Global Continental Residual Topography Estimates from Crustal Analysis

A 2024 study by Stephenson et al. provides 4,120 new measurements of continental residual topography, derived from a global inventory of 26,725 crustal thickness estimates and 1,136 laboratory velocity-density measurements. The data isolates the topographic component supported by mantle dynamics after correcting for crustal isostatic effects, covering major continents excluding Antarctica. It accompanies the article published in the Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth.

Use Cases

• Correlate residual_topography_anomaly values with upper_mantle_seismic_velocity_anomalies to study mantle convection patterns.
• Analyze crustal_thickness_variations and crustal_density estimates to model isostatic compensation mechanisms.
• Validate long-wavelength free-air_gravity_anomaly patterns using the provided residual topography measurements.
• Investigate the relationship between residual_topography distribution and the global occurrence of intraplate_magmatism_younger_than_10_Ma.

Strengths

• Derived from a substantial global inventory of 26,725 continental crustal thickness estimates.
• Incorporates a parametrization based on 1,136 laboratory measurements of seismic velocity as a function of density and pressure.
• Provides 4,120 discrete measurements of continental residual topography.

Limitations

• Excludes Antarctica, limiting global continental coverage.
• Sample size of 4,120 residual topography points may be sparse for high-resolution regional analysis.
• The underlying crustal thickness inventory may have uneven geographic distribution based on available seismological surveys.

Provenance

Source

Stephenson et al. (2024), Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth, via the Australian Ocean Data Network.

Collection Method

Assembled from global seismological datasets (wide-angle/refraction surveys, receiver functions) and laboratory velocity-density measurements.

Time Range

null

Freshness

Data and software are static as of March 7, 2024; users are referred to primary GitHub repositories for updates.

Geography

Global coverage of major continents, excluding Antarctica.