On the large scale, most of the major features on the Earth's surface can be mapped. A medium scale survey can reveal the form of subsurface structure such as igneous intrusions, eg. granitic batholiths. Sedimentary basins normally produce negative anomalies. Such anomalies can locate and provide important information regarding mechanisms of basin formation. For this reason, gravity surveying was once extensively used by the petroleum industry for the location of sedimentary basins and hydrocarbon traps, although, the vast improvement and efficiency of seismic surveying has lead to the decline of gravity as a primary exploration tool.
Gravity also has many applications in engineering and hydrogeological investigations.
For example, it can be used for locating subsurface voids and for determining the geometry of potential aquifers. The injection of grout into hazardous cavities, for site investigations, may be subsequently checked by further gravity surveys to evaluate efficacy. Whilst the above list is not exhaustive, it does show that the gravity method is a versatile geophysical tool. Needless to say, it also has limitations. Therefore, other geophysical methods in conjunciton with geological constraint from known outcrops.