Accurate evaluation of edges and dip of faults and contacts through the Volume Upward Continuation (VUC) of gravity data

In this paper we demonstrate the efficiency of a new approach to upward continue potential field data, the Volume Upward Continuation (VUC), coupled with traditional horizontal derivative techniques. By using VUC it is immediate showing that upward continuation of the signal to higher altitudes yield information about progressively deeper sectors of the discontinuity. In particular, looking at the position of the maxima of the horizontal derivative of the continued field, we can observe that they will be laterally shifted toward the dipping direction of the discontinuity, in a way proportional to the continuation height. We applied VUC followed by horizontal derivative to a gravity profile extracted from a gravity survey on the Venelin-Aksakov fault in Bulgaria, in order to get further information on the dipping direction of this structure.