravity anomalies of listric fault sources even when the profile along which the interpretation is intended fails to bisect the strike length of the structure. © 2014 Geological Society of India.