Harrison, David; (1991) The gravity field of the Papuan Fold Belt and its geological implications. Doctoral thesis (Ph.D), UCL (University College London).

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Abstract

The structure of the Papuan Fold Belt at both local and regional scales has been deduced from the interpretation of gravity data from the fold belt and its foreland basin. A digital terrain model of the fold belt region was created and used in the calculation of terrain corrections for the gravity stations in the fold belt. A computer program was developed to calculate such corrections for data from extensive areas of rugged terrain, and corrections were obtained for over 7000 existing gravity stations. In addition a field survey was undertaken and a further 300 gravity readings were taken in a previously unsurveyed area. Digital filtering techniques, including upward continuation and spectral analysis, were used to separate the regional and residual gravity anomalies, which were then used to constrain the lateral extent of both regional and local geological structures. 2D forward modelling was carried out along five SW-NE and two NW-SE profiles and provided the third dimension to the structural interpretation. In most areas the interpretation of the gravity data confirmed the existing models of the local structure based on geological fieldwork, though evidence of previously unidentified structures, notably in the Muller Anticline region, and beneath the northeastern fold belt, was discovered. On a regional scale it has been shown that the Mesozoic extensional structures of the Papuan Basin have a major controlling effect on the distribution of compressional structures within the fold belt, and on the isostatic compensation of the topographic load of the highlands.

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