Processing Techniques of Aeromagnetic Data. Case Studies from the Precambrian of Mozambique

Abstract: During 2002-2006 geological field work were carried out in Mozambique. The purpose was to check the preliminary geological interpretations and also to resolve the problems that arose during the compilation of preliminary geological maps and collect samples for laboratory studies. In parallel, airborne geophysical data were collected in many parts of the country to support the geological interpretation and compilation of geophysical maps. In the present work the aeromagnetic data collected in 2004 and 2005 in two small areas northwest of Niassa province and another one in eastern part of Tete province is analysed using GeosoftTM. The processing of aeromagnetic data began with the removal of diurnal variations and corrections for IGRF model of the Earth in the data set. The study of the effect of height variations on recorded magnetic field, levelling and interpolation techniques were also studied. La Porte interpolation showed to be a good tool for interpolation of aeromagnetic data using measured horizontal gradient. Depth estimation techniques are also used to obtain semi-quantitative interpretation of geological bodies. It was showed that many features in the study areas are located at shallow depth (less than 500 m) and few geological features are located at depths greater than 1000 m. This interpretation could be used to draw conclusions about the geology or be incorporated into further investigations in these areas.