The equivalent source concept is used in the wavenumber domain to correct distortions in potential‐field data caused by topographic relief. The equivalent source distribution on a horizontal surface is determined iteratively through forward calculation of the anomaly on the topographic surface. Convergence of the solution is stable and rapid. The accuracy of the Fourier‐based approach is demonstrated by two synthetic examples. For the gravity example, the rms error between the corrected anomaly and the desired anomaly is 0.01 mGal, which is less than 0.5 percent of the maximum synthetic anomaly. For the magnetic example, the rms error is 0.7 nT, which is less than 1 percent of the maximum synthetic anomaly. The efficiency of the approach is shown by application to the gravity and aeromagnetic grids for Kansas. For gravity data, with a maximum elevation change of 500 m reducing to a horizontal datum results in a maximum correction in gravity anomaly amplitude of up to 2.6 mGal. For aeromagnetic data, the method results in a maximum horizontal shift of anomalies of 470 m with a maximum correction in aeromagnetic anomaly amplitudes up to 270 nT.
Potential field continuation: a comparative analysis of three different types of software
