Lecture 3: Gravity methods

Dr Jonathan Atuquaye Quaye

Department of Petroleum Engineering
College of Engineering
KNUST, Kumasi.
Email: jaquaye@[Link]
 Gravity Methods
❑ Gravity surveying measures variations in the Earth’s gravitational field
caused by differences in the density of subsurface rocks.

❑ Although known colloquially as the ‘gravity’ method’, the acceleration

variation due to gravity is measured.

❑ Gravity methods have been used extensively in the search for oil and gas,
particularly in the early twentieth century.

❑ While such methods are still employed very widely in hydrocarbon

exploration, many other applications have been found.
 Gravity Methods
Physical basis & Theory
❑ The basis upon which the gravity method depends is encapsulated in two
laws derived by Sir Isaac Newton, which he described in Principia
Mathematica (1687) namely his Universal Law of Gravitation, and his
Second Law of Motion.

❑ The first of these two laws states that the force of attraction between two
bodies of known mass are directly proportional to the product of the two
masses and inversely proportional to the square of the distance between
their centres of mass.
 Gravity Methods
❑ Consequently, the greater the distance separating the centres of mass, the
smaller the force of attraction between them.

Newton’s Universal Law of Gravitation

 Gravity Methods
❑ Newton’s law of motion states that a force (F) is equal to mass (m) times
acceleration. If the acceleration is in a vertical direction, it is then due to
gravity (g).

Newton’s Second Law of Motion

 Gravity Methods
❑ Equations (1) and (2) can be combined to obtain another simple
relationship:

❑ This shows that the magnitude of the acceleration due to gravity on Earth
(g) is directly proportional to the mass (M) of the Earth and inversely
proportional to the square of the Earth’s radius (R). Theoretically,
acceleration due to gravity should be constant over the Earth.
 Gravity Methods
❑ In reality, gravity varies from place to place because the Earth has the
shape of a flattened sphere (like an orange or an inverted pear), rotates,

and has an irregular surface topography and variable mass distribution

(especially near the surface).

❑ The shape of the Earth is a consequence of the balance between

gravitational and centrifugal accelerations causing a slight flattening to
form an oblate spheroid.

❑ Mathematically it is convenient to refer to the Earth’s shape as being an

ellipse of rotation (Figure 2.1).
 Gravity Methods
❑ The sea-level surface, if undisturbed by winds or tides, is known as the
geoid and is particularly important in gravity surveying as it is horizontal

and at right angles to the direction of the acceleration due to gravity

everywhere. The geoid represents a surface over which the gravitational
field has equal value and is called an equipotential surface.

The irregular distribution of mass, especially near the Earth’s surface,

warps the geoid so that it is not identical to the ellipse of rotation.
 Gravity Methods

Exaggerated difference between a sphere and an ellipse of rotation (spheroid)

 Gravity Units
❑ The first measurement of the acceleration due to gravity was made by
Galileo in a famous experiment in which he dropped objects from the top
of the Leaning Tower of Pisa.

❑ The normal value of g at the Earth’s surface is 980 cm/s2. In honour of

Galileo, the c.g.s unit of acceleration due to gravity (1 cm/s2) is the Gal.

❑ Modern gravity meters (gravimeters) can measure extremely small

variations in the acceleration due to gravity, typically 1 part in 109

❑ (equivalent to measuring the distance from the Earth to the Moon to

within a metre). The sensitivity of modern instruments is about ten parts
per million.
 Gravity Units
❑ Such small numbers have resulted in sub-units being used such as the
milliGal [1mGal = 10−3 Gal] and the microGal [1 μGal = 10−6 Gal].

❑ Since the introduction of SI units, acceleration due to gravity is measured in

μm/s2, which is rather cumbersome and so is referred to as the gravity unit
(g.u.);

❑ 1 g.u. is equal to 0.1 mGal [10 g.u. = 1 mGal]. However, the gravity unit has
not been universally accepted and ‘mGal’ and ‘μGal’ are still widely used.

❑ Do you know the M.K.S, C.G.S, and F.P.S unit systems?

 Geological Factors Affecting Density
❑ Gravity surveying is sensitive to variations in rock density, so an
appreciation of the factors that affect density will aid the interpretation of
gravity data.

❑ Ranges of bulk densities for a selection of different material types are listed
in Table 2.2 and shown graphically in Figure 2.5.

❑ It should be emphasized that in gravity surveys, the determination of

densities is based on rocks that are accessible either at the surface, where
they may be weathered and/or dehydrated, or from boreholes, where they
may have suffered from stress relaxation and be far more cracked than
when in situ.
 Geological Factors Affecting Density
❑ Consequently, errors in the determination of densities are among the
most significant in gravity surveying.

❑ This should be borne in mind when interpreting gravity anomalies so as

not to over-interpret the data and go beyond what is geologically
reasonable.

❑ There are several crude ‘rules of thumb’ that can be used as general
guides (Dampney, 1977; Telford et al., 1990; Nettleton, 1971, 1976).

❑ Sedimentary rocks tend to be the least dense (average density about

2.1±0.3Mg/m3).
 Geological Factors Affecting Density
❑ Within the three fundamental rock classifications there are crude trends
and associations which are outlined in the next section.

❑ Commonly, units are quoted in terms of grams per cubic centimetre

(g/cm3) but are herein referred to in the SI-derived units of Mg/m3, which
are numerically equivalent.
Geological Factors Affecting Density

Densities of common geological materials

Geological Factors Affecting Density

Densities of common geological materials

Geological Factors Affecting Density

Variations in rock density for different materials

 Sedimentary Rocks
❑ At least six factors affect the density of sedimentary materials:
composition, cementation, age and depth of burial, tectonic processes,
porosity, and pore-fluid type.

❑ Any or all of these may apply for a given rock mass. The degree to which
each of these factors affects rock density is given in the next table; but
experience shows that, under normal circumstances, the density contrast
between adjacent sedimentary strata is seldom greater than 0.25 Mg/m3.

❑ Density varies depending on the material of which the rock is made, and
the degree of consolidation.
 Sedimentary Rocks

The effects of different physical factors on density.

 Sedimentary Rocks
❑ Sediments that remain buried for a long time consolidate and lithify,
resulting in reduced porosity and consequently an increased density.

❑ In sandstones and limestones, densification is achieved not by

volume change but by pore spaces becoming infilled by natural
cement.

❑ In shales and clays, the dominant process is that of compaction and,

ultimately, recrystallization into minerals with greater densities.
 Minerals and miscellaneous materials
❑ As the gravity survey method is dependent upon contrast in densities, it is
appropriate to highlight some materials with some commercial value for
which method can be used for exploration purposes.

❑ Gravity surveying becomes increasingly appropriate as an exploration tool

for those ore materials with the greatest densities.

❑ The densities of a selection of metallic and non-metallic minerals and

several other materials are listed in the next table.
 Minerals and miscellaneous materials

Densities of a selection of metallic and non-metallic minerals and some miscellaneous

materials.
 Minerals and miscellaneous materials

Densities of a selection of metallic and non-metallic minerals and some miscellaneous

materials.
 Measurement of gravity
Absolute gravity
❑ Determination of the acceleration due to gravity in absolute terms requires
very careful experimental procedures and is normally only undertaken
under laboratory conditions.

❑ Two methods of measurement are used, namely the falling body and
swinging pendulum methods.

❑ However, it is the more easily measured relative variations in gravity that

are of interest and value to explorations.

❑ More detailed descriptions of how absolute gravity is measured are given

by Garland (1965) and Nettleton (1976).
 Measurement of gravity
Relative gravity
❑ In gravity exploration it is not normally necessary to determine the absolute
value of gravity, but rather it is the relative variation that is measured.

❑ A base station (which can be related to the IGSN 71) is selected and a
secondary network of gravity stations is established.

❑ All gravity data acquired at stations occupied during the survey are reduced
relative to the base station.

❑ If there is no need for absolute values of “g” to be determined, the value of

gravity at a local base station is arbitrarily designated as zero.
 What is geophysical anomaly?
❑ Geophysical anomaly is the difference between the observed (measured)
geophysical field or -survey value and the value that would be observed at
the same location if the earth were more uniform than it is.