Basic gravity geophysical processing and display in MATLAB: Application on NE African Sudanese Red Sea Province

Abstract A relatively short MATLAB code was written in order to map, profile and model gravity data from Suakin basin. The data was acquired from a geophysical survey conducted offshore Sudanese Red Sea in the Delta Tokar area. This geophysical survey was aimed at studying and investigating the tectonic setting/situation, subsurface structural geology and hydrocarbon potential of the area. Although, MATLAB software is purely a mathematical program, the goal of this paper is to use it in geosciences especially for one of its important stages of geophysical analysis and interpretation. This was achieved by converting preliminary data into geological results characterized by easy, fast and precise high grade quality of processing. Thus, the procedure resulted in convenient and interpretable geological maps, sections and models. In this study, required programs and routines of about fifty to one hundred lines of MATLAB language code was designed and written to solve geophysical problem. Gravity map prepared by the MATLAB code shows negative anomaly in the south and southwestern areas of the Suakin rifted basin. This implies excess in the mass which could either belong to the African continental shelf of the Red Sea or increasing thickness of the Suakin rifted sedimentary basins. Also the maps, profiles and 3D models of the gravity prepared by the MATLAB code shows positive anomaly in the north and northeastern parts of the Suakin province. This suggests a reduction in the mass of the Red Sea crust in the area according to different stages of rifting, opening and sea floor spreading of the Red Sea.