Magnetic anomalies from satellite magnetometer

Abstract

Proton magnetometer measurements were made from the USSR satellite Cosmos 49 during the period October 24 to November 3, 1964. A selected number of the 18,000 observations were fitted to a special field model; residual anomalies were less than 100 gammas and appear to be consistent with belts of broad anomalies that are known from surface and near-surface magnetic measurements. Correlation of the residual anomalies with broad geologic provinces is good. A series of magnetic lows across the continental United States agrees in position with a proposed rift extending from the Cape Mendocino fracture off the west coast to the wrench fault system proposed by C. L. Drake and H. P. Woodward in the east coast area. In the western United States, large-amplitude magnetic lows are associated with the Basin and Range province and the northern Rocky Mountains; both regions are characterized by high heat flow and similar crustal structure and Cenozoic geologic history. Most of central Wyoming, central Montana, and the area of the Colorado plateau is characterized by normal heat flow and generally positive magnetic anomalies.