Identifying fault system and basement depth using aeromagnetic data beneath the Jahamah Platform, NE Sirt basin, Libya

Abstract

The Jahamah Platform is a part of a structural depression called the Sirt basin, located in the northern central part of Libya. The Jahamah Platform spans latitude 29.95° N to 30.55° N and longitudes 19.32° E to 19.77° E with an estimated area of about 2,187 km2. Libyan Petroleum Institute provided the data of aeromagnetic that was used in this study. The data was used to study the structure beneath the Jahamah Platform by using Oasis montaj software. Various filters from the software have been applied to enhance determining the fault system within the study area. An RTP filter was applied to the magnetic data to construct a reduction to the pole anomaly map. The subsurface structural elements underneath the study area were identified using Total horizontal derivative (THD), CET analysis, and Euler deconvolution. 2-D forward modelling of the area was constructed based on gravity data, and then the basement depth was estimated to range from 2.2 km to 3.1 km based on the model. Based on the interpretation of the constructed maps, the area has a number of faults that trend in NE-SW, NNW-SSE, N-S and NW-SE and faults depth ranging between 790 m to 3102 m.