Field Observations and Geophysical Research Applied to the Detection of Manganese (Mn) Deposits in the Eastern Part of Oban Massif, South-Eastern Nigeria: An Integrated Approach

The growing need for an industrialized world, especially in Africa, cannot be feasible without adequate mineral resources. Thus, the search for more mineral deposits will continue to be necessary. An integrated approach involving geological mapping and a high-resolution geophysical (aeromagnetic) investigation was conducted to assess the manganese mineralization in parts of the Oban Massif, southeast Nigeria. The aeromagnetic data were processed using regional-residual anomaly separation techniques, first vertical derivative (1VD), analytical signals, source parameters imaging (SPI), and Euler deconvolution to better understand magnetic source distributions and their depths of occurrence. The geological investigation revealed a dominant variety of metamorphic rock types, including migmatitic (banded) gneisses hornblende granite gneisses, amphibolites, charnockites, and some quartzite ridges. Also present are some indications of pockets of dolerites. The study area also observed epithermal Mn+Fe+Qtz vein type mineralization associated with hydrothermal alteration zones whose orientation coincides with dominant structural orientation from aeromagnetic interpretation. Analysis of aeromagnetic data shows that the study area is dominated by ENE, NNE, and E-W structural directions (near-surface basement structures), with the ENE trends related to mineralization in the area. The manganese mineralization within Oban Massif is structurally controlled. The depths of the magnetic anomalies in the study area were estimated using SPI and Euler decomposition algorithms. SPI delineated the shallow, intermediate, and deep magnetic anomalies at 84–142 m, 152–200 m, and 215–656 m, respectively. Euler decomposition, however, revealed that shallow, intermediate, and deep depths occurrence of the magnetic anomalies are at 200–377 m, 393–472 m, and 499–793 m, respectivel

Field Observations and Geophysical Research Applied to the Detection of Manganese (Mn) Deposits in the Eastern Part of Oban Massif, South-Eastern Nigeria: An Integrated Approach

The growing need for an industrialized world, especially in Africa, cannot be feasible without adequate mineral resources. Thus, the search for more mineral deposits will continue to be necessary. An integrated approach involving geological mapping and a high-resolution geophysical (aeromagnetic) investigation was conducted to assess the manganese mineralization in parts of the Oban Massif, southeast Nigeria. The aeromagnetic data were processed using regional-residual anomaly separation techniques, first vertical derivative (1VD), analytical signals, source parameters imaging (SPI), and Euler deconvolution to better understand magnetic source distributions and their depths of occurrence. The geological investigation revealed a dominant variety of metamorphic rock types, including migmatitic (banded) gneisses hornblende granite gneisses, amphibolites, charnockites, and some quartzite ridges. Also present are some indications of pockets of dolerites. The study area also observed epithermal Mn+Fe+Qtz vein type mineralization associated with hydrothermal alteration zones whose orientation coincides with dominant structural orientation from aeromagnetic interpretation. Analysis of aeromagnetic data shows that the study area is dominated by ENE, NNE, and E-W structural directions (near-surface basement structures), with the ENE trends related to mineralization in the area. The manganese mineralization within Oban Massif is structurally controlled. The depths of the magnetic anomalies in the study area were estimated using SPI and Euler decomposition algorithms. SPI delineated the shallow, intermediate, and deep magnetic anomalies at 84–142 m, 152–200 m, and 215–656 m, respectively. Euler decomposition, however, revealed that shallow, intermediate, and deep depths occurrence of the magnetic anomalies are at 200–377 m, 393–472 m, and 499–793 m, respectively

Research Article. A new gravity laboratory in Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard

The Norwegian Mapping Authority (NMA) has recently established a new gravity laboratory in Ny-Ålesund at Svalbard, Norway. The laboratory consists of three independent pillars and is part of the geodetic core station that is presently under construction at Brandal, approximately 1.5 km north of NMA’s old station. In anticipation of future use of the new gravity laboratory, we present benchmark gravity values, gravity gradients, and final coordinates of all new pillars. Test measurements indicate a higher noise level at Brandal compared to the old station. The increased noise level is attributed to higher sensitivity to wind.We have also investigated possible consequences of moving to Brandal when it comes to the gravitational signal of present-day ice mass changes and ocean tide loading. Plausible models representing ice mass changes at the Svalbard archipelago indicate that the gravitational signal at Brandal may differ from that at the old site with a size detectable with modern gravimeters. Users of gravity data from Ny-Ålesund should, therefore, be cautious if future observations from the new observatory are used to extend the existing gravity record. Due to its lower elevation, Brandal is significantly less sensitive to gravitational ocean tide loading. In the future, Brandal will be the prime site for gravimetry in Ny-Ålesund. This ensures gravity measurements collocated with space geodetic techniques like VLBI, SLR, and GNSS

Field Observations and Geophysical Research Applied to the Detection of Manganese (Mn) Deposits in the Eastern Part of Oban Massif, South-Eastern Nigeria: An Integrated Approach

The growing need for an industrialized world, especially in Africa, cannot be feasible without adequate mineral resources. Thus, the search for more mineral deposits will continue to be necessary. An integrated approach involving geological mapping and a high-resolution geophysical (aeromagnetic) investigation was conducted to assess the manganese mineralization in parts of the Oban Massif, southeast Nigeria. The aeromagnetic data were processed using regional-residual anomaly separation techniques, first vertical derivative (1VD), analytical signals, source parameters imaging (SPI), and Euler deconvolution to better understand magnetic source distributions and their depths of occurrence. The geological investigation revealed a dominant variety of metamorphic rock types, including migmatitic (banded) gneisses hornblende granite gneisses, amphibolites, charnockites, and some quartzite ridges. Also present are some indications of pockets of dolerites. The study area also observed epithermal Mn+Fe+Qtz vein type mineralization associated with hydrothermal alteration zones whose orientation coincides with dominant structural orientation from aeromagnetic interpretation. Analysis of aeromagnetic data shows that the study area is dominated by ENE, NNE, and E-W structural directions (near-surface basement structures), with the ENE trends related to mineralization in the area. The manganese mineralization within Oban Massif is structurally controlled. The depths of the magnetic anomalies in the study area were estimated using SPI and Euler decomposition algorithms. SPI delineated the shallow, intermediate, and deep magnetic anomalies at 84–142 m, 152–200 m, and 215–656 m, respectively. Euler decomposition, however, revealed that shallow, intermediate, and deep depths occurrence of the magnetic anomalies are at 200–377 m, 393–472 m, and 499–793 m, respectively

Combining altimetric/gravimetric and ocean model mean dynamic topography models in the GOCINA region

Initially, existing mean dynamic topography (MDT) models were collected and reviewed. The models were corrected for the differences in averaging period using the annual anomalies computed from satellite altimetry. Then a composite MDT was derived as the mean value in each grid node together with a standard deviation to represent its error. A new synthetic MDT was obtained from the new mean sea surface (MSS) KMS04 combined with a regional geoid updated using GRACE gravity and gravimetric data from a recent airborne survey. Compared with the composite MDT the synthetic MDT showed very similar results. Then combination methods were tested for the computation of MDT models from gravity data and MSS data. Both a rigorous and an iterative combination method have been tested in the GOCINA region. At this stage, the iterative combination method with its efficient handling of large data sets covering the whole region appears to give the best solution. Naturally, the errors associated with the MDT can be obtained using the rigorous method onl