INTERPRETED FAULTING PATTERNS IN NORTHEAST ALBERTA USING HIGH RESOLUTION AEROMAGNETIC DATA

• Main Authors: M E Best, H J Abercrombie, J W Peirce
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 1998
• Subjects: Fort McMurray
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.1045.2431; http://chad-data.com/publications/27.%20Best,%20Abercrombie%20and%20Peirce,%20Interpreted%20faulting%20patterns%20in%20NE%20AB,%201998.pdf

ABSTRACT A high resolution aeromagnetic survey was flown north of Fort McMurray in northern Alberta where the depth to Precambrian basement is shallow. The objective of the survey was to map the faulting patterns in the crystalline basement and the sediments lying above it. The magnetic sources in the survey area, being relatively close to the magnetometer, produce strong magnetic anomalies. The shallow magnetic sources, combined with high-quality survey specifications (tight line spacing, low ground clearance and careful flight line leveling), make first and second vertical derivatives effective for mapping faults and contacts. NE-SW and NW-SE faults are observed to offset north-south lineaments associated with basement shearing and lithologic contacts. The NW-SE faults offset the NE-SW faults, providing evidence that the NW faults are the younger of the two sets. These two fault directions are common throughout northern Alberta, but to our knowledge this is the first time their relative age could be determined.