Edge detection of potential field anomalies using the Gompertz function as a high-resolution edge enhancement filter

Localising horizontal boundaries and edge enhancement is an essential process in interpreting magnetic and gravity data. Standard edge enhancement filters have the disadvantage of producing false horizontal boundaries with low-resolution maps. The goal of the present work is to visualise source boundaries by eliminating false edges, so as to obtain high-resolution results. The study presents a high-resolution edge delineation filter based on the Gompertz function (GF) and an improved horizontal derivative to enhance potential field data. The new balanced filter was first tested on synthetic data from prismatic model sources and Bishop synthetic models. The filter was, then, applied to the aeromagnetic data set from the state of Georgia (U.S.A.) and gravity field data from the Gol-e-Gohar iron ore mine in Kerman Province (Iran). The accuracy of the filter was evaluated by comparing the results obtained with those of other standard filters. The obtained results show that the GF high-resolution filter is capable of simultaneously determining the lateral boundaries of buried structures with different depths. Therefore, the GF filter can be considered reliable when used for qualitative interpretation of gravity and magnetic data.