Global Continental Residual Topography Estimates from Crustal Structure Analysis

Stephenson et al. (2024) published a dataset containing 4,120 measurements of continental residual topography. The data is derived from a global inventory of 26,725 crustal thickness estimates and a parametrization based on 1,136 laboratory measurements. It excludes Antarctica and is accompanied by software for converting seismic velocity to density.

Use Cases

• Model mantle convection patterns based on long-wavelength residual topography anomalies.
• Correlate lithospheric thickness variations with observed residual topography.
• Validate geodynamic models using spot measurements of emergent marine strata.
• Analyze the relationship between residual topography and upper mantle seismic velocity anomalies.
• Study the distribution of intraplate magmatism younger than 10 Ma relative to residual topography.

Strengths

• Includes 4,120 new measurements of continental residual topography.
• Based on a global inventory of 26,725 continental crustal thickness estimates.
• Parametrization for seismic velocity to density conversion uses 1,136 laboratory measurements.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data may reflect geographic bias inherent to the source seismic datasets.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Assembled from local seismological datasets and laboratory measurements.

Freshness

Last updated 2026-05-05 01:12:31.381089; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Global continents, excluding Antarctica.