A PRELIMINARY PROCESSING OF THE BOUGUER ANOMALY IN AREAS OF VERY COMPLICATED RELIEF*

Strictly speaking, the Bouguer anomaly is the difference between the gravity observed at some point and the gravity to be expected at the same point for a “normal” earth corresponding to the same level. If the points of observation are located on a surface deviating significantly from a plane, a reduction of the data to a common plane is necessary before interpretation; otherwise spurious anomalies might occur. The processing is based on the solution of the generalized Dirichlet problem. Application of the proposed procedure to a synthetic, but realistic, model bears out the validity of the approach.