Abstract
A least-squares minimization approach to determine the shape of a buried polarized body from a self-potential (SP) anomaly profile has been developed. By defining the anomaly value at three points on the profile, one at the origin and the others at any two symmetrical points around the origin, the problem of the shape-factor determination is transformed into the problem of finding a solution of a nonlinear equation. Procedures are also formulated to complete the quantitative interpretation by finding the depth, polarization angle, and the electric dipole moment. The validity of the new proposed method has been tested on synthetic data with and without random noise. The obtained parameters are in congruence with the model parameters when using noise free synthetic data. After adding ±5% random error in the synthetic data, the maximum error in model parameters is less than ±5%. Moreover, when error in profile origin position determination is studied, the method is approved to be not sensitive to it. Two oft cited field examples from Turkey have also been analyzed and interpreted by the proposed method, where an acceptable agreement has been noticed between the obtained results and other published results. The present method has the capability of avoiding noisy data points and enforcing the incorporation of points free from random errors to enhance the interpretation results.