Aeromagnetic data merging based on magnetic data leveling:A case study of the Qihe-Yucheng area, Shandong Province

High-precision aeromagnetic surveys have been carried out in the Qihe-Yucheng area, Shandong Province in different years. To effectively reuse the existent survey data, it is necessary to merge them to form large-scale high-precision aeromagnetic data. This study processed the aeromagnetic data acquired in 2011 and 2017 through correction, continuation, and combination. Then, these data were merged using methods including tie-line leveling, weak magnetic data leveling, and micro-leveling. As a result, 1:25,000 high-precision aeromagnetic data were obtained, with a survey grid spacing of 250±16.2 m and total precision of 1.3 nT. The new data had higher resolution and contain richer geophysical information. This study fills the gap of 1:25,000 aeromagnetic data of the study area and provides important basic data for subsequent data processing and interpretation of the study area.