Global Continental Residual Topography Estimates from Crustal Structure Analysis

Stephenson et al. (2024) published a dataset of 4,120 measurements of continental residual topography, derived by correcting for crustal thickness and density variations. The analysis is based on a global inventory of 26,725 crustal thickness estimates and a parametrization developed from 1,136 laboratory velocity-density measurements. This static version of the data and accompanying software was archived on data.gov.au as of March 7, 2024.

Use Cases

• Modeling mantle convection patterns based on long-wavelength residual topography anomalies.
• Correlating lithospheric thickness variations with residual topography estimates.
• Validating geodynamic models against observations of free-air gravity and upper mantle seismic velocity.
• Studying the relationship between intraplate magmatism and residual topography support.

Strengths

• Includes 4,120 specific measurements of continental residual topography.
• Derived from a substantial global inventory of 26,725 crustal thickness estimates.
• Uses a physically-grounded density conversion based on 1,136 laboratory measurements.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count for the underlying crustal thickness database is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Excludes Antarctica; geographic coverage is limited to the other major continents.

Provenance

Source

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

Collection Method

Assembled from local seismological datasets and laboratory measurements, with isostatic corrections applied.

Time Range

null

Freshness

Last updated 2026-04-10 19:44:16.026135; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Global, covering major continents (excluding Antarctica).