Computational Algorithm for Downward Continuation of Gravity Anomalies


Ivanov D.K. Temirbekova L.N. Vabishchevich P.N.
October 2025Pleiades Publishing

Lobachevskii Journal of Mathematics
2025#46Issue 105398 - 5410 pp.

Abstract: The downward continuation of potential fields from the Earth’s surface into the subsurface is a critical task in gravity exploration, as it helps to identify the sources of gravity anomalies. This problem is often addressed by solving a first-kind integral equation using regularization techniques to stabilize an inherently unstable process. A similar approach is used in our work, where the continued field is represented as the potential of a simple layer or its vertical derivative. The constancy of the density sign of this equivalent simple layer preserves the sign of anomalies, provided that the layer’s surface encloses all anomalous sources. This constraint is a key feature of our algorithm for the downward continuation of potential fields. To enforce, for instance, non-negativity in the simple layer density, we employ the NNLS (Non-Negative Least Squares) method. The efficiency of the proposed method is demonstrated on model examples.

gravity , method of integral equations , method of least squares , potential field , simple layer potential

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Ammosov North-Eastern Federal University, Yakutsk, 677013, Russian Federation
National Engineering Academy of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Almaty, 050060, Kazakhstan
Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, 119991, Russian Federation

Ammosov North-Eastern Federal University
National Engineering Academy of the Republic of Kazakhstan
Lomonosov Moscow State University

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