Gravity–geoelectric joint inversion over the Potiguar rift basin, NE Brazil

A joint inversion of gravity and geoelectrical data has been performed along a 100 km long profile across the oil-bearing Potiguar rift basin in NE Brazil. The integrated approach is based on the connection between density and resistivity of a sedimentary sequence through the porosity. Seventy-one gravity stations and twenty-nine vertical electrical soundings were carried out across the central part of the Early Cretaceous basin in the Precambrian Borborema Province to apply the proposed joint inversion. Both the physical properties and geometry of the multilayer deep model were well constrained by a wide set of prior information obtained by surface mapping, geophysical logs and seismic sections. The results reveal a rift architecture formed by a 5000 m thick half-graben structure separated by an intervening basement high and an extensive adjacent platform with a sedimentary infill of about 300 m thick. The calculated model shows geometries for the sedimentary density/resistivity interfaces in agreement with the seismostratigraphic sequences revealed by seismic section, representing a substantial improvement in comparison with previously published gravity models.

► A geophysical investigation was conducted across a rift basin in the NE Brazil.
► Gravity-geoelectric joint inversion revealed the basin internal architecture.
► Prior data constrained the model response to a realistic geotectonic scenario.