Gravity Prospecting Practical Exercises 1

Exercise ( )

A tunnel, which can be assumed to have a circular cross section with a diameter of 5m, has
to be investigated. The ceiling of the tunnel lies 3.5 m below the ground surface. Since the
ground water level has risen above the tunnel one wants to investigate whether the tunnel
was filled wis water.

A profile made perpendicular to the tunnel gives the measured values in the table below.
The surrounding rock (under the ground water table) has a density of 2500 kg/m³.

Is the tunnel filled with water or air?

Note: any regional trend has to been taken away before the anomaly can be evaluated.

(G = 6.673×10-11, 1gu = 10-6 m/s²)

Profile
∆g
Coordinate
(gu)
(m)
5.03 0
4.82 2
4.60 4
4.37 6
4.13 8
3.86 10
3.57 12
3.25 14
2.91 16
2.64 18
2.51 20
2.45 22
2.37 24
2.26 26
2.13 28
1.97 30
1.80 32
1.62 34
1.43 36
1.25 38
1.05 40

Source: Kearey, P., Brooks, M., & Hill, I. (2002). An introduction to geophysical exploration (3rd ed.). John Wiley & Sons.