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A Fast Method for Interpretation of Self-Potential Anomalies Due to Buried Bodies of Simple Geometry

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Abstract

The numerical method presented here is simple, fast and designed to determine automatically the depth, shape, polarization angle and electric dipole moment from residual self-potential (SP) anomalies due to ore bodies of simple geometry. The calculation needs only four characteristic points defining the anomaly and their corresponding distances on the anomaly profile. The inverse problem of depth determination from residual SP anomaly is solved by a linear equation for each shape factor. Using all successful combinations of the four characteristic points and their corresponding distances, a procedure is developed and practiced for automated determination of the best shape factor and depth of the buried body from SP data. The procedure is based on calculating the standard deviation of depths at each shape factor. Knowing the optimum depth and shape of the buried structure, formulas and procedures are also given for estimating the best polarization angle and the electric dipole moment. Because the present method uses all successful combinations of data points, it has the capability of enhancing the interpretation results. The method is tested on three noisy synthetic examples and applied on two field examples from Indonesia and Turkey. The estimated model parameters are always found to be in good agreement with proposed or actual values.

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Availability of data and material

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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No code is available in this work.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Prf. Dr Carla F. Braitenberg, Editor in Chief and anonymous capable PAAG reviewer for their comments and suggestions.

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No funding was received for conducting this study.

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Contributions

EMA: provided the conception and design of the study, shared with MG the manuscript preparation, figure design, and Tables preparation. GMM: shared writing the manuscript and designed the all programming work. Shared the first author in revising the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Mohamed M. Gobashy.

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Abdelrahman, ES.M., Gobashy, M.M. A Fast Method for Interpretation of Self-Potential Anomalies Due to Buried Bodies of Simple Geometry. Pure Appl. Geophys. 178, 3027–3038 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00024-021-02788-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00024-021-02788-x

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