Airborne Full Tensor Gravity

Abstract

The gravity tensor measures changes in the three dimensional gravity field along the three axes of motion, giving a nine component array of differentials. Because of symmetry and the Laplacian character of gravity, only five of the components are independent. Gravity has been used for resource exploration since the early 20 th century. The first exploration gravity surveys used a ground based gradiometer that was eventually replaced with ground based gravimeters. In the late 20 th century, a moving platform full tensor gradiometer was developed for use on submarines. Eventually the technology was declassified and applied to commercial resource exploration using marine and airborne acquisition. Since much of acceleration caused by the vessel motion is removed as the gradient is being measured, the gradiometer can provide a high resolution gravity image in a fraction of the time it takes for an equivalent ground gravity survey to be completed. A case study of alluvial diamond exploration provides one example of using airborne gravity gradiometry for resource exploration. SAGEEP 2010Keystone, Colorado