Gravimetric Survey

the set of measurements of the quantities characterizing the gravitational field of a particular region. It also includes the determination of the positions of gravimetric points. A gravimetric survey is conducted using gravimeters, pendulum instruments, and torsion balances.

Depending on their purpose, gravimetric surveys are subdivided into general and detailed types. A general gravimetric survey is used in studying the figure of the earth and the general geological structure of large regions; a detailed survey is used to determine individual geological structures, ore bodies, and deflections of the vertical. Depending on the nature of the distribution of the points, gravimetric surveys are divided into area and profile types (the latter is a survey of points lying along a line). Gravimetric maps, which portray the anomalous part of the earth’s gravitational field, are constructed on the basis of the data from gravimetric surveys.