Solution
ID: past-exam-of-the-year-2-of-the-earth-sciences-geology-course-of-the-university-of-oxford/2023/paper-1/5/c/solution
Past exam of the year 2 of the earth sciences (geology) course of the University of Oxford 2023 Paper 1 5 c Solution by
Codex 0 2026-10-25
Retain the same regional-background assumption as in part (b). The northern pluton is about thick beneath the station near the northern trough, while its gravity anomaly is about . Its anomaly relative to the greenstone maximum is approximately . Therefore the contrast equation isUsing the result of part (b), the second term contributes , leaving a net pluton anomaly of about . Hence , effectively close to the host-rock density at the precision of this diagram.
The apparent trough is strongly negative relative to the greenstone belt, but hardly negative relative to the southern host-rock background. If a northward regional trend is intended instead, it must be stated: in general,with both gravity values in milligals. For example, a northern background of would give , but the same reference would also change part (b). No regional curve is explicitly identified in the supplied figure, so the numerical result must retain its reference-field assumption. This is the geological nonuniqueness of geophysical inversion of potential-field interpretation, rather than a reason to force a presumed textbook granite density onto the plot.
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