The Structural Information Potential of Mapping Magnetic Responses Created in the Near-Surface Formations
John P. Land
Modern magnetic survey has the capacity to resolve magnetic anomalies created in the shallow sedimentary section as well as those created at or beneath the basement surface.
The detailed profile analysis of aeromagnetic data allows the resolution
and
mapping of detail less apt to be preserved through gridding and contouring
processes, magnetic responses caused by the structural disturbance of the
near-surface formations. When certain criteria are consistently applied to the
mapping of these magnetic anomalies, in addition to defining magnetic prospect
leads, linear features believed to represent tectonically-stressed subsurface
zones are also resolved, information with the potential of adding another
dimension to the magnetic surveymethod and contributing to more accurate
integrations of multiple data sets.
Magnetic surveys in the Williston, Black Warrior and Val Verde basins and the
Gulf of Mexico show linear near-surface based features coincident with
deep-seated structure suggesting fracture zones created by the various
mechanical and depositional processes associated with the lateral and vertical
displacement of basement faults.
Small and large airborne magnetic surveys from the onshore and offshore are used to display the information gained through the mapping of magnetic responses created in the near-surface formations.
AAPG Search and Discovery Article #91020©1995 AAPG Annual Convention, Houston, Texas, May 5-8, 1995