Inversion of aeromagnetic data using digital terrain models

Although draped magnetic surveys contain more information about the magnetization of the rocks near the surface of the earth than surveys at constant elevation, allowance for the effects of the terrain is critical for their correct interpretation. A new method for calculating the magnetic effect of the topography from a digital terrain model by integrating analytically in the vertical direction and then numerically in the horizontal plane is presented. This method lends itself to the calculation of anomalies when the magnetization of the rocks varies with position and thus is well suited to the inversion of draped aeromagnetic surveys to obtain the apparent magnetization of the surficial rocks. This inversion is achieved by repeated use of an approximate inverse function in the form of a two‐dimensional (2-D) filter that is applied to gridded data. An example, using draped magnetic data collected over White Island, an active volcanic island of high relief, shows that although the anomaly pattern is domina...