HR: 1340h
AN: T23A-1216    [Abstracts]
TI: The use of Free air Gravity Data to Construct a 3D Density Model for the Region of Libya
AU: * Brown, W A
EM: brownwa1@sfasu.edu
AF: Stephen F. Austin State University, Department of Geology P.O. Box 13011, SFA Station, Nacogdoches, TX 75962-2011, United States
AU: Doser, D I
EM: doser@geo.utep.edu
AF: University of Texas at El Paso, Department of Geological Sciences 500 w. University Boulevard, El Paso, Tx 79968, United States
AU: Keller, G R
EM: grkeller@ou.edu
AF: University of Oklahoma, 100 East Boyd Street Suite 810, Norman, OK 73019, United States
AU: Velasco, A A
EM: velasco@geo.utep.edu
AF: University of Texas at El Paso, Department of Geological Sciences 500 w. University Boulevard, El Paso, Tx 79968, United States
AB: We present a new 3D density model for the Libya region that includes the topographic relief and five individual subsurface layers, the deepest being at a mantle depth of 50 km. The model was derived utilizing over 6,000 gravity measurements in conjunction with other geophysical and geological data obtained from oil exploration, published research, and other academic institutions. To develop the density model, we used "SURFGRAV", a newly developed general purpose gravity modeling program. To evaluate the validity of our model, we computed the predicted Free air gravity anomalies for the study area and compared our results to the observed Free air gravity anomalies. The gravity modeling showed that our new density model is able to predict large portions of the observed Free air anomalies, especially in uplifted areas. With the exception of portions the northwestern and northeastern regions where data are sparse and thinning of the crust would improve the fit the residual Free air gravity is less than 50 mGals, indicating that a more detailed model is required to produce a better match between observed and calculated gravity values.
DE: 1212 Earth's interior: composition and state (7207, 7208, 8105, 8124)
DE: 1219 Gravity anomalies and Earth structure (0920, 7205, 7240)
DE: 7205 Continental crust (1219)
SC: Tectonophysics [T]
MN: 2007 Fall Meeting