Continental Residual Topography from Global Crustal Structure Analysis

A global dataset of 4,120 continental residual topography estimates, derived by correcting for crustal thickness and density variations. The data is based on an inventory of 26,725 crustal thickness estimates from seismological surveys and a parameterization using 1,136 laboratory measurements. It accompanies a 2024 article by Stephenson et al. published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth.

Use Cases

• Modeling mantle convection patterns based on residual topographic anomalies.
• Correlating lithospheric thickness variations with long-wavelength gravity anomalies.
• Studying the relationship between upper mantle seismic velocity anomalies and surface topography.
• Analyzing the distribution of intraplate magmatism younger than 10 Ma in relation to residual topography.

Strengths

• Based on a large inventory of 26,725 crustal thickness estimates.
• Uses a density conversion parameterization derived from 1,136 laboratory measurements.
• Provides 4,120 specific measurements of continental residual topography.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Excludes Antarctica from its continental coverage.

Provenance

Source

Geoscience Australia Data

Collection Method

Assembled from global seismological datasets and laboratory measurements.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-05-14 03:34:40.235830; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Global (major continents, excluding Antarctica)