Global Continental Residual Topography Estimates From Crustal Structure Analysis

Stephenson et al. (2024) provide a global database of continental residual topography, isolating mantle-driven elevation by correcting for crustal thickness and density. The dataset contains 4,120 new measurements derived from an inventory of 26,725 crustal thickness estimates and 1,136 laboratory velocity-density measurements. This static version accompanies a 2024 Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth article.

Use Cases

• Model mantle convection patterns by analyzing the 4,120 residual topography measurements against upper mantle seismic velocity anomalies.
• Calibrate crustal density models using the SMV2rho software package and its parametrization based on 1,136 laboratory measurements.
• Validate global geodynamic models by comparing residual topography patterns with long-wavelength free-air gravity anomalies.
• Study intraplate magmatism by correlating residual topography estimates with the global distribution of magmatism younger than 10 Ma.

Strengths

• Derived from a substantial inventory of 26,725 continental crustal thickness estimates.
• Includes 4,120 new measurements of residual topography with wavelengths of 1,000–5,000 km.
• Software package (SMV2rho v1.0.1) provided for converting seismic velocity to density.

Limitations

• Dataset excludes Antarctica, limiting global continental coverage.
• Static snapshot as of March 2024; more recent updates may exist in primary GitHub repositories.
• Sample size of 4,120 measurements may be sparse for high-resolution regional analysis.

Provenance

Source

Stephenson et al. (2024), Journal of Geophysical Research: Solid Earth.

Collection Method

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

Time Range

null

Freshness

Static version current as of 07/03/2024.

Geography

Global continents, excluding Antarctica.