Magnetic anomalies of randomly magnetized finite-strike listric fault sources

A generalized forward modelling equation to calculate the magnetic anomalies of a randomly magnetized finite-strike listric fault source is derived using Poisson's relation. This new equation combines both analytic and numeric approaches to realize forward modelling of the anomalous source in any component. Polynomial functions are adopted to simulate the geometry of the curved fault plane between the displaced hanging wall and the footwall of the fault morphology. The utility of the derived equation is epitomized with a theoretical model of a limited-strike listric fault morphology by computing the anomaly in the vertical, horizontal and total field components. It is demonstrated that the magnitude of the anomalous field (in any component) does not remain the same but changes with the profile offset, albeit the anomalous source remains the same. The effect of structure dimensionality (2D vs. 2^1/2D) on the magnitude of the anomalous field is also discussed.