The estimation of the total amount of anomalous mass by Gauss's theorem

Gauss's theorem can be used to determine uniquely the amount of disturbing mass responsible for a gravity anomaly, but in practice this mass determination is highly sensitive to the depth of the gravitating body and the extent of the gravity coverage. If conditions are not favorable it is possible to calculate only a small percentage of the actual mass, but approximate corrections for this deficiency are feasible. Curves have been calculated which show the dependence of the amount of mass calculated on the depth and distribution of the anomalous mass for a wide variety of cases. These curves are presented together with an example of their application. The field case is that of the Kuttyaro Caldera anomaly for which an anomalous mass of about −1.1×1017 g is obtained. This value is about 40% greater than the amount of mass previously determined.