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The potential of microgravity technique in subsurface cavities detection at Chan Sow Lin Site in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: a case study

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Abstract

Subsurface concealed voids such as cavities do not only pose threats to geotechnical/engineering structures but also difficult to know their real positions in the subsurface. Addressing these issues using geophysical microgravity technique motivated this present study. In this effort, modelling using synthetic data where a spherical structure of known depth extent and size was assumed as the initial model approximating the cavities systems was carried out using an interactive GRAV2DC program. The inverted subsurface geological cavities system was obtained iteratively by adjusting the model parameters until a good fit was attained between the calculated and observed gravity values. Furthermore, for a comprehensive understanding of the geological settings and characterization of the cavities in the study area, we carried out microgravity surveys at 358 stations using a Scintrex CG5 Autograv gravimeter. The raw gravity observations were reduced to the Bouguer gravity anomaly after a number of corrections were carried out. The numerical modelling results showed the shape and depth of the reconstructed cavities model were obtained with a model misfit of 3.18 mGal. For the reduced field data, a number of important gravity anomalies with the cavities system as the major feature were obvious on the residual anomalies map. With the boreholes drilled as controls and checks for anomalies, the cavities filled with some geo-materials were detected at depths between 6 and 10.5 m in the subsurface.

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Acknowledgements

The authors thank Mr. Jamaluddin Othman from SubMAP Geophysics Service Sdn. Bhd. for providing the borehole results and gravity data of Chan Sow Line (CSL) station area. The field support from technical staff of Geophysics Programme, School of Physics, Universiti Sains Malaysia was highly appreciated.

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  1. Geological Engineering Department, Faculty of Earth Science and Technology, Haluoleo University, Kendari, Indonesia

    A. Arisona, M. Muliddin & H. Hasria

  2. Department of Geosciences, University of Lagos, Akoka, Lagos, Nigeria

    K. S. Ishola

  3. Department of Geophysical Engineering, Haluoleo University, Kendari, Indonesia

    La Hamimu

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  1. A. Arisona
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Arisona, A., Ishola, K.S., Muliddin, M. et al. The potential of microgravity technique in subsurface cavities detection at Chan Sow Lin Site in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia: a case study. Model. Earth Syst. Environ. 9, 771–782 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40808-022-01519-y

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