Pageoph, Vol. 114 (t976), Birkh/iuser Verlag, Basel.

975

A Generalized Method for Various Data Processing Techniques in G r a v i t y I n t e r p r e t a t i o n By B. N. P. AGARWAL* and JAGDEO SINGH*

S u m m a r y - The various data processing techniques (downward continuation, first and second derivatives and their downward continuation) used in gravity interpretation, are analogous to different types of linear filtering operations whose theoretical filter (amplitude) responses can be derived from (u z + v2)m2 exp(dx/~- + v2) by suitably choosing N and d, where u and v are angular frequencies in two perpendicular directions, d the height or depth of continuation in unit of grid interval; and N denotes the order of the vertical derivative. By incorporating a mathematical smoothing function, e -~("~+ v2) (2 being the smoothing parameter) in the theoretical filter response function, it has been possible, by selecting a suitable value of smoothing parameter, to establish an approximate equivalence of the effect of the mathematical smoothing with the inherent smoothing introduced, because of the numerical approximation (approximation error) for practically all data-processing techniques. This approximate equivalence leads to a generalized method of computing sets of weight coefficients for various data-processing techniques from filter response matching method. Several sets of weight coefficients thus have been computed with different smoothing parameter. The amplitude response curves of the various existing sets of weight coefficients have also been calculated for assessing the quality of the approximation in achieving the desired filtering operation.

Introduction

In a paper by AGARWAL and LAL (1972a), an approximate equivalence of the effect of the mathematical smoothing of the type e -~"2, was established, where u is angular frequency-per unit of data interval and/l is called the smoothing parameter, with the inherent smoothing introduced because of the numerical approximation involved in the mathematical analysis for the calculation of the various filter's weight coefficients, especially for downward continuation. The same equivalence was further observed for a second vertical derivative with the help of one field example for two-dimensional gravity data by incorporating a mathematical smoothing of the type e z(u2+v2)(AGARWALand LAL, 1972b). By establishing this equivalence, it had been possible to develop a generalized method of computing one-dimensional sets of weight coefficients for various data processing techniques (i.e., upward and downward continuation, first and second vertical derivatives and their downward continuation) by an amplitude (filter) response matching method (AGARWALand LAL, 1972a,b). The purpose of the present paper is to establish the above equivalence for twodimensional gravity data operations and subsequently, to develop several sets of
* Department of Applied Geophysics, Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad-826004, India.

976

B.N.P. Agarwal and Jagdeo Singh

(Pageoph,

weight coefficients for various data processing techniques with different values of 2 in order to suit various field requirements. A comparative study of the various existing sets of weight coefficients has also been made in the frequency domain for assessing the accuracy involved in each approximation.

Theory

Through the application of two-dimensional Fourier transform analysis, AGARWAL and LAL (1972C) have derived the theoretical filter response, W~(u, v, d) of the Nth order vertical derivative downward continuation to a depth of d units of grid spacing
as

WN(u, v, d) = (u 2 + v2)m2 exp[dx/-u~ + v2]

or

WN(p, d) = pN/2 exp(pd)

(1)

where p2 = u: + v2 is the angular radial frequency per unit of grid spacing. By choosing a mathematical smoothing function, e-zp2, in the frequency domain for suppressing high frequencies and following AGARWALand LAL (1972b), we can write the modified filter response of the Nth order vertical derivative downward continuation from equation (1) as
W~N~

d) = pNI2 exp[dp - 2p 2]

(2)

where the mathematical smoothing of the observed data and the filtering operation have been combined through the application of the properties of linear filters. Since all the existing techniques for achieving any desired filtering operation, we(P) makes use of a formula of the type by AGARWALand L ~ (1969):
wc(P) = (1/hN)EWoO(O) + wlO(rl) + . . . + w,~(r,)],

(3)

where Wo, wl . . . . . w, are weight coefficients corresponding to the average gravity fields 0(r,), being theoretically calculated from an infinite number of points but practically from finite points only over circles of radii 0, rl, . . . , r, respectively, The values of r,'s are chosen in terms of the multiples of the grid spacing h. The factor 1/hN has been incorporated for correcting the dimensions in derivatives and is omitted for continuation. It can be easily proved that under above mentioned assumptions, the filter response W~(p) of equation (3) can be written as
W~(p) = (1/hN)[Wo + WlJo(prO + . . . + WnJo(pr,)],

(4)

(AGARWALand LAL, 1969) where Jo is Bessel function of zero order of the first kind and p takes the value between -rc/h and + 2z/h which is the value of the Nyquist frequency for the range of investigation (ZADRO, 1969).

Vol. 114, 1976)

A G e n e r a l i z e d M e t h o d for G r a v i t y D a t a Processing Table 1

977

Weight coefficients for different ring averages in various downward continuation formulae to a depth of one unit of grid spacing (h = 1).
SmOothing arameter Radii \ 2 = 0.01

2 = 0.02 + 17.4062 -34.7214 +22.1349 - 4.2621 + 0.9031 0.4606

2 = 0.03 + 15.6456 -30.0136 +18.6248 - 3.5865 + 0.7736 0.4439

2 = 0.05 + 12.6722 -22.2400 +12.9528 - 2.5445 + 0.5791 0.4196

2 = 0.07 + 10.3066 -16.2682 + + 8.7441 1.8289 0.4508 0.4045

2 = 0.09 + 8.4268 -11.7145 + 5.6700 1.3564

2 = 0.13 + 5.7515 -5.6985 +1.9378 -0.8974 +0.2965 -0.3899 +5.1463 -3.4286 -0.3698 +0.0840 -0.2076 +0.0119 -0.0930 -0.0496 -0.0312 -0.0433 -0.0191

0 h h~/2 h~/5 h~0 hlxf~.5 0 h hx/2 hx/5 h~/i0 h lx/iff~.5 h ~ h,~ h~3 h lx/~75 h~04

+ 19.3780 -40.0680 +26.1735 - 5.0614 + 1.0588 - 0.4809 +19.5944 -40.8688 +26.9801 - 5.3773 + + + + + 1.2076 0.4986 0.0475 0.0862 0.0312 0.0548 0.2572

+ 0.3698 - 0.3957 + + 7.8925 9.7095 3.6312 0.4873 0.0776 0.0306 0.0807 0.0386 0.0262 0.0354 0.0379

+17.4432 -34.8519 +22.2618 - 4.2950 + + + + + 0.9097 0.3869 0.0170 0.0560 0.0173 0.0329 0.2040

+15.5370 -29.5999 +18.1998 - 3.3895 + + + + 0.6647 0.2961 0.0078 0.0316 0.0061 0.0153 0.1616

+12.3521 -21.0359 +11.7263 - 2.0136 + 0.3022 0.1641 0.0439 0.0036 0.0101 0.0102 0.0992

+ 9.8531 -14.5654 + 7.0118 - 1.0873 + 0.0678 0.0807 0.0668 0.0256 0.0202 0.0260 0.0607

Table 2

Weight coefficients for the different ring averages in various first derivative formulae.
First derivative 2 = 0.00 0 h h~/2 h~/5 h~0 h lxfi~.5 0 h hx/2 h~/5 h~0 h ~ h ~ h,,~ h~3 h 1x~25 h,,~ +3.1086 -4.4135 +2.4649 -1.0837 +0.3206 -0.3968 +2.5243 -2.2216 +0.2362 -0.1349 -0.1674 -0.0051 -0.0896 -0.0453 -0.0292 -0.0400 -0.0272

Smoothing arameter

First d e r i v a t i v e d o w n w a r d c o n t i n u a t i o n to one unit o f grid s p a c i n g with 2 = 0.02 + 55.933 -134.945 + 93.595 + 17.156 3.329 0.756 2 =0.06 +35.701 -77.559 +48.734 + 7.881 1.518 0.513 2 = 0.08 +28.548 -57.971 +33.942 - 5.080 + 1.007 - 0.446 +28.649 -58.340 +34.313 - 5.215 + 1.068 - 0.409 + 0.030 + 0.060 + 0.019 + 0.035 - 0.207 2= 0.10 2 = 0.15 +13.266 -18.670 + 6.148 + 0.683 0.300 0.360 2 = 0.20 +7.930 -6.783 -0.884 -0.166 +0.261 -0.358 +7.312 -4.467 -3.237 +0.833 -0.250 +0.046 -0.094 -0.058 -0.035 -0.050 -0.001

+22.860 -42.816 +22.815 + 3.124 0.669 0.403

+ 58.643 - 145.066 +103.853 - 21.409 + 5.459 2.046 + 0.474 + 0.500 + 0.221 + 0.354 0.983

+36.338 -79.932 +51.137 - 8.864 + 2.004 - 0.749 + 0.121 + 0.149 + 0.060 + 0.100 - 0.365

+22.625 -41.933 +21.916 - 2.731 + 0.464 - 0.196 - 0.028 + 0.004 - 0.007 - 0.005 - 0.110

+12.690 - 16.512 + 3.956 + 0.249 - 0.177 + 0.022 - 0.086 - 0.051 - 0.032 - 0.045 - 0.012

..q

Table 3

Weight coefficients for different ring average in various second derivative downward continuation formulae to a depth o f one unit o f grid spacing (h = l).

Smoothing 2 = 0.06 2 = 0.10 2 = 0.15 2 = 0.20

9"

~ ":

II I m e t e r

+118.029 -297,798 +209,752 + 35,609 + 6.378 0,753

+ 74.440 -171.587 +109.581 - 14.589 + 2.370 0.215

+41.643 -80.891 +40,902 - 1.988 + 0.282 + 0.051

+23.298 -33.785 + 8,075 + 2.530 - 0.231 + 0.115

m_

0 h hx/2 h~/5 h,~/iO hlx/~.5 h2x/~5.5 + + + 1.908 0.623 1.088 0.501 0,786 + + + 0.360 0,165 0,258 + + + -

+124.647 -322.535 +234.842 - 46.063 + 11.642 4.133 + 1.134

+ 76,732 -180.153 +118.272 - 18,214 + 4,202 1,396 + 0.397

+41.984 -82.166 +42,200 - 2.533 + 0.564 - 0.136 + 0.063 0.036 0.016 0,024 0.051

+23.235 -33,553 + 7.843 + 2.622 - 0.269 + 0.132 - 0.006 + 0.031 - 0,015 + 0.025 + 0.067

h~l h~3 h" lx~

m"

h2x/20~

Vol. 114, 1976)

A Generalized Method for Gravity Data Processing

979

Calcu&tion of weight coefficients, w.

Let the number of unknown weight coefficients in equation (4) be n + 1 for approximating any desired filter response; then for calculating the weight coefficients w.'s, the left-hand side of equation (4) is replaced by the appropriate modified filter response having a suitable value of 2. Then n 4- 1 sets of equations are developed by considering n + 1 equispaced frequency intervals in between and including 0 (zero) and rc/h. The solution of the resulting simultaneous equations yields the weight

25

Q
20

r162 lw

>
t-

15

|
I0

g
x

.05 /// /

~ --.I 3

I" ~ a p r

jo

RADIAN$/GRID

INTERVAL

Figure 1 Amplitude responses of the sets of weight coefficients for downward continuation of: (1) Theoretical; (2) Baranov; (3) Henderson; (4) Grant and West; and (5) Peters, all for d = 1 and (6) Peters for d = 2.

980

B. N. P. Agarwal and Jagdeo Singh

(Pageoph,

coefficients w,. Tables 1 to 3 give the weight coefficients thus derived for downward continuation (d = h --- 1), first derivative and first and second derivative downward continuation (d = 1) with various values of the smoothing parameter 4.

Calculation offilter (amplitude) response

Equation (4) has been used to calculate the amplitude responses of the various existing sets of weight coefficients for downward continuation, first derivative and its downward continuation which are shown in Figs. 1 to 3.

Discussion of results
From Fig. 1, it is clear that the amplitude responses of the sets of weight coefficients by PETERS(1949), GRANT and WEST (1965), and to some extent by HENDERSON(!960), show a considerably poor match with the theoretical response of the downward continuation (d = 1), whereas the response of BARANOV'S (1953) set is quite close in
3.5

3.0

ttJ IZ

2.0 i,-

#.

LO

~t4
jo

~/2
RADIANS/GRID INTERVAL

3 7r/4

Figure 2 Amplitude responses of the sets of weight coefficients for first derivative of: (1) Theoretical; (2) Baranov; and (3) Henderson.

Vol. 114, 1976)

A Generalized Method for Gravity Data Processing

981

theory, except at the high cut-off frequency region where mismatching is considerable. The ascending nature of the response curves of Baranov and Henderson with increase in frequency can be approximated by modified filter response curves having smoothing parameters of roughly 0.045 and 0.13 respectively. Similarly, the response of the weight coefficients by Grant and West can also be approximated by a suitable value of 2. The response of Peters' coefficients cannot be approximated because of the high oscillatory nature and being well below response level 1 over a considerably large frequency region. Therefore, an equivalence between the mathematical smoothing and the inherent smoothing, due to numerical approximation, has clearly been established, thus leading to a generalized method for computing several sets of weight coefficients for a downward continuation operation. The amplitude response of Baranov's set of weight coefficients for first derivative shows an oscillatory nature about the theoretical response, whereas the response of Henderson's set, though rising smoothly with an increase of frequency, is always less than the theoretical response with considerable departure at high frequencies (Fig. 2). The amplitude responses of the sets of weight coefficients of Baranov and Henderson for first derivative downward continuation to a unit depth of grid spacing (though rising uniformly with an increase of frequency), show large mismatching with the theoretical responses (Fig. 3). Also, the response of Baranov's coefficients is considerably more than that of Henderson's.
30

|
Z r 20

a
I-

g.
Ig 10 I

| |

Jot

RADIANS/GRID

INTERVAL

Figure 3 Amplitude responses of the sets of weight coefficients for first derivative downward continuation: Theoretical (1) d = 1 ; Baranov, (2) d = 89and (3) d = 1 ; and Henderson, (4) d = 1 and (5) d = 2.

982

B . N . P . Agarwal and Jagdeo Singh

Conclusions

Frequency analysis of the existing sets of weight coefficients for downward continuation, first derivative and its downward continuation, has revealed that the responses of the sets of Baranov are more approximate to the theoretical responses in comparison with the sets of Henderson and Peters. The nature of the amplitude responses of the sets of weight coefficients by Henderson and Baranov are such that they can be approximated by choosing smoothing parameters 2 ~- 0.13 and 2 -~ 0.045 respectively in the modified filter response function of downward continuation, with d = 1, which establishes the approximate equivalence between the mathematical smoothing and the inherent smoothing due to numerical approximation. This has lead to the development of a generalized method of computing sets of weight coefficients, by which it is possible to approximate the responses of the majority of the existing sets of weight coefficients for various data processing techniques. The material presented here forms a part of the Ph.D. thesis entitled "Some interpretational techniques for gravity measurements" by the first author, which was submitted to Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad on 22 October 1973.

REFERENCES B. N. P. AGARWALand T. LAL (1969), Calculation of the second vertical derivative ofgravityfield, Pure and Applied Geophysics 76, 5-16. B. N. P. AGARWAL and T. LAL (1972a), Application of frequency analysis in two dimensional gravity interpretation, Geoexploration i0, 91-100. B. N. P. AGARWALand T. LAL (1972b), A generalised method of computing second derivative ofgravityfield, Geophysical Prospecting 20, 385-394. B. N. P. AGARWALand T. LAL (1972C), Calculation of the vertical gradient of the 9ravity field using the Fourier transform, Geophysical Prospecting20, 448-458. V. BARANOV(1953), Calcul du gradient vertical du champ de gravitO on du champ magn~tique, MeasurO d Ia surface du sol, Geophysical Prospecting 1, 171-191. F. S. GRANTand G. F. WEST (1965), Interpretation theory in applied Geophysics, McGraw Hill, New York, 583pp. R. C. HENDERSON (1960), A comprehensive system of automatic computation in magnetic and gravity interpretation, Geophysics 25, 569-585. L. J. PETERS(1949), The direct approach to magnetic interpretation and its practical application, Geophysics 14, 290-319. M. B. ZADRO(1969), An ideal isotropic bidimensionalfilter and its application in the interpretation of gravity anomalies, Studia Geoph. et Geoed. 13, 239-251. (Received 18th September 1975)