A FORTRAN program to implement the method of finite elements to compute regional and residual anomalies from gravity data

In view of the several publications on the application of the Finite Element Method (FEM) to compute regional gravity anomaly involving only 8 nodes on the periphery of a rectangular map, we present an interactive FORTRAN program, FEAODD.FOR, for wider applicability of the technique. A brief description of the theory of FEM is presented for the sake of completeness. The efficacy of the program has been demonstrated by analyzing the gravity anomaly over Salt dome, South Houston, USA using two differently oriented rectangular blocks and over chromite deposits, Camaguey, Cuba. The analyses over two sets of data reveal that the outline of the ore body/structure matches well with the maxima of the residuals. Further, the data analyses over South Houston, USA, have revealed that though the broad regional trend remains the same for both the blocks, the magnitudes of the residual anomalies differ approximately by 25% of the magnitude as obtained from previous studies.

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