The correlation factors between successive least‐squares residual (or regional) gravity anomalies from a buried sphere, a two‐dimensional (2‐D) horizontal cylinder, and a vertical cylinder and the first horizontal derivative of the gravity from a 2‐D thin faulted layer are computed. Correlation values are used to determine the depth to the center of the buried structure, and the radius of the sphere or the cylinder and the thickness of the fault are estimated. The method can be applied not only to residuals but also to the Bouguer‐anomaly profile consisting of the combined effect of a residual component due to a purely local structure and a regional component represented by a polynomial of any order. The method is easy to apply and may be automated if desired. It can also be applied to the derivative anomalies of the gravity field. The validity of the method is tested on two field examples from the United States and Denmark.

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We have developed a simple method to determine completely the model parameters of a buried dipping fault from gravity data (depths to the centers of the upper and lower portions of the faulted thin slab, dip angle, and amplitude coefficient). The method is based on defining the anomaly values at the origin and at four symmetrical points around the origin on the gravity anomaly profile. By defining these five pieces of information, the dip angle is determined for each value of the depth of the lower portion of the faulted thin slab by solving iteratively one nonlinear equation of the form f(α)= 0. The computed dip angles are plotted against the values of the depth representing a continuous depth-dip curve. The solution for the depth to the lower portion of the faulted thin slab (down-thrown block) and the dip angle of the buried fault is read at the common intersection of the depth-dip curves. Knowing the depth to the center of the lower portion of the faulted layer and the dip angle, the problem of determining the depth to the center of the upper portion of the faulted slab (up-thrown block) is transformed into the problem of solving iteratively a nonlinear least-squares equation, f(z) = 0. Because the depths and the dip angle are known, the amplitude coefficient, which depends on the thickness and density contrast of the thin slab, is determined using a linear least-squares equation. The method is applied to theoretical data with and without random errors. The validity of the method is tested on real gravity data from Egypt. In all cases examined, the model parameters obtained are in good agreement with the actual ones and with those given in the published literature.

The pyramids of the Giza plateau have fascinated visitors since ancient times and are the last of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world still standing. It has been half a century since Luiz Alvarez and his team used cosmic-ray muon imaging to look for hidden chambers in Khafre's Pyramid. Advances in instrumentation for High-Energy Physics (HEP) allowed a new survey, ScanPyramids, to make important new discoveries at the Great Pyramid (Khufu) utilizing the same basic technique that the Alvarez team used, but now with modern instrumentation. Exploring the Great Pyramid Mission plans to field a very large muon telescope system that will be transformational with respect to the field of cosmic-ray muon imaging. We plan to field a telescope system that has upwards of 100 times the sensitivity of the equipment that has recently been used at the Great Pyramid, will image muons from nearly all angles, and will, for the first time, produce a true tomographic image of such a large structure.

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