1. Gravity Methods I Environmental and Exploration Geophysics I
tom.h.wilson
Department of Geology and Geography
West Virginia University
Morgantown, WV
Tom Wilson, Department of Geology and Geography

2. Shallow borehole logs for near-surface characterization: Upshur Co. WV
The kind of constraint that is useful if affordable
Tom Wilson, Department of Geology and Geography

3. The SP (spontaneous potential log) resistivity and gamma ray logs for geological correlations.
Tom Wilson, Department of Geology and Geography

4. Gravity Passive source & non-invasive LaCoste Romberg Gravimeter
Worden Gravimeter
Tom Wilson, Department of Geology and Geography

5. Colorado School of Mines web sites -
Hooke’s Law
x spring extension
ms spring mass
k Young’s modulus
g acceleration due to gravity
Newton’s second law combined with Hooke’s lay
Colorado School of Mines web sites -
Mass and spring
Pendulum measurement
Tom Wilson, Department of Geology and Geography

6. The spring inside the gravimeter
The spring is designed in such a way that small changes in gravity result in rather large deflections of the movable end of the beam.
Early gravimeters read the mechanical movement of the spring.
Today’s gravimeters use electrostatic feedback systems that hold the movable end of the beam at a fixed position between the plates of the capacitor. The voltage needed to hold the beam at a fixed position is proportional to the changes in gravity.
Tom Wilson, Department of Geology and Geography

7. Newton’s Universal Law of Gravitationm1 m2
r12
F12 Force of gravity
G Gravitational Constant
gravitational constant = × m3 kg-1 s-2
Newton.org.uk
Tom Wilson, Department of Geology and Geography

8. ms spring mass
mE mass of the earth
RE radius of the earth
gE represents the acceleration of gravity at a particular point on the earth’s surface. The variation of g across the earth’s surface provides information about the distribution of density contrasts in the subsurface since m = V (i.e. density x volume).
Like apparent conductivity and resistivity g, the acceleration of gravity, is a basic physical property we measure, and from which, we infer the distribution of subsurface density contrast.
Tom Wilson, Department of Geology and Geography

9. The milliGal
Units
Most of us are familiar with the units of g as feet/sec2 or meters/sec2, etc.
From Newton’s law of gravity g also has units of
Tom Wilson, Department of Geology and Geography

10. Some unit names used in detailed gravity applications include
Using the metric system, we usually think of g as being 9.8 meters/sec2.
This is an easy number to recall. If, however, we were on the Martian moon Phobos, gp is only about meters/sec2. [m/sec2] might not be the most useful units to use on Phobos.
We experience similar problems in geological applications, because changes of g associated with subsurface density contrasts can be quite small.
Some unit names used in detailed gravity applications include
9.8 m/sec2
980 Gals (or cm/sec2)
milliGals (i.e. 1000th of a Gal & 10-5m/s2)
10-6m/sec2=the gravity unit (gu) (1/10th milliGal)
The gravitational field of this object get’s into the realm of the anomalies of geological interest on the earth.
38% of g on mars: 3.73 m/s2
Moon 16% ~1.6 m/s2
Phobos 27 x 22 x 19 km
Tom Wilson, Department of Geology and Geography

11. You would hit the ground with a velocity of 1 m/s 5 m/s 30 m/s =1m/s
If you were to fall from a height of 100 meters on Phobos, you would hit the ground in
10 seconds
1 minute
3 minutes
=189s
You would hit the ground with a velocity of
1 m/s
5 m/s
30 m/s
=1m/s
How long would it take you to accelerate to that velocity on earth?
10 seconds
1 second
1/10th of a second
=0.1s The velocity you would reach after jumping off a brick.
Tom Wilson, Department of Geology and Geography

12. How far could you jump? 3km
If you could jump a meter and include a horizontal velocity of about 1 meter per second than you could jump about 1.5 km
Phobos measuring 27 x 22 x 19 kilometres
Density about 1.85 grams per cubic centimeter.
If you could jump up about ½ meter on earth you could probably jump up about 1.7 kilometers on Phobos. (It would be pretty hard to take a running jump on Phobos).
Tom Wilson, Department of Geology and Geography

13. How far could you jump? 3km
If you could jump a meter and include a horizontal velocity of about 1 meter per second than you could jump about 1.5 km
Phobos measuring 27 x 22 x 19 kilometres
Density about 1.85 grams per cubic centimeter.
That would give you a velocity of 4.43 m/s and on Phobos that would keep you off the surface for 26 minutes (13 up and 13 down). With a horizontal component of about 2 meters per second you’d come down on the opposite rim.
Tom Wilson, Department of Geology and Geography

14. Astrological Influence?
Diameter 12,756 km
78 x 106 km
Diameter 6794 km
Tom Wilson, Department of Geology and Geography

15. 1 milligal = 10 microns/sec2 1 milligal equals 10-5 m/sec2
or conversely 1 m/sec2 = 105 milligals.
The gravity on Phobos is m/s2 or 560 milligals.
Are such small accelerations worth contemplating? Can they even be measured?
Tom Wilson, Department of Geology and Geography

16. for the modest price of $80,000 to $90,000
Spring sensitivity
Today’s gravimeters measure changes in g in the Gal (10-9cm/s2) range. If spring extension in response to the Earth’s gravitational field is 1 cm, a Gal increase in acceleration will stretch the spring by 10-11m – less than the radius of a hydrogen atom.
The spring response in today’s modern field portable gravimeters is amplified so that detection of these small changes is possible….
for the modest price of $80,000 to $90,000
Tom Wilson, Department of Geology and Geography

17. Calculated and observed gravitational accelerations are plotted across a major structure in the Valley and Ridge Province,
Note that the variations in g that we see associated with these large scale structures produce small but detectable anomalies that range in scale from approximately milliGals.
Tom Wilson, Department of Geology and Geography

18. We usually think of the acceleration due to gravity as being a constant m/s2 - but as the forgoing figures suggest, this is not the case. Variations in g can be quite extreme.
For example, compare the gravitational acceleration at the poles and equator.
The earth is an oblate spheroid - that is, its equatorial radius is greater than its polar radius.
Rp = km
RE= km
21.4km difference
Tom Wilson, Department of Geology and Geography

19. Substitute for the different values of R
Difference in polar and equatorial gravity
Rp = km
RE= km
Substitute for the different values of R
gP= m/s2
gE= m/s2
This is a difference of 5186 milligals.
If you weighed 200 lbs at the poles you would weigh about 1 pound less (199 lbs) at the equator.
Tom Wilson, Department of Geology and Geography

20. Significant gravitational effects are also associated with earth’s topographic features.
R. J. Lillie, 1999
Tom Wilson, Department of Geology and Geography

21. Isostatic compensation and density distributions in the earth’s crust
R. J. Lillie, 1999
Tom Wilson, Department of Geology and Geography

22. ? Does water flow downhill?
One of those questions that we just have to ask.
Tom Wilson, Department of Geology and Geography

23. questions? Keep reading Chapter 6.
Look over the three problems handed out in class today.
Resistivity paper summaries will be due October 19th.
Gravity papers will be available in the mailroom next week.
Tom Wilson, Department of Geology and Geography