Contribution of Ukrainian geophysicists to the development of gravity exploration

Abstract

This article highlights key stages and figures in the development of gravimetry and gravimetric prospecting in Ukraine. The initial contribution was made by Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Selsky, academician of the Academy of Sciences of the Ukrainian SSR since 1939. His monographs from 1938 and 1940 laid the theoretical foundations of gravimetry, starting with the principles of Isaac Newton's theory of gravity. Although Selsky primarily did not conduct extensive field surveys, his works were exceptionally professional and understandable.

A significant stage was the arrival in Kyiv in 1931 of S.I. Subbotin, who in 1935 published one of the first articles on gravimetric research in the Romny salt-bearing region. After the Great Patriotic War, gravimetric prospecting actively developed thanks to the efforts of state organizations and such outstanding specialists as H.S. Butakov, who proposed improvements to field research methods.

Later, works dedicated to new principles of processing and interpreting gravimetric data appeared, notably from K.F. Tyapkin, H.Ya. Holizdra, Ye.H. Bulakh, and V.I. Starostenko. Particularly important was the contribution of Ye.H. Bulakh (1960), who was among the first in geophysics to emphasize the expediency and necessity of using electronic computing machines for both processing and interpreting geophysical data. The publications of Ukrainian geophysicists in central journals of the USSR significantly contributed to the level and development of this geophysical method in the state.