GRAV2DC

2.5D REALTIME INTERACTIVE GRAVITY MODELLING

VERSION 4.6

(C) G.R.J.COOPER 1992

CONTENTS

Page
1. INTRODUCTION 1
2. ENTERING THE MODEL PARAMETERS

3. SETTING UP THE FIELD DATA FILE

4. SETTING UP A MODEL FILE

3
4

5. ENTERING THE MODEL USING THE CURSOR KEYS

6. USING THE MENU OPTIONS

4
5

7. EDITING OPTIONS
5
a) Toggling between the 2D and 2.5D Modes
5
b) Adding a Body to the Model
5
c) Adding a Pseudo-Infinite Body
5
d) Changing the Shape of a Body using the Cursor Keys
e) Changing the Shape of a Body Directly
6
f) Changing the Density of a Body
6
g) Moving a Body
6
h) Copying a Body
7
i) Turning a Body
7
j) Erasing a Body from the Model
7
k) Changing the Strike Length of a Body
7
l) Applying a Regional Gradient to the Field Data
7
m) Changing the Snap Values
8

8. MODEL DISPLAY OPTIONS

8
a) Highlighting the Corners of the Bodies
8
b) Displaying the Body Numbers
8
c) Displaying the Body Densities
8
d) Changing the Minimum & Maximum Depths Displayed of the Model
8
e) Setting the Max & Min Gravity Values to be Displayed
8
f) Displaying the Fit between the Obs. and Calc. Gravity Data
8
g) Changing the Cursor Size
9
h) Displaying the Contributions from Different Bodies Separately
9
i) Zooming in to a Section of the Profile
9
j) Displaying the Difference Between the Obs. & Calc. Gravity Data
9
9. SYSTEM OPTIONS
a) Calling up the Help Screen
b) Plotting the Model
c) Writing the Model Parameters to Printer or Disk
d) Saving the Model To Disk
e) Leaving the Program
1) INTRODUCTION

10

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10

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10

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Grav2dc calculates the gravitational anomaly over one or more 2D or

2.5D bodies, and runs on an IBM PC or compatible. Since the 2D algorithm
executes considerably faster than the 2.5D algorithm, both have been
included in the program. The program can swap calculation modes at any
time during the modelling. The model is entered and altered using an
onscreen cursor operated by the cursor keys on the keyboard. Output to
plotters and printers is provided. A sample plot is shown in Fig. 3. See Table
1 below for a list of the devices supported by the program.
The program is written using Turbo-Pascal 5.5 and uses a Talwani type
algorithm to calculate the anomaly. The contribution to the anomaly from
each of the bodies is stored separately, so that a change to one body does not
require the whole model to be recalculated. There may be up to 16 bodies in
the model, each of which may have up to 50 corners. There may be up to 650
observed gravity stations. Distances are measured in Km. or m. and
densities are in g.cm-3, giving anomalies in mgals.
The following files must be on the disk for the program to run:Grav2dc.Bat
Grav2d.Exe

Grav2dc.Ovr
Entry.Exe
Error.Msg
14x9.Fon, 8x8.Fon, 6x4.Fon
Type Grav2dc to start the program running. The amount of disk space
needed for the program is about 300K, and 640K RAM memory is needed to
run it.
Table 1 : Devices Supported
Graphics Cards ; IBM CGA, EGA, VGA, Hercules monchrome card
Plotters ; HP-7475a {or any other HP-compatible pen plotter}
Printers ; Epson compatible dot matrix printers. HP compatible laser
printers
The use of a maths coprocessor is reccomended. Other graphics cards,
plotters etc. may be supported, on request.

2) ENTERING THE MODEL PARAMETERS

After the title screen the user is presented with the main data entry
screen, which allows the input of all the model parameters. This is
subdivided into two sections, one for restoring old models from disk, and the
second for setting up new models. The cursor and tab keys may be used to
move between the different entry fields. Trying to enter characters in a
numeric field or any similar error will cause a short beep to be sounded. The
highlighted field shows the current cursor position. Once a value has been
typed in, press the Enter key to move to the next field. The parameters may
be entered in any order. Typing the Esc key will leave the entry in a field
unchanged, and move the cursor to the top left of the screen.

The data to be entered comprises of the number of bodies {1-16}, the

number of stations {10-650}, the maximum depth of the model {a positive
number}, the station spacing, the X and Y snap intervals {see below}, the
units in which all distances are measured {Km or m}, and whether 2D or
2.5D mode is to be used initially. If 2.5D mode is chosen, then all of the
bodies will be assigned an initial strike length of 1000.0 units, which may be
changed later with option S. If the coordinate information of the profile
location is in an X-Y format (see below) then this option must also be set.
The filename field in the New Model area of the screen refers to the name
of the file containing any observed data to be read in. The filename field in
the Old Model area of the screen refers to the file in which the old model was
saved. If an incorrect filename is entered then a window will appear showing
all the files in the current subdirectory. Move the cursor through the list
until the desired data file is highlighted, the press Enter to select it. If the
datafile needed is in a different subdirectory, then it is possible to move to it
by selecting from the subdirectories offered at the top of the file list.
The information in a file of observed data will override any details entered
in the rest of the New Model entry screen Eg. if the menu screen is
completed with 200 points and a station spacing of 0.5 Km, but the observed
data file contains 73 points with variable spacing, then the latter
information will be used.
Densities are measured in g.cm-3. The snap intervals mentioned above
are introduced to ensure that all body corners lie in the desired locations.
The snap intervals may be thought of as defining a grid over the model, on
which all body corners must lie. When using the cursor keys, the cursor is
constrained to move to the next grid point in the appropriate direction each
time a key is pressed. The snap interval or grid spacing may be set
independantly in the X and Y directions. {The Y direction is positive
downwards}.
When all the fields have been completed, type Ctrl-Enter to proceed to the
next stage of the modelling. The computer will be seen to read and write from
the disk at this point. This takes a short while. A file containing temporary
information called Tempfile.Dta will be created at this point ; when you have
finished using Grav2dc this file may be deleted if desired, since it is no
longer needed.

3) SETTING UP THE FIELD DATA FILE

If there is observed data to be modelled, then this must have been stored
as an ASCII file on disk prior to running Grav2dc. This file may be created
with any editor, such as SideKick, WordStar {in non-document mode}, Edlin,
etc. The data must be in the following format :Three
1
Comment 2
Lines
3
X1
G1 G1' G1''
X2 G2 G2'
G2''
:
:
:
:
XN GN GN' GN''
The comment lines may be left blank, or may contain information on the
survey etc. Following this are up to four fields of data. The first must
contain the station locations, which need not be at a fixed spacing, and the
others will contain several sets of observed values. These may be from
parallel lines measured in the survey, or the results from different
Geophysical techiques measured over the same line, for example. None of the
data fields need lie in fixed columns or be justified in any fashion. It is not
necessary to know how many points are in the file prior to reading it in {see
above}. The maximum number of points is 650. The file Grav.dta is provided
as an example.
The data locations may also be in the form of X {N-S} and Y{E-W}
coordinates, and the profile need not be straight. In this case, the first
column of data must be the X coordinates, and the second column the Y
coordinates. A map of the profile will then be drawn, and the length of the
profile calculated and displayed. If the profile was crooked or curved, it will
be straightened. This is done by calculating the distance between each point
and the preceding point on the profile, and adding this distance to the
current profile length.
If there is a choice of data to be modelled, ie. the file contains more than
one column of gravity field data, then graphs will be drawn showing each
dataset in a separate window. The windows are numbered from 1 {top} to 3
{bottom}, and the appropriate number must be entered to make the
selection.
It is possible to abstract part of the datafile that has been readin, and
only model that part of it. If this is desired then the data will be graphed

onscreen, and a cursor will be shown as a vertical line. The position of the
cursor on the profile is shown below the window. The left boundary of the
profile must be chosen first. Move the cursor using the left and right arrow
keys, then fix the left boundary with the End key. Another cursor will then
be shown, this time for the right boundary, which is entered in a similar
fashion.
Finally a fixed linear regional may be removed from the observed data.
The average of the observed data is calculated, and this value is subtracted
from all the points on the profile. A more sophisticated and flexible regional
may be applied later by using option R ; this is just a crude 'first guess'. The
data will be graphed onscreen before and after the regional was removed.
4) SETTING UP A MODEL FILE
If the coordinates for the initial model are already known Eg. if they have
been digitised from a seismic section, then this information may be read
directly into the program. The file must have the following format :Comment Line
*******************
* No. Bodies * 2
* Density 1 * 0.2
* No. Corners * 4
*
1
* 10.0 10.0
*
2
* 40.0 10.0
*
3
* 40.0 20.0
*
4
* 11.0 20.0
* Density 2 * 0.4
* No. Corners
*3
*
1
* 100.0 20.0
*
2
* 121.0 20.0
*
3
* 110.0 30.0
*******************
The coordinates need not lie in any fixed columns, but columns 1-15 are
reserved for the explanatory comments. The file Model.Dta is provided as an
example. If a mistake is made in the file format then this should be detected,
and an appropriate message will be displayed.

5) ENTERING THE MODEL USING THE CURSOR KEYS

Once the observed data has been read in, the screen will split
horizontally into two halves ; the upper half shows the observed data, while
the lower half is where the model will be drawn. The cursor is a dot which
should appear approximately in the middle of the screen. To move the
cursor, use the arrow keys on the numeric keypad (make sure that NumLock
is set off). To mark a corner, press the End key. The coordinates of the corner
will be displayed in the small onscreen window. When the cursor is moved
now, a line will be drawn between the corner just marked and the cursor
position. The corners must be entered in a clockwise fashion with the first
corner being entered again at the end to complete the body. The body
may be completed by hitting the PgDn key after all the corners have been
entered, and this will automatically join the last corner to the first corner.
The cursor can be made to move at three times its normal rate by holding
down the Shift key at the same time that the cursor keys are pressed. Note
that on machines with AT style (101 key) keyboards, this feature will work
with the arrow keys on the numeric keypad, and not with the dedicated
cursor key block.

6) USING THE MENU OPTIONS

Once the starting model has been entered, then it will be desired to work
with it until satisfactory agreement with the field data is achieved. There are
a large number of menu options to aid in this process, and the most
commonly used ones are displayed at the bottom of the screen. All options
are selected by a single keypress, which in most cases calls up an
information entry window onscreen. If an option is selected in error then it
may be exited promptly by immediately hitting the End key. Key H will bring
up help screens showing all the options available.

7) EDITING OPTIONS
a) Toggling between the 2D and 2.5D Modes (2)
The current mode will be dislayed in the header at the top of the screen
at all times. Also, when calculations are in progress a box will be present
onscreen indicating whether 2D or 2.5D calculations are being performed. To
change from one mode to another press key 2. This will obviously result in
the whole model being recalculated. The default strike length is 1000.0
units, and all bodies that were not assigned a strike length earlier during the
modelling will have it set to this value.

b) Adding a Body to the Model (A)

Type A from the main menu to add a body to the model. A small window
appears onscreen, with the number of the new body displayed inside it. The
body is then entered in exactly the same manner as described above.
Remember the last side of a body can be completed automatically by
pressing the PgDn key. When the body has been completed then the density
will be requested. If in 2.5D mode, then a strike length will be requested. The
model will then be recalculated and redrawn.

c) Adding a Pseudo-Infinite Body (K)

As described in Section 6 above, all bodies will lie onscreen {since it is
impossible to move the cursor offscreen} : however to avoid edge-effects it is
often useful to have a body extending offscreen, perhaps to 'infinity'. In this
case the numerical values of the coordinates are entered, and the cursor
keys are not used. Note that numbers smaller than 32768 must be used to
represent infinity (!). Type K {for Keyboard entry} to select this option.

d) Changing the Shape of a Body using the Cursor Keys (C)

Type C from the main menu to change a body. A window will then
appear in the screen and the number of the body that is to be changed must
be entered, as well as the number of corners to be changed. The cursor will
appear onscreen, approximately in the centre of the body to be edited. All
other bodies will be drawn with a dotted linestyle to emphasise the body that
is being changed. The cursor must be then be moved to the corner to be
altered. The corner is 'picked up' by pressing End, and may then be dragged
to the desired location with the cursor keys. The cursor need not lie exactly
on a corner to pick it up, but must be 'close' {within twice the snap interval}.
When the corner has been moved to the desired location, hit the End key
again. Repeat this procedure for all the corners to be changed.
The corner can also be edited in Real-Time mode. Press the space bar
before entering the change model option, and the current mode {real-time or
normal} will be displayed onscreen. When the model is being edited, the
calculated gravity curve will be updated continuously as the corner of a body
is dragged with the cursor keys. This feature obviously requires a reasonable
amount of computing power to work well. Press the space bar after the edit is
complete to return to the normal editing mode.

It is not possible to add a new corner to a body without re-entering it. Be

careful that the corners of a body aren't altered to such an extent that they
become ordered anticlockwise. As a shortcut it is possible to select the last
body and corner entered in one operation, rather than entering the body
number and picking up the corner with the cursor again. This is done by
entering a body number of zero. The cursor will automatically be placed on
the last corner edited.

e) Changing the Shape of a Body Directly (U)

As an alternative to using the cursor keys to drag the body corners to
their new location, it is possible to enter the values of the new coordinates
directly. Select option U {for User-entered changes} ; a window onscreen will
show the coordinates of the first corner of the body {ie. the first corner
entered when the body was originally input}. The Up and Down arrow keys
are then used to display the preceeding and succeeding corners, until the
coordinates of the corner to be changed are shown onscreen. To select the
corner, press the End key. The new X and Y coordinates of the corner are
then entered.
If the body corners are not being highlighted (see section 20 below), then
the corner of the body being chosen for editing will be marked with a square.
As the arrow keys are pressed to change the corner being considered for
editing, the square will shift from one corner to the next.

f) Changing the Density of a Body (D)

Type D to change the density of a body. After being prompted for the body
number, the old value of the density will be displayed. After the new value
has been entered then the anomaly will be recalculated. Entering a value of
zero for the density is not permitted. In Real-Time mode, enter a density
increment, rather than a new density. Pressing the Up arrow will increase
the density by the increment, and pressing the down arrow will decrease it.
The model will immediately be recalculated. Press the End key when
finished.
g) Moving a Body (M)
To move a whole body, type M, and the cursor will appear near the middle
of the body. Move it near the body that you wish to move, then hit the End
key. Move the cursor to the approximate position that you wish the body
moved to, and press End. The body will be moved by the vector difference of
the cursor start and end positions. In Real-Time mode, the body will move by

one Snap interval each time a cursor key is pressed, and the model will be
recalculated. Press End when finished.
h) Copying a Body (O)
This feature reduces the amount of work needed to enter a series of
similar bodies. It works in a similar fashion to the above option for moving a
body, except that when the movement vector has been entered a copy of the
original body will be created. The copy will have the density and strike length
of the original body.

i) Turning a Body (T)

Any body may be turned about it's centre by typing T. The number of the
body, and the angle in degrees (positive clockwise) must then be entered.
Note that after the rotation the body corners will be 'snapped' to the nearest
grid points, as defined by the snap intervals. If the snap intervals are fine,
then the rotation will appear true. However if the snap intervals are coarse
then the body will appear distorted after rotation. Beware of rotating bodies
if the horizontal and vertical scales are very different - the result may not be
what you expect!

j) Erasing a Body from the Model (E)

Type E to erase a body, followed by the body's number. Erasing a body
will cause the subsequent renumbering of the remaining bodies e.g. If there
are three bodies, No.s 1-3, and body number 2 is removed, then what used
to be body 3 will now be body 2. If another body is now added then it will
become body 3. In the event of any confusion about which body is which the
body numbers can be displayed onscreen using option B.

k) Changing the Strike Length of a Body (S)

When calculations are being performed in 2.5D mode then it is assumed
that each body in the model extends only to a finite distance on each side of
the profile. These distances may be different for each body, and are set with
option S. It does not matter which strike length is taken to be on which side
of the profile, as the effect on the model is the same.
l) Applying a Regional Gradient to the Field Data (R)
A linear regional gradient may be applied to the observed data by typing
R. A window will appear, and if all that is desired is to adjust the field by a
known constant value, then that value may now be entered. The cursor keys
may alternatively be used to apply a regional field gradient. A horizontal

dotted line will appear in the middle of the observed data. This line may be
moved up and down using the Up and Down arrow keys, and as it moves the
observed data will move with it. In this way the field may be adjusted by a
constant value. To finish, press the End key and the amount of the shift will
be displayed in the window.
To apply a sloping regional, first type either the Left or Right arrow keys
to indicate which side of the profile you wish to alter. A small window will
briefly appear onscreen confirming your choice. When the Up and Down
arrow keys are now pressed then the appropriate side of the profile will be
shifted. The other end of the profile will not be moved at all. The horizontal
dotted line that indicates what changes are being made will become inclined
at this stage. To complete this change, type the Home key. The dotted line
will now return to its flat state. The other end of the profile may now be
changed by hitting the other arrow key, or the regional application procedure
may be exited by typing the End key.
m) Changing the Snap Values (N)
The snap values in the X and Y directions may be set and changed
independantly by typing N. The old values will be displayed and the new
values may then be entered. This can be done from the main menu, but not
in the middle of adding or changing a body.

8) MODEL DISPLAY OPTIONS

a) Highlighting the Corners of the Bodies (J)
If several body corners lie on or near a straight line then it can be hard to
see exactly where the corners lie. Selecting option J will cause all the body
corners to be highlighted, enabling them to be easily found. To return the
model to normal, press J again.

b) Displaying the Body Numbers (B)

To find out which body is which, press key B, and the body numbers will
be displayed onscreen, approximately in the centre of the body. Press B again
to return the display to its previous state.

c) Displaying the Body Densities (Y)

When key Y is pressed the body densities will be superimposed upon the
bodies themselves onscreen. Press Y again to return the display to its
previous state.

d) Changing the Minimum and Maximum Depths Displayed of the Model (G)
Changing the maximum depth of the model is accomplished by option G.
Note that it is possible to make the maximum depth less than that required
to contain all the bodies in the model ie. to truncate or even to remove from
display some of the bodies. This will not affect the calculations of the
anomaly in any way.

e) Setting the Max & Min Gravity Values to be Displayed (Q)

Normally the scaling parameters for the calculated and observed gravity
curves are calculated automatically, so that all of both curves are displayed
upon the screen. However if desired it is possible to fix the minimum and
maximum values and prevent automatic rescaling. Type Q and enter the
required values. To cancel this feature and return the scaling to normal,
enter a maximum value that is equal to or less than the minimum value.

f) Displaying the Goodness of Fit between the Observed and Calculated

Gravity Data (1)
If desired, a measure of the goodness of fit of the
observed and calculated gravity curves can be calculated and displayed in a
window onscreen. The outer 5% of the data at each end of the profile is not
used in the calculation. Press 1 to toggle this display on or off.
g) Changing the Cursor Size (L)
On high resolution VGA screens the normal dot cursor can be hard to
see, especially if the screen itself is brightly illuminated eg. by strip-lighting.
The cursor may therefore be made larger by pressing key L. Toggle key L to
make the cursor the original size again. An onscreen message will indicate
the current cursor size as it is changed.

h) Displaying the Contributions from Different Bodies Separately (I)

It is often useful to be able to see separately the contributions made to
the overall anomaly by the individual bodies. Pressing I will replace the
single calculated anomaly curve by a set of calculated curves, one for each
body. Press I again to return to the previous style of display.

i) Zooming in to a Section of the Profile (Z)

It is possible to zoom in to part of the profile to obtain a more detailed
view of the model there. Type Z and enter the minimum and maximum

positions along the profile that are to be viewed. To return to viewing the
whole profile, type Z again and enter the profile start and end positions as
the display limits.

j) Displaying the Difference Between the Observed and the Calculated

Gravity Data
A quick plot of the difference between the gravity curves may be obtained
by using option V. A straight line will be drawn at the zero level, and where
the remaining curve is above this line the calculated model values are too
large. This option will not operate if the calculated gravity contributions from
each body in the model are being displayed separately, as described above.

9) SYSTEM OPTIONS
a) Calling up the Help Screen (H)
Typing H will display two consecutive help screens that list all of the
different commands available from the main menu. To proceed with the
modelling, press Enter.

b) Plotting the Model (P)

A hardcopy of the model and the observed curves may be drawn by typing
P. The output device must then be selected ; HP plotter, dot-matrix or laser
printer. On the plotter each body will be drawn in a different colour for ease
of identification. See Fig. 3 for a sample output. The size of the plot on the
printer will depend on the particular printer itself, but is not large and is
only intended as a rough plot. Two plot headings and the scale are entered
for the plotter output. NB) scale output is only guaranteed for the HP-7475a
plotter. The plotter must be on COM1 with the following comms. parameters ;
9600 baud, no parity, 8 data bits, and 1 stop bit.
The model may also be output to an HP-GL plot file. A file called
Profile.out will be created in the current subdirectory, and this may be read
directly into several word processors {Eg. Word Perfect 5.1}, enabling reports
etc. to be created more easily.

c) Writing the Model Parameters to Printer or Disk (W)

To get a record of the bodies in the model and of the numerical values of
the points making up the gravity curves, type W and the information will be
listed upon the either the printer or as an ASCII file on disk, as requested.
The latter option enables the values to be read into commercial drafting
programs for replotting for reports etc. Note that the files saved in option F
cannot be used for this purpose, and that the files saved by option W are
NOT saved models, and CANNOT be loaded back into Grav2dc.

d) Saving the Model To Disk (F)

To save the model for future recall, type F {for Floppy disk} and then give
a filename when prompted. The model will be saved in the default directory
and disk. To save the model to drive A, prefix the filename with A: The
filename may have up to eight characters, with a three character extension.

e) Leaving the Program (X)

Type X to exit the program ; a window will appear asking for confirmation
in case X was accidentally pressed, and the model has not been saved.