Simultaneous estimation of Bouguer gravity anomaly and near-surface density using Bayesian approach: A Yunnan case
Feng-gui Niu, Shi Chen*, Yong-bo Li, Hong-lei Li, Yuan-yuan Niu, Yu-hang Pan
1. Institute of Geophysics, China Earthquake Administration, Beijing 100081, China
2. Beijing Baijiatuan Earth Sciences National Observation and Research Station, Beijing 100095, China
3. The Institute of Statistical Mathematics, Tokyo 1908562, Japan
4. Tianjin Earthquake Agency, Tianjin 300201, China
Abstract Gravity anomalies reflect the geophysical response to subsurface density structures. Traditionally, the terrain density is assumed to be a constant when calculating Bouguer gravity anomaly. But deviations from this assumption may induce high-frequency signals in the Bouguer gravity anomaly. This study introduces a Bayesian method for computing Bouguer gravity anomaly. It incorporates a smoothness prior for the Bouguer gravity anomaly and estimates near-surface density parameters to minimize the Akaike's Bayesian Information Criterion (ABIC) value. The effectiveness of this method is validated through theoretical model tests and calculations on two observed gravity profiles in Yunnan. The results indicate that the Bouguer gravity anomaly profiles estimated using the Bayesian approach need no extra filtering, exhibit correlations with the crustal structure along the profiles, and effectively reveal subsurface crustal density variations. Moreover, the obtained density variations offer insights into the near-surface rock density in different geological periods. Specifically, Cenozoic formations have a density of roughly 2.65–2.90 g·cm-3, Mesozoic formations 2.61-2.91 g·cm-3, and Paleozoic formations 2.61–2.92 g·cm-3. Magmatic rock regions generally show higher density values. Additionally, these estimated densities show a positive correlation with the global VS30 seismic velocity estimates, suggesting a new geophysical approach for seismic site classification. The findings of this study are significantly valuable for near-surface density estimation and Bouguer gravity anomaly calculations.
Fund: This work was jointly supported by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2023YFE0101800), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Young Scientists Fund, 42450233; General Program, 42474120), the Basic Scientifi c Research Fund Special Project of the Institute of Geophysics, China Earthquake Administration (DQJB24B20), the Natural Science Foundation of Beijing (Grant No. 1242033), the Natural Science Foundation of Tianjin (25JCQNJC00540), and the National Science and Technology Major Project for Deep Earth Probe and Mineral Resources Exploration (2024ZD1002700).
Corresponding Authors: Shi Chen (E-mail: chenshi@cea-igp.ac.cn).
E-mail: chenshi@cea-igp.ac.cn
About author: Feng-gui Niu is pursuing her master's degree at the Institute of Geophysics, China Earthquake
Administration. Her research focuses on gravity data processing and geophysical interpretation.
Cite this article:
. Simultaneous estimation of Bouguer gravity anomaly and near-surface density using Bayesian approach: A Yunnan case[J]. APPLIED GEOPHYSICS, 2025, 22(4): 1109-1124.
2025, Vol. 22 
