Gravity Data: A Foundation for Integration of Geological and Geophysical Data

Abstract:

Regional, and sometimes detailed, gravity data are available in many parts of the world, and satellite data have also emerged as a viable resource for integrated studies. Thus, in many cases, these data can form a foundation for integrated studies that provide constraints that extend below and/or beyond the special extent and depth of seismic, electromagnetic, geochemical, and drilling data. Magnetic data are also valuable in a similar fashion, but integrating gravity and seismic data has the advantage of a usually reliable empirical relationship between density and seismic velocity. In a series of case histories, I will present examples of gravity mapping and modeling spatially extending the results of seismic studies, tying the results of seismic studies together, and gravity modeling intimately constrained by a variety of geologic data. These examples address a variety of scales (crustal structure to brine disposal from a desalinization facility), applications (basin studies to earthquake hazards), and locales (North America, Africa, Europe, and Africa).